Wednesday, November 28, 2012

A Woman in Words

Nov. 28, 2012

A Woman in Words

How do you capture
     A woman in words?

How do you capture
     Fleeting beauty,
Like a doe framed by the forest,
      Frozen in serenity,
            Nature itself
                 Falling still in her presence,
 A brief moment
      With a creature of poise and grace,
'Til the wood swallows her up again.

Oh that my words were music,
     A tune to catch in your head,
I would make you remember her always.

How and Why I Read

Nov. 27, 2012

How and Why I Read

I burn through books
     Like Sherman burned the South,
          The bastard,
An all consuming blaze
     That sucks up words
           Like oxygen to fuel the flame.

 Kids,
      Take a hint,
Read everything you can get
      Your grubby mitts on,
'Cuz once it's in your head
       It's yours,
            And no one can take it away.

I Say Shit

Nov. 26, 2012

I Say Shit

I know some people
     Who know some people,
Bet you know these people, too.

Say,
     Swearing shows a
          Miniscule vocabulary,
In that lecturing tone of voice.

Shit,
     Filth,
          Rubbish,
               Slime,
Foul fool who pains my vision!

 Fragment of diseased flesh,
     Pus-ridden cur
          With rancid breath,
A.k.a.
     You piece of shit.

Astronomical,
     Stunning in its form
          And physiology,
 Monument of life,
     Testament of human achievement!
Ala,
     This shit is bananas,

And let's not forget that solemn oath:
Away with all this triviality!
I am Man,
     As good as thou art,
          And I shall not be trod upon!
Vis-a-vis,
      Fuck this shit.

I say shit
     To get your attention,
To sum up
      All at once
           The torrents of thought
                 And exclamation
Bursting
     From my mind,
But my flourishing details,
      My
           rich vocabulary,
I save for those
     Who kindly ask,
"What's up?"

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Hold Tight, My Brother

Nov. 25, 2012

Hold Tight, My Brother

Hold tight,
Hold tight, my Brother!
Armageddon's come,
     The signs and omens
          Fly about like demons!
The hellfire rakes our flesh,
     The Earth splits beneath our feet,
          The seas boil over!
But I'll never let you go,
     My Brother,
I'll never let you go.

 The hordes of Circumstance
      Are in our halls,
The hounds of Chance
     Snap behind our doors,
And old man Death
     Looks on through yonder window,
          Eyeing us with glee.
Our allies have abandoned us,
     Our homes engulfed in flame,
The countryside is overrun
     With the howls of tortured souls,
          Begging us to join their ranks.

But hold tight,
Hold tight, my Brother!
We'll face the beasts together,
     I your shield
          And you my spear!
We'll hurl them back to the Abyss,
     Throw them from our sight!
Arm in arm
     We'll catch them 'neath
           Our boots of steel,
               And grind them back to dust!
Hold tight,
Hold tight, my Brother,
 And I will never let you go,
     Oh no,
I'll never let you go!

Criminal of Love

Nov. 24, 2012

Criminal of Love

I'm waiting for you,
     Next one in life.
I'm expecting any day
     To head outside
          On my way to work
               And get caught by your eye,
          Get locked up in those eyes
               Far too long in coming.

I've been there before,
     Felt the soothing chains of love,
 Shackled to a lover,
     Hands bound
          To waists,
          To necks,
          To legs and lips.
Gods help me,
     A sweet prison,
Tied in knots of hands and arms and fingers.
Pressed chest to chest,
     We've lost our elbow room
          But gained a view,
     Watch the sun rise everyday,
          In our eyes.

I'm waiting for you,
     Next one in life.
My hands are free,
     My lips are unattached
 'Til you catch me,
     A criminal of love.

Haiku #6: Miraculous Medal

Nov. 23, 2012

Haiku #6: Miraculous Medal

Cold amulet hangs
On her hot chest, burnt lungs filled
With post-coital cool.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Penny's Worth of Thought

Nov. 22, 2012

Penny's Worth of Thought

How lovely it is,
     When all is said and done,
To stare up into the sky
     And know that it does not end?

Haiku #5: Thanksgiving

Nov. 21,  2012

Haiku #5: Thanksgiving

Not another day,
But a day we share the thanks
We give every day.

Poem for Thyself, On a Future Day

Nov. 20, 2012

Poem for Thyself, on a Future Day

Friend, you have gone far.
     You've shaken the earth beneath your feet,
You've travelled the great road
     And found new lands,
And you've longed for him before,
     As you'll long for home again.
So I gave this to you.

Be at peace.
Know I am here beside you,
     No matter who you are,
I am here.

 I am not a god,
     I am but a soul.
 You hold me in your hand
     As you lift the page.

I wish you
     Nothing but peace.

I grant you nothing
     But hope.

I give you
     I am here.

When the heaping weight of the Earth
     Stands on your shoulders,
 When you are plagued
     By the black gnats of fear,
When the whip
     Lashes most,
Say,
     I am here,
         For you are,
And this will always be true,
     For I am here,
          Too.

Encounter with a Man in Need

Nov. 19, 2012

Encounter with a Man in Need

A man came up to me today,
     Name of Mr. Washington.
 I shared my bench
     And we sat down a while.
Bought him a cup of coffee for his story.

Fifteen years in prison,
     Locked up in '97,
Locked up when our towers
     Cracked and shuddered
          The foundations of the world.
Locked up
      When the internet took over,
          Computers in our palms.
Locked up
     When I was eight years old,
          Thinking about church
               And video games.
And now,
     He's free,
But all the world is changed,
     He said,
          All the world is changed.

I gave him a ten dollar bill.

I should've told him,
     I'll tell him now,
You and I
     Are two great Alexanders
          In a world of superheroes.
 Bit by bit
     We'll assemble our empires
           Out of this mess.
My prayers for you,
     I wish you all the best.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Note from a Soul Recently Deceased

Nov. 18, 2012

Note from a Soul Recently Deceased

 From six feet underground
     The world all looks the same,
One big mess
     Of caverns and graves,
 Sprawling out before me,
     But all the people at rest.

 Had I known in life,
     I would have found a patch of grass to lie in,
          and had the world laid out before me.

Live at your best,
     I'll cheer you all the way.

Motion

Nov. 17, 2012

Motion

I like to feel in motion,
     Riding the sidewalks
          Into the paths of Douglass Park.
The sound of passing trains is a comfort,
     The streets steadily alive
          Footsteps pulsing out
               A steady rhythm on gravel.

Even the movement of the pen pleases me,
     Thoughts skittering across a page
          Like scattered swans,
And when I'm sitting still
     I take a great relief,
 Knowing the Earth rolls beneath me,
     Swimming through
          Some heavenly ether,
Towing me slowly out to sea
     With moons and stars.

From the Wood

Nov. 16, 2012

From the Wood

I'm from the wood,
    From wooden castles
          Built upon the hills.
In my younger days
    I ran through pines,
         Ivy and vines
               Clutching with thorns,
          Snatching at my heels.
My size six shoes
     Would come home muddy,
And I would leave them outside
     With the dogs.

My windows were ever green,
     Shaded with blues.

The wood,
     It teaches you to listen,
A listening
     Silence imposes on us.
Came to love lady Echo,
     Jets roaring far overhead,
     Wind pushing needles
          Side to side,
     A quiet shuffling of creatures,
         Too ancient and set in their ways
     To move.

I came to love
     The silent sound of age,
          Waving in the breeze.

 Barefoot on blue rock driveways,
     Laid down half a century ago,
Pressing my toes
     Into a damp stone ribbon,
          Swallowed up by the branches,
               The shadows of fig leaves.

 Now I'm on the traveler's path,
     Leaning against slabs of buildings,
 Listening to the wind whistle
     Off from the lake,
And I still listen out for that timeless,
     That good wooden sound
          Of days inching by.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

On My Move to Chicago, IL

Nov. 15, 2012

On My Move to Chicago, IL

Like diving into a concrete ocean,
     Fighting just to reach the surface
          And spitting up slimy chunks of gravel
               and stone.
After recovering from the impact,
     I waded to a semi-solid mass,
          a clod of Earth
               smothered in the sludge.
I went to work,
     chipping off the dirty coat of cement
           til the soil could breathe again,
And,
     hoisting it upon my back
          to keep it dry,
Walked out on the hardening rock
     to find another piece of Earth.

I have built mountains,
     and though I'm on a foreign shore,
I will build again.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Haiku #4: My Hope for our Future

Nov. 14, 2012

Haiku #4: My Hope for Our Future

We make and break love,
Holding hands on hidden paths,
May they always wind.

Georgia Sun

Nov. 13, 2012

Georgia Sun

I made love to Georgia,
     sun streaming through her hair,
Kissed her neck
     and laid her down
          upon the forest floor.
We slept between the hillsides,
     awoke to the pale glow of midnight
          and stretched out our feet in the grass,
     soaked with dew.
We picked our clothes down
     out of the trees,
          shook the magnolias
               'til they rained.

I kissed her then,
     covered in moonlight and cool water,
Held her,
     Felt her pulse fight back the cold
          as she looked into my eyes,
     the look in her eyes
as she held me back.

Heart's in Charleston

Nov. 12, 2012

Heart's in Charleston

Heart's in Charleston where I left it,
     Gave it to her 'neath the moon.
Found my love in Carolina,
     I left her much to soon.
When I'm old and I am weary,
     Please take me to her shore,
 Lost my heart in Charleston,
     Now I'll never love no more.

We first made eyes when I arrived
     On the old I-26,
Her steeples rose before me,
     I knew my soul was fixed.
Her eyes as blue as oceans,
     Her isles all brimming green,
A pearl upon the seashore,
     Finest gem you've ever seen.

Last time I saw her
     was far too long ago.
She kissed me with her her coral lips,
     She begged me not to go,
But I was bound for foreign towns,
     New ports and distant shores,
So I left my heart in Charleston
     So I would never love no more.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

A Love Poem, #...Lets' Say 1

Nov. 11, 2012

A Love Poem, #...Let's Say 1

I would wait a hot second
     just to see you smile.
I would wait a hot minute
     to chat with you a while.

I would walk five hundred miles
     to help you cross a step.
I would meet five hundred faces
    'til yours and mine had met.

And

I would tear apart the Earth,
     snap it to halves,
          hurl them to scour the stars,
     lasso the moon,
          recruit Venus for the search,
     blaze my way through time
          to meet you at the end,
     to take you by the hand.
Fade out with you,
      blink back with you,
'Til we begin again.

Public Surfaces

Nov. 10, 2012

Public Surfaces

I am not a sanitizer.

I don't fear rails or handles,
     worn down posts,
          tarnished brass,
               peeling paint or chalked up windows.
Germs may propagate,
     swarm across the surface,
But these things are landmarks,
     Monuments of our day to day.
The broken balustrades,
      The knobs gripped by thousands,
The shaky desktop
     bears the hands
         of souls departed,
               from yesterday to long ago,
And with every touch
     I leave my mark by theirs.

Lean into your seat on the train,
     Feel the millions marching to work
          to feed the family,
                to earn the chance to rest.
I don't feel filth.
I feel a handshake
     from the past,
Warming my palm
     and helping me along.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Ode to Nanowrimo, A Braggart's Tune

Nov. 9, 2012

Ode to Nanowrimo,
     A Braggart's Tune

I took my ship a'sailin',
     A beauty, oh, she was!
But we made for
     an icy shore,
The port a frozen glow,
 She snapped her masts and jib sheets,
     She sank beneath the foam,
I lost my boat
     upon the floes
          of Nanowrimo.

Me mum
      she told me not to go,
           the word count was too high,
But I was brave,
      a foolish knave,
          she knew I'd lost my mind.
Her icy shores, her pearly shine,
     Her women all are fine,
So
I stole my father's fishing boat
     and took her to the brine.

We hit the water running,
      The words they flew and flew,
First past old two thousand
      then four thousand and forty two,
But I slammed the hull
     somewhere around
          six thousand,
              minus a few,
Lost Father's boat
     Upon the floes
           of Nanowrimo.

I may not have got far,
      but I'll claim my words the same!
I struggled though I lost the ship
      upon the roarin' mane,
Even though
     I numbered more
         than I
              can truthfully maintain!

Lost Father's boat
     upon the floes
            of Nanowrimo.
Lost Father's boat,
     a mile or more,
from Nanowrimo!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Inspiration #7

Nov. 9, 2012

Inspiration #7

An interesting feeling,
     denoted by our sense of strength,
That is,
     our strength of soul
          and self.

We rise to it,
     a constant steady climb,
'Til all find,
     at last,
          a place,
               equilibrium,
Or,
As we often feel,
 the Good Lady
     leans down with a kiss,
          filling our mouths
               with a blissful taste.
 All for a moment,
     and she lowers us back to the earth,
The hike still ahead.

Anger Addicts

Nov. 8, 2012

Anger Addicts

We've all met them,
      seen them played
          in many roles.

The ferocious driver,
     running down snakes
           and dogs,
     terrifying parents,
           thrilling children.
The late guest,
      furious at time,
          at their own neglect,
      reaching out
          to snap the smiles around them,
               drowning everyone's party with a sneer.
A child,
     electrified by the feeling of fists,
          striking everyone in reach
     before he sees his wake.

We leap upon our feelings when they fire,
     we cling to them,
          even as our breath steadies,
               hearts pumping us back to equilibrium,
     'til we can light up again
          at the nearest inconvenience.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

A Visit to My Backyard

Nov. 7, 2012

A Visit to My Backyard

Let me take you to my backyard.

I'm sitting on the step
     leading out back to the alley,
          everyone's trash overflowing.

Ivy laces the chain link,
     crawls over the shed
          and the house
               and the chair,
          long abandoned
     by an invisible man.

Sometimes I'll use it
     when the house is all asleep,
and watch the days roll into one another
     as the garden wilts into winter.

Two Dragons, Dueling

Nov. 6, 2012

Two Dragons, Dueling

One day
     in a bitter November,
Two dragons met in the skies,
One of red,
     a flaming beast,
          hide studded with gems
               of dead crusaders,
          the wealth of centuries
               mingling in his scales,
     fire seething about his mouth,
And one of blue,
     sapphires lined along his back,
     the scars of axes
                        swords
                        and spears
           forged to his flesh,
     wings blotting out the sun,
     wisps of lightening
           leaking 'round his lips.

The Clash!

Thunder slammed the heavens,
     shaking the stars to the ground
As flame seared the Earth
      and lightening rent the sky!
Mother Nature fled in fear,
      the Fates cowered at their visions,
           and Hope wept.

And when at last the beasts were done,
     one lying dead beneath the other,
I could not tell the winner,
     so blackened were they both
           by the battle.
Upon his rival's corpse he laid his treasure,
      prying the gems from the body,
          adding them to his hoard,
      a mound of gold
          upon the ruined land.

Today upon the train,
       I asked my fellow passenger:

Vote today?
     Nah.
          Not much to vote for.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Sweet Lucy, A Song for the Blues

Nov. 5, 2012

Sweet Lucy, A Song for the Blues

Sweet, sweet Lucy,
      what ya tryin' to prove?
Sweet, sweet Lucy,
     what ya tryin' to prove?
Your children all love you,
     for what you tryin' to do.

You've shown me, Lucy,
     you can stand on your own.
You've shown them, Lucy,
     you can stand on your own.
Just wanna hold you, Lucy,
     You shouldn't be alone.

Come over, sweet Lucy,
     I'm sure to keep you warm.
A kiss, sweet Lucy,
     I'm sure to keep you warm.
I promise, sweet Lucy,
     I don't mean you no harm.

So c'mon, sweet Lucy,
      what ya tryin' to prove?
So c'mon, sweet Lucy,
      what ya tryin' to prove?
I wanna love you, Lucy,
     for what you tryin' to do.

No Sun Morning

Nov. 4, 2012

No Sun Morning

I woke up
      to a no sun morning.
The moon was working overtime,
      leaking out a pale light,
the sky still black
      and tired.

All the trees were starving,
      wilting down
          towards the dead pavement.

A dog howled hoarsely,
     confused and afraid,
But people trudged past,
     unknowing,
          oblivious,
Caring not a button for the darkness.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

A Statement of Beleifs

Nov. 3, 2012

A Statement of Beliefs

Believe in the cold
     'cuz you can feel it.
Believe in the heat
     'cuz you can reach it.
Believe in the smiles people share,
     believe that they care
          'cuz they do,
Believe in your art
     'cuz it makes your blood pump.

Believe in the bounty of Earth,
      believe in the beauty,
           Appalachia
               and the Georgia woodlands,
           in the lakes of the Great North,
     in the desert fire
and the golden coasts of the West.

Believe in a god,
      in the universe,
      in tomorrow
           'cuz it's always coming
      whether you want it or not.

Believe in your country,
     in it's place in your world,
           in the day you hold
                 the reins of the earth
                       in your hands.
Believe in paved streets,
     in every child learning
         'cuz every child's learning.
Believe in your rights
     'cuz you have'm.
Believe in the leaders among you,
     in their courage
          'cuz they share it,
     in their trust
          'cuz they give it.
Believe you can raise the nation
     'cuz it's in the palm of your hands.
Believe in the good of all
     'cuz the good of all
           is the only rule you need.
Believe that the stains
      of corruption
          will wash out,
     that two-party
           becomes house party
                and everyone's invited.

Believe in your brothers,
      your sisters,
           your family beyond your blood.

Believe in what you do
     'cuz you do it,
In what you make
      'cuz you made it,
In what you felt
      'cuz you feel it.

Believe in yourself,
     'cuz it's all yourself
           in the end.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Roamin' Home

Nov. 2, 2012

Roamin' Home

I'm tired as a bone,
      and home is where I'm roamin,
Home!
Home!
HOME!
Home is where I'm roamin'!
Where the girls are sweet
     and feed you,
Where the men all laugh
     and greet you,
And your Mother and your Father
      hold you close,
           hold you close.
They sing you songs of old,
      keep you warm when winds are cold,
Home
Home
HOME
      is where I'm roamin'!

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Inspiration #6

Nov. 1, 2012

Inspiration #6

I find it
     lots of places.
In the 8-bit rhythm
     of the old N.E.S.,
In the swelling of a Debussy,
In the eyes of the actress,
    filling with tears and laughter,
Snatching your heart away
     to the misty morning
          where you kissed her goodbye
               for the last time.

A warm tune
     we recall,
Tickling our memory
     and stirring our mind
'Til we're spurned from stasis
     and driven
          to make something
               out of nothing,
Every day a measure,
     every moment the note we play,
'Til we see the pattern
     in the madness of the music,
And,
     diving in
          and drowning,
We are carried on
     and on,
          beyond what we thought so.

A Brief Poem...

Oct. 31, 2012

A Brief Poem,
In Which
The Artist Attempts
To Analyze and Express
His Eternal Attitude
For the Contemporary State
of the Electoral Process,
The Two Party System,
And the Prevailing Mentality
Of Our Modern Politicians
Toward their Duty
To Lead the Human Race
Into a Brighter Tomorrow

Pull your head
     Out your ass
And please
     Work together.

Fire Escape Perspective

Oct. 30, 2012

A View from Fire Escapes

We've got a different view
     from the fire escapes,
Huddled up for warmth,
     wind pinching
          our cheeks,
          our ears,
     every inch of flesh we've left exposed.
Our knuckles have it worst,
     clutching our cigarettes stubbornly.

We are determined addicts!
Addicted to laughs,
     and coughs,
     and smiles,
Addicted to dancing
     and shaking the rafters,
1, 2, 3, TURN!
1, 2, 3, BACK!
1, 3, Turn
     and run into each other,
          crashes of laughter,
Slumping to the floor
     in our drunken whirlwind.

In between numbers,
     we steal back to the fire escapes,
Holding hands,
     wondering how we got here.