love – Page 7 – Stumbling along the sidewalk

Just You

I was at a party

And three of my ex-girlfriends

Showed up.

I knew I was in trouble then.

…
But you weren’t there yet

And one kissed me on the lips

And covered my face

With all her lipstick.

…
I panicked then,

And asked my friends

To run interference,

As the other two arrived.

…
Just then, I saw you,

And I couldn’t wait

To run to you

And tell you

…
Just how beautiful

You are to me,

How all my dreams came true

When me became we

…
And how I’ll never want

Another hand

In mine.

Just you.

…
When I hear your voice

It’s like the clouds

Opened up

And sunshine’s bathing on me.

…
And when I feel you close

I want to touch

I want to feel

I want to know

…
You feel the same

About me.

I am yours

Like I said at the beginning.

…
And I’ll never want

Another hand

In mine.

Just you.

Reveal Your Heart

Breaking the ice
Is a tricky thing.
I ask you,
How are you?

I introduce myself.
I ask you
What you do and
Where you’re from.

But do I wonder
How you’ve been hurt,
Or what your dreams are?
Do I ask

What is most
Important to you?
Do I wonder
Who and what you love?

I do wonder these things,
But do I say so?
Not usually.
We tend to stick

To the superficial,
Not daring to ask
What really matters.
We play the game.

But I want to know
Who you really are.
I don’t care
What you do

For a living.
Not much, anyway,
Unless it is
Your dream job.

So let’s start over.
Reveal to me
Your heart.
Tell me your secrets.

The Best of Friends

I know you,
Yes, really know you.
And you know me,
The real me.

You accept me for who am,
As I am,
Inside and out.
We don’t keep secrets.

Tell me what you think,
Exactly what you think.
Be honest.
I value your opinion.

What have you experienced?
Where have you been hurt?
What works for you?
What have you discovered?

I want to hear your story,
Feel your pain,
And your joy.
I want to laugh with you.

So give it to me straight.
I can take it.
Don’t hold back.
Tell me the truth.

I appreciate that you
Feel free to be yourself
Around me.
We don’t have to hide.

We trust each other.
I know that you
Only want the best for me,
And I only want the best for you.

So, let’s go together
Into this big scary world,
Holding hands,
And holding hearts.

Poetry is Not the Giving Tree

Chillin’ in my chair,
Trying not to stare
Into the distance
As I feel my stance

Wobbly beneath me.
A busy day, costly
To my mind and body.
But brings home for thrifty

Purchases of necessities.
Do you blame me
For leaving early
Today? Every

Day, I give my energy
To my company,
Hell or high sea.
Sometimes I see

How it rearranges me.
I wonder if there could be
Some other job for me,
But it’s not likely.

So, even though
I don’t say no
To opportunity,
My situation tires me.

Could there be
Another way for me
To make money?
Poetry is not the Giving Tree

That I wish it could be.
Skeptically,
You look at me,
Saying, “But it could be!”

Oh, Poetry!
How you edify me!
But you don’t feed me.
Slinking slowly

Out of reality,
I have a fantasy
Of how it could be,
But, alas, I am not free

To write constantly.
I must work to see
My paycheck biweekly
Deposited, usually.

So you ask me,
“Don’t you want to be
All that you could be?”
It is enough for me

To pay my usury.
My creditors love me
For my money,
Not my poetry!

In the Now

Cringe, post a mark.
Laugh, be a tart.
Run, lift, screeeeam!
You’re on the cake and in the cream!

Do you know the secret
Of doing good business?
Tell the truth,
That’s what I always say.

Wars wage out the window,
Behind us, on the front lawn.
We sleep a soundless sleep,
In the quiet of our bedroom.

Catch a wing,
Flutter to the sky.
Try your best to escape
This broken world, or die.

Get a high from joking
Ruffians smoking dope.
Get a wild hair up with
Nothing to do but cry

For the fun you’ll never have,
The love you’ll never know,
The pleasure you will never,
Ever find in abandoned alleys

Where you spend your waking hours.
Shooting up only brings you down
In the sorry end.
So, which way to turn?

Live to the fullest on the battlefield
Of life. Never give up!
Treasure your dreams,
And follow your heart.

Even if you never achieve
Your goals, it is your dreams
And the yearning of your heart
That let you know for sure

That you are still alive.
For without a dream,
There is no hope,
And without a heart,

There is no passion.
So dream on,
Always knowing
That in the end,

You were completely
Here, and completely
Alive and awake,
In the now.

cackle

closed camping kicked door

ambulate cackle reach steep

pee lead loud lewd catch

cringe cute coat quote

angel maple real quiver

curmudgeon cap caught

seize slack sick sock creek

aha mow meow wean tuck

lick love lap leap label

drip drop drive disc doubt

devout double deep bobble

ditch chocolate cheap champ

ant leech koala crease lamp

rant tweezer two caste cool.

ABC Wednesday – Letter “C”

Family Friction

Two of a kind,

One that used to be,

And one that is now.

Time in a flip,

The old are young,

And the young are mature.

Then, darkness falls.

A deep depression and

A bit of dementia.

I tried to barricade

Myself in a room

In your house,

But it was your room,

Your house.

I had become an outsider.

We had grown apart.

The jolly trickster that

Was my grandfather

Had become an unhappy

Old man.

And I had hit a wall,

Fallen into a deep pit.

We butted heads

Until we made it home.

To the end, you were true.

And I would not appreciate

Your love and loyalty

For many years, long

Past your time to die.

As I sat in the car,

Listening to the 21-gun

Salute, I remembered

The stories you used to

Tell me about the war.

And I realized that time

Had taken its toll on a

Wonderful man, a man

That provided for a wife

And family and then

For another generation of

Five grandsons, all of whom

Adored you.

I know that despite

Our differences, you look

Down on me from

Heaven…and smile.

Faithfully Disappointed

Tried and true,

Follower and leader,

One for the cause,

Always in the mix.

Looking for revelations

Confirming prayers

Teaching, singing,

Prophesying, discerning.

Full of faith,

Depending on hope,

Demonstrating love.

And concluding…

Is that all there is?

Carry on Tuesday #111

Loving

Sometimes people float into

Our lives, and they stay a while.

You don’t know how long

They will be there.

Sometimes you become friends,

Due to common interests,

Or common experience.

And sometimes that friendship

Blooms into something more.

Sometimes you really care

About each other,

And sometimes, you fall in love.

From there, at least for a while,

Things sometimes go nicely,

But often, one or the other

Brings the sting of pain

Into the relationship.

And from there,

The relationship is tested.

Can the love withstand

The pain, or is there

Reason to break?

Such is the path,

That some tread lightly,

And some go through

Full-force, future-be-damned.

Either way,

Sometimes love is fickle,

And sometimes love

Turns into war.

One never knows

What to expect,

When one falls in love.

Carry on Tuesday #110

Changing the world

“Whose responsibility is

It to change the world?

And what will be my

Contribution?”

First of all, I don’t think

Anyone is going to

Change the world,

Not really. Obviously,

The world has changed

In some ways, some

People say for the better.

I think we can do more.

I think we can live longer.

But are we more loving?

Do we forgive others more?

Do we have more faith, hope?

No, I don’t think so.

And I don’t think that any

Individual or group is going

To change that. Inside,

We have always been the same,

And we will always be the same.

And I certainly don’t think

Anything I do is going to change that.

And I think it is inside

That really matters.

I don’t think science

Is of everlasting importance.

I don’t think the study of history,

Or sociology, or psychology,

Or math, or English, or

Anything else, is going to

Change anything

About the world

That really matters,

At least to me.