Relative Something

*this* John W. Hays' take on things and experiences

Posts Tagged ‘free verse

Me

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it was a dvd
mailed from Netflix
the old-fashioned way
a typical limited series gritty crime drama
deliriously slow character introductions
with more detail about unimportant activity
people unconsciously do
than any person would like to admit
then I tried to get on with my night
where each silly habit
became my personal behavior scenes
inane to the extreme
I couldn’t stop
folding the bag over
three times –no, four
to seal in freshness
measuring
packaging
preparing for tomorrow
the next gritty drama
that lay ahead
a show I’d rather not watch
except that it’s me

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Written by johnwhays

October 13, 2021 at 6:00 am

Spectacles

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Words on Images

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Written by johnwhays

October 1, 2021 at 6:00 am

Lied

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she lied
I saw it in a tv show
it seemed justified
only it made me think
I’d heard this kind of thing before
or read it
it never made any difference
like lyrics in a song
rushing off to the next line
where most people forget
they give up
stop looking
reality ceases to make any sense
there are only pieces
floating through time
piecemeal
and everybody just pretends
they understand

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Written by johnwhays

September 6, 2021 at 6:00 am

List

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it was like a list
just lying there
bunch of words
one on top of the other
detailed
manicured
all orderly and stacked
tight
concise
basically like simple advice
it read with authority
commanded attention
unemotional
except for the sense
of nostalgia
it evoked
a simpler time
indeed
cigarettes
fish hooks
trundle bed
nothing that really mattered
answers for a game show
charade topics maybe
license plate
wastebasket
or bin
depending where from
the subject had sprung
what reason
spurred the creation
how the words landed
on that space
in that order
just in case
was far from obvious
dead battery
bags
trowel
random to a point
of seeming entirely pointless
but intrinsically powerful
nonetheless

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Written by johnwhays

August 26, 2021 at 6:00 am

Awe

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Words on Images

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Written by johnwhays

August 14, 2021 at 9:36 am

Reality

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Words on Images

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Written by johnwhays

May 25, 2021 at 6:00 am

Tomorrow

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Words on Images

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Written by johnwhays

May 18, 2021 at 6:00 am

Resonance

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I was trying to find an idea somewhere

looking under the stacks of accumulated papers

among the shoes on the floor in the closet

mixed among the randomly sorted silverware in the drawer

might as well look in the junk drawer, too, while I was at it

in the basement room I otherwise never visit

hidden in plain sight in the kitchen refrigerator upstairs

on the list of things we always intend to do someday

tucked in one of the many books I never get around to finishing

lost in the collection of well-used dog toys that no longer excite

buried in the saved emails from more than a decade back

deep in a lifetime of fading memories

or a line of some lyrics from every single song

from the shapes and colors of each different day’s clouds

in the sounds out the window of so many birds and frogs

Eeeee eeee Eee EEE eee eee eeep

but the last p is silent

just a closing of the lips without escaping any air

in the blades of green grass that invisibly grow so dang fast

in the absence of chickens and the happiness they once cast

I looked toward the horses finding too much there to grasp

on the overflowing shelves of junk in the shop and adjacent garage

along the trails through our woods and the paths around our fields

in the silence when I notice it and pause for a moment just to hear

an idea that feels a little different than the ones already formed

wrapped up in the whacky climate calamity continually playing out

publicly flaunted prejudices propagating like a raging contagion

pernicious social networks emanating a sickly stench

mindless rampant greed with its selfish intent

all battling the effervescent aromas spring hope brings once again

the voluntary charity bursting forth from entrepreneurial brilliant minds

the love most people are conveying from the goodness of their hearts

the science on display in helicopters flying around on Mars

an idea so much bigger than some guy’s stupid big lie

one that could actually make universal sense

except it’s obviously deeper than mere words can explain

communicating clearly and simply to each separate person’s mind

through fields of heart energy and the wisdom living in our guts

an idea that is more like a sound

one our instincts recognize

one we together can amplify

one that is love in resonance

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Written by johnwhays

May 4, 2021 at 6:00 am

May

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don’t thank me it was bound to happen despite conflicting interests everyone’s got an alibi the cat says she was sleeping behind the pillows on the bed beneath the spread the dog is playing dumb denying any knowledge which forensics verified the mice are laying low who knows where they all go there’s nothing left but crumbs the eggs are all intact no sign of any cracks deliveries haven’t stopped as life just races along don’t bother calling cops April has run out of days and tomorrow turns to May
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Written by johnwhays

April 30, 2021 at 6:00 am

Because Again

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Revisiting a “Words on Images” from the archive, back for an encore performance, just because…

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Words on Images

Because  September 2020

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Written by johnwhays

April 27, 2021 at 6:00 am