Posts Tagged ‘poetry’
Tonight
.
late
at night
long after darkness
swallowed all the light
when coyotes howl
and raccoons
snarl and scream
at each other
for reasons we don’t want to know
lying awake
thinking about scenes
that should be in dreams
wondering why
earworm lyrics
loop after just two lines
while the person still asleep
snores softly
one pillow away
someone
somewhere
is remembering
the sound of our laughter
when we both got the joke
at the same time
after that awkward delay
that spoke volumes
about how things would work
decades later
a future we never imagined
a lifetime unanticipated
a reach
exceeding both of our grasps
from a time
before we had met
before we knew
before we had any idea
tonight was bound to arrive
.
.
Play
.
sing
sink
syncopate
obliviate
anticipate
expectorate
fall to the ground
flailing arms
innocuous charms
shrugging shoulders
cringe
create
crest
ingest
wrest
dressed
score
more
and more
.
.
Smart
.
like floating
in a different realm
untethered energy
universal consciousness
every language
yet wordless
ideas
knowledge
understanding
insight
sharing with others
sweetness and love
since figuring out
the earth is actually round
and it moves around the sun
microscopic organisms exist
invisible waves travel through air
carrying sounds and pictures
to be captured and played back
what once was beyond belief
becomes commonly accepted
but the next revelation
gets no free pass
in people who have become
this smart
yet anchor themselves
a little too rigidly
in being only
this smart
afraid to admit
the next revelation
into our club
.
.
Stoppage
.
I don’t remember
saying goodbye
to the best moments
of my life
when the US government
was less out of control
and crazy was contained
in a stupid checkout tabloid
but I miss the facade
that political misery
usually happened
in other places
and James Bond would always prevail
in the end
that things were better
because we have a vote
intelligent logic
would outweigh
the lack thereof
integrity and moral character
look it up
virtues
not lost
but fading fast
and we’re now living
in stoppage time
.
.
We Can
.
we can do this
standing on our heads
like those who came before
those who survived
attempted extermination of their tribes
those who endured hardships of two world wars
those who lived through the great depression
how about the rise of crime syndicates during prohibition
how despondent must it have felt
to get knocked down repeatedly
in quests for equal rights
this country survived
how many assassinated leaders
climate disasters
economic failures
pollution calamities
drug wars
political scandals
terror attacks
space shuttle explosions
can we get past
social media addictions
corporations’ algorithms
malignant narcissists
gaslighting white supremacist kleptocrats
undereducated generations
conspiracy-minded idiocy
religious dogmatic insanity
shameless hypocrisy
we can
we can stand fast
we can outlast
the worst of any attempts
to destroy the rights
of citizens to know the truth
of a free press
of free and fair elections
of the democratic ideals
in the U.S. Constitution
we can love one another
we can help our neighbors
we can feed the hungry
we can honor those who came before
and the generations yet to come
we can do this
together
standing on our heads
we are innumerable
a great loving multitude
and there will always be more of us
than there will ever be
of those who prefer we give up
and go away
.
.
Relative Something 