A Poet who reads her verse in public
may have other nasty habits.
LAZARUS LONG
I love to write poems, always have, always will. Whenever something happens that moves me, there are words for it. Sometimes it begins with just a title, maybe a phrase, but there I am, right on it scribbling quickly on any piece of paper that I can find. Sometimes the poems move other people, but sometimes they don’t get it, which is OK. It’s a venting, and a kind of record of feelings that represent being very much alive and well and…living. Below is something Shakespeare wrote and I love what it says so I’m putting it here before I put my own (I have known a few people who are like this; hope nobody thinks I’m one of them).
That man may last, but never lives,
Who much receives but nothing gives;
Whom none can love, whom none can thank,
Creations’ blot, creation’s blank.
SHAKESPEARE (LOVE’S LABOR LOST)
THE SHADOWS KNOW
I want to stop
the shadows
from moving;
They frighten me.
They play with the
sun, but show more
on dreary days.
They surround me,
with different shapes,
but the ones
that resemble you
are the worst.
I pushed you away
for good reason,
but the shadows
flaunt your memory.
How do they know
to do that?
They frighten me.
SAVING MYSELF
I am waiting for
Someone
To come along;
Someone
I don’t know yet;
Someone
Who won’t
Make me insane;
Someone
More normal;
Someone
Better than you;
Which, I found out,
Is quite possible,
By-the-way.
TAROT
Shuffling and
flipping,
Dividing and
arranging...
Cryptic answers,
Same questions...
When? Who?
But never how long;
That’s not really up to
a deck of cards.
PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIP
It's empty
when you're gone
But
I'm finding that
it’s even emptier
When
You're here.
RUSH HOUR @ BREWSTER'S®
Endless parade
of java junkies
Stopping briefly
to chat -
Lonely regulars
perched on stools
Hoping to reach
someone who'll listen -
Only to find
life goes on
Outside the door
without them.
OUT, OUT, DAMN IT
I'm trying, really,
to get you out;
But my memories
won't release you.
Oh, the agony of
your blue gaze,
and the urgent hunger
of your touch.
Lady MacBeth had
it easy --
All she had was
a spot.
SILENT FLICKS
Superficial ecounters
are more tiring than
efforts made for
the real thing.
Instant replays
fast-forwarded to
only the good scenes
wear out the tape
leaving a discarded
heap of nothingness
and little comfort
from the memory
NAME IN LIGHTS
I reacted to you
with three cherries
lined up in a row,
all lights flashing
horns blaring…
but the jackpot
was limited to
nickels and dimes,
and I'm a quarters
kind of woman.
OIL SPILL
We didn't connect
in our connectings.
Superficial squirming,
while playing the game
only two can do;
becoming one only
when mingling fluids,
proving once again
that oil and water
don't mix.
LOVE REMNANTS
I’m having
a yard sale;
The garage
was too small.
FREE WILL
I can’t be a saviour,
but I wish I could,
just this once.
If only you’d allow me
to heal the pain, or
at least give you
the comfort you need;
But you won’t.
Watching from this distance,
knowing what I know,
is almost unbearable.
A WOMAN THING
Your kisses are full of fire
and your touch reveals
an urgent passion;
An impatience to satisfy
the obvious desire
that’s between us.
But I need to hear the words;
your words, because
silence leaves doubts, and
actions aren’t always louder.
LOST IN CYBERSEARCH
(Ode to WebPersonals®)
Once-hopeful messages
left unanswered
hold more promise
than mindless chatterings
in little boxes.
Endless quests for
instant gratification
give way to lists
of requirements
yet to be met; and
faceless seekers
verbalizing expectations
get lost in the
power surge of illusion;
causing everyone to
miss the point.
ALL TALK
When I was six
I had real
conversations with
imaginary people.
Now that I'm fifty
I have imaginary
conversations with
real people.
AGELESS BEAUTY
For whatever reason
It didn’t work out
With your perfect
Little young thing,
Life is still an option.
So why don’t you
Have a go with me?
Try me with
The not so firm
Breasts and behind,
The beginnings of
Another chin, and
The laugh lines
Around the eyes.
Those battle scars
From life might
Allow me to be
More tolerant of
What she didn’t
Find worth the time
With your ass!
COFFEE TABLE VENEER
I have pictures
that I’ve saved
in my mind,
Much better than
an album;
Available at will,
shutter speed slow,
focus slightly off;
For the selective
memory that hides
the dark tones.
POCKET PROTECTOR
I've seen your kind -
Hope is keeping you
with pieces of
a broken love
scattered about
in pockets.
She allows you to
take them out
to try to make some
sense of it;
never quite, but
someday perhaps
Two will fit together
IN CASE OF FIRE, BREAK GLASS
I have no walls
been down for months
I'm much softer now
but beware, it's all
smoke and mirrors
so don't be fooled
by this outward calm
my emotions are on hair trigger
and all you have to do
is look at me
MATTER OVER MIND
Left Alone
with my thoughts
Until the light
is not the same,
My mind runs out
of control when
darkness moves in.
Having no place
to hide in the
familiar void,
Light seeks
its shelter
behind doors,
illuminating corners
and small rooms.
A mind is a terrible
thing to waste.
FRANKLIN PLANNER®
RUN AMOK
I didn’t expect
to connect
with anyone
like you today –
No one at all,
for that matter.
My hair’s a mess,
runs in my hose,
wrinkled linen dress;
Slip hanging out and
other underwear
visibly askew.
And what in the world
are all of these
sparks flying
every which way
on this most
unlikely day?
This wouldn’t have
EVER happened
if I had planned it!
Should I pencil
you in, or is this
worthy of real ink?
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
Time to think is dangerous
for us wise ones, and
even for the dimwits;
Decisions made
outside of the
heat of passion
may be better, but
Pain knows no
boundaries of such
thought, and leaves
its calling card despite
locked doors.
WHY NOT?
You are not a poem;
I can put no rhymes
to our moments.
You are not a song;
I can put no words
to our music.
I can’t even think.
So why are we here
if there are no words
and no music
to complete the thought?
TIME ZONE
He's at that age when
he wants a fling;
I'm at that age when
I want forever.
PREMONITION
DEMOLITION
Sensing
Somehow
That death
Is near
She reaches
Out to
Touch him
Accepting
That tears
Will come
With pain
And life
Goes on
Anyway.
JOURNEY
I thought I could
handle going back
to being open
to the fire, but
this losing myself
with you, that total
out-of-control stuff
found only in the
movies is too good
for real life...Wow
ain’t love grand?
Limericks
Here are the only 4 Limericks that I’ve written, and I am not sure they can be considered “poetry,” but they are funny, so I am putting them here because I can! They can be a challenge to write, and I have to be in a really silly mood to do it.
There was a young woman named Gillian
Whose assets counted one million.
She took out a loan
For an underground home -
And buried her ass in the hillion.
A Frenchman who loved to eat Brie
Had a habit of sniffing his pee.
On bending to smell it
His cheese took a pellet -
And made quite a sauce on his knee.
A young man with a big snout
Had trouble holding his stout.
When drinking a Guinness
His nose would stick-iness -
And blow all the stout about.
A talented playwright named Karen
Was finding her work quite barren.
She sat and she thought,
But the words came for naught -
When she deleted her script in errand.