HOME                              Ramblings about “Poetry”

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click Title to jump to poem, Click Back arrow to return, Click Back again for HOME PAGE  

 

FAILURE

AWAKENING

VICIOUS CIRCLE

GATHERING OF SOULS

MY POETRY

INSIDE

A POEM I DIDN’T WRITE

NOT ME

BLANK PAPER

NEW RHYMES

THE BEGGAR

POETRY IS A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE

WHY?

FROM WHERE?

THE DOOR WITHIN MY MIND

CYBER MISTRESS

THE THEATER IN MY MIND

CHALLENGE

 

 

FAILURE

 

Upon a paper I put words

          A poem, I had thought

Better I had not begun

          My efforts came to naught

 

The tempo, it was accurate

          The rhymes did work, I guess

But taken as a work of art

          It caused me great distress

 

Like a robot old and gray

          No eloquence appeared

Not worth the paper written on

          An occurrence I had feared

 

The door to cosmic inspiration

          Didn’t open up for me

Though eyes and ears had strained for help

          No vision came to be

 

And in the end I failed to be

          The poet of my dreams

I’ll have to wait the door to open

          Or waste a hundred reams.

         

 

 

AWAKENING

 

I read a rhyme sent by my love

          Some thing in me awoke

Words and thought sprang eagerly forth

          Some serious, some…  a joke.

 

From whence it came I cannot know

          But this I must admit

It brings me joy and deep release

          Tests my perspective and my wit.

 

What a wondrous thing to find in me

          A form of expression new

Creativity I knew was there

          Poetry brings it in view.

 

I’ve read with relish poetic works

          Since I was just a child

I’ve not considered trying my hand

          The thought was just too wild.

 

It’s more than rhyme and verse, I knew

          Thoughts delicately restated

The structure makes the meaning clear

          The soul to mind related.

 

The eye and ear are instruments

in the music of understanding

The poet sorts the cacophony

          Introspective thought demanding.

 

The poet is a painter

          For color he has word

His palette’s truly infinite

          His meaning’s clearly heard.

 

The poet paints a picture

          For the mind, not for the eye

Perhaps that’s why in truth he makes

          Between heart and soul, a tie.

 

What ever else can be said

A poet’s catalyst

He smoothes the words or jars the mind

          A facile velvet fist.

There is a  reason beyond my knowing

          Poetic words do fly

Direct into the readers being

          Without a second try.

 

Perhaps the secret, truth be told

          Lies somewhere in the might

Of a symphony of feelings

          Camouflaged in sounds of sight.

 

I do not know the answer

          Only know that I must try

For to let my thoughts lie fallow

          Begs the question, to live, why?

 

 

 

 

VICIOUS CIRCLE

 

It has become my nature lately

          To write when I have need

Express emotions from my deep

          See where it will lead

 

But now I’ve found a new perspective

          Write to keep in shape

Like muscles left unused untried

          My mind begins to ache

 

If I don’t open wide the door

          Write down what comes to mind

Frustration and distortion come

          Concentration I can’t find

 

A vicious circle I have come

To be a part of now

Expression past is requisite for

          Expression new somehow

 

 

 

GATHERING OF SOULS

          (Poets meeting)

 

We fill the room in silence, each

          Bearing secrets locked

Prepare to be examined, while

          Our hearts are nearly stopped

 

Strangers on the surface yet

          Kindred in our art

Who shall be the first to loose

          Their cargo, selves impart

 

Soon the room is filled with more

          Than words or sounds or rhyme

Beneath what seems reality

          We have vanished out of time

 

We visit each another’s mind

          Feel and know and see

Find we’ve traveled far from home

          Tried our locks with others key

 

We view ourselves through eyes anew

          Hear voices not our own

This gathering of souls has wrought

          What tomorrow will be sown

 

 

 

MY POETRY

 

I sit here thinking, thinking, thinking

          How to improve my fare

My poetry isn’t right, I know

          The best’s inside somewhere

 

I realize the rhymes I make

          Seem to do the job

But eloquent, the words are not

          True meaning they do rob

 

I make my point, I give the thought

          I bring a light to shine

I try to motivate the heart

          And sometimes I do fine

 

But deep inside I sense a lacking

          To really strike the chord

That moves men’s souls and calls to action

          The crusaders upraised sword

 

I feel just like a child

          On skates the very first time

I manage to keep my balance

          But grace is not yet mine

 

I guess it just takes practice

          To manipulate the lines

In ways that stimulate emotion

          With transparent chosen signs

 

What I do seems all too easy

          To really qualify

As poetry quite worthy of

          The literary eye

 

I guess I want my words to carry

literary weight

More than cute, I want to be

          A factor in someone’s fate

 

I want to make a difference

          In a world gone mad, irate

I want to save the little things

          To which we can relate

 

 

I want to be a beacon

          Shining light on human drama

Saying things that need be said

          Steady insight, not a stammer

 

I know to get the job done

          I must write in such a way

That all who read will listen

          To what I have to say

 

To turn one phrase is easy

          And amusing if done right

But a phrase does not a poem make

          Consistency’s the fight

 

The words you read must draw you in

          As if I’m in your head

You must feel what I must feel

          If I’m ever to be read

 

The thoughts I leave with you

          And the feelings must have might

To haunt your waking hours

          And sometimes split your night

 

It might be laughter, might be tears

          As long as I remind you

That life’s about relationships

          A review of life you’ll find due

 

If I can help one life improve

          By encouraging introspection

Or rearrange a twisted view

My words to nudge correction

 

I’d feel my efforts real effect

          Was larger than one person

The world at large would benefit

          My words more minds would nurse on

 

The word, ‘sbeen said, is mightier than

          The power of the sword

I want to learn to use it right

          To shatter thoughts abhorred     

 

Of course I am presumptuous

          Thinking profoundness is my talent

But If I don’t try my best to help

          I’m not a soul so valiant    

 

We all must do what e’re  we can

          To move this world ahead

While maintaining sensitivity

          Requires a seasoned head

 

What good it does to live a life

          That’s sterile and unfussed

When all the richness we could want

          Is relationship born of trust

 

It’s my job then to focus on

          The insights that improve

Expressed in words that stimulate

          And obstacles remove

 

To re-examine all that is

          From every possible angle

To find significance and meaning in

          The ways we do entangle

 

Our lives are all the same and yet

 They all are very different

Differentiated by our view of life

          Perception is omnipotent

 

Perception is the trade I ply

          Serious poetry is the medium

My job done right sends words in flight

          But hopefully not in tedium

 

The work at hand is serious task

          A daunting undertaking

But this is challenge I take on

          I’m a poet in the making

         

 

 

 

INSIDE

 

The more I write

          The more I see

The inside of

          The one that’s me

 

 

 

A POEM I DIDN’T WRITE

 

Last night a poem I did not write

          In my duties I was derelict

My love awaits,… eager to see

          The words she’s come to expect

 

Heavy load, creativity

          Beginners luck I suppose

That rhyme has come so far to me

          As if I turned on a hose

 

I usually find that if I sit

          With pencil in my hand

The ideas come, eventually

          If in my seat I’m able to land

 

As you can see, I’m writing rhyme

          To tell you why I can’t

A conundrum of immensity

Can you understand?

 

Actually the Ideas do come

          In the strangest times and places

It may be from a comment heard

          Or looks on strangers faces

 

Sometimes the lines are serious

          Sometimes the mirth sneaks in

For too long I can’t be serious

          Off center streak begins

 

I have the tendency to be

          Very Nashish or Zeussian

No matter how I cover it up

          Humor seems to win

 

I guess that’s good for you and me

          ‘Cause other wise you see

Serious gets me bored quite quick

          And from this poetry I’d flee

 

 

 

NOT ME

 

Higgle piggle, alf and wiggle

          Eeny miney mo

Arf and Frank rudely sank

          Simple, crazy, slow

 

Words that make, no sense at all

          Sounds, but nothing else

A mind set free, no rules of play

          Like frogs and mice and elves

 

Somewhere within this crazy place

          I like to call my mind

Connection doesn’t always come

          Puts foot with orange rind

 

It is a strange, confusing room

          Mixes known with hear

Sometimes while forming serious view

          I end up with a leer

 

It’s like a puppy not well trained

          Performs most of the time

Fractures splits and tears asunder

          But yields some kind of rhyme

 

I’ve learned to gaggle and to platt

          To swive and trolley true

To pick a thought, gurgle ought

          A picture bring to view

 

I cast my line into this pond

          Of words and thoughts that fly

Snag a couple, hang together

          On luck I do rely

 

In truth I do not catch the words

          They force themselves on me

Alf hides higgle, pretends he’s piggle

          It was them, not me, you see

         

 

 

BLANK PAPER

 

Blank paper, blank mind

          How to start, how to find

Ideas to write, words to rhyme

          Tap the depths, expand the time

Twist the view, distort the form

Express in ways not the norm

Look with mind not the eye

          Lift yourself up, higher than high

Feel your way, don’t think it through

          Confuse the brain, which side to view

Think in color, see with ears

          Use the eyes of your earliest years

Drift on the river of feelings not thought

          Know the truths, found not sought

Erupting from deep inside

          From yourself you cannot hide

Surprises come one after one

          Creations born on the run

Internal river, source unknown

          Brings now that previously sown

Endless flow of life’s energy

          Lighting the way so you can see

Fountain of life, essence of thee

          You make your own light, you set your mind free

 

 

 

NEW RHYMES

 

I sit in front my little screen

          Cock my head, new thoughts to glean

Something will come in I’m sure

          I know not how ideas to lure

 

Patiently I wait to see

          What strange invention comes to me

Invisible words float all around

          So far my eyes, none have found

 

Depending on the mood I’m in

          Bizarre or pious thoughts might win

It usually is surprise to me

          But shows up quite reliably

 

I learn to listen for the sound

          Of thought emerging all around

And rushing forth to be expressed

          Without from me the least request

 

It does no good for me to coax

          In inertia, my mind soaks

I have to wait them, come to me

          Then spring upon them, lest they flee

 

Gather up what I can hold

          Press them into my own mold

Launch a bunch into the sky

          Give them wings so they can fly

 

Stanza after stanza flows

          Until my poem I’m forced to close

Used up all my captured fare

          That comes to me in moments rare

 

This pattern will repeat again

          As surely as eggs come from hens

But I must wait, my hat in hand

          New rhymes emerge, then I command

         

 

 

 

THE BEGGAR

 

The disk, it is a whirring

          The cursor blinks at me

Expectantly the keyboard waits

          But words come not to be

 

Not a single subject talks

          Inside my head or out

Heavy hangs the silence…,

          Inspiration’s not about

 

The turning of the drive, gets

          Louder all the time

Fills the room, reminds me

          The schedule’s never mine

 

I am a simple beggar, waiting

          For a gift of Alms

The produce of a farmer

          Of otherworldly farms

 

That I can grind and chop and pair

          Create a meal of thought

If luck be good to me today

          I’ll get the things I’ve sought

         

 

 

 

POETRY IS A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE

 

Iggle frath an toogle wath

          Ork en argle don

Speegle arn o boogle do

          Tortle ana won

 

Efa bin an arlen cot

          Deckle ena po

Weekle ora peckle frok

          Orben tinkle doe

 

Missle fortten zella boon

          Acretia nolla den

Willy wolla weckle bak

          I’ve lost my mind again

         

 

 

WHY?

 

Why do I write? I ask myself

          In truth I know not why

My hand is guided by some other

          felt, not seen by eye

 

Words released, I feel better

          But not for very long

 Something inside must have its flight

          Desire for freedom strong

 

The more I reach in to the depths

          Expose new words to light

The more I need to reach some more

          As if the time were tight

 

Like digging in the sand at

          Waters edge with might

The more I take, the more refills

          There is no end in sight

 

 

 

FROM WHERE?

 

Thirty poems I have written

          Six days of this week

Where they came from, not a clue

          Only know to me they speak

 

Feel sometimes, magicians trick

          Is what I come to be

Look inside, nothings there

          But yet it comes to me

 

Words appear on the paper

          Hands do put them there

Mind does see them, understands

          At loss to know from where

 

At times the words are coming forth

          Before I understand

I must read them, see the meaning

          That comes from my own hand

 

I conclude it’s not to be

          For me to be appraised

Of where or how the spirit comes

          I’m continually amazed

 

I’m also somewhat frightened to

          Know the answers sought

I fear another world that

          Up in I’ll be caught

 

That once I’ve opened and stepped through

          I never can return

Once I have the answers, I

          Never can unlearn

 

I rather sense I shouldn’t know

          Though curiosity lives

The details of the process that

          For me my poetry is

 

 

 

THE DOOR WITHIN MY MIND

 

Night is falling, calm descends

Of noise, my head does clear

Like coming in from sun to darkness

          Seeing nothing, my mind can hear

 

Somewhere a thought is making sounds

          As it bumps and thumps about

Giving birth to words and pictures

Tries in vain to exit out

 

Suddenly I am the door

          It comes to me in flash

It flows from out my fingertips

          Like blood from out a gash

 

It starts it stops, an ooze, a spurt

          My mind is just bystander

I watch in awe as it pours forth

          Than my wishes it is grander

 

And when it’s done the door is closed

          No trace is left behind

Expectantly I wait again

          For the door within my mind

 

 

 

                                                         

 

CYBER MISTRESS

 

I’ve been writing poetry for

Far less than a year

I use my small computer, on

          My hands save wear and tear

 

But something strange in happening

          It’s become part of my life

I think I should adopt it

          I’d better ask my wife

 

This will be a great surprise

          The honeymoon’s not over

For me to bring a mistress home

          Is not like bringing rover

 

But at least if I am up

          Writing late at night

She can come, we’ll be a threesome

          Wouldn’t that be quite a sight

 

Computer is my constant friend

          Knows my every thought

Doesn’t tell a single soul

          When I do what I hadn’t ought

 

We’d make a funny triangle but

          Love is strange and quirky

If I get hungry when I write

          It’ll help me draw a turkey

 

It never will talk back to me

          But still I must take care

It knows too much about my life

          With blackmail it could scare

 

Perhaps adoption is too strong

          A tie for me to use

To have a wife and mistress also

          My children might confuse

 

I’ll have to be content to visit

          Whenever writing calls

She is what I create for me

          She is what I install

 

Another way define her place

          By what I just have said

It looks to me like fantasy

          Cyber mistress in her bed.

         

 

 

THE THEATER IN MY MIND

 

It comes to me in fits and bursts

          No seconds only firsts

The things I see and write about

          An all consuming thirst

 

To know about so many things

          I can’t begin to count

I must hurry, learn and study

          Years of panic start to mount

 

Trouble is I never know

          What from my mind will come

Deeply moving songs of love

          Or tweedle dee and dum

 

Dark and serious worldly worries

          Or smiles that I have seen

Saving grace for me has been

          The following calm, serene

 

On and on I’m sure it will

          Take me to the end

A job that’s never finished

          A view that twists and bends

 

Gives me views of things I’ve seen

          In new and different ways

Across the heavens in my mind

          New creations come to play

 

I am the guest invited to

          Perception new unwind

I get my pen, take a seat

Watch the theater in my mind

 

 

 

CHALLENGE

 

I have become a poet

          Now I must write some lines

A subject now escapes me

          Panic now inclines

 

Poetry’s not easy work

          As some would have me think

Substance runs away from rhymes

          As quickly as a wink

 

My brain is twisted like a pretzel

          Straining hard to be

Intelligent and entertaining

          With words to hear and see

 

All those wonderful verses read

          Coming back to me

Make the job much harder

          Encourage me to flee

 

Browning Keats and Shelley

          Ogden Nash if you’re inclined

Challenge my inventiveness

          Some verse I must design

 

Not only must the words make rhymes

          But reader’s thoughts must raise

Clever and articulate

          Their passion breaks malaise

 

I may be just a conduit

          For perspectives bright and new

I may light up the darkness

          For the many or the few

 

On occasion I bring laughter

          Sometimes a tear, I stimulate

Words take on a life their own

          Thoughts may please or aggravate

 

Words and thought, Rhyme and verse

All must blend together

Smoothly they must integrate

Like birds of similar feather

Each line must pull you forward

          Toward conclusions yet unseen

Desire, in you created

          To know what words will mean

 

Definitions fracture,

As poetic license reins

Tense dissolves and mutates

          As ideas it explains

 

A poem is much more than it

Seems to be at first

A symphony of sounds quenching

          Literary thirst

 

A subtle mental puzzle or

          A grating irritation

Simple entertainment or

          A fired imagination

 

Its purpose is to tell or show

          An idea or a concept

To stir an understanding you

          Felt before your mind leapt

 

A game is played twixt mind and mind

          The poet crafts the rules

You must sense the truth in hiding

          Before it springs, words are the tools

 

But in the end, hopefully

          Profoundness makes its entrance

Unless of course humor is

          The purpose of this nonsense

 

As you can see poetry is

          Whatever you can make it

Fun and games or serious tale

          Wherever minds can take it

         

It’s time to end this merry jaunt

          A journey through my thoughts

I feel a better a poet now

          We’ve sorted through the oughts

 

                            

I’ll try again tomorrow

          Word and rhyme to paper put

Pour my mind out, split the language

          Tie your mind up hand and foot

 

If your fancy I have tickled

          While intelligent thought I’m making

Then the rhymes have been successful

          And my leave I will be taking

 

If perchance my words have seemed

Just simple utter nonsense

Success again you see, because

I’ve held you to the end hence