For Us All

Sorry if this gets kinda preachy at the end, but this is what's been on my mind for a while now. Kinda got coughed up onto the page this afternoon. And yes, I damn well should take my own advice at times.

For Us All

The other day I was exploring

a semi-upscale shopping center dressed

in an old college hoodie, oversized shorts and faded bandana

when in walks a woman dressed

to the nines in her bridal gown.

I smiled to myself, straightened my posture,

and continued browsing.

Now I’m having brunch outside a hipster establishment

eating, sipping coffee, and writing

and all the hoity-toity tourists walking by

keep giving me bad looks.

I’m sure I look like just some young punk,

clad in a black band shirt, beat up black hoodie with a white bandana.

I give them each a hard stare

(to add to my persona)

while smiling to myself.

I know who I am, and lately

I’ve taken a better liking to her:

the girl with a kind word for others,

yet a strong backbone for herself.

Sure, a little rough around the edges still,

but she assures me she is working on that.

So often lately I’ve seen strong-willed people complain

about situations are out of their control or

forgetting about all the good in their universes.

I want to take them

and shake them,

tell them to take charge of their lives and create their own happiness.

Dance alone in the city streets at midnight

to the soundtrack running through your head.

Write down each and every thing,

tiny or huge,

that has ever made you smile.

The truth is:

we make and we break ourselves.

Be kind when you can,

stand up for yourself and your beliefs.

and make sure to show the world your strengths.

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Age of Innocence

Age of Innocence

Him: I hate all these kids

nowadays, crying over Justine Bieber!

Don’t they know that there are actual issues

to be concerned with?

Me: Calm down, they’re young,

the terrors of the world will hit them

soon enough.

The next day we all watched

in horror as a madman

gunned down 5-year-olds

and stole the sweet butterfly chasing

innocence of an entire community of children.

We know violence, brass knuckles, blood, death

as adults watching others

too often with weary eyes

waiting for them to strike.

Yet we try to shield children

from the news of planes flying into towers.

We are left to to figure out how to explain

cops, vigilantes, and madmen

killing unarmed citizens

and stealing loved ones from their families.

I miss not having to worry

about the world

destroying our innocence.

-----

Alone

Happened to see dVerse poets pop up today, so I looked to see what they were up too. It was a prompt for a poem, 2am. That's it, write a poem that contains "2am" somewhere in it. I thought it was fun, and wrote some in my head while driving home this afternoon. When I actually sat down to write, I came up with 2 poems! This is the one that I like the best, maybe I'll post the other one tomorrow or something. Hope ya like it, tell me what you think! And check out dVerse over at http://dversepoets.com/! Fun group, haven't wrote with them in a while. Oh life, you move so fast sometimes!

Alone

I like the middle of the night,

it’s the time when I get to be truly alone

with my thoughts, my actions, myself.

Yes, sometimes my mind clicks on ‘him’

and I’m left sobbing for hours

curled up on the hardwood

unable to release myself from the hell-scape in my brain.

But there are also nights

just past 2am, when the neighborhood is silet

and I dance in the kitchen

while baking brownies

knowing that I won’t be interrupted by life.

Some nights I’ll crack a beer,

later than I know I should,

drinking until my head gets hazy

and I remember every damn little thing

that is wrong with myself,

and I question if I can truly get through another night.

And I just want to reach out

to someone who cares,

but it’s too late

to disturb anyone.

I like the nights

when I’m trapped in a book

and I don’t even notice

that the sun set hours ago

or the change from night to morning

until I happen to glance at the clock

that reads 3:30am.

But it doesn’t deter me

as I think Okay, just one more chapter

and shift to my other hip

enjoying my freedom.

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