Sunday, May 31, 2015

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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Saturday, May 23, 2015

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.


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Tuesday, May 19, 2015

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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