24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
A learner’s license is the goal
Of any typical fifteen year-old.
Though I had a car the year before,
I could only drive to the corner store.
Thank heavens for a small rural town
Where the price of a misdemeanor was just a frown.
Everyone knows who you are
And whether or not you can drive that car.
Sadly, I miss that kind of life
Where mere existence was not filled with strife.
I’d turn the clock back if I could
To show my daughter when the world was good.
What does it take to hold
hot air, to carry the weight
of people and perhaps one dog?
Could I stitch together
silken scarves (hundreds!) by hand
and still float away like
dandelion seed, round and
pregnant question?
There is a shortage of helium,
you see, and these things must
be learned. Would dental floss
be a stronger thread; it’s strong
enough for teeth if pulled
correctly. I would pull it
correctly. I would try.
I would fill bags with sand
to weight, heavy as nursing breasts,
cold as the bottle of Sprite
that burst in the freezer forgotten.
Make of it what you will— there is
work to be done.
“The land knows you, even when you are lost.”
Lost in my tracks
I track back to where
I last remember
Being from where
I started thinking
Down this road
ahead of my feet
leaving my feet behind
unawares
The earth called up to
my mind, whispered
‘wait up’ and I thought it said
“wake up” and so i did
stop in my tracks and after
my feet reached mind
or perhaps my mind reached back
to my feet
and once again we stood together
on the spot of land that knows
where i am
and who i am
and where i’m headed
We call this meeting to order, the council of the stars.
Leave your galaxies behind, we have a serious matter to discuss.
A proposal, a new planet, Earth.
“What will they give us, what’ll be its purpose?”
A warning.
There will be war, famine, global warming.
Smaller injustices, rape, pillaging, genocide, murder, robbery.
They will be our test.
“A test for what?”
To see how long they last before they eventually become their own undoing.
“But sir, isn’t that cruel? What did they do to us?”
They’ve done nothing, they’re not real. I want to send a message for the rest of the universe, that in order to survive, one must not be like them.
“I see.”
“How long will this test run?”
7.79 billion years, unless they prove me wrong.
If they somehow work together, admit their wrongdoings, they can stay.
“Is it likely?”
No.
“Let there be light” and it was so…
And with a flash, it will all go
Back to darkness on the face of the deep,
And those that slumber, those that sleep,
Shall rise through the clouds, to heavenly morn,
Where only light will crown the dawn,
And darkness no more shall reign or shall shadow
And light, alone, will cover all matter.
Leaving darkness below, and lightness above.
One filled with fear; one filled with love.
As a child you played in the dirt
making mud pies for your daddy,
teasin’ momma with the wigglin’ worms
you were a mighty dinosaur, eating trees made of broccoli
growing like a weed
in the dirt
Helping your grandma pick the berries,
one for the bucket and one for your sugar stained tongue
even the sweet peas and tomatoes tasted better, fresh from the garden,
the dirt rubbed off on your jeans
You happily roamed through the labyrinth rows
pretending to be the lost princess of The Great Beyond
no goblins, no bears to catch you unawares
because your dog patrolled this patch of land
he marked it as his which in turn made it yours
the sunshine warmed ground was the best place in town
for a nap with your best friend
suddenly you found a tougher go -round
and “dirt nap” took on a different meaning
but you were tough and you didn’t cry
when they put grandpa to sleep
his watch, yours now, forever to keep
Daddy got lost, he and momma split up
your world whorled wholly out of your control
you left your farm home, decided to roam and find more meanings in life
you found the grass wasn’t grass, but a hoe was still a hoe
and it raked at your soul, you found the dirt
you dug in and smiled ’cause after a while you just couldn’t stay clean
sleeping in laundry rooms, eating the trash
selling your body
’cause you needed the cash
you dug deeper for dragons and fairies in green
purposely dulling your senses ’cause the streets were too mean
Then one day you saw her, or maybe not
looked like your momma, through your head full of snot
the body was older, the figure was lean
but the eyes when they lighted on you, what a gleam!
she knew it was you from the very first glance
she grabbed at your hand and she pulled you away
said you’re coming home, you’re coming to stay
grandma was gone, daddy’d died too
so much had happened while you weren’t you
away from your friends, mostly guilt dragged you through
but as the days wore on she got through to you
This land she said, this land is our land
yours and mine too
we’ll work it together just like before
but this place is our homeland, it deserves your respect
you love it, protect it or get out the door
I been here now twenty years, maybe more
This land is my home, I’ve opened it to you
The dirt’s a lot cleaner than cities or towns
you’ll understand the magic if we’ve children around
for no matter where,
how far, or how long
the lands filled with sirens
forever singing their song
We’ve had one of those for decades,
A feeble attempt by feeble minds
Seeking greatness over duty,
As the wealth trickles down
Into their accounts, not ours.
And we, such fools, sit idly by
A lighted box and learn to fight
For what they say is right.
School for the gullible these days.
Has it ever been otherwise?
Not in my lifetime.
This life in a kakistocracy.
You won’t find it behind any downtown bar
It only comes in a clean mason mason jar
Cool and clear and deceptively strong
Toss the lid to the side, you can’t go wrong
Take a swig and pass it around
Especially if somebody has sorrows to drown
That jar will pass from hand to hand
Tilted back until nobody can stand
That sweet elixir will conjure the best stories
From only the most lewd and off color categories
When the jar is emptied just put it aside
Open a new one and swallow your pride
A jar of good times is never in short supply
It’s the only safe way for a Southern man to get high
When you open your eyes in the morning after going all in
You’ll feel just good enough to get started again
The boat is rocking in a lullaby motion,
The wind the only ruffle on the still small lake.
Above, the night sky is freckled with stars,
Each a distant thought to be discovered.
Down in the depths of the lake murkier things fonder,
Subconscious morass of mud and algae,
Emotions deeper than waking knowledge.
I sleep to the gentle rocking of my craft upon the waters.
I was there
I saw it all
The way the sun mashed about the sky
Liquid all around me
Nothing quite formed yet
Moments of clarity followed by glubbing about with the other cells
We tried to match up, create something
But we were not organized enough yet
Not enough purpose in our DNA
But I was there, I remember it well
Swimming about in chemical concoctions
Waiting for form to form
I was there
At the end
The way the sun marched across the sky
The explosions, one after the other
Until everything was wiped out, everything but thought
We had tried to stop it, but we weren’t organized enough
We just whined about what was happening on social media
We cried at the end, we did
We glubbed around trying to stay informed
We watched as the chemical fried us and our bodies disintegrated
I was there, I saw it all
Watching all form destroyed