24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
Awake for over twenty-four hours
at work on a project
pulling an all-nighter
far easier when I was far younger
My clock got sluggish at three A.M.
and all I hear in my
head is Cat Stevens
singing ‘Morning has Broken…’
I need to add
‘… and there aint enough
Gorilla Glue in Minnesota to fix it.’
so while I wholeheartedly agree
with Mister Stevens
maybe I’ll just stay awake.
– Mark L. Lucker
© 2022
http://lrd.to/sxh9jntSbd
In & out
as unintentional as anything else in this godforsaken existence.
Back & forth
lest you drown in your own insecurities & shortcomings.
Up & down as you take it all in stride & keep holding on
Side to side while everything around you starts crumbling
Diagonally as you struggle to cope with what existence has become
Left to right until you can’t anymore.
Pure panic replaced –
Purified by laser calm
Focus; this is life
I once read a book by a guy who
turned fifty, went to circus camp
trained to be a trapeze artist
most difficult lesson to learn
was to let go of the bar
simple concept; if
you don’t let go
you don’t fly
the metaphor
was obviously
all about the times
in life that we should
let go of whatever but can’t
hard to discern difference
fly/fall – can’t let go
a fascinating read
he told how
difficulties in learning to
let go holds most of us
back in some way
tightened grip
no flight
While I have never been on trapeze
I have certainly struggled many times
with letting go and hanging on
two very different
concepts and
while I’ll probably
never learn trapeze
I have in large
part learned to losen my grip –
with purpose and promise
there comes a time when
you just need to
let it go
if nothing else
give your arms
a little bit of a rest
– Mark L. Lucker
© 2022
http://lrd.to/sxh9jntSbd
They took our job
They took my dadgum lawn mower
Stay on your side
for a day a month some years
while we make room
or some similar excuse
Lies or cliches
We don’t want you here
but you can’t get away
Steel jaws snapping shut
Didn’t you ever learn the word:
Deterrent
Perfect matzo ball soup
Is one thing you will find here
Musicians who have played together
For many years
Their homes are long gone
Lost two hundred years ago
Kept safe in the walls
Of the restaurant they run
Many don’t stray far
Or you might get left behind
We often think about it.
The wind at your back, the world
at your heels & you can’t honestly look me in the eyes & tell me you’ve never wondered what a cloud feels like.
But at the end of the day,
returning to the ground,
you realize all you ever wanted
was right beside
you all
along.
Hour 23 Too Loud a Solitude Mary Pecaut
Too Loud a Solitude
(Title After book by Bohumil Hrabal)
In the moonlight
on my balcony
I close my eyes
I never told you
An eyeshadow palette
filled with sand
consisting particles
of broken bottles
of broken shells
carrying letters
found at the seashore,
read them only to escape boredom
Outrage keeps me alive
Gives me enough strength and sufficient energy
To take on again this woefully weary world
I offer no weak apology
care nothing for your silent disapproval
with the way I choose to stay alive
Love is not enough
To stay the onslaught of demons
troubling the waters
I’m keeping on
By holding on
To my righteous outrage.