My first steps were awkward down the path of life
as I tried to navigate through the strife
As the years loped past like a frightened antelope
I learned to cope
the trail widened in time
as I hit my prime
picking my path
and accepting the aftermath
to stay on the trail
and prevail
but old age slows me down
keeping me closer to the ground
at the crossroad
near the end of the road
-30-
I want to be the next Gary Larson and exist on The Far Side
of the moon
I want to be the young Paul McCartney
and have all the ladies swoon over me
I want to be Lawrence Ferlinghetti
and reinvent poetry
I want to be like John Candy
and make people laugh until they pee!
I want to be Peter Lorre starring in a movie
that’s a classic mystery
I want to be P.T. Barnum making history
with his revolutionary use of publicity
I want to be Howard Hughes known for his eccentricity
and living on the periphery
Most of all
I just want to be
-30-
Insults by the Left and the Right
often end up in a fight
Insults
Assaults
Reverberate
across the country
breaking down civility
Insults like a fungus
grow among us
poisoning society
with maximum anxiety
Insults are like fleas
hopping on hosts
and bringing a disease
Insults
are the results
when communication fails
and anger prevails
ghost peppers are the pinnacle
when it comes to hot as hell
people faint at their very smell
breath escaping from tortured throats
connoisseurs praising the heat
as the best thing to eat
while daring novices
slowly turn a bright red
wishing they’d tried something else instead
the wind whistled through the rafters of the theatre, producing a symphony for the stars
who no longer danced on the wooden stage below
where dramas and comedies once would flow
ghosts of performances long gone gathered in the rickety seats to watch their lives unfold
their personal stories never to be told
only the playwright’s stories will never get old
Laughter and tears
dominated for years
then the bombs came
and nothing was ever the same
the window to my imagination is open
revealing an inquisitive mind
on the other side
a parade
a spectacle
wonders
fantasies
celebrations
exposed
for all to see
for those who
want to know me
***
Let reality fly away
but not suffer Icarus’s fate
like a morality play
meant to recriminate
freedom of fantasy
gives us wings
and virtual reality
that imagination brings
let our visions soar
with inspiration
and passion
to fuel fascination
and creativity
before the altar of curiosity
*****
I was walking barefoot in a concrete jungle many years ago
lusting for a snickers bar in a place that didn’t snow
the intense summer heat
heated up the concrete
but didn’t it burn my feet
that were weathered like fine leather
made hard from living on the street
where I drifted like a rudderless boat
in a sea of humanity
trying to maintain my sanity
while searching
for shangri-la
****
whatever made you look at these lines of cobbled words
stitched together like a tapestry hanging from my imagination
waiting for eternal condemnation?
silly sentences strung out in a parade of useless information
stuck together with super glue and honey – a sweet creation
containing a hidden message that must be lurking near
between adjectives and verbs and visions of a good beer
there lies no motivation for sounding so insincere
it’s simply that
I’m glad you’re here!
***
names of fallen warriors carved
below the castle on the sea wall
invaders all
finally after a century
the towering castle
did fall
past glories reduced to rubble
and human bones hidden
in a secret tunnel
stories told about the ancient ruins spread
across the mighty seas to foreign cities
claiming the castle was haunted by the walking dead
The ragged ramparts are covered with vines and weeds
voices cheering in a cold wind from the past
admiring the castle’s warriors breathtaking deeds
the once majestic towers still stand
a testimony to the castle’s builders
who came from another land
****
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