souls sitting on sheer cliffs
like birds of prey
night and day
for eternity
their view goes on forever
unobstructed by reality
universes unfold like flowers
amidst meteor showers
a truly stunning display
in many a galaxy
far far away
Tag: Poetry
In The Center
what’s in your center?
an enlightening epiphany
or more?
discovering your inner core?
a place to safely explore?
some say
the soul is your center
and gateway
to your spirit
that follows a pathway
up a celestial stairway
to heaven
but I wouldn’t know
I have a wayward soul
that wanders alone
seeking the center
of the universe
and it’s secrets
but
I still wonder why
I can never go home
no matter how hard I try
The Dap
there’s many ways to greet one another
when we get together
hugs and handshakes
have been around forever
there are other ways that are clever
like the dap
which is a slow motion slap
in an intricate pattern of bumps
from one closed fist to the other
a common greeting for a soul brother
the dap
was born in shared strife
as a way of re-affirming life
the dap
a positive way
to get through the day
a comforting display
of brotherhood
back in the day
Treatise on Poems
who are poems for?
the wealthy or the poor?
or is it possible
there’s more?
emphatically, yes!
they’re for everyone
to access
poems are gifts to share
with the rest of us
anywhere
who enjoy a poetic flair
watching words take wing
rhyming with everything
flights of imagination
with every narration
comes from poetry
like leaves from a tree
we gather them up
into our memory
In The Age of The Sage
long before the final war
when forests were still green
and the waters in the rivers
ran blue
there was an age of wisdom
when a sage made his debut
teaching people the right thing to do
he appeared before young and old
and those that were smart
soon did as they were told
he gave them laws to live by
stressing equality
but these laws they chose to defy
and the sage went back into the sky
and mankind discovered the horror of war
and nothing was the same anymore
Days of Typewriters Past
Before keyboards and computers
there were typewriters
transforming words into books
curious machines with odd looks
there were once
keyboard typewriters
single-element typewriters
Type Bar typewriters
Index typewriters
Teletype typewriters
and Electric typewriters
once valuable tools for writers
they’ve gone away
mere curiosities today
but once upon a time
you couldn’t write a poem
a news story or a book
without these machines
no matter how funny they look
Obo the Clown
he was young when he started clowning around
the world his theater in the round
he wasn’t the kind of guy who ever got down
I’m talking about Obo the Clown
he was known for his funny jokes
and appealed to all kinds of folks
by all accounts he was always merry
when talking comedy he was a visionary
he enjoyed playing the clown for the day
and being on public display
the best thing about Obo the Clown
is that everyone wanted him around
Free the Frogs!
the swamp committee
held an emergency
meeting one day
snapping turtles
alligators
and fish were there
concerned over the frogs
welfare
someone locked them up
in a wicker basket
with hardly any air
so the swamp committee
gathered to see
how to set them free
the plotters made a plan
to free the frogs
from the man
when the alligator
approached
he ran
the turtle let the frogs loose
saving them from more abuse
the frogs croaked in delight
throughout the night!
Great Balls of Fur!
they gather under couches and chairs
little balls composed of cat hairs
people everywhere concur
all pet homes have balls of fur
the only way to make them go away
is to vacuum everyday
if you love animals that’s okay
and a very small price to pay
Writing Proper Haiku
writing proper haiku
is not an easy thing to do
it takes narrative skills
and editing with no frills
the ability to condense
three lines that make sense
into English to tell a tale
like the holy grail
where, to our surprise
was nothing more than lies
the use of juxtaposition
honoring tradition
in modern haiku
is still the proper thing to do
(Writer’s note: either this poem stunk to high heaven, or it had the worst title I ever gave a poem! My apologies. Guess it was my time to write a clinker! I’ll do my best not to repeat.)
The Creative Chronicles of Dave Stancliff 