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Best Poems Written by Tom Bell

Below are the all-time best Tom Bell poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Tom Bell Poem

A Bad Day At the Eye Doctor's- a True Story

"It was 6 or 7 years ago
Or so I'd like to think
I traveled to my eye doctor..
(I should'a seen a "shrink"!!)

My dad and I we awaited
In a filled up waiting room
Patients all a'seat
Magazines all askew
There wasn't much to say there
There wasn't much to do...

Slowly I did notice
Some odd glances made at me...
Some hand-covered conversations...
Some smirks I seemed to see

It made me feel self-conscious
They seemed fixed looking at me in my seat
When slowly I did realize...
That they were staring at my feet...

I looked down, and to my horror
And much to my surprise...
A sight I could not fathom...
I could not believe my eyes!!!

For one foot was well fitted
with tennis sneaker white...
The other a black dress shoe
It was a startling sight!!!

Now I found how hard it was
to hide one's mismatched feet
I wished to God to run out
And escape onto the street

I was red with great embarrassment
and shocked how stupid I could be!
Had I been that darn sleepy?
Or could I just not see?

Then it slowly dawned on me,
Well, darn it, here I sit....
Proves I need an eye-doctor...
and I don't give a sh__......."

Details | Tom Bell Poem

Old Faithful

No, not a geyser,
Not a woman,
Old faithful sits
Patiently in my kitchen,
Awaiting my need for her

Old faithful is an organ,
Rich velvety tones
Growls when I ask her
Or spits, or even moans...

What a companion
She does make
No need for deception,
No room for fake...

She's gotten me through,
Many a rough time
She asks no questions
She's guilty of no crime

Her teeth, bared...
Ready to rock
She needs no food,
She reads no clock

She takes me away
On many a mystic trip
As we soar together
Joined at the hip

So keep your guitars,
Your trumpets, your bass
This girl is mine,
Smiling toothy face.

Details | Tom Bell Poem

Life Underwater

Emphysema is like 
living underwater,
Surrounded by an ocean
of air,
Which just can't get
where it needs to be
Even if you lie quietly
In your home, your lair

You wake up gasping
As if you ran
Up three flights of stairs
And there are many moments
When you have terrible scares

It's uncurable
It's progressive
It's fatal,
And but a matter of time
you have left
And anybody's guess
Of how many years
you will have lost as a victim
To it's nasty theft

Inhalers, pills,
Nebulizer machines,
You'll do anything to breath
You'll go to any means

Some, like me
Find solace
Only in their sleep,
Others, I suppose,
Only when they weep

But it's the hand
God dealt me
And I accept it
For what it is
And long ago
came to grips
With what I face
in life
And hospital
visits
As familiar as
would be a wife

No one lives forever,
Save Jesus and Dracula,
And I have the advantage
One really quite spectacular
For I have a gauge
A hint of things to come
Makes every joy I taste
More savory than for some.

Details | Tom Bell Poem

Band-Aids For the Heart

the blood of love leaks out
through this punctured 
saddened wound
bleeding hurt unspoken
cries for help unheard,
no surgeon could ever help
the shocking pain of but a word

how one so casually inflicts
such wounds upon those 
they have once told
of their undying eternal love
held tight those two bodies
as she wanted so to hold

yeah, love can be quite nasty,
so disrespectful of your heart
and torture you forever
until from life, you should depart

Details | Tom Bell Poem

Delicate Flower

Delicate flower
So lovely, and so sweet
Ravaged by wind
And rain and summer heat

Joyful to view
With the sweetest scent
Why nature could bring
harm to you
Makes me wonder where God went

I cry inside
I'll never understand
How such delicate beauty
Could come to such evil harm
All I see is beauty
And innocent loving charm.

Details | Tom Bell Poem

To My "layla"

Where is that woman
I so loved so long ago?
And for reasons unfathomed
I love as much still

Beauty beyond compare
to me
Simple in thought
But complex in love

Years of remorse
have run their course
They have worn me down
I admit, I deserve no more
For as i guess oft happens
A fool will hurt himself

Where is she now? I wonder
Does she sleep alone like me?
Or next to someone
She wishes is elsewhere

Or, if blessed with luck-
Entwined in the arms
Of one she so loves

Oh, if it could be me
Foolish me...
Unable to endure
A love so intense
I felt I was losing
my identity
I found this powerful
love, this passion,
almost an obsession
Too scary to deal with

So I walked-
and 35 years later
so much
would love to
retrace my steps...
leading to her...

At least to know
how her life has unfolded
Not to rekindle
Love's embers
I'm not the same
as I was then

Worn down by years
Of abuse and pain
Yet every day
I think of her again

The apple of my eye
Layla incarnate

Once bodies entwined
Sweetest hours of my life

I'm a fool
So much a fool
Regret is my daily meal
Fools deserve no more 

For many years gone by,
And many years to come
I will regret...
The acts of this fool."

Details | Tom Bell Poem

After the Party

It' over, and...
The last guest's gone home
Now you sit there, all alone
Exhausted, drained...
The clean-up can wait
Till tomorrow brings
A brand new date

The pain returns,
Though you'd had a break,
As if you had suddenly
Become awake...

Dishes and glasses,
Spills and more,
Give credence
To your company,
That have passed 
Through your door...

You sit a spell,
Weigh the odds,
Was it fun?
A gift of the Gods?

Now you are sad,
For you are alone again,
Your only companion
Your diary pen...

Too tired to write,
Suddenly it seems
a waste,
All your thoughts
Between covers
Stuck together
With emotional paste

So to your lonely bed
You crawl again
Wishing it was like an older time ,when
A warm body awaited you,
With arms outstretched,
And each night anew
Sweet nectar of love
Shared by our lips,
And not this loneliness
That at your heart rips

Someday, I hope,
Someday I pray,
It will turn out,
Another way,
For loneliness a bitter pill
To swallow,
With prospects of more pain,
With each day to follow.

Details | Tom Bell Poem

Exit Sign

As days go by,
And the pain gets worse,
I long to ride,
In my hearse

That "Exit Sign"
Above the door,
Calls to me,
Like never before...

I'm not a coward,
I'm not a fool,
But living with pain
Breaks the rule...

I hold back, 
in fear of God,
And, I guess,
that's kind of odd,

Yet constant pain,
Just gnaws away
Makes me wish
Today's my final day...

And effects on loved ones,
Escapes me not,
To make them sad
Not a desire I've got

But pounding, twisting
Endless agony
Makes me wonder
How much more for me

That "Exit Sign"
Above the door,
Entices me,
Promising no more

Writhing pain,
Pulsating misery,
So very tempting,
Believe you, me...

Homebound,
Largely bedridden
The meaning of my life,
Seems so well hidden

To die alone,
And in pain,
My destiny,
A life in vain.

Details | Tom Bell Poem

The Body Pillow

I have trouble sleeping,
Yes, that's true,
No matter how many blankets heaping,
They all wind up on the floor,
Yes, that's makin' me blue,
And I don't wanna' stay up no more....

So I went on line,
To some South American place,
They ship goodies oh so fine,
Imagine, from the Amazon River!!!
And they usually come on time

Yes, it's true,
I wouldn't lie to you....
So I ordered this big body pillow,
Bigger than you or me,
And an expensive satin cover,
Oh, what luxury, you see?

I got it yesterday,
Yes, it's true,
The damn thing took up
The entire bed!!
What was I to do??

The two of us can't fit,
I was kind'a feelin' sh__,
Another Tom Bell Dumbbell idea,
What'll I cook up next?
I feel like Ralph Kramden,
Foiled at every turn....
So I took the pillow outside,
Lit it up, and let it burn...

At least I got a little heat,
Out of this dumbbell feat....
What'll I do next?
Why, do I have a hex?

Maybe if I try to do something real dumb,
It'll turn out a brilliant thing...
But, then again, with my luck,
I'll wind up in Sing-Sing.

Details | Tom Bell Poem

Sailing Away

Cruising the Mediterranean
I don't wish to fight any more
I want to enjoy the sunset
On the sea I so adore

Please hold your tongue
In silence,
View the beauty all around,
Tend the sails with care
So we don't run aground

I'll make us Margaritas,
We'll dine in finest style
As our sloop carries us
Through many a sea mile

No fighting, please,
I beg you,
Let this be a sailing
in but total peace,
And anger and misunderstanding,
I pray that they do cease

So hold me as you did once,
No question of our love,
And watch the Albatross
As he flies off with the dove

The soothing sea to rock us,
As if babies in need of sleep
And the new memories we create
Forever shall we keep.