Best Closures Poems
I had hoped there would be a 50th class reunion for my class of 67.
Instead, I got word the other day that Aggie High is closing its doors.
For four years, I was taught by some of the finest teachers in America.
For four long years, I filled your library, classrooms, and walked your hallways.
I was challenged and succeeded in math and was greatly inspired by my Biology Classes. I was arrested and captured, moved and mesmerized, by my charismatic History teacher. I even listed on your honor roll and sang in your very respected and talented choir.
I moved away 50 years ago and unfortunately, I have visited you only two or three times since. Just a few months ago, I was privileged to dialogue via telephone with my Art teacher's wife. Perhaps he knew of your coming closure, but he wasn't home to inform me.
O Aggie, I am sadden by the news, but I have come to understand such matters. O Aggie, it's interesting that you have joined a long list of changes and closures in my life. It's also interesting that things I once thought would be history, instead are now current events. Furthermore, it's interesting that, like many of my past acquaintances, I always get little warning.
O Aggie, all things have beginnings and endings, but know this: you have been a launching pad and a gallant educator, rocketing many of us to the stars. What you have instilled in us is forever credited to your account. You have fought a good fight, and your course is near the finish.
My eyes are getting watery Now. So I must cease and desist, lest my proud and tender memories of you get the best of me.
04082017 PS Contest, Paschal Premier, Brian Strand
by Mark Miller © 06/15/2014
Signs stained white written by twilight's blacken Knight,
Raining silent sights depressants drown the conscience might-
Feeling venereal waves sullen air on standing skin shivers
Ridding stallions frailty of fear scorn folly appears,
Warning scent of scowl substance -
Seeking in cause and effect applies not in this lullaby,
For the mind belongs to it's own song and dance-
Willow trees weep beside the empty fractal houses,
An ethos fills body's soul with a depraved dreadful chorus-
In jostle of moments lined faster a hurried escape from felt hidden disaster,
An alter of one espousing blight of blithely blister-
Sympathetic one of other removes contents in empty pockets,
Seeking aloft allusions in solutions left lied ring-let-
Daemonic cutting deciphered experimentally-
Winding winded two halves distract obvious facts completely,
Attics into Usher's velvet windows asunder lightening's thunder,
Horror's glory retreats toward sisters end read story
Lightening revealing THE frighting fury hour-
Days of three seal homes sickened manner strayed lost honor,
Violins play chimes of melody clocks delay frayed fractured decay-
Answered doors store stealth terror of sores
Whispers in absent scenery closures presents history-
Sickle red sorrow drowned disease roams hallways demented path of jester become,
Pallor color companions eclipses my natures being to be-
Capacity particulars a ghastly gloom
Thus is our dissolution for reservations inside our Mansion of Doom-?
Pools of Longing
Sara L Russell, July 9th, 03:11am
That it might come back to me, that sweet sensation,
When i would reach out my arms across the cool light blue ripples
and push off from the side.
Then would i glide
out across the water, as a white crane glides across the sunset,
as a white cloud hurries brightly on a warm southerly breeze.
There are trees
when I go walking; butterflies and wild flowers too. They seem
comfort enough for a short time, in parklands and along the lanes.
There are trains
I may never ride on, there are buses I am still rethinking,
There is time enough for drinking in the the cafes and the bars;
But oh my stars,
what would I give to go back swimming,
gliding weightless once again, free as the birds that skim the sky.
The clown
Circuit circuits
moving round in circles
swings and roundabouts
junctions dead ends
living closures and
beginnings
The fool wise man
woman child in all
posits mocks
understands the world
beauty horror
misgivings paths
ahead and gone
retrieved adventoured
learned felt inspected
long gone present
Re-chisseles
comprehends in
jest and wonderment
The jester
foolhardy
and foolproof
scribes in stone
and pencil
when fool’s gold
is just enough
where paradise
develops based on
hopes beliefs
and inner truth
The clown speaks
joy in face
of darkness
insight desperation
inspiration sweating
away the clouded
skies of dogma
digma paradigm
A joker true to
juddered jibes
jewels miracles
astonished tunes
informal charters
melodies and scented
wordings
bridges schisms
buffering the madness
infinite insanity
impoverished delusion
A senseless idiot
giving idioms
meaning iconoclastic
impromptu impropriety
making sense of what
there really is
A bubble blower
whistle blower
soapy gentle creature
carbolic and pugnacious
peaceful warrior
observing pulchritude
a journeyman
The circuits circle
circuses' loops
and rounded
loopholes spirals
intervening interweaving
fabrics
tapestries
makes
the clown
SUTAIH
H * H
I * I
A * A
T * T
U * U
S * S
And then it unfolded like a zipper that opened
teeth gaping through hollows worse for wear
top stop loosened dichotomy schisms exposed
slider with no way to go crying out for the past
time for perspective and to turn over the page
S * S
U * U
T * T
A * A
I * I
H * H
Am I missing something the aperture?
Should I weigh in with an anagram or
break the interruption suspend the breach
mind the gap right there at the interval?
DEPARTURE
ENRAPTURE
RECAPTURE
CLOSURES
JUNCTURE
HARMONY
Not everything broken needs to be mended
paradigms shift chasm is there for a reason
an open wise person searches new meaning
when things fall apart and repairs breakage
who needs a zipper when needle and thread
play with buttons and rearranges their needs
06th February 2021
All of my texts go unanswered
My anxious calls slither to voicemail
I glance at the huge grandfather clock
My hands distractedly sorting the mail
I then check my trusted wristwatch
Its hands surely creeping beyond six
Reprimanding my heartbeats to calm
Some dinner I start to fix
The traffic check on the radio
Always has my undivided attention
Crashes, injuries and lane closures—
Your name to God I overtly mention
Those metal and rubber monsters
Frantically accelerating to get ahead
Send a prickly chill down my spine
As I mix the dough for bread
The walls around seem to move closer
The heat of the oven is stifling
If only you could call me once
Waiting and willing for the phone to ring
Written on:-2/23/2017
No one is watching on but you,
Arrested in the familiar and unfamiliar images,
Getting to know the stranger you have been avoiding…
The one that no one understands but yourself…
Who knows how they appear to you?
But they do,
And your heart COLLIDES with several emotions,
Brewing in the soup of your every being,
Listening…tasting…smelling…feeling…seeing,
Crippled and yet whole with the picture before you…
You are seeing your favorite people and your enemies,
The LIES you have told…the ANGER you had with them…
The desire SPUES outwards…
You are now asphyxiated with happiness…
Your favorites are leading you on towards a beautiful, visual memory!
It is so simple,
And yet it is captured in complex detail on this projection in the sky…
SEE ME—cries your heart…shivering…SEE. ME.
The spine tingles to the haunting melody that the dialogue provides…
Your defenses are so low now that you are completely exposed to every memory you have locked up or sold…
They are coming back vividly—in silver and GOLD!
And the blasting fires of coldness can NEVER melt them down!
Softly,
You nod as the projection flickers,
As your all-too-familiars,
Your hobbies…favorite foods, people—falling down the skies like raindrops,
Flow straight into your cold exposure,
WARMING you—it feels so good…
You feel RIGHT…because you are…
Conclusions are merely introductions,
So put on the guts, the blood, the skin…
Underneath it all you are pure beauty within,
Designed to fulfill something greater than you can ever imagine,
Designed to master, though inclined to KILL…
Your purpose is never clearer,
When at the end of the movie—a revelation is forming…FORMING!
Your skull closes like two iron doors,
Closing in all of the closures…all of the unrevealed…
And looking forward—through emotions evermore,
ALWAYS looking forward,
And reflecting upon your new…
FRIEND.
Four Cafés
------------
Four cafés were at the extreme left of what I could see from my apartment window. There they were, sparkling in the cold night, trying to stand in for stars in the cloudy sky. I had visited these café-bars one by one as they were opened within the space of a year, all offering similar food: runny egg, soggy chips and pale baked beans. They had a touch of European chic in the quaint condiment containers, otherwise I could have been anywhere.
I looked for some time at them on that January night, their being the only buildings of interest in my vista. Word had it they were all owned by the same man, which may or not explain why there were no closures. As I stared from my high up space, a solitary man entered the third café, otherwise I saw no one. I expected he was the owner. There he would be then, in the café called "Bar Three", reading the evening paper. That evening the paper was full of a murder story. Perhaps, but no... He was a genteel type, wasn't he? But there again, one can never be too sure... I decided to look for a new apartment the next day.
THE END
2/16/2023
And when it ends suddenly, unexpectedly,
You start to count.
First on the days, then the hours - then
Just counting until 100
Then
Beginning again.
The dead find their faces
The living count faces
Then most forget
Unless the face has your DNA in it,
But you remember the body bags
Being moved around in the night,
The nurses crying,
The lies being spread,
The excuses,
The obfuscation,
The blundering incompetence
Of bureaucracy and officialdom.
The elderly kept in deathcamps
that used to be nursing homes.
The grinning mayors
And governors.
It’s going away now.
Less and less each day.
It’s going away now
It’s going to a place
Where the living cannot find it
It’s going away now.
And suddenly you are very angry
About the stupid shut-ins and the shut-downs,
The politicization of tragedy.
The muddled and slanted statistics
The ridiculous projections,
The false data.
The contradictions and bluster.
The draconian regulatory and government
Sponsored power grabs.
The gagging and intimidation
Of workers.
The trashing of basic freedoms
People
Jailed,
Fined,
Harassed.
The banning's.
The right to collectively worship denied,
Peaceful protest denied.
Businesses forced into bankruptcy.
The unemployment
The waste.
And destruction.
The sundering of families,
The needless school closures,
The suffering that led
To clinical depression and drug overdoses,
The disdain of those
Who rejected commonsense remedies.
The manipulations
And machinations,
All the willing useful fools
Chorusing together to tread down
Democracy.
The grinning talking heads
Who doctored the news.
The attacks and the cancelling
Of those who begged to differ.
Dissenters labeled conspiracy theorists.
The cover-ups:
Gain of function.
GAIN OF FUNCTION.
The dumb mantra of the ignorant
Demanding we 'follow the science'
But the science was wrong
The scientists lied
They lied.
They all knew
AND THEY LIED!
And I am still counting
In case it returns
And I have a lot more things to count,
Lots more to tally and be made
ACCOUNTABLE.
Heat creeps across unsuspecting December
Screech of insects' pitch is matched to previous years
Mirror humidity shimmer doesn't remember
Last Summer a virus spread, inducing freshened fears
Wuhan's worst nightmare went worldwide, disease severe
Several thousand consecutive cases, shameful peak
Our Great Southern Land was not immune
Inbound travel halted, disallowed devastating leak
Early government fumbles, finger pointing ensued
Rapid lock down restrictions lifted by June
State border closures remained in place longer
A flare up occurred in Victoria, quarantine bungle
Vic. locked down, remaining economy grew stronger
Spread of virus in other countries spelt massive trouble
Neighbouring nations flip flopped with indecisive struggle
Spring saw Australia for the most part triumphant
Melbournites wore their masks extra month, assisted
Restrictions eased had little effect on usual daily function
Summer sees us hanging lights as though no Virus existed
Carbon Christmas displays blink brazenly, holiday spots listed
Continent apart from swathes of rampant tragedy
We browse store windows in Season's spirit, unconcerned
Saunter of Aussie camaraderie permeates happily
Disastrous for business, but for lots of folk, a forgotten term
Corona, a refreshing ale once again, smothered cheer returned
1st December 2020
Queensland, Australia
(devastating for many, - despite smug
tone of poem, I am deeply sorry)
Disaster, devastation, death and destiny
Headlines, slay us every day
Not since some time-past history
Were people stricken - this terrible way
Self-isolate and stay indoors
Restrictions with fines or time away
No longer can we feed our mores
But food and exercise, work is ok
It feels surreal, it's like a dream
Financial stuff, we handled well
Chook flu, SARS, MERS, seen and been
Covid-19, time will tell
Early, people reason slipped
Control and manners something past
Basic items scare or clipped
A moment there, then taken fast
Masks, gloves - social distance we make
Two in number is allowed
Border closures, states do make
Vaccine will find - government avows
Pain and hurt is spread worldwide
Striking elder, and also young
Doctors, careers, no place to hide
From bats in Asia, they say it sprung
It's early days and seems ok
But time to come, will tell
Hope is governed, by news each day
Life, by the toll of the bell
Once time's second hand
did slip into mine
…delicate enough
Even as all of me, he grasped
for-ever the paradox
Then tiny fingers, swiftly probed
Experiencing me?
Crossing unhindered
o'er palms, crevices and closures
Then deeper, delving
into my many
…lifelines entwined
So swiftly seconds go
Mostly moving unseen
So many they seem to be
Stretching Forevers', too belong
Yet of our seconds coming
we do not care to know
(Else we do not share to show)
Until its time to leave
Then they are all
...Countable
So it was just then with me
as Times second hand loosened
Having known now, every me
and I he; scarcely left
…Feeling my mortality
When they are of urgent needs
When of looking back regrets (indeed)
Lucidly revealing within seconds passing
Some days, sometimes, even weeks
Most men would give, if for theirs
…Returning
When they are of late arrived
Most years, even decades
some men would gladly trade, even
every possibility, if only to breathe
…Just one more of these
Now this second is passed
Both done and undone of me
Elsewhere’s minutes are pushing
I notice this hours getting late
Sweet juices spilt Spring, free thee greeneries
ye lands amend, then weave to Summer's eve
ere its proclaim windswept name, a said leave
from Indian grabbed drum who beat the trees
sown years to be, made wholly thick of leaves
that fairs their surrender the length life cleave
presence parting, color-filled glimpses, grieve
end tone boughs under the rainbow it heaves.
Promised life gift wrap, belly breathless dews
touch, process the fallen heaps, hues go dark
as arched sensed the passing, a rainbow drift
abroad, probed closures, 'tis bit of year, clues
deem it's Autumn, chills stretch a wintry mark
tho' Thanksgiving's present in the swing shift.
Thoughts of my abuse courageously spirals out of control
No drug in this world can conquer this raw resilience…..
Its ability to conivingly creep up with silence leaves the deepest wounds
The pain is unbearable I have yet to understand this power of a weapon in which wins each torment
Let alone in the utmost cunningly yet destructive way
Im defeated and weakness follows so forth comes embarrassment
How do i lack such intelligence
The approach was Louder than a lions chilled skin roar.
Forgiveness knocks but mercy is not welcomed
No excuses can fulfil comfort towards complete lazy Disappointment……..
Each night brings me to my knees as tears fall heavy like the most powerful minnesota treacherous flooding lakes
Visualizing what surrounds me are only false hope and Broken unpairable glass
Each piece screams such ear reckon evil words verbal abuse
so damaged and runned down that hope is no longer in my dictionary of self motivational fall back techniques I have created for myself
While no one knows the real secret of how my own mind is responsible for unanswered closures or true self healing
Its a simple Commonsense math equation
FLASHBACKS MULTIPLIED BY ABUSE EQUALS DEEP CUTS LEFT WITH BLACK AND BLUE MARKS THAT BRUISED
Taken amongst places far from this limited man built world
I was a new mother being stripped of all my female qualities and told I’m worthless his sloppy seconds was all that I deserved.
A cognitive creature
With the mind of a preacher
Trying to understand
Life’s latest feature
Slammed daily
With glitz and glam
All pretty boring
And all a huge scam
Everything is designed to fail
From the day your born
Throughout life you flail
No getting ahead
Just falling behind
Making a pittance for a daily grind
Nothing to get excited or look forward to
Lockdowns and closures
Signal depressions que
People are tired and short
Screw the elite you retort
Enough is enough
Of your fanatic control
I’m aware of the situation
I know the toll
Keeping me safe
While crushing my soul
I know the routine of your daily spew
You rinse and repeat for the masses to view
Well, here’s something for you to chew
Shut up already………… We know what to do
Eric (and sometimes not)