Best Late(A) Poems
A dusk, a glazed verandah, it's just rained,
a smell of lilac, earthworms and wet earth,
an awkward silence - the confusion chained
my tongue: “What if she’ll laugh at? Is it worth?”
A glass of wine casts the vermilion shade
over a tablecloth, a rocking chair
sways quietly, its oscillations fade
as far as you immerse into the rare
edition of “Les Fleurs du mal”* I brought
for you, a curious nocturnal moth
time and again sits on your polka dot
chintz dress, it’s getting late, a creamy froth
of lilac trees spills out of the garden
through open windows. I lament, I bide
my time. Oh, how the words of love are hard in
such an inclement May…
In June you died.
So many years have passed since then, my love.
Wine’s drunk, lilac is gone, the moth in vain
knocks on the screen, only the shadow of
your chair still sways in my delirious brain.
*(fr.) “The Flowers of Evil” by Charles Baudelaire
12.10.2019
Give Me Your Best New Poem Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Emile Pinet
Your slipping away, I thought you would one day
But didn’t think the day would come so soon
If you jog through the memories in your mind,
You’d see, I was just a few steps behind.
Seems like time flew and we didn’t realise
That we should have held on tight,
Our love now appears like a fruit without its rind
Guess I was late, a few steps behind.
Now this distance seems so endless
We cant bridge it, try as much as we may,
Loose leaves of a book, without a bind
I see someone else waiting, a few steps behind.
Shakes me to the core of my being, seeing where we are
What started so glorious, ending so miserable.
While everything was falling to pieces, I was blind
Now I’m left, a few steps behind.
The air is filled with animosity,
Two strangers in the dark,
As I see the papers you have signed
I think love left us, a few steps behind!!!
Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup
And I'll not look for wine.
The thirst that from the soul doth rise
Doth ask a drink divine;
But might I Jove's nector sup,
I would not change for thine.
I sent thee late a rosy wreath,
Not so much honouring thee
As giving it a hope that there
It could not wither'd be;
But thou thereon didst only breathe,
And sent'st it back to me;
Since when it grows,and smells,I swear,
Not of itself but thee!
It's impossible to fly;
and yet, you kept on trying.
Of late, a tear in your eye
tells me you have been crying.
Time's stolen your youth; that's true,
but there's naught that I can do
that will ease that loss for you.
You once contemplated clouds;
were comfortable in crowds,
and never spoke of death shrouds.
Yet now, you gaze at the sky
and forgo dreams of flying;
the rudiments of wings woo
a spirit, sadness enshrouds.
I'M SORRY MAMA
Growing up I remember coming home,
A little past the time you told me to,
A little late, a little scared all the way home,
Thinkin' of a lie to tell you,
Knowing anything I said you weren't,
Gonna believe me anyway,
I didn't want to disappoint you,
Guess I was ashamed more than afraid,
I'm sorry Mama,
I've always let you down,
When you're dreaming and you're sleeping,
I'm writing all this down,
The devil keeps me awake,
Sometimes for days on end,
But he can't take away my thoughts of you,
My babies, my paper, and my pen,
I'm so sorry Mama,
But mama will you make me just one promise,
Watch over them and the first star in the sky,
Remind them to make a wish,
Mama just one more thing,
For the little angels who lost their mommy,
Please be to them, what you were to me,
And please tell them, I'm sorry Mama.
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of late, a solitary fireman’s sedate, sad sobs
sought some balm for his own dreadful sighs,
missing the “arffs” of a terrier he so adored
his eyes slept alone on nights deep in aching ardor…
till he was summoned and exposed to a blazing
untamed flame, raging a tower wired in wild hazing. in
one giant flash of courage, he threw himself unto screams
of canine thunder. then, a fainting spell. a whisked escape…
brave smoke fighter gradually revived from blinks
of quick stupor by warm licks lapping his ashen skin.
accepting tender scratches of mommy dog’s paws,
the flapping ears of puppies awakened his kindred desire…
as he gazed into a gauze of grateful reverie , hounds
clung to his belly as if he were a daddy pooch leading
a lost pack, now orphaned from dreadful calamity,
yet his rare touch dissolved tiny pups’ grating anxiety…
a blessing poured from all this catastrophe… fireman
was awarded three doggies’ full custody. for gratitude
is known as a prize for risking one’s life; the bliss
of God’s gift bestowed on a man and his new family…
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(( for Joyce Johnson's " Doggy Gratitude" Contest ))
One moment too late, a misconception
what happened to a time well spent
scorched by anger, bedeviled by sorrow, entombed by history
One day was thought to be bad enough
yet it expanded and a week was born
dwelling on the past, perfect innocent happiness
what I learned on when all else failed miserably
Is this a game to nature
why must you toy with me, break me into submission
here take this knife and twist it into my spine
so I know which side you're condemning to be on
so I know which side you're getting your orders from
so I know that'll you stab me in the back at any given opportunity
if not just be on your way
so I can continue my pointless journeys
of chasing rivers upstream to see where they begin
while everyone else in the world can see
I'm just making revolutions in this maze I can't break free
Does love mean anything anymore, I dare to dread not
marriage is more like a chore than ever
and that word itself has many levels from attic to basement floor
now the world uses it as something more delirious, a scapegoat
Everything is going downhill
a fallout of a Wednesday falling away
familiar emotions are the expressions of the day
as I twist and contort, transform into a traditional wolf
howling at the edge of my own little island
for this the only place that could ever make me feel! ! ! .....
make me feel...better...
but I'm never better...I'm never happy...
I'm always alone...always...bitter...
can someone please wake me up from this hallucination
Heart of Swiss
I try to be thankful for each blessing in life
I found my soul mate, though late, a dad for my boys
Life comes with no guarantees
This fact brought me down to my knees
Now he and our daughter wait for me on the other side
Experiencing an otherworldly ride
My youngest has graduated ready to test the world
Seeking out his own unique life
I want to celebrate, yet can’t, too sad
May he never now real strife
I want for my son happiness and prosperity
May it be what it will be
My heart is mending constantly
For each tear I shed is akin to a melon baller carving holes in my heart
I do hold tight to hope that I may meet a new best friend and
My boys will thrive
Still my heart feels like swiss cheese
Sunshine Williams
The strongest woman that I ever saw
was born thirty-four years ago,
to loving parents who doted on her,
told he of the great places she’d go.
She was popular all through high school,
never failed to pull down straight A’s,
was taught to be strong, and never take crap,
a path for women she would blaze.
She had not a head for the hard sciences,
but in business she quickly excelled,
got her MBA from the finest of schools,
a master of finance, and of what sells.
Moving to the city, she got a good job
and proclaimed one day she would be in charge,
she brought in accounts all through her twenties
and was rewarded with a salary large.
She shot up the ranks, quickly at first,
found herself in the office by my desk,
though we were in different departments
it was clear, she was one of our best.
But when she turned thirty she seemed to slow,
though she stood by her stated goals,
and every so often I’d find her staring
distractedly out of her office window.
All of it charged starting one fall day
when she went up for a big promotion,
but her numbers were down, and it went to
a workaholic named Danny Bagosian.
This spurred her on to work overtime,
by coincidence I was doing the same,
alone in the office we got to talking,
what she asked me nearly fried my brain.
She said,”I’m here sixty hours a week,
I’ve no time left for relationships,
and though this may sound inappropriate
I want to ask your opinion on this.
“I could use a friend-with-benefits
to relieve stress and have some fun,
you’re a handsome fellow and it has been
three years since I have had one.”
Now I suppose the right thing to do
would be to run down to H.R.
But a woman like this has a way with men,
and I said,”I’m game if you are.”
So began a secret and torrid affair
that no man could ever forget,
in hotel rooms and there in her office…
let’s just say that I have no regrets.
But as the months went on something did grow
as often happens with ‘benefits-friends,’
at some point we dropped the charade,
no longer willing to pretend.
And in her I sensed something new,
a sadness I’d not before seen,
it came out into the open late a night
when she woke me from a restless sleep...
CONCLUDES IN PART II.
Friday night football lights
His whole life high school sports
A rah-rah father behind him
Overflowing his shorts
Covid-19 postponed many dreams
And left an opening, it seems
For other interests to develop
No longer by sports was the lad enveloped
When football was cancelled
The young man found a new love
Electrical engineering his fascination
And so, he decided, his future occupatin
Now football is back, but not the young man
He's busy studying engineering while he can
As for his stubborn father, he's going to court
To sue the school district ~ a day late; a dollar short
This lonely night
Silhouettes and darkened skies
Nightfall finds a lonely heart
Wishes sent on winter’s sighs
Thoughts on velvet heavens chart
Promises of wind born flow
Shadows dance a slumbered song
Here beneath a full moon glow
Dreaming as the night is long
Parting fields, desire’s cry
Calling out in echoed whim
Imagination, child’s eye
Pleading you were here again
Reaching out for what I miss
Far beyond this empty stare
Seeking endlessly your kiss
Moments in the night to share
The hour late, a silence falls
My eyes now gaze a northern star
Appearing as it softly calls
So very close, so very far
Yet in this vision I can see
Illumined on the sky so bright
That you do send your love to me
So tenderly this lonely night
Good night Soupers
ONE:
At three in the morning the Internet calls out.
Come to the computer; visit friends round about.
All of a sudden, soon pulling hair out,
The lights go off, a total blackout…shutout!
TWO:
Dressed for the country, a total knockout,
In a new white blouse, nothing worn-out,
Marshmallows and smores cooked at the cook out.
Chocolate on the blouse that will not wash out!
THREE:
Friends coming over for a big night out,
Children run to windows; keep a lookout.
Their car slips and slides while they are in route.
Festivities become a complete washout.
FOUR:
Going for a visit, the Interstate route.
A car passes by; guess what is thrown out.
Part of a burger with a Whopper handout,
Right in the face of the driver's shouting snout.
FIVE:
Rushing one morning to the punch-clock readout.
Arriving on time, that day had some doubt.
Picking up speed cautiously on the look out!
BLAM! The tire explodes, too late, a blowout.
SIX
The day's shopping spree had a strange payout.
Smoke from the windows escaping there out.
Eggs were left boiling when the cook went out.
Shells hit the ceiling and the floor; freak out!
SEVEN:
Walking barefooted on a beautiful route.
(Garden shoes were old with the soles worn out.)
Soft-smelly brown embrace toes round about.
Run to the hose to wash the stinky stuff out.
EIGHT:
Planting a garden with success in doubt.
Hoping for sun and for a big payout.
Watering tomatoes in times of drought.
One night of insects, the crop is wiped out!
NINE:
The birthday present would really standout.
Glow-in-the-dark wrapping, would be far-out.
Fluorescence to shine when the lights go out,
But I left it home and arrived without.
TEN:
A walk in the park to get a workout,
Flowers and children enjoyed throughout.
Birds chirp in trees, their favorite hideout.
A direct hit in the eye; bird fallout, wash out!
© October 8, 2011
Dane Smith-Johnsen
My cousin’s daughter was to get married
at a place some 80 km from the residence.
I was asked to drive her there and I agreed,
it was like my daughter’s wedding in a sense.
So in the afternoon of a chilly winter day
we’d started, the bride occupied the backseat
with two other girls, I’d no idea who were they,
must be two of her best friends, I hadn’t met.
All the talking was done by her voluble friends,
the bride was quiet all through the journey,
thinking perhaps of life-changing occasion grand
or by then she was too tired to talk, probably.
We reached the venue late, a full half an hour.
I told them to get down quick and rush inside,
I’d join them and others after I park the car
and bring the flowers I bought for the bride.
When I came back I heard there a big commotion.
The bride who was to come with me was missing.
I realized what had happened in second’s fraction,
went back to the car, found her on backseat sleeping.
Her friends were busy talking, didn’t clearly hear me.
The happening for me wasn’t a thing quite so funny.
June 29, 2018.
Bright sun lit the sky and I lit a joint
and the mood was gay and our spirits free -
down the old coast road to Te Arai Point
on that long dusty trail through Forestry.
As surf breaks rolled in upon the beach wall
we heard the waves over the radio static -
slowly I climbed the jagged rocks should I fall
lest my death, like our camera, be instamatic!
Summer school daze of “substance” over style -
a DB or six in the tussock grass,
when the gulf wind off Great Barrier Isle
blew waves to the shore and sand up my ar-se!
Late a campfire did blaze a windward chill
when long into the night its flame we’d stoke,
and gazed at the stars till we had our fill
with magic silver bullets up in smoke.
I look back now on that castaway beachhead
to my sepia youth frozen in kodachrome -
when back to the world up the backroads led
we hit the trail and the hot pools home.
Summer school daze of “substance” over style -
a DB or six in the tussock grass,
when the gulf wind off Great Barrier Isle
blew waves to the shore and sand up my ar-se!
Written: March 1995
Don't judge before you know
Don't laugh before you go
There's more than meets the eye
A broken boy inside
Trying to fight depression
Fallen prey to the great deception
Life at home is tough
He's almost had enough
Searching for a meaning
Not sure which way to be leaning
Headphones in twenty-four seven
Want's nothing to do with God or Heaven
Lost, confused, alone
Scared, no place to go
Fighting demons deep down
He'd go to hell before he'd make a sound
A glimmer of hope just out of reach
She shows him her ways, tries to teach
An angel in the dark, a bullet hitting the mark
A life line before it's too late, a chance in time, fate
Don't judge before you know
Don't laugh before you go
There's more than meets the eye
A broken boy inside