Best Lifenight Poems
Socialites
those was good days.
sneakin' out the bedroom window
tryin' harder not to wrinkle our frocks
than not to wake momma
runnin' down the dusty road
with pointy-toe pumps in tote
hopin' we didn't miss too much
of the party.
greeted at the end of the road
by three cats
in they daddy's shiny black Bonneville
waitin' to give us a ride.
they'd be justa skinnin' and grinnin'
thinkin' they might just get some ass
before the night was through.
some nights,
if them cats was slick enough,
they would.
we'd Slide all night at the juke joint.
eatin' pickled pigfeet and
gettin' high off of stump-hole liquor.
tellin' lies 'bout how
we was gonna go to New York one day
and how we was gonna go to Coney Island
for hotdogs at Nathan's.
and then go over to Queens
to find us a soul food joint
for a taste of collards and cornbread.
from there,
we would just follow the crowd to Harlem
and take us a place in line
waitin' our turn to
bow at the feet of Apollo,
god of the Chitlin Circuit.
soon,
he would entertain us with
his dukes and his queens, and his godfathers
and, boy!
that palace would be smokin'!
'course
all eyes would be on us-
the socialites from the sticks-
all dolled up in our fitted skirts
with can-can slips underneath
and the cats in they pencil suits and wing-tips
and all us thinkin'
if only the niggas back home could see us now-
snappin' and tappin' in Harlem
with dukes, and queens, and godfathers.
The simplicity of life
Transparent as black glass
Bordering my ever contemplating mind
And the annoyingly optimistic
High pitched
And easily recognizable
Music of the Beatles
Struggles to overcome
my black soul
And forces the image of Paul and John
As they point in my direction
And shout for all to hear
And all to know
That I'm the real nowhere man
Making all my nowhere plans
For nobody
Just me
Alone in this place
No signs
To tell me where i am
No direction
To show me where to go
All of the houses
Match
No cars
No people
Just a dog
Barking in the distance
constantly
Every second
Of every day
Every night
Of every year
And nothing I can do
To silence the painful
Racking
And never ending noise
As it slowly drives me
Out of my mind
Every second
Of every day
Every night
Of every year
No sleep exists
No thought is clear
And when the lights go out
The grunting starts
Coming from under the bridge
But when I go
To inspect
There's nobody there
Just the growling
Of a disgruntled homeless man
Who's house I picture
Is now floating down
This never ending river
Of noise
As the snoring
The water
And the barking
harmonize
To form an overwhelming lullaby
Dulling my mind
As it goes on
forever
Woof
Snore
Whoosh
Woof
Snore
Whoosh
Pounding my ears
Constantly
Every second
Of every day
Every night
Of every year
A blossoming evening,serene valleys,meadows and alleys
Cottages in distance twinkling little lanterne lights
Indigo moon peeping from blue black velevet skies
Sparkling diamonds dancing through the night
There i lay on fine grain crystals,in my own solitude
finding peace with myself,watching the spectacular view
of a shooting star in temporarily brilliance,crossing over,
acting like a little child,making a wish upon a star
just one wish,as i watched Ugin approaching me
sommersaulting on white puffed pillowed clouds
He had a globe in his hand,a globe where i could see my future
a globe in where my one only wish came through.
On that night i lay down on golden sands
a palm tree the only companion,supporting my back
caressing me with passion, embracing me to safety
All alone I was ,alone and free,in my long white cashmere dress
feeling the breezin of the wind waftin gently through my long brown hair,
breathin on my neck,kissing my left cheek,passing to my right
flowing under my dress, brushing my pink lips,swifting,in circular movements.
That was the night my fingertips found music once again,
on silver strings of a spanish guitar,as my bare feet played with coloured corals
There i was in my own stolen moments,the universe smiling at me,
the angels in radiant chariots flying over,as faries birthed life
and performed an orchestra of magical moments.
There I was gazing at the mediterranean waves in inward movements,
as sailing boats left the shore,reaching far away lands,finding new horizons.
There i remained,my thoughts not anchored anymore,rowing to the ends of the sea
living in waking dreams,smelling flowers in never ending gardens.
There I was,my journey accomplished ,singing the sweetest song of love.
There i lay between verses of awake and asleep,hearing birds tweeterin in trees
as I watched dawn cover dusk and it was sunrise.
bright lights
faded face
catch your breath
before you take another drag
One shot for the pain
two just to kill the rest
euphoria
bliss
one night on top of the world
the next day everything will be okay
party people
party places
party faces
morning regrets
morning kisses
morning goodbye
in the heat of the night
we come and play
watch us
We had a good time
Guys from Woodside, Sunnyside
Greenpoint and Astoria
Leaning on each other
Weaving through the crowds
Towards the exits
Leaving the club
Squeaking out just before closing time
Headed towards the corner joint
Open all night.
Waiting on line
Shuffling
Gotta go
So bad
But first
Stomach bursting for
Cheap burgers
Greasy and salty
Buy ‘em by the bag
Eat them on the way home.
Dark night of New York
All around us
Rich’s man town
Separated from
Working class
By rivers
Zip codes
And generations of mistakes
Nobody talks about it
Nothing to discuss
Just a fact of life
Work with your hands
That’s how things are
If you complain
Nobody listens.
The place is crowded
It’s a late night circus
Counter people rush
Orders fly
From a hundred directions
A razzle dazzle of
Loud voices
Earsplitting laughter
A fight starts
In a rear booth
Irish and Italian guys square off
Just like generations ago
A common refrain ushering
Saturday night to Sunday morning
With a little night music.
Painted like a flower
Breasts exposed for a stare
She waits
For someone
To buy her a drink
In her day
She liked them tough
Tattoos were exciting
Fast cars a joy
Now she prefers
Thick wallets
10’s and 20’s
Men short or tall
Doesn’t matter at all
Be discreet she implies
Don’t flash 50’s
‘Cause no one likes
Them here.
Holding a corner booth
As a place of honor
She holds court
Smiling
At every joke
Reciting lines
From forgotten plays
Playing her part
In a bar
Notorious
For artists and
Working class types
Most of whom
Hate their jobs
Or haven’t sold a piece in years.
No action here
Another dead night
She goes home
Opens the bedroom window
Sending a signal
To a cat
Who jumps the ledge
Walks in
For the night
A stray vagabond
Who
Knows every open fence
And quiet place
To nip a meal.
In the morning she
Opens the window
Stroking his back
Whispering to him
Feeling his strength
Until he purrs
Satisfaction
And jumps
To another day.
She watches him
Take a few tentative steps
Weaving and dodging
Between
This and that
Before vanishing
In broad daylight
He may return that night
Or be gone for days
Nothing binds him
Except an open window
And some food
Offered by a woman
Who understands his journey.
Cardboard lay’s upon the floor
In front of the shop it blocks the door
A tell tale sign of a poor night’s sleep
Warm and dry they try to keep.
Safe inside - we lock the door
Without a thought for the really poor?
When night does fall, the risks are great
A real cold night could seal their fate.
A wash and shave and comb the hair
What could we do to show we care?
But remember this, they feel the cold
And it gets worse as they grow old.
So think about what other ways
You could ensure your good deed pays.
Soup, blankets and toilet tissue
Or stop and chat when they shout “Big Issue”?!
(For people not in the u.k The Big issue is a magazine the homeless sell to raise cash)
as the dark clouds
tear apart disclosing the moon
I make a wish , at the night sky
I wish to see you soon
I think of the times that we spent
and try hard not to miss you
I can't wait to be with you
hold you in my arms, and kiss you
I wish this night would end
and come tomorrow I'll be by your side
I'll tell the world that I love you so
My feelings I can't hide
I wish everything would move fast
and then I would be with you very soon
we'd talk, laugh and dance
beneath that very moon
Form:
linda puts on her lipstick and brushes her blond hair
pulls up her garterbelt and g-string underwear
a black mini skirt and a shirt with no bra
he buys her condoms and sends her off onto the night
to the streets of new york linda finds her way to the track
smiling and waiving to the tricks as they wave back
horns blow people scream police riding around
pimps on the prowl in search of their next ho
slow money causes problems so linda gets desperate
tells the trick she'll cut him a deal for a date
little linda so young and nieve has no idea whhat this trick has in mind
he pulls out a gun and points it in her ribs
tells her not to scream and do what hs says
he drives for an hour and leaves linda to wonder
finally pulling into an empty parking lot
linda knows whats next so she takes off all her clothes
hoping if she abides he'll let her go
he rapes her over and over leaving nothing to spare
stripping away what little dignity linda has left
leaving her in a pool of swet and busted nuts
he tells her to get dressed and to never say a word
with that it was all she heard
he takes her back to the place it all began
linda jumped out the van and ran as fast as she could
her pimp finally finds her all soiled and a mess
without hesitation he strikes her to the ground
the beating continued in front of everyone
what a way to end her night raped and beaten down
linda crawls away to the comfort of her hotel room
hoping and praying that the night was over for good
she jumped in the shower and cleaned her wounds
scrubbing away the blood and semen that painted her little body
linda lies down to rest and tries to forget what occured
this is the only life she knows and with it comes good and bad
tomorrows another day
Form:
Traveling down the night streets
Just to see what I would see
Look down the left by the closed Barbershop
A group of friends chatting
Collapsing the night time by chopping their jaws
Going down by that train station
A couple dancing their night away
By the street light at the corner
A graze of wind takes the wet leaves with it
A beautiful sight
Until broken by the alley across the corner
Dimming the graze by a game of dice
A fight roaring down the entire alley
A body dragged helplessly off the banks
A night mixed and tangled by people
Form:
The sun, an igneous ball, is falling down the sea.
The wave is locked, and a new night is seen.
The fishing boat heads to open ocean
with songs ballooning the sails.
Songs tell numerous silver fishes.
Codfish games’re swimming in a sing file
day and night shining up the ocean.
Come to shine the nets, our fiancés!
Our boat steers to wind with the sound,
surfs between high sky and smooth sea,
anchors faraway to look through blue water,
disposes the net to get that golden sea
It presents snappers, eels, cat fishes,
and garrupas sparkling as eternal flames.
Skates lash their bright yellow tails.
Poetically, Galveston’s sky with stars is fulfilled.
We sing songs to welcome fishes.
The high moon accompany for its friends.
Sea gives us fishes as a Mother’s breast
which raises us from the first foods.
When stars become dull, nets are strained,
tightened encirclement because of big source.
Bright tails flash over the entire ocean.
Folded nets and pulled sails welcome the sunshine.
Songs‘re ballooning the sails.
The boat races ardently with the sun
which is wearing the sea on its head,
and fishes’ brilliant eyes look for their shore.
Form:
Sometimes at night I
Sit down on my bed and I
Cry until morning.
Sometimes at night I
Run across the grass barefoot
And lay in the stars.
Sometimes in day I
Lay out in the sun and I
Just think about you.
Sometimes when it rains
I walk out in the water
And I just stand there.
Sometimes when you’re here
I can’t stop thinking about
How much I love you.
Sometimes when you’re here
I just stop thinking about
Everything but you.
Ink black liquid shadows
pour across the lawn.
In blue air
cats glide in and out of moonbeams,
slip into pools of darkness –
disappear.
Barn owl
ghostly white night angel
swoops –
plummets – soars
and in its claws –
a captured mouse.
Somewhere a baby cries
dogs bark
trains pass.
Overhead
a plane,
lights bright,
comes in to land.
Shadows reclaim
the silence.
Cats and owls
depopulate
the suburbs
of mice,
and the unseen
milky way
spills its light
across the night sky.
I live to lie under trees dying from the hot sun and no water, but I'm shaded,
I will not be deprived of things i cant have,
With my eyes i cant see things that die jaded.
Even if this cigarette burns to the tip, i will take another hit and i drag.
The night depletes with each breath that shakes out my temple,
And the cold screams in the wind keep me up as always,
The solution is right in front of my face but in actuality its not all that simple.
The screams terrify me, even when its not night they scream on all days.
And i stay stuck here, waiting for the echoes to stop screeching.
The battle that i cannot win nor lose, but i have a choice and i choose,
The thick dusty land around the trunk i lay at drains,
My emptiness is full and instead of withholding, i ooze.
Pain only manifested in the dark places of human brains.
And i lay here, deciding if my once perfect vision will stop streaking.
I ponder past thought for decisions that involve meaning,
And overall i cant cradle this life with such a shadow,
Life in a shaded area causes a devilish stinging.
But then again ill die if i try to live a life that's too shallow.
A veil of mist blankets the river, slowly drifting over its banks as the moon ghosts silently
behind thin dark clouds. A frog croaks and after awhile a cricket answers. A soft ker-plunk
echoes across the water as something breaks the surface for a split second, than vanishes
into its murky depths. And far away a mid night bird cries out to the darkness. Than all is
still. High above the river I sit naked in a hot tub, a disembodied head floating silently on
top of black steaming waters. My head is leaned back. My eyes closed as beads of sweat
run down my face. My ears are open though, as sound fills them, mixes with thought and
takes me to far away places. Places that perhaps only exist in dreams. The pool,
illuminated by dark blue lights, reflect off the steam rising up, casting an eerie glow and
dancing shadows about the night. It is a Saturday night and I’m alone trapped in paradises
prison. Alone in a town that is known for its elderly. A town buried amidst the lagoons of
Florida. But for awhile my mind is free to wonder. And it does, over forests and endless
deserts , over oceans and mountains, rivers and canyons. Drifting through time like a H. G.
Wells machine. From past to present to future and back again, in a blink. Through
cultures and civilizations. Hovering over cities with names so ancient and alive they stir up
your very being. Cities like Shanghai, Bombay, Casablanca, Istanbul, Athens, and Paris.
Cities with so much history locked into one name. Then there are cities that are myths that
may or may not have been alive yet the name is a wonder to behold, like Alantis and El
Dorado. But time wears them away to nothing. A rock wiped away by wind. Cities that had
once been so alive now empty shells of their former glory. Slowly my mind is pulled back
into reality. The time is late, and the new day awaits. Dripping I regretfully clamber out of
the hot tub swirl a towel around my bare skin and head for the bed where unimaginable
worlds and stories will play out as I sleep.