Best Might Poems
Picking a rose in a garden of Sundays
Calling your name on a broken branch wind
Looking for clover where weeds are not welcome
Walking the bridge till its time to begin
Dancing in puddles now filled up with laughter
Running through traffic as cars speed away
Searching for words in the headlines of morning
Writing of moons and the stars on display
Collecting my thoughts when I think I will never
Painting a smile on a rusted front door
Lifting a rock just to see what is under
Shopping for clothes in a grocery store
Looking through openings cut in the carpet
Reaching atop lonely sycamore trees
Juggling penguins, now where did that come from
Asking a bird what it knows about bees
Planting a bush in the depths of the ocean
Baking a cake in a rooftop design
Sweating the small when the big stuff does happen
Thinking of beer when I’d rather have wine
Wearing a frown in the moments I’m happy
Pushing a cart with a wobbly wheel
Lurking in shadows that form on the sunset
Dreaming of things that are hopefully real
Finding that all I have written is nonsense
All of the verses above will now show
When all I wanted to say was I love you
Like in these stanzas I’ve written below
Penning a poem to say what I’m feeling
Wishing the phrases will reach to your heart
Sending you hints of my steadfast devotion
Scribbling fonts that we never shall part
All that I am is now all that you make me
There is no one that this man could love more
You are the girl that I’ve wanted forever
Eternally you’ll be the one I adore
So there you have it, quite crazy but true
Poetic ramblings from deep in my mind
Where it is light with some dark in the corners
There is no telling the things you might find
11/03/19
The reason I think this poem is Trophy Worthy is it is one of my favorite poems, because it is me. A good amount of fun and nonsense and a lot of beautiful love which is what fuels my pen. I believe my cadence and rhymes are very good and it was a fun poem to write. I think those who read it really enjoyed it because it made them smile and that is usually my goal when writing poetry.
Hoping that it might be you
Verse 1
I've got some troubles in my life...
I'll help with yours, will you, help with mine?
"Cause I need love like everyone...
Will you be here when the day is done?
(day is done)
Verse 2
Seems, like the whole worlds in a mess...
each day gets harder, I confess...
I need someone, to help me through...
I was hoping, that it might be you!
(might be you)
Bridge 1
Try to be.... the person that I need
I'll try to be...the person that you need
Verse 3
There, are some things, I just don't like...
when, somethings wrong, but they say it's right...
So... would you share my point of view?
Or... would it, just be...too much for you?
(too much for you)
Verse 4
I've lived, a full life, made for one...
I've seen a lot, and, I've had my fun...
but now, I'm ready for, a life for two
I hope you feel...the way I do!
(the way I do)
Bridge 1
Try to be.... the person that I need
I'll try to be...the person that you need
Bridge 2
Will you be here when the day is done?
Will you share with me the setting sun?
Will you be here when the day is done?
Will you share with me the setting sun?
Verse 5
What would you do, when I'm old and grey?
Would you leave me here, or would you stay?
I'll need someone to help me through...
I was hoping that, it might be you
(might be you)
Bridge 1
Try to be.... the person that I need
I'll try to be...the person that you need
Finale
I'll need someone to help me through...
I was hoping that it might be you
Yeah, I'll need someone to help me through...
I was, hoping that it might be you
(hoping that it might be you)
(hoping that it might be you)
(hoping that it might be you)
repeat and fade
John Derek Hamilton
January 15,2016
What might you find there
down deep in my soul
Within the darkness
of that expansive hole
Will there be substance
Will there be diamonds or coal
Step down the stairs quickly
at the door pay your toll
If you wish to be a voyeur
there will be plenty to see
Unclothed and oh so gorgeous
beautiful women are plenty
Yet the guilt from these carnal thoughts
makes me feel a strange empty
I long for their pleasure
yet I yearn to be set free
Walk a bit further
see deeper to my core
You have just scratched the surface
do you really want to see more
My soul is a vast ocean
no ceiling and no floor
Liquid and expansive
molton lava shore to shore
There is plenty of love there
tremendous courage it's true
I have known my share of pain
there is much that I've been through
Roads I've traveled are many
dark alleys quite a few
I've found the way to the light
my heart is forged a steel blue
If you travel far enough
you will bathe within light
The darkness a shield
to protect this soul with might
Beyond the locked door
my soul rises like a kite
Only those who have courage
can fly to such great height!
For Frank's Contest
but i wouldn’t fault you words spilling from a loose connection
i forgive the negative
they are tied to your artistic temperament
your heart
translucent
exposes wires tattered and frayed
a myriad of internal cuts and bruises
i can hold such damage
with barely a touch
soothe the gnawing of varmints uninvited
draw out a collage of smiles
patiently waiting to adorn
the you i see
i can draw your laughter
deep and resounding
i can love you unconditionally
for better or for worse
be that handy little light
one carries to duel the dark
Thu Mar 5 2020
As we age we regret words of anger and spite
That were heard and remembered and can't be unsaid.
The remarks we thought clever or proved we were right
That resulted in losses of friendships instead.
All the heartbreaks that came from suspicion and doubt,
The betrayals and hurts we refuse to forgive,
The companions and love that our pride has cast out,
And the chances we missed that we'd like to relive.
All the pathways not taken and bridges uncrossed,
All the times had we acted, a difference made,
The potential delights that timidity lost,
And the kindness and debts that we never repaid.
All the secret dishonors we long to forget,
And the wrongs we inflicted in order to win.
For the strongest of sorrows are those of regret,
And the saddest remembrance is what might have been.
* * * * *
Or as Whittier phrased it, far finer and first:
"For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
the saddest are these: It might have been"
I was just sitting there writing when I saw her stroll in,
I wasn’t alone, all eyes followed those curves sashaying
as if she owned the place and maybe she did. . .
if a heart can skip a beat, mine did a somersault.
Obviously cut from a finer cloth
than these eight dollar trousers ever found in their pockets,
the fit much better too, a warm hug on a cold December day
lingering in the moment
She sat down at the crescent shaped bar,
ordered a martini, neat, pulled a crisp twenty from her clutch
and brushed a few stray brunette hairs from her face,
the mirror behind the bar happily reflecting her beauty
Raising the drink to her ruby red lips
I found myself wishing I were that glass,
smeared in her favorite shade, kissed by a sighing sip,
caressed by porcelain fingers wiping sweat from a glistening neck
A jewel in this dingy joint, shimmering in the dusty haze,
breathing some class into this oblong shadow
that had seen better days, but none like this, like her.
She was out of place like fine wine in a shot glass . . . but didn’t seem to care
She lifted a cigarette to her mouth, I was quick with a match,
watching as tobacco embers flared and smoke rose upward, swirling about freeform.
Putting her lips together she blew out the flame
with a whisper of breath that made me weak in the knees, “Thank you.”
I stared, forgetting the spent match I held between my fingers,
tongue tied or mesmerized, take your pick, both answers are correct.
“You’re welcome”, I stuttered like a school boy in braces, “new around here?”
“Kind of”, her voice as chiffon is soft, “I heard I might find a poet here . . . ”
To be continued . . .
Please check out parts 2 and 3 if you get a chance.
I Might Be a Tree
In twenty years I pray I won't be gone
placed six feet beneath a manicured lawn
I'd much prefer to give old death the slip
To guzzle life instead of just a sip
Mind and spirit together playing song
I'll rest a bit but not for very long
You see, there is so much I wish to do
Yes many years can feel like just a few
The company of those I truly love
will lift my spirits like a flying dove
The flowers that I plant will be in bloom
Beauty will surround me in every room
The ground might open up and swallow me
Don't worry I'll reach up and be a tree!
For Brenda's "You 20 Years from now" contest.
This was written a few years ago for St. Patty's Day and posted:
If your favorite color is green and of the Emerald Isles you dream,
you might be Irish..
If you believe in leprechauns and fairies and hidden treasures that lay buried,
you might be Irish..
If you like your lasses bawdy and tell jokes a little naughty,
you might be Irish..
If you can dance an Irish jig and at the pubs your whiskey swig,
you might be Irish.
If your mom cooked an Irish stew and you just happened to be Catholic too,
you might be Irish..
If your name is Fitz, Riley, or O'Keefe, your definitely Irish, good grief!!
If not then just for this one day, we'll say your Irish any way..
Happy St. Patty's Day!!
"For all sad words of tongue and pen,
the saddest are these, 'It might have been'."
~ John Greenleaf Whittier ~
I knew that someday you would break my heart
we loved too fast and much too strong
the pages of our story were being torn apart
as foreshadowing moments began to unfold
yet we clung to our dreams of tomorrow
hoping for us, the best was yet to come
I loved waking beside you in the glow of dawn
then gently falling into your welcoming arms
For just a little while the world was beautiful
but there were signs, I was not the one for you
Too soon our tomorrow filled with sorrow
I knew for us, the worst was yet to come
Signs were clear that what we once held dear
no longer mattered to you. With vows forsaken
your path was taken, leading you away from me
My grief was overwhelming but you remained aloof
turned your back, walked away and left me crying
I knew this day of reckoning had finally come
We turned our backs on what might have been
cherished dreams haunted by lengthening shadows
that were swept away into the depths of the sea
of animosity where love is never meant to dwell
My wearied heart grew numb; a withered leaf
falling in Autumn. For us the best will never come
~~~~~~~~~~
April 20th, 2017
What might you find
if you peeled away layers
If the rind of my soul was to be stripped away
I fear what you'd see…..what you'd say…..what you'd think
The feeble of me sinks in fear of your thoughts
that you would only be thinking you don't see enough
Were someone to care just enough to see through me
look beyond what's assumed, looking deep to the core
Would you score me as average……or even as nothing
All my life I've been striving to be of the stuff
that others became in the places I've been
What might you find, If you peeled off the rind
Where someone else hides that you've not seen before
In the fairytale story where the sun seems to shine
is a child never grown, wearing shells of self doubt
hiding in worlds where the light was turned on
to the others who shared every stage I've been on
Where wishes were written in words of a song,
Longing for something I cannot define
that stems from a childhood, where something else would
shadow my dream of being enough
Never quite reaching …never quite being
Never as bright as the very next star
Never outgoing, most often remaining
back in the shadows of the other bright stars
Still turning the pages from the time I was born
never quite being the star of my life
Wanting to share but still doubting my worth
that shadows the sun, and my place on the earth
There in the limelight…..there will always be someone
lighting the stage with his very own star
I must be content, to climb up the ladder
searching the stage with my eyes, from afar
_________________________________________________
9/17/16
Contest: What Might They Find There?"
Sponsor: Frank Herrera
When you are in trouble
and start seeing double
you might as well have a good laugh
Cause sorrow and crying
and excessive sighing
can shorten your lifespan by half
If buried in debt
why brood in regret
when smiles are just what you need?
Don't worry or panic
no need to be manic
far better to chuckle, indeed
Has your tire lost air?
Don't give it a care
just change it and be on your way
If right after that
another goes flat
then dial up your triple A
If someone does hurt you
and then they desert you
just let it roll right off your back
Let out a guffaw
for there is no law
requiring you to attack
If hauled into court
then be a good sport
and burst forth in squeals of delight
They may think you mad
but you will be glad
as they drag you off into the night
No more bills to pay
nor dragons to slay
committed for standing the gaff
In your padded cell
your own private hell
you might as well have a good laugh
Violence in the political party
A pebble thrown to defend oneself from a barrage of 100- stones
The bully then complains of abuse—might never makes right
will we unite?—I Am Anaya “All for one and one for all”
Bullied everyday was he, his peer would tell the news agent
He was different, a loner, weird, wore camouflage
And so, we tormented him
A lunch bench, a boy sequestered was “bullied every day”
Silent, defeated, sunken, he rarely spoke a word
Clean slate, passes a routine background check
A dietary aid prepping food in a nursing home
Nothing unusual nothing remarkable
Republican at heart for God knows what gave way, donates
to the loyal opposition a progressive bent
A bit addled and mixed up, can we see?
Unleashing his wrath a man filled with hurt with hate
In his own backyard, the tormented dons the guise of the tormentor
The assailed becomes the assailant
The unthinkable is done, perched upon a roof
four-hundred feet away just minutes into the oration
he aims then pulls the trigger
obscure and distressed Crooks alters history’s course
with a firearm at the ready as a duty and right
Father Crooks kept many, in a very pro-gun town
At the hands of a 20-year-old man who was
bullied by their own sons and daughters
Counselors, both father and mother
trained to help troubled minds, how ironic
Where were they as their son’s inner storm brewed?
A blind eye turned away what shame, what horror
Yet the world’s most salient story
What Might They Find There
Obsidian suctions lost withered time
Through sugar-sweet veins thick-coated in grime;
Guitars strummed by orphans accompany space
Wrapped ‘round bloody throats choked in lavender lace;
Visceral heat-waves escape frozen eyes
Peering directly at sun-thirsty skies;
Questions are whispered in tossed away silence
Where hatred and anger form an alliance;
Steps trip while walking through this cruel black hole,
Steer clear, I beg you, my baritone soul.
9/18/2016
In the loss of expectation,
for a loved one, a lovely dream;
one that is, one that will be, one that will depart.
We grieve, we wonder, we imagine.
We wonder about what might have been,
we imagine what could have been.
Yet, in the uncertainty of what might have been,
what could have been,
there lies the certainty of what is, what will be;
the certainty of our love,
for that loved one, for that lovely dream.
In this certainty, lies our solace,
sufficient to secure our peace,
stable to stand the challenge of circumstance,
strong to stand the test of time,
fit to fill the hollow echoes of uncertainty,
certain to dispel the uncertainty of what could have been;
the uncertainty of what might have been
(Dedicated to Dora Serna)
IT MIGHT AS WELL BE SPRING
Across the heath neath cerulean sky
All still, in brief expectant breathless pause
Impending vernal change of season nigh
Awaits fulfill of pre-condition clause
Yet bracken lace and grass a tawny match
Though warmer tint from sun that elevates
A song bird now essaying dulcet snatch
Of symphony that she anticipates
Jade canopy of chiffon will inhale
The blessed Vapour that sustains all life *
Which soon will burst in wild expansive gale
Of growth and affluence of verdure rife
Now Nature’s resurrection time is right
Her signal shall go forth: ‘Let there be light!’
* CO2
27 February 2019