Best Radio Poems
Radio Music
I sense this music has a soulful touch;
A special purpose that only lyrics
Possess to enchant my inner being.
I oft pass up soft, soothing sleep late night
To marvel at the magic of some songs;
Tunes that draw me into deep moments of
Raw emotions that tease and test the kind
Of person—I am or wish I could be!
What else could one expect from a cosmos
Laden with such lyrics, music, and God?
Gary Bateman, Copyright © All Rights Reserved
October 2, 2017 (Blank Verse)
the swinging sixties never swung
as much as people said
but for me, the bands
and the songs they sung
linger on inside my head
I rocked and rolled to morningtown
on a wagon with one wheel
and followed tracks
that took me down
to fields that felt unreal.
a jungle snake both sang and hissed
when a man climbed on his cloud
then a windmill turned
in the autumn mist
and a policeman laughed out loud
in a warm and gentle wonderland
on a train whose whistle blew
a swinging star
introduced his band
and sang a rainbow too
God only knows when I look back
why the miller told his tale
and I can’t explain
why grocer jack
turned a whiter shade of pale
but I'm thankful for those days back then
before the years rolled by
those were the days
in dreams and when
there was spirit in the sky.
Thinking of Suzanne – Raised on Radio
Raised on radio, I still listen
to haunting love songs that sadly
remind me of you, lovely Suzanne,
of times when we couldn’t get enough
of each other, body and soul blazing with fire.
Oh Baby, I prayed with all my heart
that it could have been you;
you with the eyes of a woman,
so perceptive, so desirable, and so in love;
you with your soft, warm, positive touch,
that arouses and electrifies all my senses;
always unselfishly happy to give
totally and unconditionally to me.
But now you say it’s all over.
You say you don’t love me anymore.
Please stay, don’t take the magic away.
Why can’t this night go on forever?
Oh girl, can’t help it, you’re my life;
and once you love somebody,
letting go is the hardest thing to do.
But somehow, I’ll survive and
I’ll be alright without you.
So my sweet love, be good to yourself,
and just know this man will think of you,
when our special song plays on the radio.
The above poem incorporated Album #2 Tracks (in bold above) from Raised on Radio by Journey:
Girl Can`t help it, Positive Touch, Suzanne, Be Good to Yourself, Once You Love Somebody, Happy to Give, Raised on Radio, I`ll be Alright Without You, It Could have been You, The Eyes of a Woman, Why Can't this Night Go on Forever
08-18-2015
Contest: Album Tracks Tell Stories
Sponsor: James Fraser
Placement: 6th
Hey DADDY run as-fast-as-you can
You oughta-see-my-mama-oh-man
She dancin to a radio show
And bein kinda naughty-you-know
Never seen her actin this-way-before
Look she shufflin out-all-over-the-floor
It's a song that I ain-never-heard
And she just-said-one-of-them-ugly-words
Take me back to my radio days
Take me back to the simple old ways
Far away from the smoke and the haze
Take me back to my radio days
She shoutin "SING to-me-Rock & Roll-man
I could eat you right up-where-you-stand"
But she just-now-got-thru-eatin-her-lunch
Why she still wanting something-to-munch?
See I TOLD you, hey-what-is-this-pop?
Why you spinning her around like a top?
You-made-my-mama's-garter-belt show
And how the heck did your zipper-just-grow?
Take me back to my radio days
Take me back to the simple old ways
Far away from the smoke and the haze
Take me back to my radio days
One-mo-time-now-1,2,1-2-3...
*Hyphens inserted for rhythm purposes or how I heard it in my head
Signals were emitted from a very high tower.
Broadcasting was done with a million watts of power.
Reception reached as far north as Canada.
The waves traveled southward to Venezuela.
Birds flying too closely were roasted in flight.
Programs could be heard during both day and night.
It was possible for this powerful transmission,
because there was no communications commission.
The stations with call letters beginning with “X” we would know.
Their behemoth transmitters were located in Mexico.
You're listening to the cosmic station, WGAB,
we're broadcasting this mellow love signal
to your Galaxy And Beyond
We've been sending out the love
from Day One
Sending it to everyone in the universe
Here's to the grandeur lady, Zekar,
and to the beautiful baby Earth
To the exotic Shudai doing a divine dance
with her two stars
And to the flashy brother Certos,
who moves through the Arridian nebula
like a galactic ghost
Much love to you all ...
each day we mention someone different
in our universal shout out call
Much love to you all ...
much love to everyone everywhere
We're the cosmic station WGAB,
we're transmitting this love signal,
we're sending it out to you free
We're WGAB,
coming to you from the first galaxy and beyond
We be sending out the love,
sending it to everywhere you go
Keep listening to us everyday,
to your favorite cosmic radio
We're WGAB,
coming to you from the first galaxy and beyond
We're sending this love signal to you free,
wishing everyone in the universe
nothing but love, peace and harmony
Turn up the radio and ...
It's the same ol' situation,
The same songs, same band
That raised my generation
That was then, this is now
Nothing's changed but my age,
And four numbers, somehow
On a calendar's page ...
It happened again today
In the store where I shopped,
In the restaurant, I heard it play
Proving the 80's never stopped
That was then, this is now
O, to revive a faded fad,
If we never forget how
Good times can still be had
Life, like a cassette tape
With two sides, was designed,
From Side A, Side B can't escape
If you just press rewind ...
How far down do you need to go_
~to stand face to face and toe to toe_
~with that no-good son of a so and so?
Taking not only yourself but all you know.
Descending from on high to deep below_
How many of your friends are now your foe?
Rejecting all the trials meant to help you grow.
Didn’t you get the message or read the memo?
To suffer a little today and not eternal woe?
Did you forget the law of_ “Reap and Sow”?
You can’t ride with the devil_ you’re too slow_
He’s got the best saddle around this rodeo.
Lines his horse up four to a row_
Apocalyptic stallions galloping to and fro.
Charging full speed ahead with resilient gusto
Scorching hot winds from their lungs to blow_
Upon all those whose souls don’t glow_
From hot veins where passion flow_
~and fight to reject vile secret audio
~silent messages broadcast on radio.
Mind control media from news to talk show.
Wouldn’t go near him as far as I can throw.
Best not stomp around but quietly tiptoe.
Take your heart off your sleeve keep it undertow.
If you failed today try again tomorrow
For your deeds complies_ gifted wrapped in a bow
Your final payment is what you’ll come to owe.
Your bold stance morphs a wispy cameo.
Ill-fated effects of enacted domino.
How far down do you need to go_
~to stand face to face and toe to toe_
~with that no-good son of a so and so?
Taking not only yourself but all you know.
Descending from on high to deep below_
A Thursday afternoon—rain tapping its fingers
against the glass, impatient, like the aching in my ribs,
the one I could not name.
Write down four small wins for thirty days, the DJ said.
No fireworks, no epiphanies—just the whisper
of something lighter than a promise.
Day One: I watched the steam rising from my coffee,
the way it curled like a question mark. A win for patience.
Day Seven: I noticed the barista remembered my order.
A victory, small as a sugar cube, but it dissolved sweet on my tongue.
Day Fifteen: Rain again, but this time I opened the window,
let the damp air press its forehead to mine.
A win—feeling the weather, not just enduring it.
Day Thirty: The unnamed ache hadn’t vanished,
but now it shared the room with other things~
a handful of glinting, ordinary moments
I’d gathered like scattered coins,
enough to buy back a little of the light.
Inspired by the first song I heard on the radio:
Her breath is bad, her armpits reek -
I try to move away.
I open windows, hold my breath -
her awful pong will stay.
Her silent, deadly gas escapes,
I spray the stinky air.
I wish she'd wash and change her clothes,
shampoo her greasy hair.
I truly wonder how she'll cope
some day if she encounters soap!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the following poem was written as part of an online poetry class; responding to the image above
We tuned the dish to static,
listening for God’s cough~
a blip, a hiccup in the cosmic hum.
The night shift drank coffee
thick as engine grease,
the kind that left your tongue
tattooed with bitterness.
We waited…
and still, the stars
bled silence.
You said, Maybe we're dialing
the wrong frequency.
I said, Maybe God’s just shy.
Then the power died.
The dish froze mid-sweep,
like a man catching
his own ghost in the mirror.
We stood there, necks craned,
waiting…hoping…
for the dark to whisper
its secrets to us.
Voices Behind the Radio
I have chosen to be a dispatcher, working hard to save a life
It is our job to obtain the information from the chaos and the strife.
We do our best to get the location, and the nature of the call
Each call is always different. Sometime we cannot obtain it all.
A patient not breathing, a burglary, or a traffic accident could be the call
We ride the emotional roller coaster, remaining calm throughout it all.
We give instructions to the caller, while keeping them on the phone
Re-assuring help is on the way, and that they are not alone.
With the units enroute, caller still on the phone, we add notes to the call.
We never withhold information obtained, we gladly provide it all.
The Officer needs the address again, the Fire Chief more units to staging
The Medic the nature of the call, it is our job to keep updating.
When we hang up the phone we have done our job, our units are all Code-4
The calls can be overwhelming at times, Sometimes we would like to run out the door.
We have to be ready for that next call, Police, Fire, or EMS
We rely on our training as we strive to do our best.
We ride with you in your Police Cars, Fire Trucks, and Ambulances to each call
We are the lifeline that sends you out each time, and wants you safe throughout it all.
We are usually the face of the department, and the first to be left out
Those faceless voices behind the radio, you depend on without a doubt.
Thomas Nedzbala
Arizona
©2014
I was interviewed on Manx Radio about my poetry journey and it was broadcast today - the whole clip is about 7 minutes long. By the way it is not me reading the snippets of poems.
The programme can be found on 'on demand' the show is called 'women today' and was dated 5th August
this is the link for you to paste into your browser
If you go to the black bar under the Manx Radio logo and scroll along to 14 minutes 45 seconds this is a good time to start listening to it
http://www.manxradio.com/radioplayer/od/1762/
I have also done this as a blog ... but as not everyone reads the blog page I posted it here too
Hugs Jan x
5th August 2015
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men”
There once was an old time radio show called “The Shadow”
Which is how each and every show began
“The weed of crime bears bitter fruit.
Crime does not pay... The Shadow knows!”
Which was how each and every show ended
I was young and impressionable back then and engrossed
In each program as I hung on every word
Our imagination filled in the visual
We could translate each scene in our own minds
Always conjuring up our own unique version
There are so many great old time radio shows
That kept us glued to the radio and still even today
As we stare off into space listening to Old Time Radio
Reliving those special, delightful programs
The younger people of today have no idea
How we were obsessed just as people today
Have been obsessed with television since the early fifties
These were the golden years of radio
If you're old enough to remember them
You'll understand the lingering appeal they have!
© Jack Ellison 2015
Leccy Powers in the Air
Nikola Tesla knew the score,
back there, wayback in 1894,
send-em power through the post,
bloody radio antennae, sends the ghost ,
wireless sends the power,
from the insulated tower,
tuned aeriel sucks the most,
fine tuned it is the host,
a quarter wave deflowers,
when electric car un-powers,
recharge from power radio remote,
a constant radio wave, unquote,
or constant flow empowers,
Leccy car you Billy Goat ! :}-
So ac power is in the air,
detected by the car, right there,
powered then the Billy Goat,
tuned aerial , sucks in the voltage, know it!
Leccy car can run 4 sure!
Don't need no petrol, where?
just leccy techs, leccy motors go-at,
says johnson, with a slight unquote,
the new world is to share,
if it catches em by the throat,
the dimwits wouldn't dare,
but some ones got to show it ?
Eg frequency of 27 megacycles cb radio 27,000,000 a second.
So put a 9 foot antennae on you car to receive the signal current?
It works out shorter for much faster frequencies like your mobile phone.
A few inches, a few centimeters etc...
So the sent electricity gets collected at the right length antennae and
runs the leccy motor in your car...sounds cool to me …
id be wearing wellies or gum boots to avoid a shock from the powered antennae 250volts maybe, if I touched it:} kill switches needed hey...
Don Johnson
BEFORE 20,000 YEARS AGO THE ATLANTEAN PEOPLE OF THE RED SKIN TYPE,
HAD SUBMARINES AND AEROPLANES. {VALIXI}. POWERED AND CONTROLLED BY RADIO WAVES TECHNOLOGY REMOTELY..{ARE WE TOO RETARDED TO DO IT???}...INDUS VALLEY PEOPLE HAD VIMANA
FLYING MACXHINES TOO AT THAT TIME....AND WROTE HOW FIX THE MERCURY ENGINE...
Do we have to res-surect ole Tesla?
to get it to work? ac electricity can be
transmitted through the air! as he said...
easily converted to dc voltage by rectifiers...as in power supplys....
like having your own power pole on the car...