Best Streetlight Poems
shadows burn
through the bulb;
they whitewash the
darkness on my skin;
body shapes the fire
within, without. under
the glasslight blinks,
once, twice; brief, alive; in
the longest rain
passing on all her shadows;
heavy and wet, this streetlight's
~cast something~ flickers out —
broken is seemingly not the
same thing as dead.
The Christmas lights can’t shine bright enough
To overcome her pain and the screams inside
Loneliness merging with past replaying ongoing
And the images will not go away with any storm
She tries to stay in the moment, but she still cries
Pleading for answers, kept from her far too long
She’d like to run away in the soft snow instead
And leave not a single footprint behind to see
Maybe then the memories will not catch up to her
No avalanches to keep on falling and surviving
The past has a way of doing this, with strong surges
While it merges with present for things long overdue
She’s tired of waiting under the streetlights at night
Where the snow falls around her, but she is not seen
12/10/16
approach a green light
reflection greeting my car
slivers of brightness
street by traffic light
cat's contemplating mustache
pimps strolling around
© RAJAT KANTI CHAKRABARTY
16 December, 2014
On the sidewalk standing in the rain
the old man is a wounded dove.
Longish white hair: wet feathers
grounded in a storm. The rain is heavy
and repeats itself, like buckets of water
thrown out of windows.
The old man stands there
holding a memory or a wish.
Under the streetlight
his wet hair glistens like tinfoil.
The downpour is a creature
that’s eating him up.
Darkness projects
from a deserted apartment building.
The ground floor windows and doors
are boarded, nailed shut.
It appears dead, like an old disease,
or stripped, like a despoiled tomb.
Its bricks cracked and crumbled,
wooden casings dry rotted and helpless.
Painted in bold red
across the boarded front entrance,
a graffiti-message: Girls Rule.
Looking back at the old man,
he stands the way a king stands alone
when doubting himself.
Dark crawls around him. The old man stares
at the building. He is motionless,
in memory. Rain gallops over him.
Inside the warmth of a café,
my steaming coffee. Outside, the streets
are laundered clean of everyone
except for the old man who stares
at the apartment building. Time has grown
over his face and body, has grown
over the broken down building.
Now the rain is as heavy as mucus
and with his tiny body
the old man shuffles away into the dark
and gradually disappears
like a casket being covered with earth.
_________________________________
from my sixth book-length manuscript
©dah / dahlusion 2014 / 2015
all rights reserved
"In Streetlight, His Wet Hair" was first published in
'Switch (the difference) Anthology'
from 'Kind Of A Hurricane Press'
my streetlight darkness
with cold beverage in hand
and my mind's eyes closed
Look in the rear view, now I've gotta clear view
Most beautiful landscape I've ever seen
and I've seen 'em around the world baby girl, better believe
No feeling like having you next to me.
I mean it respectfully; I hate the distance
When i'm on the road and you're not there-
I won't admit it; too often caught up in my pride-
but without you it just ain't the same ride.
There's something to be said when a man misses a woman
pushing the pain aside in stride like it's nothing
But something happens when that song comes on
and I hold you in my arms but I know that you're gone
Drawn to memories when we were one
soul; two-halves bound into a whole
being, united in a similar state of dreaming
You are me, I am you, baby feel what I'm feeling
I miss you, won't ever forget you
Every time is like the first time I met you
Truth be told, this never gets old
You are the one girl that i'll ever wanna hold
and mold into a goddess, now you're holy enough to control me
Only you can show me the light from a shadow so lonely
You know me. and I'm proud to say
This is one thing that I will never betray
Look in the rear view, now I've gotta clear view
Most beautiful landscape I've ever seen.
and I've seen 'em around the world baby girl, better believe
No feeling like having you next to me.
I mean it respectfully; I hate the distance
When i'm on the road and you're not there-
I won't admit it; too often caught up in my pride-
but without you it just ain't the same ride.
There's something to be said when a man misses a woman
Pushing the pain aside in stride like it's nothing
But something happens when that song comes on
and I hold you in my arms but I know that you're gone
I ride along until the night meets the dawn
and you're the streetlight that leads me beyond
In wonder, I'm still under your spell
Keep driving, but I'll never say farewell
Walking the lone sidewalk with one streetlight.
The only sounds being my thoughts
And the noises of the void
The pale moonlight shines with light
That the street and I lack
The streetlight flickers
I flicker back
___________________
September 27, 2017
Poetry/Free Verse/Choose a Topic - Hope
You were a child,
without the hindrance
of responsibility
or doubt of what tomorrow
would bring.
A beast on the kickball
field, and yet a whining
baby when the streetlights
went off. Always fighting
sleep like it was the
neighborhood bully.
You were a clown,
dressed like your
daddy. Trying to
make your mother
laugh like he did.
You got better at
it every day.
You were a gift,
at least that’s what
your mother said.
And now she sits
outside, on the porch
looking out toward the
streetlight. Waiting for
it to go dark, knowing
you won’t be coming
home.
But,
You’re already there,
shining down from
a streetlight in the
sky. Waiting for when
it’s her turn to come
home.
-James Kelley, All rights reserved.
Feel like a prostitute, only used at night
Never appreciated, I don't think its right
People make use of me with little thought at all
Without me they'd be in the dark, could trip or fall
Never worry about me, couldn't care if I'm hurting
But! don't they complain when I'm not working
Stuck out here in the weather in all extremes
They all rely on me or that is the way it seems
Only time I get washed is when it happens to rain
Sometimes I short out and spark, oh what pain
My cover is old, yes its all cracked and broken
Does any one give a dam? you must be joking
Dogs cock there leg against me and take a piss
Birds **** all over me, don't think I deserve this
Men lean their girl against me for a kiss and a feel
Undesirables stand below me to make a drug deal
Police try to solve crimes perhaps stop an odd fight
No idea most of the time, I try to shed a bit of light
Concreted to the ground, can't move, surely not fair
Stuck out in the weather with my head high in the air
Once I was hit by a drunk driver and knocked to the ground
Police and firetruck arrived, driver was nowhere to be found
Sparks and electrical currents, gee whiz it certainly hurt
Firemen threw powder over me, too dangerous to squirt
I lay on the ground for a week, some flags around me
People stayed away at night, just wasn't possible to see
Then along came some workers, such nice gentlemen
Fixed me, and with use of a crane stood me up again
I cannot understand people at all, certainly not fair
I needed to be run over before they showed any care
They are all happy to use me while my heart glows
Don't they cuss though if my poor old globe blows
Silent and still sits the streets at night
The darkness swallows all but a light
It stands alone with an eerie glow,
Casting its shadows on the creatures below.
They crawl and burrow,
Seek and Creep,
All while light has gone to sleep.
The force of the night in its silver gown,
While a blanket of stillness covers the town.
Yes, silent and still sits the streets at night,
The darkness swallows all but a light.
your heart trembles in my hand
as our toes lie in the sand
our eyes meet under the night sky
adoration i can see in your eyes
your breath on my neck
your hands on my chest
hands held under starlight
smiles last forever tonight
street lights too bright
sneaking around tonight
you are mine heart body and soul
you fit me perfect like a mold
i swear this love will never get old
starlight and street lights, will you marry me tonight
suns may burn but you are brighter
and i know this because you make my cheeks burn like a lighter
ever lasting kisses
make me wanna give you the name Mrs.
i go to tell you i love you and my heart glitches
if my heart is broken, then you are my stitches
miracles are true, i know that because in 24 hours you have granted all my wishes
Walk about the night
Gaze a cracked streetlight
Flickering uselessly.
Attempting to illuminate
But overall ineffective
As it's far too damaged to work without drastic change.
So it waits for the repairman
To fix all of the problems
That it certainly didn't cause.
But we are that streetlight
Just as we are the repairman
Now we must take responsibility for what we have done, and correct
ourselves.
Lest the streetlight be forever cracked
And the street without light
Plunged into total darkness.
songer.co/song/yuhgqpfntdca04jlfkgt30x7
[Verse 1]
Streetlight buzz like static on the soul
It’s 2 a.m. and I still ain’t whole
Another night, just me and this notebook
And a God I’m not sure I understand
But grace...
She’s the only thing that stays
When the rest walks out
So I keep scribblin’ these half-bent verses
'Cause maybe somebody else needs a way out
[Hook]
I got one more song, maybe the last I can give
For the girl who said yes just to feel like she could live
For the boy with his clothes in a trash bag on the lawn
For the man behind bars with no one writing home
If You're still here in this mess, still pulling people through
Then maybe this cracked-up melody's for You
[Verse 2]
I've seen prayer chains rust from silence
And worship songs drown in shame
Seen pastors sell hope like product
While real folks forget their name
But I’ve also seen You in the small things—
A smoke break. A stranger's glance.
A sunrise so undeserved
It felt like a second chance
[Bridge]
I ain’t got clean hands
And some days, I don’t even want ‘em
But You...
You show up in motel rooms and waiting rooms
In detox beds and neighbor bars
You never needed a steeple
Just someone still breathing
[Final Verse]
So here’s one more song, rough as a gravel road
A cracked voice, a busted chord
But it’s honest. It's real.
And it’s more than I had last year
If it helps one soul sit up
Or even just know they’re seen, loved
Then maybe that’s what mercy means
[Outro]
So yeah…
As long as there’s one more breath in this tired frame
There’ll be one more song—
Not perfect.
But yours all the same.
Bring it back, take it away, love gone tomorrow can never stay
but you wish so bad, you act so rad, but this new love aint nothin like the one you
had
I can't believe that this is me, caught behind a cloudy sea
so I swim so fast, I try to make this last, but every other day is just the Past
It comes so quick, you get so sick, thinkin everything is just another trick
but things don't last, when you run so fast, dealin with a ghost from yesterday past
I hear, you're near, only thing with you is a life of fear
so you crawl, you fall, but I swear it's not better to (d)uck it all
Just wake up, wake up, put together your mask of make-up
face it, and chase it, do anything you can to erase the pain of her s()it
You talk so loud, you cry so loud, but this life is something to make you proud
I guess I should digress but what can I do about this mess
Keep movin' on, keep movin' on, gotta wake up to see that dawn
when her eyes see the lies of her shameless disguise
and the mark makes a spark to light a way in the dark
Tomorrow, your sorrow will be gone tomorrow