There was a beach in Penang once,
it is there now, but for us,
only in this moment and no other.
You and I walk along a golden ray of sunset.
I think the small boarding house
has gone somewhere else.
I cannot recall its shape, its walls, and windows,
they have flown away, they roost now
like the fruit bats that hang
from those cloud forest mists laden dawns.
Yet, here you are in the palm of my hand
laughing still at a silly joke I made out of thin air.
In that moment
the whole world was an audience for us.
We did not overhear
the surf whispering to the dusk:
how all that is or ever was, returns to leave
in the same moment.
We did not see, nightfall blindfolding the sea.
That tropical Island, has moved on
to another beach, another sunset,
and now only appears to us,
as a featureless blue sky, and the sound
of distant laughter.
Categories:
boarding house, poetry,
Form: Free verse
Some instances
Her beautiful face is covered
With a governing growl as a mask
over us,
our sickness or defeat makes
her heart melts and tears roll down her face before ours,
Love, care, trust, and cleanliness were the key factors
In her syllabus for us,
We were kids and it felt like we were in a boarding house at times
At later ages, we realized it was the basis for our future
It’s too late to appreciate all of her dedication to us
Mom’s love was unconditional and divine
She was the living goddess of our lives
Our mom will live in the deepest place in our hearts
Until we depart.
Categories:
boarding house, mother,
Form: Free verse
The Real Truth
With Texas Idioms
Miracle Man
October 22, 2023
Saturday nights in Haskell was always a battle,
some thought Ruff might be “all hat and no Cattle”.
He oft searched for Jack to settle some long ago spat,
Ruff was bigger “than a boarding house cat”.
Tom you ask, once more, how big was the other?
“so big he looked like he ate his brother”.
But an altercation with Jack some saw as a toss up,
for Jack was said to be “Faster than small town gossip”.
Everyone feared Jack and with him built rapport,
though he was not “the sharpest knife in the drawer”.
They both started drinking upon leaving the house,
and soon, both appeared “drunk as a meadow mouse”.
At times I’ve seen both acting just like some smurf,
thoroughly “confused as a goat on AstroTurf”.
The fights they had got them no gold buckles,
but sometimes “it would just cloud up and rain knuckles”.
Back then I was plain stupid without a disguise,
“and so narrow minded I could look through
a keyhole with both eyes”.
God is good!
Categories:
boarding house, bullying, humor, humorous,
Form: Couplet
More Texas Idioms
(that have been around)
“since Heck was a pup”
Composed: by Tom
1/11/2021
Heck was “fat as a boarding house cat” and that’s no bunk,
some thought that he, was “tougher than stewed skunk.”
They said never play cards with this man called Heck,
cause “He’s on a first name basis with the bottom of the deck.”
He’s so crooked, “you can’t tell from his tracks if he’s coming or going,”
and if Heck says it’s hot its “afixin” to start snowing.
He’ll leave you feeling confused “as a goat on AstroTurf” or a dope,
I couldn’t tell if “I’d lost my mule or found a rope.”
The purpose of my visit was just to size up this brawler,
He lived “left past yonder” about “two hoots and a holler.”
I quickly saw that Heck was just mostly idle prattle,
that he was a man “who was all hat and no cattle”.
He was “yellow as mustard but without the bite,”
and “if he was melted down he couldn’t be poured into a fight”.
With visit over as I headed out I heard him say,
“never kick a Cow patty on a hot day.”
I’ve been “From here to there and back again,”
no more am I going, now that I’ve been.
Categories:
boarding house, humor, humorous,
Form: Rhyme
Man WORKING- Sitting Under the Autumn Sun
Envision concrete steps;
3 @ 8”inches each;
A man at home, alone;
Dog lying down to the left of him;
Alone;
These two, enjoying the autumn views
Tree’s waving leaves, squirrels running here and there;
Green grass surrounding site on his ground level porch;
Legs crossed in a rocking chair;
At this boarding house
He runs;
Sitting under the autumn sun;
Rocking in his chair;
Cool warm breeze lights on his face and arms
Sitting under the autumn sun;
Rocking in his chair
A
MAN working
11/04/19
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2019©
Categories:
boarding house, analogy, assonance, jobs, work,
Form: Free verse
I hear that woman crying in her room each night.
Why is she doing that? It gives me a fright.
Her husband calms her down to silence.
What they do each night does not make sense.
This is a couple that I hardly know.
They moved into our boarding house a month ago.
An airplane flew over us up in the air.
The sound of it gave the couple a scare.
It's just advertising the local state fair.
The plane won't be dropping bombs on the populace.
There's no need to fear anything like this.
The husband says the President's name is Westercott.
Everyone else knows that it is not.
I have never seen anything stranger while I've been alive.
In their room was a calendar dated 2035.
There were many clocks around ticking away.
A startling realization suddenly came my way.
These two were refugees from a war in a future day.
Based on the short story "Sometime Before Dawn" by the late Ray Bradbury.
Categories:
boarding house, mystery, science fiction,
Form: Rhyme
My husband and I were newly wed and cash poor. It was Easter weekend and the weather unusually fine for the time of year. Both loving the outdoors, we decided to cycle, circumnavigating our county over three nights. We traversed hill and dale, intoxicated by the beauty of the landscape. But late on the Saturday evening, just as Joseph and Mary had found on Christmas eve, every lodging was booked out for the festival. Locals eventually directed us to the abode of two elderly sisters, long retired from running a boarding house. As darkness was falling, they took us in. So weary was I, the bed felt as soft as eiderdown. A blessed sleep descended immediately. Before retiring, the sisters mentioned they would both be up at dawn, as always on Easter Sunday, to watch the sun dance with joy to see Our Lord rise again.
rising with the sun
those wishing to see it dance
on easter morn
Categories:
boarding house, celebration, easter, faith,
Form: Haibun
In 1920 he came on a boat
from Ireland and found
his way through Ellis Island.
He found a room
in a boarding house
catering to his kind and
went looking for a job
but found instead signs
in windows saying
“No Irish Need Apply.”
A cemetery asked him to
dig graves and lower the dead.
In America today
there are no signs like that.
Black and brown
apply and whites
sometimes hire them.
My father was white.
But in 1920 his brogue
was a long rope that
almost lynched him.
Donal Mahoney
Categories:
boarding house, ireland,
Form: Blank verse
listen
I never wanted it to be this way
the one room without space
living in the emptiness of a boarding house
I tell myself
the future is yet to be determined
there is always tomorrow
a new day holding promise
don't allow yourself to be negative
fill the voids of life with pleasure
and you shall be fulfilled.
listen
I want you to know it doesn't have to feel changeless
in a world of simple destiny
the horizon bends and shifts
time lingers on
and even the friendless find strangers
the night is a passionate place
where you can find love without remorse
so try not be down on yourself
even the circumstances will change
in the due course of time.
Categories:
boarding house, addiction,
Form: Prose Poetry
After the clock struck,
the sound of the bed creaking
carried through the hard, wooden floors
of Miss Machem's old boarding house.
I took just a second to glance in the mirror,
surprising myself,
seeing my mother staring back at me,
hoping that life would be different,
realizing that life was the same,
no matter,
before, during, or after,
love remains a constant.
Categories:
boarding house, lovelife,
Form: Narrative