BEST MAN
He feels his situation could be dire
On the hard shoulder, stands aghast
A shiny black Mercedes flashes past
At that speed, the fuel will not last
But then he turns back to his flat tyre
He’ll miss the wedding, not the fallout
With a trunk full of luggage to extract
To then find he has no spare, in fact
Just one more item he knew he lacked
Nor membership for breakdown callout
The advice is to remain with the car
Not seated inside, but standing apart
And now he senses the rain will start
A miserable feeling deep in his heart
A day with performance well below par
His phone has no signal at this location
And now he is getting cold and wet
Another thing he feared he’d forget
Is the ring, and bride he’d not yet met
And with no prospect of reparation
A police car pulled up just behind
They heard his dilemma and radioed in
Arranged for a tow and repairs to begin
Then got him to church top rescue a win
A debt he owed when brought to mind
Categories:
callout, friend, wedding,
Form: Rhyme
I understand it feels broken
but only an aortic aneurysm,
or some other medical complication
can callout its appointed hour.
It is not defunct nor done for,
unless it has been ripped out of you
with a stone knife
by some blood-crazed Aztec priest
while you were still alive.
It was never a thing to be sacrificed.
It is not poisoned unless you poison it.
If it’s still beating
then it is still wired-up to your soul,
still the time bomb it was created to be,
still working for your eyes to open
to an even greater love and reality.
Your heart will break
when it forsakes you for a higher mission
until then -
take heart.
Categories:
callout, poetry,
Form: Free verse
AUTUMN CLEANING CLEANSE Part Two.
From the birth canal Abated forth out of my mother’s womb;
At this point I was dirty, though they wiped me off with water and a towel cloth;
Still I was unclean now;
Why? Do I delay I callout His name? I draw near to Him with a sincere heart
Fill now of assured faith;
Now a man and drenched cleansed by His grace.
Mercy chose having my heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience;
My body washed with pure;
Water I not draw near with the true heart and full of faith
This day I am cleansed
Autumn cleaning cleansed
I’ll cleansed by His pure waters
I am sanctified having been cleansed;
By the washing of waters with the Word Hallelujah Amen
Categories:
callout, analogy, appreciation, autumn, beautiful,
Form: Free verse
For I didn’t know,
I didn’t know of,
This fire of pain,
From the fingers, the hands,
the feet,
Can’t stand up,
Can’t lay down,
Dreaming,
Longing for my body to float away on water,
For this pain to melt away,
For a healer to lay down their gentle hands
on me,
To lift me up again,
So once again I might see the stars,
Breathe the summer air,
For I did not know,
I did not know of this Pain.
Soon through the cracks,
Through the partially open curtains,
I hope for the morning light to find its way to me,
For the long shadows of night to be in retreat,
Then,
I will
callout
for
Help.
John Roberts
(I had a flare-up recently of Rheumatoid arthritis and I wrote this poem to give expression to the experience and for all people suffering pain.
Pain can seem even greater at night when the world is still outside)
Categories:
callout, body, change, humanity, peace,
Form: Free verse
A simple scene a nestling seeks the comfort of the night
to lay enthralled, engrossed, in memories of past days,
the nectar drawn from rivulets that run past blackened lash.
A lidded eye roves left, then right, as if it’s been betrayed
a corner tick, a slight knee twitch, odd choices now made.
The blanket once a comforter now twists so very tight.
A falling dream, a horrid scream, yet no land's in sight.
Bloodless body, writhe, heave, callout, nobody's home
your casing calls, umbilicus, umbilicus, reel me down.
A flying lift of breeze ‘neath hips, a lofting, oh so, high,
brings soul to ground with sighing sound within the dream,
entranced, aroused, the coming light, the end of night, wake.
First Published in Sweet Dreams and Night Terrors 2013
Categories:
callout, fear, night,
Form: Verse