Autumn's many colorful moons seen through the lens of a camera,
I see beauty and color everywhere.
As a child,
I did not know there was a harvest moon.
I loved watching the full autumn moon,
as it seemed to change colors.
Autumn's many colorful moons seen through the lens of a camera,
have changed over the years.
What has made this change?
The huge night clear sky is not as clear as it once was,
the full bright moon is not as bright.
Do we see the change year after year?
Do we even care?
I weep for the beauty of olden Autumn days,
a more peaceful time.
A bright full moon and clear night's sky,
that was once seen through the lens of a camera.
Laying in my bed with Thelonius Monk playing in my head is a pleasure designed just for me.
Ice cold lemonade is better with tree loaned shade on a August day to calm the chaos.
As I play my dad's guitar and dream of being a star in a world where I am ignored by a selfish society.
Day after day I find a new reason or rhyme that leads me to embrace my reality.
If you should ever be sad just look into your mirror and be glad for what you had all along
THE VAN GONE MUSEUM
A gleaming, extravagant building.
Filled with jewels of art.
The brainless herd pile in at
their allotted time slot. No thoughts
Zombie tourists flock into the Van
Gogh museum. It doesn’t matter
how many nationalities are there.
Everyone does the same.
Observers drone from one gallery
to another.
Their eyes not even focusing on the
painstaking art.
The portraits and landscapes stare
back at the viewer in
disbelief and disgust.
Please comprehend what I am.
The constant shutter of a camera
can be heard but not the slightest
intellectual thought can be even
fathomed amongst them.
Those photos they taken cannot
even echo the detail of the brush stroke
or slight colour difference.
They are a false facsimile at best.
The painting now a lifeless corpse.
A digital copy is what remains on a
seldom used SD card.
Never to be looked upon again.
A gravity trudges the cattle toward
the famous sunflowers ; not for
artistic merit but for bragging
rights and social media selfies
Although Van Gogh is long dead, it
seems apparent his legacy, his art,
his life’s work is now
Van Gone….
Men with cameras
Sit and wait for the sunsets
Poets see all day.
Sunsets originally published in Tap into Poetry Magazine, 2026, all rights reserved
You stalk me through the flashing haze,
your shutter catching all my ways;
I pose like I'm not keeping score,
but crave the click, then beg for more.
You linger where the shadows bend,
my secret rival, closest friend;
your lens undresses every truth,
I glow for you, eternal youth.
You chase me down the midnight street,
I slow my stride so we might meet;
your breath behind me, warm and near,
a whispered fame I long to hear.
We orbit in a fevered spin,
you want my world, I want your grin;
obsession twines us, tight and bright,
two silhouettes in borrowed light.
So take your shot, my favorite view.
I shine because you're watching too.
The Camera Man
Depression
Depression clouds the lens, throwing it out of focus.
Distorting the images before it, altering perceived reality.
Depression hovers above like an ominous, menacing black bird,
hanging onto the winds of times passed, over its pray,
ready to swoop down with furry upon its victim with vengeance,
with razor sharp talons ready to pierce this fragile spirit’s soul.
Dragging it over shards of broken glass, slivers of glass reflecting,
refracting moments, experiences, stories that shed some light
before dropping it all into a black hole, from which seems no escape.
Times passing has deflected, yet the mirror still holds sway to the past.
The past, not but an evil land, a prison with tarnished, rusted, rotting cages
wherein lies skewed images, much like Salvador Dali’s surrealistic paintings.
The Camera Man – Depression, will either find serenity, a beautiful lake, still.
Its surface calm, un-rippled by life’s journey, reflecting not but blue skies .
B. J. “A ” 2
January 21st, 2026
Flipping through the pictures
Memories on display
Radiant recollections of the forgotten
A shrine to the past
Pain in absentia
A domain for delirium
Not existing in the real world
A masquerade, a façade
I yearn to be like the pictures
Behind the cheap plastic screen
To live inside
Impossible
Lights - camera - action
A call - anonymous - reaction
The scene - red - what happened?
Bodies, bodies, bodies
The weapon - a gun
The reason - still unknown
The reporters crowd like vultures
Each with their own bias,
Each with their own made-up story
But all with a common agenda -
Victimise the enemy - villanise the innocent
Black innocence, white guilt
They’ll focus, sympathy -
On the suspect - how up until now they were perfect
They were white, so they must be in the right
The victim was black - it had to be self defence
The news will claim it isn't a serious offence
The courts favour power
A badge equals - a get out of jail free card
The verdict comes in - the officer in question -
Was found -
Not guilty
Congratulations to you, happy birthday!
Surprise confetti in a fancy greeting card.
A shower when you open the envelope ~
Is there anything more festive and annoying?
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
polar bear up north
posing for the camera
dressed for warmth in fur
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Why do someone kisses each other
Closes their eyes?
It's because the eyes not really see
It's the mind that really see
The good moments that register.
The mind is like a camera
Only those beautiful experiences
Are meant to be recorded and film.
When the time of dull and remembrance,
Someone able to recall and see those moments,
The past behind and ponder each unforgettable
Best encounter that you have in your life.
Whether love or life experiences is part of story.
Everyone has etches of making a history,
Whether simple, complex and riddle script,
This is life itself that we can never forget
For the rest of our life whether here or never.
I have never tasted your full lips,
which lack a moisturizing tip.
Yet, I somehow feel as if I have.
I watched you break that fresh loaf of bread, and you said to me,
“You are welcome.”
Somehow, I could have tasted
and smelled the freshness of that small piece you offered.
I felt nourished.
Your spearing eyes, your youthful appearances
A love like ours will be forever,
My soul is in Accra.
Prism
kaleidoscopic, geometric
bending, reflecting, dispersing
polyhedron, crystal, imagery, looking glass
redeeming, glowing, modeling
confident, consequential
Mirror
Freeze Frame is a part of the game,
When your running life’s great test.
When you take stock you gotta learn to rock,
You’ll be rolling with the best.
Life is just a movie film and your the star of the screen,
It’ll take you to the places where the glitters never seen.
The camera rolls and the lights are bright.
You try to look your best,
But as life goes on the lights go dim,
Do you think you pass the test.
Life is just a movie film and your the star of the screen,
It’ll take you to the places where the glitters never seen.
You got your name in lights, but you had to fight,
But you always did your best,
The stage doors closed and it’s time to go,
But you stood out from the rest.
Life is just a movie film and your the star of the screen,
It’ll take you to the places where the glitters never seen.
The make up slips and the hair goes thin,
You still try to look your best,
Your an old man now and you’ve seen it all,
You’ve given life your best.
Now the credits run and your time is done,
You’ve finished life’s great test,
The screen goes black, there’s no looking back.
It’s time for you to rest.
Sweat drips backstage, mouth parched, heart beating at a sprinter's pace.
All eyes on me, as lights dim with spotlight honing on mic and lips.
Words flow to a standing ovation - I soak it all in.
One of the highlights for me in 2023 was performing spoken word for the first time on stage in front of a packed auditorium. It was a memorable experience and probably the greatest in my creative pursuits.
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