You said something nice to me
and it stuck.
Not in a deep way,
just enough to make me smile
for no reason later.
I don’t even really know you,
and you probably didn’t think twice about it,
but I did.
It caught me off guard.
the way it was said,
like it was easy,
like you meant it.
And I love that it made me blush,
like that never happens to me.
Now you just pop into my head
at random times,
and I don’t even try to stop it.
It’s not anything serious.
I just…
I like it.
The fillet was supposed to be boneless but wasn't.
It caught me off guard, midmeal.
Between bites of slaw and baked potato.
The bone wedged in the top of my whiskered throat.
The palest form of panic set in.
I swallowed hard a few times.
Swigged a root beer.
Everyone's eyes grew wide as I grew dark red.
It finally dislodged on its own merits.
Thank God perch bones are thin.
At times, death arrives out of nowhere.
Sometimes in the form of a freight train.
A bolt of lightning or a yellow perch bone.
Your eyes prevent me from thinking a lot,
yet let you prey on my mind.
Cannot really describe the happiness they plot
Because in my mind, there is a lot to find.
They always find their way to my heart
Funny how they never deceive my sight.
Your prestige is presumptuous
which makes me more scrumptious.
It does not allow me to scream out your name,
but prevails me to continuously stare at you
In your absence nothing is the same,
yet in your presence I do not know what to do.
Prestige-good reputation
Presumptuous- too bold or confident
Scrumptious-careful
It was nearly summer break,
We met as she bumped into me.
She fell and I helped her up,
That was only the beginning.
We spent summer together,
Being with her, it just felt right.
A thought invaded my mind,
I couldn’t help but think “Kiss her.”
It caught me off guard a bit,
Girls shouldn’t kiss other girls, right?
Wouldn’t that be a bit strange?
Maybe I have just drank too much.
Next time we were together,
I was stone cold sober, And still,
I leant in as my lips met hers,
In that moment, everything stopped.
I didn’t feel weird, or wrong,
It didn’t feel strange, or awkward,
It was perfect. So was she.
I wish it lasted forever.
77 winters…..77
And each one snuck up on me
Caught me off guard
No rake, not enough leaf bags,
Too damn dark, too damn soon.
And the snowblower!!!!!
Dammit….gotta get fresh gas
Drain it, prime it …..and
Hope it starts
Before my shoulder gives out.
Maybe we won’t need it this year?
My new neighbors ask:
“why don’t you go to Florida?”
I laugh
As only a New Englander can
And reply….
“AND MISS ALL THIS!!!”
John G. Lawless
©11/21/2022
It caught me off-guard-- my outburst of copious tears!
For Margaret Ann Brady's heartbreak over the years :(
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In reaction to this historical fiction book:
Voyage on the Great Titanic (Dear America):
The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic, 1912
by Ellen Emerson White
At the corner of King and Far West Street
A newly arrived German family
They'd given birth to one
We were twelve or thereabout
I saw her in twilight of Hit Parade on radio Belize
I'd just walked barefoot from my yard
Never made it to Jim, the grocer next door.
I was face to face with newness of life
Eyes like a pussy cat, she pulled me
Half devoured me with her embrace
She squeezed as if to savor joy
I was pissed she dared to seize me
Caught me off guard
I smelled the smell of evening rose, but
Could not chase the fog that vied for her warmth
I knew not the color of friendship
Dark chocolate, white hands
Blues by the Caribbean Sea.
*
finding his old letters
at the bottom of my drawer
caught me off-guard ~
it took me a minute
to catch my breath
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
When asked "Where is it your from?"
It caught me off guard, I stop to think
Of a beat up record whose song
When sung makes your heart sink
I have been a fool again I see
sad i don't belong anywhere
Thinking here I shouldn't be
doesn't matter if life is unfair
"Wow I haven't learned a thing"
Emotionless sharply I inhale
chest feels so tight it stings
again I am just an epic fail
To not stay long is that wrong
avoiding feelings I now feel
Now I have got to stay strong
The pain I must try to conceal
"Nowhere" I say avoiding your stare
"Never stayed long in any place!"
Stating truthful I couldnt dare
After a dream I'll not catch but
always chase
A small petite lady is standing at my door
The lifeless smile inside of a friendly grin
Caught me off guard her smile my sin
The part I remember most was the warm lit hand
Upon entrance my heart began to disband
I let her inside and a mark was made
Laughter and love my heart was swayed
We laughed at swallowed the vodka we consumed
A drip from her lips was the moment too soon
Conformity left and our hearts desire was swept
Not a moment too soon was our secrets kept
Shot through the pain from my battle scars
came the moment in pain from our moment apart
She left me that night and never again seen
to leave me on a chouch staring at an empty screen
the poisonous gaze..had me from the start
pierced pass the veil the guarded my heart
I shall try to find another like her
Buy me more vodka
And I'll buy you the water
My daughter was reflecting
All the bests in her life.
She caught me off guard.
When she brought up
Her favorite memory ever.
A giant box?
Remember when Tee and I were little, she asked me.
And you gave us the giant box.
We colored it, decorated it, played in it until it was in shreds.
We cried when it was gone.
Her favorite memory in forty-six years of living.
It meant so much to her, I pretended to remember
At twelve I saw kissing in shows
Where "gross" was suppose to be hot
As for me, my first chance arose
Before I could give it much thought!
She said what fun kissing would be
But caught me off guard for a while
I asked, "Each other?", though plain to see
She then rolled her eyes, with a smile
In a garage where cars couldn't park
All though we tried we weren't moved
We bumped our lips without a spark
But I felt, it could be improved
It was something I didn't need
But then I began to ponder
In my head was planted a seed
How good could it get I wonder?
I was used and abused
my heart was trampled on.
So as a defense mechanism,
It became cold as ice,
and hard as a rock.
I didn't allow love to get near it,
that was until you came,
and caught me off guard.
You were relentless in your
pursuit of me, I had no choice,
but to surrender to your love.
You made my icy heart melt,
my heart of stone became flesh.
You know what you did my love?
you WOKE UP MY HEART.
10-19-17
Inspired by the " Wake Up My Heart" contest
Sponsor: Julie Leigh Rodeheaver
I went down to the Caribbean Sea,
An island paradise ahead of me.
I meant to go for just another lay,
So I went and got myself smashed that day.
I saw he standing there, with coal black eyes,
And long dark hair, that didn’t disguise,
The curves she had, caught me off guard
She was the finest thing down in that bar.
As I drew up near, my ride began
I should’ve feared that Creole woman.
What was in store, I did not know.
She waved me one, so I had to go.
She gave me love, oh yes, so much,
A helpless fool at her tender touch.
A night gone by, the best I ever had,
The kind of lover who drove men mad.
As morning came, I thanked sweet God,
But she was gone, and I was robbed.
I stumbled out onto the sand
I cursed her name, Creole woman.
My passport she left, that one small gift,
The cops said she’d given the many the shift.
The tropical waves lost their attraction,
I hopped a plane, got back to Jackson.
It started soon, the identity thieving.
Had to fight every step, the stress unceasing.
A lesson learned, but which still does vex,
The things that woman can do with sex.
Next time I vacation in Japan,
Far as I can get from Creole woman.
Captured by your charm
Lost in your gaze
Scared of no harm
Yet shaking at the feel of your warmth
Begging time to stand still
Asking the stars to capture this memory eternally
Yes, I was caught
Lost in love's web
The night echoed our secrets
The day read up our history
Every one told our love story
No one tried to come to my rescue
For the reports clearly painted the picture
Yes, I was caught,
But this time I was caught
Begging to remain a captive in love's web.
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