I often find that, hour after hour,
I can't overcome my inertial power
and get into the shower.
If I smell bad, and the doorbell should ring,
oh, the embarrassment that would bring,
but, under the nozzle, I could sing.
So, finally, I remove my clothes,
and jump in, not to offend some person's nose,
and come out smelling like a rose.
I confidentially tell you this -
my idea of domestic bliss
is under the hot water's steamy hiss.
As I lather up a soapy slime,
I lose all track of time
and begin to rhyme.
Indeed, it's in this watery place,
my mind wanders, losing track of space,
as, my poetic muse, I embrace,
My best poems are penned in this wet womb.
Verses born in my head, spring, full bloom.
This one was written in my living room.
My mind is upset tonight.
Loud.
Angry in a language only my ribs understand.
I’m trying to evict memories that don’t pay rent.
They sit in my chest,
replaying the scene,
rewriting the ending I never got.
I’m sick of complaining to myself
about a past I can’t edit.
Sick of the reruns.
Sick of _you_ in my head
when you don’t deserve the space.
I hate it now.
There — I said it.
Not pretty. Not healing. Just true.
You took something.
Peace, maybe.
And I don’t know how to bill you for it.
They say “forgive and forget”
like it’s a two-step dance.
I can’t do either.
Maybe I don’t want to.
Does that make me bitter?
Maybe.
But bitterness is honest.
And I’m too tired to lie today.
I want quiet.
I want the version of me back
from before I learned how much words can cut.
But she’s gone.
So I’ll take quiet in _this_ body,
with _this_ anger,
if that’s all I get.
So for tonight,you live here,on paper.
Not in my chest,not in my sleep
I'm changing the locks.
You can keep the damage ,
But I'm keeping me..
Allow space between us to disappear
And come wantonly to merge where souls' dwell
To feel emotion whether far or near
And absorb our loves rushing captured swell
We'll invite the hearts pulsating desire
And enter this realm with a freedom found
Released from the bondage of days prior
Breathe in the fragrant scent of sacred ground
To open a closed heart without a demand
And share what we have to fullest amount
In joyous union come to understand
That the purest love will never doubt
I come to you with my love to invest
Hear your heartbeat as I quietly rest
There is no bigger invite
Then the Lord inviting us
To His wedding banquet.
There is no bigger invite
Then God’s invitation... His Son,
Our second chance for redemption.
There is no bigger invite
Then Jesus inviting us (saving us!)
To live in Heaven with Him for eternity.
There’s no bigger invite
Then the one given to each of us
Before our imminent death.
So don’t wait, the time is now,
The biggest decision you'll ever make
To accept His invitation.
With the mountains with the stones
Let me invite you Lord (Allah)
At the dawns with the birds
Let me invite you Lord
At the deep of water with the fishes
At the deserts with the roes
As a dervish by your name
Let me invite you Lord
At the sky by Jesus
At the montane by Moses
With the baton at my palm
Let me invite you Lord
In the sorrows by Prophet Job
Drops in eyes by Prophet Jacob
With the Muhammad beloved
Let me invite you Lord
By gratitude by praise
By your attribute indivise
Remembering you always
Let me invite you Lord
I know the world's case
I left the words and wares
Head open and barefoot
Let me invite you Lord
Jonah recites with tongues
With nighingales and doves
By God lover slaves
Let me invite you Lord
Written by Dervish Jonah (Yunus Emre)
Translation Onur Ünlü
If I invite you into my home, please do not show up with the floor plan and Pinterest boards of your ideas to decorate it as you see fit.
I like the plants I have hung up and the rainbow catchers hung in the window. They bring in growth and sunshine.
And before you forget, make sure when you exit you lock the door behind you. Because I told you, this chair you brought with you, well it just does not fit.
So maybe next time, you can sit in the chair I gave you that already was here waiting for someone who could sit and not just stand by and visit.
A message of hope from Maya Angelou…
I bring to you this day…
She said:
Hope and fear cannot occupy the same space…
So why not invite hope to stay.
Frog croaks for rain,
Cock invites the sun, Pain brings gain, Point out likes gun.
Baby loves toys,
Moon gives light , Play increases joy , And dress makes us bright.
Sea, I stand upon your shore with the rising of the sun
as sanguine shades of dawn blend with an amber sky
Long before the overture of the human race has begun
I walk barefoot on the sand; to moonlight wave goodbye
When Ra lifts his heavy eyelids and wipes away the sleep
his light is softly reflected in prismed mirrors on your skin
I wonder what buried treasure lies within your waters, deep
before my mind is captured by the wake of a dorsal fin
Your smooth satin surface is without wrinkles or ripples
It beckons me, "Come," as though you invite me to suckle
upon the salty crested waves of your whitecapped nipples
and I, powerless to refuse, would wade in and gladly truckle
Oh, rising Sea, would I were the wind to caress your cheek
I'd not tire of lying cradled in the ebb and flow of your tide
Rocked by gentle motion, I'd be entranced by your mystique
Upon Earth, you are feared and worshipped, far and wide
Your voice lashes out with Neptune's roar when riled in rage
but tranquil in peace when moonlight shimmers in the night
What dark secrets you hold would fill a novel, page after page
You evoke my mind with questions; flames burning, you ignite
myself I will invite
a great poem do have to write
about a dark night
The mystery of time when true love invite
The promise of full blooms response to the light
The way of an eagle soaring in flight
The joy of a blind man receiving his sight
The skill of a poet’s poem recite
The mystery of time when true love invite
The way that day turns into night
The romance a candle creates burning bright
The stature of a philly that reaches its height
The sword of the king placed on his knight
The mystery of time when true love invite
The victory of a warrior winning a fight.
The sound of a 357 chevy engine’s ignite
The joy of friends after time reunite
The way a students understanding enlight
The mystery of time when true love invite
You only came because you need,
It was never about us, it was never about me,
But in the wake of that need, it opened my eyes,
Because sometimes we don't realize our own needs in this life,
We reach out not knowing the outcome of who we invited to the table,
We had no idea that that person would help change our lives forever,
The heart longs for more than what we think we need,
Unspoken feelings buried deeper than we see
Midge the Mouse could tell that her date was not into her
He was busy slurping down all the butter off their popcorn
She wondered why did he invite me, the sneaky little cur.
Because my Uncle Zeke is the owner of Movie Galaxy in Big Horn?
They got a discount on the popcorn, he only had to pay half.
Then he decided to go Dutch, which to Midge was a big surprise.
He stopped to get a famous movie mouse’s autograph.
Then asked for her phone number in front of Midge’s eyes.
Absent Friend
They dusted me down after twenty years.
Come to my birthday, have a few beers.
We missed you so much my dear friend.
Sorry about the invites we failed to send.
I was a best mate, sometimes a big sap.
Your finest cue, the liver and bacon rap.
Giggling about nothing entering a camp.
Stuck behind a wheelchair climbing a ramp.
The bloke on the gate thought I was mad.
Laughing insanely while him Jack the lad.
Great times mate, obviously not enough.
Left on the side-lines as push came to shove.
You two, still remain, deep in my heart.
I am no different, though an old fart.
I still laugh daily and this keeps me sane.
But I’ll still feel love. Still feel pain.
So, an invite at last, what’s my address.
Can’t tell you, you’ll just have to guess.
If you’d made a call from May until now.
You’d know everything a friend would allow.
Have a good time, you recount all our jokes.
About a guy you knew, among other folks.
I’ll sit here quiet and no embarrassing scene.
Look back twenty years, what might have been?
David Cox 01/02/23
Do you want to play?
Oh, yes! Indeed!
Let’s dance and twirl and make loud steps.
Let’s invite the boy with the wheels.
Okay.
Let's invite the white girl who has freckles
Okay.
Let's invite the kid whose hair is beaded and braided.
Okay.
Let’s invite EVERYBODY!
Okay.
At six, they include everybody.
They invite everybody.
They love everybody.
Unless they have been taught differently.
These lucky children have not been taught differently.
It is twirl, whirl, dance, hop, skip and laugh.
They hold hands and begin spontaneously singing.
Their parents and grandparents’ faces crack from ear to ear.
Enthusiasm, love, inclusion and joy bring hope into the world every time.
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