Tenacious on occasion.
Orderly always.
Unspoiled by opinions of others.
Generous to a fault.
Honesty is his only policy.
Outperforms what is expected.
Longing for Heaven.
Decisiveness is a strong point.
Backbone shows in the face of adversity.
Ideas that solves problems he owns.
Receptive to the opinions of others.
Downhill is now his direction of flight.
desert sand kicks up with a mind of her own on occasion
nomads know to wear scarves and layers in which to hide
camels shield them from her wrath, when she turns full blown
ruins in the distance hold a secret scroll, her exact location hidden.
the scroll seeker opens up his map, searching for clues
terrible treacherous sandstorm is approaching from the east
he can tell by the brightness of the sky, she means destruction
wanderer on camel settles down next to the ruin, readying himself
Grandma worked for the salvation army, sorting clothes.
she was part of a class called the working poor.
On occasion she'd take us shopping downtown
this was long before downtown went crazy.
She would buy brother and I a toy-maybe a treat.
Did I mention that was before downtown went crazy.
Today it isn't safe for anybody,
and crazy is spreading on the outbound... rapidly.
I have a dream of getting a half-acre or two of pristine.
Immerse myself in wildflower and Evergreens.
Sure, there's some risk from
mountain cat-wildfire -rogue bear
I don't consider them crazy though
just beautiful-honest-natural-without a care.
Grandma immersed in the forever greens years ago
brother was soon to follow, or so I like to believe.
Alone is spreading like wildfire
Downtown Buffalo was never green.
The Lake.....
lies… still,
a glistening sheet of tin foil,
shimmering in a cold-eyed wind.
At night
the lake still... lies… still;
a coffin with lid screwed light-tight.
On occasion, the moon trickles light,
lightly across the lake's pitch-black back;
the knack of making the coffin lid crack!
Today, I challenge myself
to touch-dive the lake’s chilling depths,
halfway down I halt, a dark vault,
weakens my errant confidence.
Despite puppet legs and handcuffed arms
I spin frantically to reach a detached surface,
bursting out like some skittish, Scottish salmon
only to be held between the two supremos;
illuminated sky and darksome water.
Tonight, the lake grips my bedroom window
and I watch as watery, inky tentacles
claw and talon at an unsettled shoreline.
Later, I wait for sleep to possess me,
sensing surrounding hills clinging closely
while rain falls like pellets of iron.
So I drift…listening to the lake
whispering dangerous, whispering treacherous secrets
until nature’s seesaw; night tilts into daylight.
Ian Souter
Button up your metaphors;
Zipper up your lip.
Shoot from any place you want
Other than the hip.
Writing what you really feel
By some will seem a crime,
Especially when posted
Like your others, all in rhyme.
Don’t express conflicting views.
Follow the advice
Of staying on the sidelines
And avoid all thinning ice.
Sometimes words can make a point
That’s better left unsaid
And on occasion, poems are better
When they aren’t read.
I was asked, “have you ever been hit on the jaw?”
I replied, on occasion, I’ve hit a fist with my face.
“Looks like scar tissue is the conclusion I draw”
“but I’ll send it to the lab to be sure that’s the case”
Four days later I got a call that had the answer,
I knew it was bad when He wouldn’t tell my wife.
He was quick to the point, “you’ve Parotid gland cancer,”
and about four days later I was under his knife.
In the Sixties the C word usually meant dying,
so I sought the hand of the one I’d long ignored.
The thought of eternal hell became horrifying,
and from desperation I took the hand of the Lord.
I fell down on my knees and started praying,
not asking for a healing but forgiveness that day.
Believing that He would hear what I was saying,
and that my new life path would be His way.
This all came to pass fifty-seven years ago,
at age Twenty-Eight I took the hand of Jesus.
I’ve clutched it tightly not ever letting go,
it took His death on the cross from sin to free us.
Thank you Jesus for blessing/extending my life.
Miracle Man
ABYSS
Abyss, a Place of Redemption
solace space curling then unfurling
here we sail drowsy dark seas
no boats or oars, unaccompanied
converse with walrus and whales
black shimmers silent, we brook it
Abyss, a cloak of protection as
alchemy distills gross, grime, goo
a thousand fingers unseen sew broken
pieces of Life, loosen patronising hooks
Angels of Abyss appear as they wish
gentle as all other, except their wings are midnight blue, gathering loose threads
snapped nerves, false cues
Lady Nad visits here on occasion
casting charming spells with cymbals
duduks, flutes, xylophone
silence unscathed holding sound
we covet glimmer darkness, black coffee
it holds us safely swarthy
sardine swim inquisitive
incognito, poke tired flesh
individuated personalities shine
examine mine
we attune to F o r e v e r together
Abyss, a place of activation
no shadowy stagnation or sirens
no pothole sidles or humans with
placards, test tubes or empathy labels
no boundary walls at all
humming droning buzzing
om oomm ooommm om
I recognise Cosmic sound
protected, fall deeper
into black abyss
bliss
I usually sit down with my tea,
And Dora not so far from me,
Her slava drooling from her jaw,
On command she'll raise her paw,
On occasion food will drop,
Dora the hoover cleans up the slop,
She eats for fun she's never full,
One big stomach she's like a bull,
And one big drawback it isn't smart,
She let's one slip a smelly fart,
Such a stench she'll clear the room,
You dare to stay then that's your doom,
For such a size She has some strength,
Match a pitbull without its length,
A favourite pass time the great outdoors,
She'd plan her route her choice not yours,
Toilet done She wants her prize,
In your pocket and its bite size,
And when the day is at its end,
I cuddle up with my best Friend,
She keeps me warm all through the night,
Then let's one rip so unpolite,
Now that's all gone she's here no more,
A grieving pain in my inner core,
Again I look back to the past,
My future once more overcast,
I did what's right I know I did,
The cancer gone and we got rid,
Cost Dora's life it was the deal,
It will take months for me to heal.
Was your jaw ever hit at some watering place
Yes, I have on occasion hit a fist with my face
His incorrect answer,
Scar tissue, not cancer.
That Doctor was too quick to cut to the chase.
Wind outside my tiny home, wreaking chaos on its porch
Wicker chairs and potted plants, stand firmly against its force
Finely tuned chimes sound loudly, sending sweetly toned notes into the night
A candle I’ve lit flickers, with the flow of cool currents through aging wooden panes
As the warm glow from the fire, now comforting, fends off the chill from a cool springtime rain
Tuxedo cats hardly notice a thing, intertwined into something resembling a fine sable
Opening one eye on occasion, then quickly returning to twilight
The fire logs let out a soft sounding hiss, as they shrink into hot glowing embers
Fixing my gaze towards its vibrant colors. Comforting, Hypnotic
Drift off to sleep with sounds of a storm. Who’s sharp pitches and tones
Guiding me gently like binaural beats and theta waves
Into another state, created by conscious choice. A world of making all my own
i lost you somewhere in the fog
i lost you somewhere in the fog
tuesday, the day we shared apple pie and coffee
i knew by the way you swallowed your words
and politely wiped the punctuation with your napkin
soft music cooled our coffee, black
and when tears welled in your eyes i had no doubt
you would walk away when the final word was spoken
and last glances devoured like dust in the sunlight
i never knew then, and don’t know now…
where did you go when you turned left towards fillmore street?
aimless, it seemed and yet with power and
reckless determination like a stallion in an open prairie
i see you on occasion and yet not
sometimes it is your eyes worn by another woman
sometimes your smile has been stolen
but never can another woman wear you like you did
when i hear the song that played that day
tuesday, when we shared apple pie and coffee
i close my eyes and watch you walk in the door
turning right from fillmore street
my eyes are closed, wishing that i was dreaming
waiting until my coffee is stone cold
hoping for a fresh cup with no tears
while watching the server walk away…
just as you did
© tolbert
Lady Sings the Blues She oftentimes reminisces
And laments humming songs about her past.
Lady Sings the Blues
Her verbal abuse on occasion hits harder than
the waves in the ocean. Lady Sings the Blues
She walks 3 steps forward only to be pushed
7 steps backward, at least, it seems. Lady Sings
the Blues.
She refuses to give up, yet is a seeker for the truth
to uncover veiled realities that surround her. Lady
Sings the Blues
Deceptions and Disappoints once we're her friends
they thought they had her captive now the blindfolds
are removed, Faith has become her found friend.
Lady Sings the Blues
wonder on occasion if they speak
Soft words whispered into soundless space
For if they do
I hear them, softly
In the sounds of moonlight
Unseen ripples kissing a shore
The applause of lightly clapping leaves
Flower petals giggling of a summer’s eve
The purr of distant need
Listening
Once upon a time there was
a ticklish dragon
The knights would tickle his belly
And he would roll around in laughter
He would giggle and hoot
And on occasion perform an embarrassing toot
He was such a well loved dragon
and there will never be another like him
Backward Thinking
Miracle Man
9/16/2024
The tranquility that so often i readily enjoy,
is invariably the precursor for a coming storm.
Spewing words at me to browbeat and destroy,
is seldom the impetus that forces me to conform.
Over the years some have tried to make me do,
and more than a few have made me wish I’d done.
On occasion I’ve bitten off more than I could chew,
but once a fracas starts it’s too late to be undone.
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