SOMEWHERE IN THE DISTANCE
Somewhere in the distance, way out where
You are there, forever wondering and wondering
Somewhere in the vast distance, critters wander
And your hopes are reoccurring dreams which
Persistently keep coming to you
You’ll eventually find the one for whom you seek
So, despite your wonderment don’t give up so easy,
But let go of your worries and discouragement
I watch the birds glide way up in the sky
And think what freedom to never be limited
To any one place
Someday we’ll throw coins in a fountain,
And meet our special some ones but until then,
Life need not be in despair
HONESTY
Double dealing yet convincing individuals
Are all over like clouds in the sky even though abominations-
They could be on every corner of every street ignoring the heat
Under their feet as they wait for a new victim or recruit
But you must never be one of them despite their many methods
Of persistently swaying-they will eventually abandon you when it
Benefits them even if you rip a hem-you deserve a better life than
Than that of a Judas Goat`
Never steal nor lie about either yourself or others
It is neither honest nor right to do either even if you can be
convincing and want to ruffle some feathers-leave it to those who
Who enjoy causing trouble and instead huddle with the honest
citizens- your honesty will grow stronger!
“Everything just works out for me”
You persistently espouse
With eyes shut to generosity
Lit hands open for douse
You persistently espouse
A path paved by grand design
Lit hands open for douse
Your saviors are hardly divine
A path paved by grand design
Your derelict steps assume
Your saviors are hardly divine
Their efforts blindly consumed
Indifference shines upon your sleeve
“Everything just works out for me”
As you outsource reprieve
With eyes shut to generosity
As a citizen poet without pretension,
I offer a true tale of my invention.
A solid everyman in my community,
with a reputation of immunity,
I was happy and content.
I shared my thoughtful insights,
and wrote about the northern lights.
My words made grown men cry.
I think about it and breathe a sigh -
I was something else!
But, one morning, I woke up
and drank acidic coffee from my cup,
which my wife served black as pitch.
Inside I felt a strange, hot itch.
Could it be indigestion?
No ordinary heart inside my chest,
was it the Devil who had me possessed?
Burning inside, I fretfully undressed,
as, to despair, I acquiesced,
and went back to bed.
But, the feeling persistently welled,
until, at last, I was oddly compelled,
and in terror, I was gripped,
so my own skin, I violently ripped,
exposing my insides.
There, I saw sprockets and springs,
gears, knobs and other things,
and screamed an existential cry,
knowing I could neither live, nor die,
for all I was, was just AI.
Old cold man persistently long for summer time and long to go out!
My walls are tall. I’ve built them strong
To keep out all who don’t belong.
It seems a lonely life but not so much.
For protection, safety’s sake,
I’ve built them so they cannot break.
You can’t be hurt if you cannot be touched.
Here in my heart alone I dwell
Within this mighty citadel.
A fortress keeping foreigners at bay.
I won’t expose my fragile heart
To those who might tear it apart.
My signs are posted, “Danger! Keep away!”
I like it here with only me.
Though I may hurt, no one can see.
My secrets safe from anybody else.
With solitude my only friend
My heart might have a chance to mend.
At least that’s what I try to tell myself.
Perhaps, someday I’ll drop my shield,
My fortress then an open field
Where one might dance and play beneath the sky.
But until then I’ll keep them strong,
Staying here where I belong,
Where none will ever see the tears I cry.
Yet, strangely I can faintly hear
A quiet voice drift to my ear.
Singing, “Let me in,” persistently.
It troubles me to hear this song
That gently echoes on and on.
For why would anybody want to be
In here with me
You Needn't Ever OBEY
WHATEVER Any Voice
In Your Head May
*Persistently* Say.
-Gray Squirrel
08-23-2025
Sometimes I hide the truth in words that dance among shadows and lights,
I tell you that I want nothing from you, not even in exchange for these lines,
But if you look deeply, you'll see how I try to make you mine in silence,
Persistently, in ways I hope you won't notice, but always feel.
I sometimes hide you between verses, only I know you're there, a secret kept,
Other times I write you so openly, it feels like I'm baring my soul to you,
And when you read, I wait for that spark, that moment when you recognize yourself in them,
In every curve of my sentences, a mirror reflecting your essence.
I don't care for compliments, I don't long for applause or hollow praises,
All I want are pieces of you, a smile, a word, a shared laugh,
Just enough to keep alive the hope that one day you'll be part of me,
A dream intertwined with reality, a story told in whispers and silences.
Ocean waves call me.
Beckoning me to stop and stay a while. Staying awhile to listen to the peaceful music of the waves breaking upon the sand. Watching waves persistently pulling back to start again with no hesitation.
If only the waves spoke a foreign language only I could understand. I would stay forever and ask about its ways.
Ocean waves, how deep the depths of your beauty must go.
To be such a safe place for creatures, nothing too big or too small, because of you they thrive and in such delight.
There will never be
A story told
That does not measure
Hope so old
As in this tree
With shading bow
As here I sit
In writing now
For in this ancient
Solid form
That buries deep
Under the norm
Of human treadmill
Feet that scurry
A wisdom lies
Below the flurry
Such gnarly skin
Yet seasoned clothes
A message tall
This tree bestows
For those with eyes
For those with ears
A whisper to dispel
Your fears
Carbon capture
Monolith
Prompts perfect style
For kin and kith
We learn our futures
Can be bright
If trust, we do
With such insight
Roots in earth
Yet highest height
Entwined in life
As nature’s rite
So let us grow
Persistently
Protecting, loving
A human tree
A foolish heart will never learn
The foolish heart often gets burnt
It believes that love will conqueror all
Overlook faults no matter how big or small
It believes in fairy tales and loves first kiss
Wizards, legends and magic exists
Santa Claus and the Easter bunny
Confetti, chocolates and flowers on Sunday
I once knew a foolish heart every well
Filled with hopes and dreams and wedding bells
Her friends tried to warn of a man who didn’t love her the same
Her love to him was part of his game
But she decided to give her heart to him anyway
then he broke that foolish heart when he wouldn’t stay
That foolish heart persistently fought hard to the end
Scarred and crushed, but sadly that fools heart did not win.
I know that foolish heart will try love once more
Because despite it all foolish hearts still believes that true love endures.
Sometimes they may appear,
As though they have thick skin,
But little do we really know,
All the demons they fight within.
They constantly try so hard,
Not to let their family down,
So they hide away their truth,
And try straighten up their crown.
When it never rains only pours,
The days are long and cold,
No matter what may happen,
They don't give in and fold.
Persistently trying to provide,
Weighing them down with stress,
Doing what they can to protect,
Even when life feels like a mess.
Just a fraction of the worries,
Tormenting them through until sunrise,
Hidden and securely locked away,
Deep behind a man's eyes.
When old age arrives adorned in grey grace,
When desultory dreams of fast fled youth
Persistently insist on poignant truth -
Among a few, stands out one loving face.
That one she so capriciously ignored,
Audaciously still spinning Fortune’s wheel.
While life of youth promised the better deal,
She spurned his love and chose to be adored.
Now by the fireplace she reminisces -
If strolled another path where would she be… ?
Nostalgic tears drip on old diary,
That love, heartfelt deal, she dearly misses.
such artistry, tied to two trees
background of a neighbor’s house
which one is mere majestic
you’d say unhesitatingly, the web
but did you know my neighbor
they shingled and painted
their whole house themselves
it was something else
you’d look at it and think
it’s boring brown, but
I see deeper into their lot
the spider’d disagree
my analysis is persistently
annoying because her web
appears as a soccer net
or football for those nuts
in the UK - don’t disparage
you say - but they are nuts
for football, aren’t they
the world wide web would AI
something achingly intricate
but it needs to mind its own
because we all find in small things
something quite beautiful
case in point, fireworks I couldn’t see
but I could hear the one’s next door
as I sat outdoors (and the only time
this year) I saw, lit up like a gathering
of fairies, in my little woods, fireflies
don’t argue, just nod, nod off
and be human instead
Poets persistently
pursue pleasing phrases,
ponder philosophy,
personify pulseless
pieces, produce pointed
perspectives, perhaps pen
palatable poems.
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