At forty, I hired a vocal coach.
My husband had taken up
a new friend—he swore it was platonic,
her name unimportant.
Upfront, she warned me
her rate for adults
was higher than for children—
a grown-up's capacity for change
isn't great, throat muscles
less pliable, even though
they usually want it more.
This isn't a story
of overcoming
diaphragmatic disadvantages
of mature voices in training,
just its cost.
I had one lesson wherein
she informed me
the price of admission
for her attention to my voice—
to get near the neighborhood
of up to par—
was double the original estimate.
It came with a guarantee
of no promises.
She wasn't a magician, she said.
To make me passable
at karaoke bars
would be an extra ten a session.
It was cheap, actually, easy
quitting those lessons—
quitting my husband.
I never wanted to be a pop star,
only to feel a knowing in my bones
that someone could still hear me.
Below the gray blah canopy
Suffering from bad attitude
and seasonal psychosis
The human race sprints
No finish line required
and Everyone wins gold
Music blaring
Bikini tops daring
Exposed guts not caring
Rooftop gogo dancer staring
At me
Ok, maybe that's vice versa
Its a poolside, post-graduate MTV Spring Break
Some of us much more "post" than others
The glaze and haze of Vegas
Sprawling in the manner built for Caesar
Decadence is the Neighborhood Watch
Where every citizen is
On patrol
On Patron
All far gone
Judgment
By them or ourselves
Left town for lent
Or excommunicated at the stake
Where loungers and readers
And tricksters and treaters
are one
Tighter than conjoined twins
playing with crazy glue in Texas heat
And the ways that used to be
And the ways we wish there were
And the ways we can rent by glass
Are included in the price of admission
Guilt not included
As everyone drops their towels
Hoping for someone to pick them up.
(9/7/13)
(if it’s)
Love me …
hate my writing
(or)
Hate me …
love my writing
I can live with the hate
(Rosemont College: March, 2023)
after the show
i am where i wanna be
i am an 'only you' person anyway, so i am fully and completely content
just to see you smile is worth the full price of admission
i never thought that i would grow to love someone, but Praise The Lord, here i am
after the show
i am where i wanna be
i am learning about ForEver Love right now by simply being quiet and sitting still
i am loving the facades in the corner and being loved by the real you
after the show
i am where i wanna be
donnel jones and affection in the dark
time is on our side like a happy turtle taking its ever precious time
after the show
i am where i wanna be
it does not even matter if we fall asleep right here still in our clothes
loving you is the greatest way for my whole self to be healed....Thank You Baby....
Cerebrate Contemplations
David J Walker
Knowing the nature of forever
Is understanding that never is not a
Natural option
The never of ever letting go
of a single day
is the beginning of
Natures empathic nature
Of nature’s prophetic cognition
Perceptions printed from various
Points of view of conviction
Credulities creation
Credence as the price of admission
The cadence of the passengers conductor on
The only night train through
This small town
once in a month
Find me in the Somnolent ev’n tide
In the arms of Cerebrate contemplations
welcome to my universe
welcome to my universe
my world
my inner cosmos
the world according to cosmos
it is a dark and fantastical land
filled with dark dangerous delusions
mad monsters
dark imaginings
things that go bump in the night
wild things that come out at night
haunting my dreams
and my nightmares
it is a world for madmen only
dare to enter
the price of admission
your mind
care to join me
in this dark carnival ride
straight to the bottom
of my personal hell
if not
well I understand
my world is not
for everyone
but if you do come
along for the ride
I guarantee it
You will emerge
On the other side
A different person
Having seen things
That are best unseen
Experiencing life
At its most elemental
And in the end
Becoming me
The heart wants what it wants
The body craves what it desires
The soul searches for truth and meaning
And our brains are generally on fire
Singers describe their anguish in song
and doctors prescribe a pill
Theologians define the right and wrong
and psychologists send you a bill
Appetite and hunger
for all things under heaven and earth
Is the price of admission and the dept we all must pay
And the Almighty wouldn"t take away your endless longing-
even if he could- nor have it any other way
"Freedom from want" is a pernicious lie
Perpetrated by the "elites" and all that money
they never give up
Soupkitchen soul for the condescending folk
Plastered onto a groovy coffee cup
Appetite and hunger, from the cradle to the grave
is their ugly sin of omission, a rather obvious display
But God has the final word- even if you haven't heard-
on what is the final price we all must pay
A plastic bag, a windy day,
she's darting, dancing high and low,
coquettish in her flight of fancy,
all in all, a one-bag show;
a street performer with a twist,
I wish you could have seen her,
a holder meant for groceries,
a no-name ballerina.
Erratic, yes, but orchestrated,
it's as if a puppeteer
controlled the choreography,
a protege without a peer.
She soared and swooped, this virtuoso,
then the errant wind was gone,
and I was left to ruminate,
an audience of one.
********
...inspired by 'that scene' in the movie, 'American Beauty,'
once seen never forgotten and alone worth the price of admission!
I'm dreaming of a well lit Christmas
just like the ones that used to glow
for a price of admission, a well-lit apparition
a rainbow-colored gel for Christmas show
I'm dreaming of a lighted Christmas
photons careening with bright flow
'lectric magicians emit eye-candy emissions
from exclusive condos down to 'long skid row
I'm dreaming of a well lit Christmas
a mega-watt extravaganza blazing bright
so that all the Christmas lights invite
a shareholders annual dividend delight
© Goode Guy 2012-12-20
Where is the silence of the night
When you are out of sight
i dwell in dark corners of my soul
stretching out to the light
just above.
When the noise grows, too loud,
When the enemy grows too proud,
i dwell in the lighted place within my soul,
praying for disquise from the crowd
a Heavenly intervention.
When i come out to get a peek
at the well that never leaks
my soul yearned to sneak
to sneak away to the mountains:
a small retreat.
When i am called home one day,
i know that i will be happy to pay
the price of admission, all the way,
to His throne.