some t-shirts make me laugh
walking advertisements
athletic team slogans
school events
family reunions
concert paraphernalia
quotes from Poe
some t-shirts have cartoons
others are parodies of Van Gogh
the softest ones are usually from New Zealand
I've seen what you'll never see
I did what you dare not do
I hear what can't be heard
I know the knowledge unknown
I've been to the abyss
I lived many lives
I kissed death twice
I felt the slightest touch
I've swored past the limit
I tagged the rock at bottom
I've cried a river
I blead a pool
I carried the world
I thought the unthinkable
I've tasted the forbidden
I had it all
I've lost it all
I've sacrificed everything
I loved the unlovable
I've tried the hardest
I lifted many spirits
I believed the lies
I've righted the wrong
I've blessed the cursed
I shot the best
I ate the rest
I've saved us all
I've damned us all
I am who you dare not be
I've done what was Destined of me
I gave you everything
I hope you seen what you came to see
And this is all that's left of me
I've been there
I've done that
I mop the floor every night at the local convenience store.
Graveyard shift.
A teenage girl walks in wearing a Nirvana t-shirt.
She’s pretty ... and she gives me a headache.
A James Bond 007 guitar riff. Then the drums kick in. I can see the MTV video.
Cheerleaders.
The kids.
Mosh pit.
I'm spinning. ...
And I'm 17 and I am 50.
I am Generation X.
I am the mop and the bucket, and they are me.
I am Tony De La Rosa.
Saw a T-shirt
on the backside writ
'Fart Now Loading'
Not enough space
to write
'Exploding'
Struggle and Survive;
Or Sit there, lose and die.
Your eyes I’d memorize, emotive brown.
I think you memorized those lines, oh you…
Tinged pink, the peaks of youth, don’t let me down.
You knelt at my curved knee to tie my shoe.
I ride your bike on handlebars, so cool.
Our bodies fit each other like a glove.
Your arms and legs, steady, don’t be a fool…
I’m safe as long as you don’t crash, my love.
We stretched our wheels a bit too far. Twilight
simmers, our experience shows, who cares…
Fate linked up with friends - not stranded tonight.
The moon is nigh, unspoken dreams we share.
***************************************************
*If I told you, you had a good body*
*would you hold it against me - shirt’s bawdy*
**************************************************
9/8/2021
Church people in their finest threads,
rushing off to offer Jesus to their heart and heads.
Me, lying in bed with a bleach-stained purple T-shirt.
Quite naked otherwise.
Sunlight eating through the drapes.
Mind somewhat intact.
Poor thoughts flooding into this whisky head.
Sorry Jesus...no disrespect
This day is made for procrastination and laziness.
I'll catch up to you next Sunday.
Life is not a race and depression is real
Got the shirt done and dusted every now
... and then in the here and now the angels sing
Not a wet T-shirt competition ‘though the
living dwell and exist on that beach called
‘Challenge Sands’ and sometimes we fry
The heat bleaches meaning onto the fabric
orchestrates as mosaic a tapestry of surrender
for tears to dry and mute silence to blossom
Into the light over hills and down crusted slopes
slowly picking up speed and when all is told
another story needs remembering for change
Cuz the goddamn T-shirt says so!
Well, the first time it was Billy,
ball busting Billy, who said
“go ahead, just do it”.
To this day I am not sure
what caused me to follow
this instruction. The end result,
I had red finger tips
for three weeks
and my finger prints
are still on file
in the park
on that bench.
The opportunities
to “just do it!” came
more frequently when
alcohol was flowing,
or there was a cute girl
to impress with my
stupidity and daring.
Scars, bruises(physical
and emotional), a U-tube
moment with the half life
of radium.
Marriage was like that,
I mean the proposal part.
That was the only time
I was the one to say
“Hey, let’s just do it!”
Age hasn’t cured this anomaly.
At 68 I looked at a kayak,
that voice whispered
“just do it” – I did.
My hips and shoulders ache,
my kneecaps are sunburnt
and I pray there is no-one
around with a camera as I
try to get my old ass out
of my new kayak.
Ball busting Billy started it
and the goddamn T-shirt
just keeps egging me on.
6/16/2016
submitted to – If it hurts so bad, why do we do it?
sponsor – Silent One
Blue Collar T-shirt
Don’t be unfazed and wonder
When i say i have been there
Where everyone doesn’t at a time rise
And hold their head to create chaos
And doesn’t keep minds free
To fear not to disrespect the rule of law
Nor be perturbed and be surprised
When i say i have done that what
I should not have done as we all know
No one can get perfection yet I
Stretched my hand and get tired
Instead of doing my duty in my job
But i have done one thing right
I have bought a blue collar T-shirt. .
Wear his T-shirt and feel him close when he‘s gone.
Wear his T-shirt and feel him close when he‘s gone.
Silly old man, I've often been called
I love those words of endearment
My one and only real aim in life
Put smiles on faces, that's fulfillment
If I fail, it's back to the beginning I go
Surely I've done something wrong
Laughter is the basis of a joyful life
So giggle and sing along
Life will go on whether happy or sad
So why not choose to be happy
In the end, you'll count your lucky stars
Sing out with a tune that's snappy
Your voice will burst forth in support of love
The reason we enjoy each moment
The reason we wake with joy in our hearts
Love is the major component
Silly old man, always preaching about love
Is he really some kind of expert
Been down that road of passion a few times
Have “LOVE” inscribed on my t-shirt!
© Jack Ellison 2013
I hid the t-shirt
That you always wore
The one that smelled like you
Now that you are gone
I have searched everywhere
But cannot find it
I miss the smell of you
Covering me
From head to toe
I miss the way
The softness of your body
Pressed deeply into mine
I miss your gentle hands
Like Lewis and Clark
Exploring all my western lands
Most of all these days
I miss your t-shirt
And wish I could remember
Where the hell it was
I hid it!
its cool
am not a fool
just got the blues
all the right tools
at time
i get some dirt
on my
T SHIRT
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