All because of that single decision
To grasp that grate and breathe in the ethereal skies above
Rather than
To let go of that grate and suffocate in the foul sewage below
Because of what he chose
This is what he is
Independent
Not
Incarcerated
Whole
Not
Wounded
Confident
Not
Confused
Slipping off of the rusted edge, on which side will he land?
Brilliant
Not
Bleak
Courageous
Not
Cowardly
Relieved
Not
Remorseful
This is what he is
Because of what he chose
To grasp that grate and breathe in the ethereal skies above
Rather than
To let go of that grate and suffocate in the foul sewage below
All because of that single decision
Now, what if he wasn’t resolved in his decision?
Simply read the poem in reverse.
I walk a rope that hangs in air,
It moves with rules I do not see.
Each step I take feels watched, not free,
And I forget who I used to be.
The rope is soft yet too tight and pulls me back,
Like Kind Hands hiding quiet chains.
It bends around but doesn’t break,
And leads me through the same old lanes.
I feel the pull from sides unknown,
Not just by you, or even me.
Some hands I never see or name
Still change the shape beneath my feet.
I walk like water in a glass,
Shaking with fear I cannot speak.
If I fall, is that called freedom?
Or just another circle made?
The rope still turns but never ends,
And still I walk though truth is blurred.
Still I walk, though the knot is hidden,
And the wind keeps shaking, blurring what I see.
Don’t think too hard.
They sting behind your eyes.
Sharp swells
from the recessing snake pit.
Faces warp, wrap, and real.
Knotted limbs
of trying tapestry.
The marriage of scale and skin.
Remember to forget.
My soul was not to keep.
A window woe.
Through eyes not mine, I see.
Take from me
what was yours already.
Prisoner.
humor smooth and soft
gently rubs the hot conflict,
preventing friction.
to rbs
dear friend
glad getting
some time relax
got me thinking
burden life facts
water and wind
sand and ocean
walks and swims
sends away all tension
except maybe mention
envy needs intervention
Racial tension and Floyd
A picture of a committee in defense of human right a picture where serious white man and a woman in a business suit and to black persons This was serious business no one smile except the two black persons that spoiled the gravity of the solemn undertaking
Most black people I have met were like me from a working stiff background I was employed on ships they were mostly onloading cargo from the said, ships, they appeared more open, talkative then us Scandinavians, we don’t say much unless we are drunk in a bar
there was an unspoken racial barrier that made a man whose lowly job was to oil the engine feel racially superior; this was daft as the oiler had more in common with black people than he realized as we both suffered from segregation by those who wore suits working in an office
In America, with her many racial problems, we tended to side with the oppressed black people we had not noticed politics had entered into the fray; let to a man called Floyd, was killed by a cop who had trained for riot control in Israel Floyd, an addict, was not a person to look up to
Originally published in Out On a Limb, an Anthology for Friends June 2020
You hate me for my color.
You hate me for our differences.
You hate me for my successes.
You call me names.
You call me useless.
You call me an outsider.
You marked me as invisible.
You made me your scapegoat.
You expressed your hatred, and
Excluded me from your world,
Allowing you to define
Who was welcome into your group.
Do you feel united?
Are you at peace?
That is, until the next tension rises and
A new scapegoat needs to be found.
Existing inside a body
filled with lust
The soul knows what
it must
I sat on a chair completely nervous
to know where I would do my youth service.
Then came the rudest shock of my whole life,
I'd have to go up north where strifes were rife.
I didn't even try to change the posting,
I was downcast as many were boasting,
that they'd have a pleasant year of favour.
Me, it'd be a year of wasted labour.
At the camp, I hated all that I saw,
Even my strangeness was greeted with awe.
House flies may probably be their best friends,
because they surround their foods in their tens.
The harsher weather was too much for me,
Even, with dressing one can't be carefree.
Everywhere I went there, there was tension.
Trouble seemed to come by its mere mention.
I resigned to fate till one fateful day,
When my surname sake came to where I stay,
to ask if perchance we're from the same place.
And t'was a family tree we could trace.
She then introduced me to her father,
who knew my father without much bother.
So, in a strange land where all hopes were lost.
I met my lost cousin without a cost.
Too stubborn to confess
giving away small hints
In an desperate attempt
You will notice
Day after day
Over and over
Showcasing my subtle
Vulnerabilities.
someone attempts to cheat us
which we disallow
tension heightens, tempers flare
harsh words are exchanged
hmmm
what could or should we have done
to offer a face saving route
to the wayward soul
we so reflect …
Outlasting all my friends and some family,
I wish to live to be one hundred twenty.
A plethora of days to write poetry
as my last petals fall, grandkids a’plenty.
I wish to live to be one hundred twenty.
All my parts working, brain, heart, eyes, and ears.
As my last petals fall, grandkids a’plenty,
what an ideal way to live out my years.
All my parts working, brain, heart, eyes, and ears...
Think, at that age, if my life were well-spent,
what an ideal way to live out my years
on those days that go like this one just went.
Think, at that age, if my life were well-spent
a plethora of days to write poetry.
On those days that go like this one just went,
outlasting all my friends and some family.
Teetering, tightrope walking, not the half
nor the bike across, nor nightmare clowns. It
is not the trembling trapeze, nor the heightened
tension inside the big tent with rumbling gray
clouds of elephants nor repast of the lion tamer.
It could be the oily tendrils of the bearded lady,
the short, tall, fat, all of that. Still, I think it was
when I was in the hall of mirrors and I laughed
until I found out with a scream and a squeal
that it was just a regular old mirror, the coaster
with its peaks and valleys, sideways, upside-
down and clowns…yes, it was the clowns.
1. Building Tension
Did you ever stand on stage,
behind the big curtain.
Standing there peeking out from behind the curtain,
watching the audience looking at the stage.
Your knees are shaking,
your mouth is going dry.
Your thoughts are racing,
will I remember my lines?
The act before you is almost done,
your time is coming up way too fast.
This is "building tension" in your mind and body,
time to go on~time to go on soon.
The audience is breaking out in,
cheering and applause.
Now it is my turn,
Oh God help me!
2. Building Tension
Building tension as I wait
Using only good thoughts
I watch the audience from behind the curtain
Laughing stomach calm down
Darn knees stop shaking
I know I will be up very soon
Now well practiced
Going on next, oh my.
Tension is building
Everyone is waiting to see my act
Now ready
Song is playing
I want to run
On stage I must go
Now God help me.
I have foreboding
My country is in frontline
Of war that's brewing.
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