Unnerved Poems

The Brain

Brain's agile cranium was a difficulty of quixotic immensity,
in a state of malaise, in the labyrinth of dead-end opportunity.
Never unnerved at his mousy stature, he rendered colossal dreams,
for global hegemony was the main subject of his lunatic schemes.

A Dare

I pressed my body 
into gravel and oil,
the earth shuddered 
like it knew my name.
Wind tore at my hair—
hot metal screamed above me,
the stink of burnt grease 
and fear beside me.
Too late, I thought 
of low-hung hoses,
of chains and things that could 
pluck me straight out of the world.

I held my breath,
as if air alone might lift me
into the dreadful underside of things.
And the train— God, the train!—
roared on without mercy, gaining speed,
while I became smaller 
than my own fear,
flatter than my pulse
beating against the gravel.

And in that grinding forever,
I wished I hadn’t been so brave,
hadn’t laid my young life down
for nothing more than a dare.
I wanted my mother.
I wanted out.
But all I could do
was keep still and pray
the sky would come back.

The train at last was gone 
and I unscathed,
so I popped up like 
jack-in-the-box
and scared the daylights 
out of my friends,
laughing and triumphant 
and unnerved
at what I’d done without thinking,
and wondered if I’d be more careful
next time.

The Empty Page

The Empty Page

It sat there at my student desk
In wait of task to tend.
Write a poem, the teacher urged,
Your thoughts to paper, penned. 

Intently, I perused the sheet,
Pale white and yet unmarked.
It lay there teasing my first move,
“Don’t leave me unremarked.”

This paper, college ruled and prim,
Well-bleached and full of aughts,
Stared blankly back at me to help,
With all my labored thoughts.

I searched the room for any clues
Of how I was to learn.
The clock was running faster now,
No time to wait and yearn. 

I sat there squeamish and unnerved,
Too weak to brandish pen. 
It was my first time close to death, 
Too late for where and when. 

Surely, all the class can see
My torment and refrain.
I’d rather have a spelling bee.
I’m circling ‘round the drain. 

In looking back these many years,
My eyes were outward bent. 
The chalkboard hung erased to black. 
My mind, abridged, was spent.
 
But time has made its mark on me,
Halfway granting one old wish - 
To find that poem in myself, 
And give to Mr. Nish.

Robert Farrell Waltrip

Behind the Cummerbund

Two fifteen-year-olds stood in a dark hotel parking lot.
Laughing teenagers passed with their dates, to their cars.
The pair stood, awaiting her parents - 
she, in a shiny, pink, satin dress, a corsage,   
and a gold chain tracing a meandering path on her smooth neck, 
he, in a crazy tuxedo, 
and a strange garment - a cummerbund.
Earlier, clumsily, unnerved, and threatened by a huge concentration
of alien creatures, that is, fellow teenagers,
he had tried to navigate a new kind of obstacle course,
at one point, emulating something called a dance.
Her curves gracefully undulated,  
stretching the fabric of her dress.
He hadn't talked much that night.
Now, in the dark, away from the crowd,
he spoke,
placing his hands around her waist,
and feeling, through slippery fabric,
something entirely new,
wonderful and real.

Man On A Roller Coaster Sonnet

It jolts and shakes as it carroms around,
my joints seethe at the pressure exerted,
it rips upward until high off the ground,
I hear the excited cries of my kid.
Oh, to be young, and has such a grand time,
to not feel pain lance as my brains shakes up,
nor to feel unnerved with every decline,
the stomach rises, holding back gets tough.
Up at a high point nearby hills flash by,
start to understand why folks get car-sick,
once things like this made me feel alive,
at least for my son it still does the trick.
We plunge and I hear a sound like thunder,
this was much more fun when I was younger…

You're The One At The Wheel

Happy days are here once again
All is right with the world
We sometimes wander a bit off course
But find our way back unnerved

It's all part of this loving existence
That confronts us every day
Must remember to get back on the track
When our heads are led astray

Life's too short, shouldn't waste a day
In the overall scheme of things
Really don't have all that much more time
Say howdy and let your heart sing

Hey youse guys! I can hear you saying
Is this loony toon for real
It's all about how you approach the day
You're the one at the wheel

For Aaron Bushnell

Inevitably, tears of love, of sorrow,
tears that stem from my heart, flow
whenever I think of your sacrifice,
the ultimate payment of a high price.
You were a principled, brave man
who refused to budge from your plan,
one that would shake a nation, the world!
Watching the horror left my soul whirled,
shattered, shaken, sad. You deserved
better than your fate which all unnerved.
Thoughtful you are even though you’re dead,
asking permission to have your ashes spread,
if the citizens would allow your last request:
in a free Palestine, liberated after conquest.

JUXTAPOSING-longer title included

Creature from the black lagoon or God juxtaposing
                      something wild just in time for me to cross its path

peacock’s crossed the line
tail feathers insouciant
on my side of road
replaced the turkey vultures
that previously unnerved

00:37

There is a tapping at my window.
At first, i think it to be
a ghostly vizard
commanding my attention
with long, crooked fingers waving,
greeting me as an old friend.

The more i stare, the more i am unnerved,
but as the wind eases,
the tapping eases too,
and the storm of my thoughts settles.
Provoked by the frightful breeze,
you are but a humble tree.

Deja Vu

I mark the time of our meeting 
by the still beat of my heart
stroked by the momentary skip 
of the rhythm of it's chambers

unnerved I am frozen solid 
as seconds pass into minutes
nothing moves or is released from me 
not even my breath
astonishing as it sound 
I still stand 
and I still live

even in this moment of death 
I exist neither to take nor to give
only to simply exist 
as if existence 
is all that is needed

there within the face of all faces 
I see a dream come true
true to life true to hope 
true to the wonders of a wish

as sure as a coin is tossed into a well
I am captivated entranced by a spell

another minute has now passed 
before a shallow exhale escapes gaping lips
an exhale forced by nature 
totally without consciousness
for how can I think 
how can I move my eyes to blink
blink- blink! No! nooo

I dare not for fear you’ll go within a wink
call your name 
I say softly now
call your name 
as I have done time and again
for we have repeated this
a million times _ we have
me and you
In my dreams 
in my mind 
in my "Deja Vu"

Now That We'Re Born

Afar, world's harmless attraction
Hazy; a dream upbourne on.
Getting too close; now involved in.
Unnerved of its vibration.

Encountering Lord Baltimount

Lord Baltimount is coming! The hiss arose in the throng.
The army was unnerved, they had heard of his song.
He did not take prisoners, he sliced and diced until dead.
This new feeling of discomfort lead to all kinds of dread.

He has arrived! A scout of the worst sort told us all.
His helmet is enormous, and his sword is not small!
Hear the enemy’s horns? That is the brute’s call.
We don’t have a chance; most of us will now fall!

The battalion was in awe as Lord Baltimount came near.
He was tall in his armor which covered all of his fear.
I turned and ran away from the front, my mission clear.
As his slicing began, accompanied by his own jeer.

The Battle of Thundersore was about to commence.
Baltimount lifted the sword and a head hit the fence.
I turned tail and ran for my life, a coward for real.
Lord Baltimount is a product of the devil’s deal.

The Scythe

Those that shove past you, glare and scatter,
That drive the scares, in your wits and slither,
That smile and stare, at things you did master,
And then them that you will, lose and move,
Or through thicks, care for and pursue.

The bearers of the whips of black scythes,
Folded in turbulent evils of shaded blythes,
That wait in desires of you, to swift in myths,
And then bear of nothingness, the power of slices,
Unnerved by the struggles to free, from the swings and minces. 

There are those that, in swears vow and plead,
Please with, in steps synching walk on paths,
That they laid in thorns, that they enroute,
And awaits them, in rounds, on routes.

Maintain the binds to them, in pomposity,
That you may, in silence, find prosperity,
In pretence, that with them, you are,
Swinged and minces from bites,
Of their evil, the scythe.

 28/5/2022

The Coffee Shoppe

As scented air aroused my misty mind, 
a shadow broke the early morning Sun,
aromas wafting from the morning’s grind,
assured the senses morning had begun.

I felt an airy presence from afar.
Unnerved, I sought some comfort in my joe
when then appeared this early morning star 
with beauty that would set the dawn aglow.

She passed with nonchalance and without glance, 
and as I gaped, she simply stared astray,
her exit, with a whim and fickle prance, 
fanned arrogance that whisked my breath away.

I contemplated thoughts of giving chase
though in a haze I let her slip away,
but like the Sun, this path she may retrace
and destiny could pass again my way.

And as the morning’s essence ebbed and waned, 
her image kept returning o’er again,
the vision twisted aimlessly in vain
as sunrise caused her beauty to transcend.

I finalized my mundane morning rite 
then pondered how its remnants would unfold,
and knew… that I had seen the Morning’s Light 
and hoped once more its beauty I’d behold.

Rain On the Interstate

It was a stressful drive
Up north I-seventy-five
The rain came pouring down
Water, water, all around

Semi-trucks carrying loads
Vie for places on road
I was in middle lane
Trying to remain sane

Suddenly, a cloud burst
In the gray, rainy mist
The car in front - me at rear
Seemed to disappear

The burst yielded splashes
Obliterated dash-
To keep one's facing nerve
Thankfully, there's no curve

All traveling at least sixty
Unable to drop to fifty
"I'm in trouble" thought aloud
Then, God quietened the cloud

The falling rain continued
I moved to outside lane
And did drive home safely
Thankful for my bravery

Such is life, we move along
Dreaming, singing our song
When a challenge comes our way
Then, "Dear God guide me today"

Now, I praise Him, my Protector,
Still feeling as unnerved victor
I pause to shudder and reflect
About His goodness to protect.
E. Pearl Anderson 2021

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