One evening long ago, by Nongmaijing hill’s way,
I saw a little boy at close of day;
Herding a row of cattle slowly home,
With a stick in hand.
I took a picture of the sight
With my simple phone camera,
Hoping to keep the rare sight;
But the image was unclear-
The lovely scene had slipped away .
Next day I rode my bicycle there
Taking my Sony camera along ,
And waited patiently in a waiting shed,
For the boy herding cattle ,
But such a sight was not seen again.
For two days more, with my camera ,
I was waiting for the boy herding the cattle;
But they were not again seen-
The sight has forever gone from me.
Dark and blurred—my vision starred.
I rubbed my lids hard and frowned.
Me, my name, my life—
all seemed to go extinct.
I tried calling out.
My speech reframed.
My larynx failed,
its box cracked.
Maybe the earth’s wind
blew away my existence,
thinking it was only dust.
Or maybe the same pillow
I cried upon
ate me....
thinking it would bring relief.
Ah… Mom, Dad, I am hungry.
I waited.
They did not recognize me.
Ah… my books…
I paused again.
They seem to belong to someone else now.
Was I truly that worthless—
or did I pretend so well
that they began to believe it,
until I vanished?
I thought I would feel free.
But it seems
I still wanted to exist.
At the age of sixty five he was accepted for employment
at a business dispatching organic, non hybrid, heirloom seeds
His specific duties found him in the garden
preparing soil, planting out pulling weeds
The tools that were used would sometimes seem to vanish
No matter where he searched unable to locate them, so outlandish !!
When the owner of the business found the tools that were required
" you've only had a boys look " a frustrated comment she uttered in despair
He could have replied , it's the only way I know, 'cause I'm not a girl
your remarks are discrimination and totally unfair
Instead he accepted her response as an accolade
I only had a boys look 'cause I wish to remain forever young
There are many situations where words have intensive connotations
Just be careful how you utilise your tongue
You can’t recall the stone,
Once it’s thrown
Emitted harsh words, can’t be defused
And Time spent, can not be reused.
ALLUSIONS OF A VANISHED NOW*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
stainless-steel womb
welded shut,
buried beneath the oak's gnarled roots,
remnants given to the earth.
allusions of a vanished now~
faded sepia photographs,
a girl's clumsy drawing of herself,
a compact disc, its molded plastic brittle,
a mix of forgotten summer love songs.
headlines tell of wars, violence, and bloodshed
tidings of momentary joys~
the scent of potpourri, a best-selling book,
a poem scribbled on frangible parchment,
a smooth, grey river rock,
pocketed on some long-ago walk
treasured remembrances.
When unearthed decades from now,
will future inquirers understand
the echoes,
the desires,
the fears,
the loves,
invisibly etched in these ordinary relics?
Will they see us in the dust motes dancing
in the beam of their curious light?
Or will it all just be
a mysterious puzzle,
a murmur,
quickly forgotten,
returned to the earth's clutches?
*Note: Poem published 6/27/2025 then deleted; (Poetrysoup.com/poem/allusions_of_a_vanished_now_1737437) This is my original pom
I met ANGIE in a bar where grief drank quiet,
where HONKY TONK WOMEN spilled perfume and regret.
She moved like WILD HORSES with nowhere left to run—
said, “I’m safer UNDER MY THUMB than out in the open.”
She kissed like a dare and left like smoke.
On RUBY TUESDAY, she vanished into rain,
murmuring, “YOU CAN’T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT,”
and I didn’t even try to stop her.
She used to laugh when we lost at TUMBLIN DICE,
but the last time she smiled, she was already gone.
I tried to PAINT IT BLACK, but some songs keep bleeding.
The Rolling Stones still hum behind my ribs.
Every track she touched skips now—
her chorus etched in static.
She didn’t take her coat,
just the part of me that knew how to stay warm.
The roof has borne its share
Of winter's chill, summer's heat,
Of storms and rains,
The wood consumed by termites,
Spiders weaving webs throughout the home.
Ants have claimed the very foundation,
Young rats, in ruinous floods.
The people, they were scorched
By literal fires, or by a hidden agony
Hoarded deep within their hearts.
They became exiles,
Driven by a neighbor's torment,
Or by utter destitution,
Or by the callous neglect of their own kin.
Where do dreams go come
Dawn with her radiant glow
Shadows in darkness
The eyes of my soul cried when we parted
violins filled my heart with shades of black
washing away musical tones we created
they have vanished and will never come back
The sad strings empty my heart's chalice
to leave a pain-filled and cracked wormwood mind
that spilled my heart's passion down an abyss
to hear the saddest music I can find
The violin brings heartache and misery
where my wretched emotions are prolonged
from the image of her face that haunts me
on a journey of sadness that is long
Deep beneath the old oak tree
Past the backyard swing I oversee
A land so baron, where nothing grows
The land I can feel, it somehow knows
What's been buried there by one so cold
May his conscience plague him until he's old
A precious daughter, taken far too soon
She met a man, her heart did swoon
Until she discovered his hateful heart
She knew at once she must depart
Fearing for her life, she mustn't stay
He knew he'd never let her get away
So he took her life right then and there
Now she'd never leave him to go elsewhere
So he dug a grave where no one would see
I pray he pays dearly, for it happened to me.
Facing global warming and climate change,
endangered species will die off on Earth.
Yet, folks don't seem concerned; I find that strange
since we're all linked to this planet from birth.
Whales may never swim our oceans again,
while reefs are at the point of no return.
And we're losing vital links in life's chain,
as Earth's glaciers melt, and its forests burn.
Tigers, jaguars, panthers, and leopards,
all the big cats, are doomed to disappear.
For ranchers and hunters keep culling them,
and their numbers are decreasing each year.
On sea bottoms, where trawlers weren't banished,
like a magic trick, all life has vanished.
Vanished Like Mist
Now I wonder, ponder, persuade the mind to wander in an abyss of what may be
Plowed and clawed then probed to find a reason for frenetic rumblings within me
As time passed unabated, skin hides pain beneath waves of what these eyes see
The heart trembled: is myopia or enmity reason why I have not found Amy Lee?
Love is not a game man coerces into submission then drags its spirit underwater
Auguring, kneeling, begging will not make it acquiescent to what one may prefer
Precious memories evoked by the hungry heart impalpably depart and disappear
What remains are remnants, reminders of the haunting past...that I had lost her
06/17/2023
Vision of the Seas
Cruising towards Hamilton, Bermuda
When you pour out your soul,
words so fully drowning the page,
Then your thumb hugs delete,
your mind filling with rage.
Eloquently written, to be deemed
"one of your best"
So you summon the growth which
lays the pen down to rest.
It spoke as it tumbled in description
so vivid,
With a press of a key, page left blank,
stark & rigid.
A grin does appear from one side to
the other,
As being present has gifted the knowledge of power.
Power to know that it is all for said
reason,
For I am a poet whom can scribe
in each season.
-H.
I want to plummet backward and die through the rip in the sky. Be reborn as a ball of yarn untwisted and undone not to be avenged but forgiven I want to spread my string my flaming wings. Get me away from the demon world of false ebullient faces. I await the Golden Gates gaze. Now my atoms of have split as the very big bang are my wings that spread.
That's a sin for God and all creation.
A stone-like heart best describes you.
Blood sei, Nubia tears, and a brief elision
Extremely wide and bone-white in hue.
The grin you used to wear long ago
Has vanished into a sea of bitter tears.
The whale you sought in the bay sank low.
bears wisdom and bravery without fear.
Your whole crew is incredibly brave.
With some wild spears in a back-alley saloon,
The mania grew into a full-fledged tidal wave.
They dragged the ship and are now maroons.
Don't travel faraway on one prosthetic foot.
Turn around the vessel; we still hope yet.
A despair pall lingered over the deck soot.
For prancing sake, we've never met.
If you hinder ignoring us, we will all die shortly.
Doom's mind and soul are free of sea spirit.
I hope that you'll be standing by to greet me.
Power derived from the same source to inherit.
Written: June 3rd 2023
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