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Best Poems Written by Richard Colbert

Below are the all-time best Richard Colbert poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

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We Need a Particle Zapper

FIRST, THERE'S A NEED
“We have a lot of dust in the house. Where does it come from?
How do we prevent that?”

THE IDEA OR THOUGHT OR REMEDY
The idea or thought or remedy was seen or read about
on the internet, one of the communal websites.
“It says here that there is a device that will zap particles
and clean harmful bacteria and germs and odors and stuff,
including covid-19, from the air.
I think we need to add a particle sanitizer.”
With a limited amount of discussion but plenty
of internet encouragement, the contractor is called.

THE CONTRACTOR AND THE TRADE OFF
He installs the particle zapper and a filter 4 times
larger than the old filter. “More surface area, the greater
the filtration, less dust. The zapper is always on, scrubbing out
harmful bacteria and germs and odors and stuff
but the hvac fan needs to run. Your electric bill will go up,
that’s the trade off for cleaner, safer air.”
The system is upgraded.

HAPPY CAMPERS (BUT WE'RE NOT CAMPING)
Everyone is happy. Normally dust will settle on
surfaces within 2 days of dusting. 2 weeks now and nada, zip, nothing.
And the odors are gone, not that there were a lot to begin with.
In fact if the fellow who installed the zapper and filter
hadn’t told us about the odors, we wouldn’t have known we had them.
But that constant humming of the fan is annoying.
“Maybe we turn it off at night. it’s kind of loud at night”
“But what about cleaning the air? We’ll be only
eliminating 2/3 of the dust and only zapping 2/3 of
the harmful bacteria and germs and odors and stuff”.

THE POE EFFECT
At first I thought we’d get used to it and eventually not even hear it.
But she heard it all the time. I could live with it.
For me, it was like when I was in the Navy, being on board a ship.
It was only when the noise or humming stopped did I notice.
But she heard it, all the time, and said so, all the time.
The constant humming noise was becoming our ‘Tell-Tale Heart’
We agreed that we could turn it off once in awhile, specifically
when we had windows open.

THE GREAT COMPROMISE
After running the fan, off and on, for a month, we found that there
is probably no need to run it all the time. We run it during the day
and at night we shut it off, open windows and cool the house down.
We can live with that, I guess. It’s funny how one day the dust is a real health hazard and nuisance. A month later it’s hardly noticeable.

Details | Richard Colbert Poem

Ramble 2

i started tracking my weight, exercise, what i eat
every morning i do this little dance
with the bathroom scale
i get up, dress in the same thing,
weigh myself and subtract 4 pounds

some mornings if i don’t like the results
i will subtract another pound for the
cup of coffee i drank
doesn’t matter how big the cup was

if the results are still not favorable,
i will do my exercises, my walk,
then weigh myself

when the dance is over, i’ll log my weight
and threaten to buy a new scale 

then i eat

Details | Richard Colbert Poem

Haiku 32

could i imagine
a life with you not in it
breathing with no air

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It's Done

when my life is done 
i assume my soul
or immaterial part of my being, 
will leave the physical structure 
of bones and flesh 											

as the two part will i
have a chance to look at myself
see who i was
or as someone i
never got to know 
or will they be the same

i’ve never been comfortable		
in my own skin
literally and figuratively
mostly overweight,
rarely fit and never skinny
insecure often reticent 
to express how i really feel,
							
what will i look like tomorrow
in some sort of box,
whole en route to a hole
or reduced to ashes 
spread on the ocean 
or in an urn, on a mantel

will i feel disconnected
more so than in life
unable to communicate
unable to be understood
did i make good use of my time
who decides that anyway
						
right now, today, i regret little
i believe every action in life
led me to where i am
right now, today, 
i am mostly satisfied 
but is satisfied enough

would i do my life over 
if i had the chance, 
and if so, would i change anything 
what if i found out
this is as good as it gets

Details | Richard Colbert Poem

Chat

cold
physically, emotionally, spiritually
hollowed out like a two hundred year old redwood 
ravaged by fire, i didn’t care
my sense of purpose had long lost its relevance
spiraling out of control and letting it happen.
i had to admit, i needed help 
we had a relationship once, You and me, 
we used to chat, 
though it’d been a while.
i believed You would help me. 
thats what You do.
So i called on You
and waited for a response. 
… crickets
maybe a little more reflecting wouldn’t hurt.
…so i waited and i called on You again.
You must have known i would reach out. 
You must have heard my cries. 
where were You? away on business?
i thought it was ego or pride. 
or both.
not coming to You regularly 
seems to piss You off
maybe there’s a lesson to be learned
i knew one of us had to blink.
then i remembered, You don’t blink.
it’s pretty much Your way or the highway. 
i realized this time i wasn’t going to blink either.
now what? 
… more crickets
i learned early i am responsible 
for my actions
i read a person must trust in himself
ultimately, one can’t rely on anyone else
one needs to develop inner strength 
be honest with himself, face life, face reality. 
no one or thing is going to save me
only i can
in the past, i believed in myself 
when most wrote me off.
and in a moment of clarity,
i figured it out

the righteous will say You did hear me
You heard my cries and answered
my action was Your response.
giving me the strength to ask for help
to pull myself up, to be a light for others
it was You working through me. 
they’ll say there’s a bigger picture 
that i don’t see or get.
someday an explanation will be revealed.
i suppose those are possibilities 
but i don’t understand; 
what’s Your point?
is this about me
or about You or
You and me?
teaching? compassion?
put them before myself?
feel the pain i inflicted on others?
exalt You as the only one who can “fix things?” 
how does that work? 
i get credit for failing and You for healing.
maybe someday if You have time, 
we can have coffee and chat about it.
we’ll meet some place where we can
sit outside and You can blow more smoke

Best Poems Written by Richard Colbert

I Am An Old Man

Covid 2

Dimpled Spheres

2-3-2 Haiku Or Miku

Garage Sale

We Need a Particle Zapper

Ramble 2

Haiku 32

It's Done

Chat