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Susan Manley Poem
The beach climbs are harder
the rocks turn my feet
and I find myself walking on my ankles
wading through sand
But the photos at sunset
or as the moon rise
are such a surprise
Like paintings
like fine art
witnessing the beauty of nature
as it shows us all of the basis for inspiration
everywhere
The sea air is so refreshing
the tang of salt
its cool crisp feel
as it laps past me
and blows my hair
The sheen of the sun and the moon
off the water
and it undulates and ripples
It's mesmerizing and beautiful
I seek out the lighthouse
to capture its beauty on the horizon
Its glow too settles on the ocean
and lights the scene in a way
that makes it seem like a painting
A huge downed redwood tree on the beach
a sculpture in driftwood now
but so big as to be a playground
The natural wonders of this place continue to provoke me
and keep me wanting more
from the tiny bits of rock on the ground
to the magnificent scenes in the sky
my senses are always tuned in
And here I share them with you....
Artimus 9/1/2025
Copyright © Susan Manley | Year Posted 2025
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Susan Manley Poem
I am recovering my mojo, though I have almost no hair
That damn Chemo stuff took it away, and one day it was not there
And it really did fall out in a matter of days
Almost comical your mind says HEY!
And despite being a woman, I feel I look like a man
A bit embarrassing you see, it was not in my plan
I had worn the "cold cap" that supposedly preserved it in health
But while they were nuking my body, they nuked it to hell
So I wear those funny hippy hats now,
those slouchy knitted caps that you see
And I do my best and pretend they don't see
I know it grows back, but there is embarrassment still
And it may come back curly.. good lord a new hairstyle I will
But for now it's an inch, and a little sparse on top
And for a while before it all came out it was an Albert Einstein mop!
I kinda laughed horrified when it went to that point
And well, I now smoke those pot joints
It helps with the nausea which I still have
and it relaxes me on the things that make me sad
See I just lost an ex business partner to hospital error
and that played my sleep, her wife in despair.
Losing my hair is nothing compared to that loss.
I know it down deep, I have suffered that cost.
And so now, I laugh at the vanity hit
and put makeup on when I need to look fit
And I still run around braless you see
because well I am a heathen, societies freed
And if dignity was bent by the small sacrifice
I project my personality and suffer that cost
Keep swimming, Keep swimming...
Like what Dory said
That's my motto that sings in my head
How to get out of the funk. Artimus (C) 2/3/24 Susan Manley
Inspired by Rebecca Heineman , my friend, former business partner who lost her spouse Jennell Jaquays.
Copyright © Susan Manley | Year Posted 2024
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Susan Manley Poem
Reality, wow what a concept
lifes provable facts
those incontrovertible truths
things that stick out and not fall in the cracks
Its subject to interpretation you see
describing the elephant for the blind
this part the leg,
that a tail, this part a trunk!! Divine!
For reality takes an observer
to set itself in the track
if that tree fell in the woods with no one to hear
did it make a sound of a crack?
Without perception it's all contention
if it ever existed at all
and we are all running around with vivid imaginations on ground
till incontrovertible evidence is found
See it, touch it, document away
till the item in question is in decay
or maybe even obliterated away
the observation itself causing the obliteration to stay
And so that was how faith was born
for people to believe in others known truths
we didn't have to experience it first hand
we just had to trust like a youth
And from that comes charlatans
who mangle that truth for cash
and make the world a caricature
and history rewritten despite past
With no firm understanding of what is
or firm understanding of what was
people lose their compass
and look to god above
Reality, wow what a concept. - Artimus (C) 10/11/2023 Susan Manley
Copyright © Susan Manley | Year Posted 2023
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Susan Manley Poem
Our friendship has always been my North Star
The guide to everything out there
And when we lost touch
I lost my compass
I sealed the wound with fire
And trudged on with desire
Trying to recreate what we had
The effortless close bond, over time becoming sad
People did not meet me half way
They did not grasp the world the same way
And so a small boat adrift I was
Alone bereft for me
And that became my norm
And a new me for a time was born
I did not want to be close
Relationships made me morose
Pleasure was all I sought
To dampen grief and doubt
And that way I existed
For a long time just sort of delisted
Artimus born
Few wants, no needs
Completely free and no nervous energy
It’s calm to withdraw
To view life as a brawl that you no longer engage
And then I hit tastes of want
And it became need
And I tried again
And did not succeed
So I settled and I slept
Most of me to myself I kept
And then once again you were here
And well with joy I could interact without fear
And so I started again to create
And life is not over, it’s not to late
And here we are
And here we are to my North Star - Artimus (C) Susan Manley 8/21/23 for Alan
Copyright © Susan Manley | Year Posted 2023
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Susan Manley Poem
It’s a long slow trip into misery
It starts by putting that bad feeling aside
By narrowing your expectations
And removing all of your pride
And as you make you humble
You actually cripple as well
You reach so far to have someone else
That it actually puts you in hell
It’s a long slow trip into misery
From which I must return
And in order to do this
I must internalize the lessons learned
To believe in me
To set me free
To walk into the light
And possibly disappear from sight
Ascent from Misery – 2001 (C) Susan Manley (on my divorce)
Copyright © Susan Manley | Year Posted 2023
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Susan Manley Poem
My umami man
the iconoclast
the epitome of man
he handles me
like a Tamagotchi
feeding, touching, caring
and then even daring
For you are not
just salty and sweet
you are savory
your drive can't be beat
When on your quests
you can't be bested
and I had no idea
when you came in stealth
proclaimed you were untested!
[pre-chorus]
I have no idea how I won your heart!
except I showed you my own
and my true grit... determined to stand alone
[chorus]
I gazed deep into you
helped you see
all of the amazing things
you can do
who you truly are
for as much as
a scientist as you are
you had not really
examined your own talent that far!
[verse]
You overflow with brains!
and you flash sheer genius
more than a match for me!
my twin, my compliment
you overlap, fill my gaps
together we span
the complete business plan
the swiss army knife for life!
[guitar solo]
[verse]
We do need more rest
if we are goin to conquer
these next tests
Mr 3 AM
make me a pretzel
dipped, baked
sampled, and far more than tasted!
I feel devoured
completely deflowered
no idea how you
got so completely empowered!
[outro]
[verse]
And we laugh too
it's with you I feel completely grounded
our lives, our thoughts so well rounded
come dance with me
in our thoughts, through our dreams
and into reality
My umami man
salty sweet savory who brings out all that I am
I Love you
my umami man
my compliment
my forever plan
[end]
Copyright © Susan Manley | Year Posted 2025
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Susan Manley Poem
I was listening to our song
the one I wrote to you
and something came to
top of mind
the thing I intrinsically knew
What we had with our first love
that deep trust combined with lust
the thing that bound us together
was conviction
the clearness of how we felt
its now so obvious
But we were young when we first had it
we did not know then how rare it was
to have that bones deep awareness
the thing that made us really care
We loved each other for a lifetime
because of it
you taught me what it was like to really love
I am so glad we got to share it
the last few months you were above
And though you have gone to rest
I know in my bones now
what it feels like to be completely loved
its a base the platform
the foundation
leaves nothing for imagination
the feeling was mutual
and yet indescribable
words don't do it justice
It was for us dear
and though you have gone to rest
I still feel you near
and hold our memories dear
hold our memories dear
and with that, you are still here
Copyright © Susan Manley | Year Posted 2026
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Susan Manley Poem
The avalanche of human souls
those who crossed over
before achieving their goals.
So their spirits linger on,
and their loved ones hear them moan
as whispers in their thoughts.
The corporeal self can flee
the physical pain of life,
but emotion and intellect continue
spirit, the soul intact.
It takes time to release regrets,
to mourn the loss of life,
to reconnect or redirect
that entity of energy.
But it goes on.
They are still out there.
They are still involved.
They still care.
Those whispered words in your sleep,
the loved one’s phrases you draw on
that is them.
If you quiet your mind
and stop your ego interfering,
you can tune into intuition
and hear them without superstition.
It is otherworldly,
outstanding.
It will change the course of your life.
Death has a new meaning
and so does life.
The meaning of life is the complex web we weave:
all the interactions, all the souls we meet,
all the objectives and accomplishments we drive.
We are the sum of our intentions and actions,
and for those we pay
working off karmic debt,
living life over in replay.
In contrast to Western religion,
we return to this spot
to figure things out;
life lessons are sought.
And with that, if we have met,
we shall likely meet again.
We shall likely meet again.
©In the Afterlife - Artimus, Susan Manley 1/17/2026 12:18AM All Rights Reserved
Copyright © Susan Manley | Year Posted 2026
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Susan Manley Poem
It's rare that most would call me a hot head
I am usually the coolest cucumber instead
I have no tells, so their heads don't swell
and I don't get entangled to soon
But there is this tall lanky guy you see
who plays a mean bluegrass guitar so sweet!
and he's turned me on my head
my tongue lolling out the side, I feel a big oh wet appetite
Its going to be corn dogs yeah baby and ice cream cones
I have to whip up these muscles and work on my tone
He gonna have expectations of meee
and I intend to make him sing oh yeah oh how deee
I do drive like a race car driver I confess
and mr ex officer may have to give me a new test
until he gets over that
I will have a bit of time to press
But never before would anyone claim I swear
that I was a hot headed daredevil minx
its this tall lanky boy and his talk of being my toy
and I don't ever want it to jinx
It's going to be corn dogs yeah baby and ice cream cones
I have to whip up these muscles and work on my tone
He gonna have expectations of meee
and I intend to make him sing hot diggity!
I wonder how he likes his ice cubes. jagged or smooth
and how stiff he likes his drinks
on the rocks or straight shot no lube
And I just await tying him down so we can just work out the kinks
It's going to be corn dogs yeah baby and ice cream cones
I have to whip up these muscles and work on my tone
He gonna have expectations of meee
and a month of head bobbin review with a view
- Corn Dogs and Ice Cream Cones for Brian - Artimus (C) Susan Manley 4/22/24 1:51AM
Copyright © Susan Manley | Year Posted 2024
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Susan Manley Poem
[Instrumental]
Some think it's given up front,
some think it's earned.
Some think it's something innate,
some think it learned.
Though trust is not a physical thing
it can be broken, shattered, smashed.
And with each blow the trust left is not like cash.
Its more like water, it drips and drizzles and oozes all away.....
Its meant to be in a calm still pool not agitated in any way.....
Though the pool can settle to a blow the container might gain a crack.
And its ourselves you see that need the fixing, to hold the trust pool back.
With trust in yourself, and trust in others, the world is a friendly place.
With lack of trust into a bleak world we are thrust and our future is in decay....
(and its scary too)
So build the bonds of trust with me, and as I will with you...
To be there for each other, no matter what may come
is the best in this world we can do.
And if you can make this leap with me
a relationship is possible you see.
(Because ultimately trust is a two way street)
Though trust is not a physical thing
it can be broken, shattered, smashed..
And with each blow the trust left is not like cash...
[Outro]
Its more like water, it drips and drizzles and oozes all away...
Its meant to be in a calm still pool not agitated in any way...
Though the pool can settle to a blow the container might gain a crack.
And its ourselves you see that need the fixing, to hold the trust pool back.
So heal with me. So you and I can be.
Meet me in the middle and lets see what this can be...
Give us a try.
Take a leap of faith.
Build that bridge each day, with a step each and every day!
With me you are safe.
With me you are safe.
With me you are safe....
Copyright © Susan Manley | Year Posted 2024
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