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Best Poems Written by Shane Houston

Below are the all-time best Shane Houston poems as chosen by PoetrySoup members

Details | Shane Houston Poem

Ocean Spray

soft keystrokes on a typewriter
make the ink bleed and mark the page
steel-grey and ocean-spray were the colour of my lover's eyes
i remember looking into them and seeing our future together
i held her hand and put it up to my beating heart
i promised to never leave her side
i was always just a call away
i was always just a text away
eight-thousand two-hundred and ninety-nine days
then you said your final goodbye
you closed your eyes for the last time
and i couldn't believe that you were gone
you were the love of my life
you were my Everything

Details | Shane Houston Poem

Alphabet Soup

Eating alphabet soup with a straw so you can play Scrabble with the leftovers
Lyrics from an obscure band is music to your ears
Shaving off the November scruff that was plastered on your face
Nightmares are less frequent yet still take their toll
Promises that I will wake up - drink some water - and fall back asleep
The medication makes my mouth arid 
spitting out vowels and consonants and shaping them into poems
choking on the nouns and verbs that populate my speech patterns
laughing to oneself and thinking "Maybe I don't have an accent."
Raising one's glass to wish good health to a room full of people whom you cherish
breaking down into tears - but you're in the shower - so it all blends in
trying to remove the dirt from underneath your fingernails that you have anxiously chewed
dancing to a song that has been over for five minutes but the chorus remains in your mind
choosing not to look up the lyrics to the songs on your vinyl album
holding, breathing, remaining pure to the one young woman whose heart you protect
Remembering the words of your late grandfather who told you not to wonder too much - or you'll get lost yet I found the courage
to look into the eyes of Death
and say "Check Mate."
All of my dreams end up with me doing some project and looking down - just to find my exposed body
I even watch what I eat before I go to bed - but the raw and gritty details remain
to tell the truth - that things are terrific - I'll tell my therapist
I was born in the December of '92.
Walked this Earth for seven years.
Decided I know what I am destined to become.
Emerging from a crystalized coocoon. 
I spread my wings and learn to write
Poems about loss, love, and human nature
Rearranging the pasta in my bowl to spell out 
some SAT word I have only used twice 
in conversation
laughing at my grammar, my spelling, and my love of the Oxford Comma.
Captializing Words That Don't Need Capitalization
because Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman did it first
Taking time to think things through and telling yourself : "You're stronger than you know."
My weakness: "Carbs and late-night with Craig Ferguson."
My strengths: "I am a writer and a Poet I shall remain."
Do we have any more alphabet soup?

Details | Shane Houston Poem

Perpetual Motion

Motion perpetual and tears recycled
Keeps me moving towards the future
With my head turned 
One cheek to the past
One cheek to the now
Stay within a hastened grasp
Feeling trapped within your own body
There isn't much I can say
That will make me want to stay
You can't just kiss me and say Goodbye
If I said I didn't want more - it was nothing but a lie
Containers full of laughter
Jars full of remorse
Riots in the streets
Feeling less and less complete
Moving around at the speed of light
You can't just kiss me and say Goodnight
You are full of definitions
I've got clear-as-day premonitions.
Thesaurus tells you more ways to burn me
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust
You better watch out who you trust
Seeking vengeance - sitting high with a Jack and Queen
When you use big words - do you know what they mean?
Carry a briefcase full of poems and prayers
Getting smashed down by all these layers
Not sure who to believe out of all these soothsayers
Failure is not an option at this point
Suddenly you seem not afraid
Make sure all your debts have been paid
Sharp is the mental blade that slices through the haze
Believe me when I tell you how sorry I am
Imagine it now - a day without rain
No make-up on - you like to keep it plain
More answers to your questions - you add them up - a positive gain
Brick by brick - you built your home
People see you now - they comment on how much you've grown
Life is better when you're not alone
You can't just kiss me and say Goodnight
My pen marks down the places I have been and places I will go
Writing my poems down and watch how they flow.
It heals my wounds and declutters my mind
Answers are told - questions are raised
Heroes are born and together we try
You can't just kiss me and say Goodbye
Hold my hand and keep your voice high
Watch as people just pass us by
Aim for the front - where leaders are found
Listen for your heartbeat - that comforting sound
You can't just kiss me and say Goodbye

Details | Shane Houston Poem

The Joy She Brought Me

Here I sat under a willow tree
With a cup of English Breakfast tea

Your smile and laugh - they comforted me until dark
Our initials carved into the bark

We held each others hand
Things were going exactly as we planned

I brought sandwiches and chips
Then I held you close as I kissed your lips

You smelled like coffee and strawberries
I asked what perfume you were wearing - you said "It varies."

You brought some cake, cookies, and a quart of ice cream
Being with you felt like it was something out of a dream

You brought me such joy
I was such a naive boy

I speak in past tense as you can see
Because now you are in Heaven watching over me

Details | Shane Houston Poem

Sunflowers

Sunflowers with a majestic gold crown
The blue-purple of the evening sky
The white clouds with a sunbeam inside
Flow - sweet river onwards
To a place that can't be found 
on any map - directions scattered
Suddenly now - I feel its warmth
Grabbing at the corners of a freshly-read novel
Showing its strength at the peak of the day
People think that writing is simple
If that's the case - then why aren't we all writers?
I am borrowing time from an older gentleman
Seconds that he keeps in his pockets
Time is a precious thing - never waste it
I belong to a rare breed of men
A kind who see the world through the lens of a Poet
Small - we start out but then we grow
And we get closer to those lily-white clouds
We outstretch our palms
And feel the rain as it lands on our shoulders
We are giants in a world of ants and insects
We are the reason and the rhyme
I kiss your lips not to silence you 
but to give your life a punctuated moment
full-stop, period, and caesura 
I promised you I would return
And on that day
You felt her warmth
And you told her for the last time
How much you loved her
How much you needed her
She will always be inside your heart

Details | Shane Houston Poem

Second Thoughts

there are never enough
seconds in the given day
to understand why you 
are the first thought
 that enters my brain
dust from book covers
knowledge held secure within
a blue moon appears
once every twenty years
sensitive to touch - I am
your kiss was everything
how I held you close
and you would begin to sing
your smile - was so genuine
your soul - was oh so real
your scars - they told stories
about how you would always heal
there are never enough
seconds in the given day
to understand why you
are the first thought 
that enters my brain
I sit in awe sometimes
and questions - they arrive
too many phobias - i have
fear is what keeps me alive
I never will forget you
I promise you with a full heart
you will always be inside
there you will remain
there are never enough 
seconds in the given day
to understand why you
are the first thought
that enters my brain
people enter your life
for a reason - this I am sure
no more sadness
no more pain

Details | Shane Houston Poem

Thunder and Lightning

Thunder and Lightning were brothers born to the Sky and Wind.
They fought over who was to be the Bringer of Rain.
Lightning crackled and burned with jealousy.
Thunder always had a strong opinion of himself.
Lightning danced and lit the end of a torch.
While Thunder went on listing his accomplishments. 
Sky and Wind said they loved them equally. 
Lightning made a jagged knife to pierce the Sky.
He raised a hand in anger against his Mother, the Wind.
Thunder took hold of Lightning and would not let go.
He screamed into Lightning's ear and deafened him.
Lightning dropped the blade and it fell through the Clouds.
Thunder raised his voice and shook the mountains to their core.
Lightning took the Sense of Sight and flashed in pain.
Sky embraced Lightning and comforted him.
Wind came in and made the temperature drop.
Thunder asked if he could receive his Inheritance.
Sky and Wind nodded and handed him an axe.
Thunder laughed a hearty chuckle which overturned the trees.
Lightning asked for forgiveness.
Sky and Wind accepted this and gave Lightning the gift of Speed.
Lightning fell in love with Air.
He drew and painted her images to prove his Love.
Air accepted his proposal.
Thunder roared with jealousy.
Air restored Lightning's hearing.
Lightning and Air later had a baby that they named Heat.
He was an impressive youth - full of ideas and opinions.
Lightning taught Heat to run and hunt.
Heat was a rapid learner.
Sky and Wind died of old age.
Thunder married the beautiful Stars.
His wedding lasted a whole week.
Thunder and Lightning made amends.
That's why they are always not too far from each other.
When one is heard, the other is often seen.
They promised to stay close.
They don't fight anymore.
Just love and peace.

Details | Shane Houston Poem

Ekphrastic On Van Gogh

What pain you must have felt - what a life that you lived
A starving artist - swallows his own paint - in order to feel complete.
Painting the simple folk of a town
The tavern at dusk became your sacred domain.
The room at the asylum made you feel so diminutive.
You were an artist with a silent vow to God.
All of your stress that led to premature aging.
Your paints were your friends 
and your paintings were your lovers.
Selling only two in your lifetime - never living to see how famous you’d become
You were humble and modest to a t and few people could see
The genius behind the madness- the madness was deafening
The sensitive and silent strokes of an Impressionist
Calmly reaching for the oranges and the blues
The flames reach higher and the skies
Your paintings - now viewed by millions - 
you’re cherished at last
You make your mark on the world - with a night sky painted from memory
Years after you passed away I read
Your letters to your brother - Dear Theo
 what a terrific bond you shared
I know now why you are called a painter.
Thing about artists - we die young and only then are we discovered

Details | Shane Houston Poem

One Summer's Eve

One Summer's eve - a voice was heard
The sunset was thrown together last minute
The colors were a sight to behold
Like paints on a palette - they were organized 
The blues and the purples were next to the oranges and reds
The sky - like a Pollack was grand to behold
Some paint still dripping off of the brush
Form clouds and mountain-tops off in the distance
The calm before the storm
Waves crash onto the distant shore
Life is full of mysteries that we are meant to explore
Do you remember the first time I spoke to you?
I told you of a place that I would love to go
But I do not want to go there alone
So - I took you by the hand
And promised we would go together
I keep my promises - my dear
We have so much to do and so little time
I watch how the days come and go
I understand how little I really do know
The night is for dreamers 
The day is for believers
Follow me as I show you the way
Dawn is right around the corner
One Summer's Eve - a voice was heard
And we stopped to listen to what it said
It told us to keep on dreaming
For some dreams will become realities
And some realities will become dreams

Details | Shane Houston Poem

My Muse

I used to be a nocturnal troubadour 
Playing a fair amount of songs that years forgot
With a guitar nestled on my lap
I would whistle while playing until my fingers bled
I laugh at the call for intermission. A pause declared
I walk over to get a bite to eat 
And to talk with some of the other performers 
They all agreed that God put them on Earth to play
I was placed on Earth to make people smile 
This life I have been given is one thing I ponder
Holding my chin up to the clouds
I grew nine inches over the course of one Summer
All the better to look into your eyes
I fell in love four times in ten years
Where do I go from here?
I will have to get back to you on that
Sleep, eat, poetry, repeat 
That is all I need to know