Wednesday, September 30, 2009

"I Could Say"

I could say,
Ah, Lord,
Still my soul!

Standing alone
In the twilight-

Looking down
From a hill,
Where there's
A river
Running deep
And slow-

The day
Seemed
To have
Gone on
Forever-

But now,
I face
The
Approaching
Night:

As I realize
There's no place
For me to go...

And as I
Cast my eyes
About me,
I think
To myself:

Oh, no!

Oh, no-

Oh, no-

Oh, no-

Oh, no!

But it doesn't
Change anything- anything-

So as I
Was first
Thinking,
What I
Could say,
I do say:

I say,
Ah, Lord,
Still my soul!

My soul-

My soul-

My soul-

My soul!

And as for
Anything else,
I just don't know:

I don't know!

Don't know-

Don't know-

Don't know-

Oh, no!

I say,
And in tears
I admit-

I very simply just don't know!

I don't know.

Monday, September 28, 2009

"Poetry There"

Poetry there-

The use of the imagination:

And I ignore criticism
From those
Who say for them,
There's no sense of clarification-

Why there should be poetry there...

Again and again from them,
The question being:
Is there poetry there?

(Is there poetry there?)

Because it doesn't
Come up to
Their modern expectations...

Yet there's poetry there,
If it pushes and pulls
Someone spiritually-

And philosophically:

And it is thought
Afterward,
And felt:
There is poetry there...

(There is poetry there...)

Like an image of she,
Who is young and fair-
And sits beneath the trees,
Reading to herself,
Verse from a book of poetry:

And suddenly a quiet breeze
Whispers through the leaves
Of the trees,
And slightly ruffles
The pages of her
Book of poetry,
And her hair!

Yes, I'd say
In just that image alone,
There is poetry there...

Regardless of how
Seemingly 19th century-

There is poetry there!

Friday, September 25, 2009

"Images (But You Shouldn't Let Them Be Leading You)"

Your mind filled with images-
But you shouldn't let them be leading you,
Calling you-

Even if they call in such a sweet voice-
And it seems,
Only to you:

So many promises,
And offerings
Of such beautiful dreams-

Yet who knows really
Where they actually
Might be leading you to?

Could be your own destruction-

Nightmares come true.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

"Just Dance"

Important acquisitions-

Conceptual:

Avant-garde...

Computerized image of the world-

Green screen!

And girl, I give you a chance,
Just to see if you can dance!

Since as you tell me,
Within your life-

There's a whole lot
You've been scrambling for:

So let's see if you
Learned anything-

And if you know:

More? More? More?

So dance.

Just dance-

Dance!

Dance!

Dance!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

"Floating Leaf"

A floating leaf-

Is that how you feel?

Being blown about
By a wind
That you
Have no control of-

That never allows you
To touch the ground?

And though that's true-

It still never allows you either,
To fly high enough
To brush against the sky?

Yet I must ask you,
Through it all-
Even as you go spiraling,
And probably
So very often tumbling-

Forever it seems-

Without end-

Between Heaven and Earth:

Does that stop you
From wanting love?

Friday, September 18, 2009

"What May Bring"

What may bring
Pleasure to the senses,
Or the mind...

Like something very smooth-

Such as beat time
To a music,
Played not wild-
But softly:

To make you feel
That you almost literally
Fall into a dream...

No pushing strokes though,
Because you're not
Going up-
But downstream:

Ah, nothing less
Than a kind of feeling
Of a supreme bliss!

And if that's the case-

Close your eyes now,
And make a wish....

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

"Your Mechanical Fashion"

Your mechanical fashion-
As if it's some benefit
Toward reaching a goal:

Ice and snow-

You've grown cold
In your soul-

But you either don't care,
Or don't even know:

Oh, your mechanical fashion!

Throughout your life now
In everything!

Comprising far worse
Than just simple routine-

Have you forgotten
What you mean-
In your mechanical fashion?

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

"Go With The Songs"

Go with the songs:

The sense of
The nearness of the lyrics-

Go with the songs:

Of the many kinds,
That can bring about-
The linking up
Of the heart,
Soul,
And the mind!

Go with the songs:

Search out the words
In their vast supply-

Make 'em fly!

Go with the songs:

The songs-

The songs-

Oh!

Maybe not another Keats or Poe-

But still you've got to let it roll:

And let yourself go-

Forever on and on
On and on...

With the songs!

"Cartoon Characters Don't Have Any Bones"

The trail-

Peopled
With
Colorful cartoon characters-

That leads to madness:

Because...

Deep down-

They're really vicious-

They're really vicious-

Bad to the bone.

Monday, September 14, 2009

"Followed By You"

Being followed by you-

I'm being followed by you...

As you mentally project
Your pictorial illustrations:

Use abbreviations-

I'm being followed by you:

It's something
That you really seem
To want to do-

So I'm being followed by you.

Followed by you-

And how I've noticed
You're devoted to signs
And symbols-

That I must admit,
I often find rather strange:

As to the meaning of-

But I'm being followed by you.

Followed by you-

I'm being followed by you.

I'm being followed by you.

And though I don't mind:

I would advise-

Just don't mistake it for love:

Pretty eyes....

Sunday, September 6, 2009

"The Song"

Long ago...

Long ago...

On the radio:

The song and its lyrics-

How the music deeply moved me-

And also,
Long have the words
Echoed in my mind...

Down through the years.

Because the song,
Even though I knew it wasn't-

It was just a song
I heard played so often
On the radio that summer:

Still-

It always seemed to be about you.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

"Government, Phase One"

Government action:
To
Control crime-
Stop drugs-
Create new jobs-

Promise a chicken
In every pot-
A cow
In every barn:

And with new taxes
To
Control crime-
Stop drugs-
Create new jobs-

As a special treat,
Everybody can expect
Some corn on the cob:

Politicians and histrionics:

Speaking of even bigger abstractions-

And with lots of new taxes-

Even more government action:
To
Control crime-
Stop drugs-
Create new jobs-

Wave the flag-

Cat's in the bag!

Friday, September 4, 2009

"To Bring"

To bring this dark world light-
What the angels find,
And what they themselves can know-

And the One above all them,
Who fashioned the flow:

Down to the single blade of grass-
Of which in itself,
Continues the future and the past.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

"Uniquely (Uniquely)"

Uniquely-
Uniquely-

Unbelievable...

Such harmony
With the backing vocals-

The singer,
And the lead
Taken by the mandolin-
And fiddle:

Genuinely Bluegrass.

Or so it would seem-

Even if they are playing
The Beatles' "I'm Only Sleeping...."