Tuesday, April 16, 2013

One Little Look


A look.
Just one look provides
a muted glimpse into
the future.

Playing personal journeys
close to the vest,
they absorb knowledge
and exude attitude...
and wait their turn
in life.

Plans run amuck in their
young minds.
Thoughts, ideas
collide in differing
swings of momentum.

Mocking the man,
scorning establishment...
patiently abiding the day
when the balance of power
is passed on to them.

When the cask is full,
vim and vigor wield the sceptre
of strength and rule. But they
will look...
one little look
into eyes that burn
with passion
for the future.

Inspired by the students at McNally High School who sat through my presentation on poetry.

Linked for the patrons at the pub to enjoy.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

The Old Homestead


He stood along side
the dusty road,
familiarity bred
contempt for what
he saw across
fields of yellow wheat.

The old house stood
forlorn
abandoned to memories
that refused to be
rebuilt into pleasant
thoughts.

Cedar shakes fall
down into what was
a room, where animosity
and repulsion played games
of love and tenderness.

Hidden amongst the
waving grass
lies a door,
long fallen from its hinges,
to be used no more
as a portal into
what should have been
safety.

Glass mason jars,
stacked in rickety old
cupboards,
carry nothing but dust,
a glimpse of the only hope
this place has for the future.

Haunting creaks and moans
echo up a derelict
staircase, a warning to
anyone who dares enter.
Nothing has changed,
misery abides in darkness.

Nowhere to hide,
no protection from
the elements.
Windows have long been
shattered like the dreams
of the boy who once
called this place
home.

Alas, he stood on the road,
tears on his wind-swept
cheeks. The memory of
running, the thrill
of the escape as
that old house was
engulfed in the flames
of his broken heart.