Tag Archives: poetry by request

Choosing Your Battles

When the middle of the road is muddy slick
so that the vehicles of truth get mired,
‘Tis then the vultures gather there to pick
among the helpless and the uninspired.

The wheels of progress spin but cannot grab
or gain a purchase ‘gainst the tide of war,
but spout mere rhetoric and useless gab
until the words don’t matter anymore.

And love? It is subsumed in mindless hate;
the doves of peace set on by hungry hawks
who speak of “help” but would decide our fate
while the whole world still argues and just gawks.

The future in such times is so unsure –
for who’s to judge whose motives are more pure?

21 JUN 2003

for LJ user stephanielynch

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Lost Love

Where in this crazy world do I begin?
It’s curious, how these things come to pass;
sometimes, the line you tread is oh so thin,
but you don’t see it, and you fall on your ass.

Because the heart heals, and it soon forgets;
it holds like an old bulldog, tenacious,
to possibilities the mind regrets,
and blind, looks for hope in a flirtatious

gesture, a look in a wandering eye.
And although the wise mind knows it a whim,
it lets the heart fool it time and again.

They say if you love it, free it. They lie,
if they say when he goes, you’ll forget him;
more likely, you’ll stay dry out in the rain.

10 MAR 2003

for LJ user ferahga

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The Writing Life

For the bi-polar artist the two modes
are work and sleep versus work without sleep;
sometimes, a creative thought explodes
in a big bang, and other times, it creeps

up and catches you there quite by surprise.
Each mode has both a good side and a bad –
after a night with the muse your tired eyes
ache, and your thoughts careen and twist like mad;

while slower epiphanies will get lost
in the confusion of the everyday.
Of course, the plan with sleep keeps you stronger

and ultimately has a lower cost;
you have to manage how much you can pay
with care – so the candle will last longer.

09 MAR 2003

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Bosses

for LJ user ravengirl

Most people rise in organizations
through political postures and moving
up slowly, not causing much sensation.
They never reach the top roost by proving

their superiors wrong, or by doing
too much of anything except smiling
and just pretending not to be screwing
things up. This load of bullshit keeps piling

under them until they are running things.
Do not get me wrong, some do know their stuff
and are truly a joy to work under;

but usually, their incompetence brings
more work to your desk. It can be so tough
biting your tongue and staring in wonder.

09 MAR 2003

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Job Fulfillment

When I worked for my dad, he used to say
that a paycheck was its own incentive;
well, I guess one can look at it that way,
but I prefer something more inventive.

Sure, I like what I do enough at times
to work extra hours and not complain;
but my sense of great inequity climbs
and I find dealing with others a pain.

Fulfilled? I suppose. There’s cash in the bank,
some bright business cards displaying my name,
and occasional bits of gratitude.

But don’t expect me to profusely thank
you for trifles; work is work, just the same,
at times rewarding – that’s my attitude.

09 MAR 2003

for LJ user draggingmuppets

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Discontinued Specials

Through no fault of my own (bad lines of code,
or an LJ glitch beyond my control)
you fast assumed that I purposely showed
you the door, reduced your once leading role

to a bit player, just another friend.
But my dear bean, that is just not the case;
no matter much I may tease and pretend
that my life is not lit up by your face,

or refer to you as the great McGrew,
the queen of idle deedling and such,
please, please remember this one simple thing:

I have not ever loved like I love you.
There is nothing else that means quite so much
as the great magic to my life you bring.

09 MAR 2003

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Losing a Good Friend

I found I knew you, and then you were gone;
they seem too brief, the paths that we wandered,
and though in my memory you live on
it feels like so many days were squandered.

The things that I should have said, I never
spoke; so much has been left here unresolved.
Had I guessed by such a fragile tether
we were bound – if I had been less involved

in the rest of life, teeming around us,
perhaps I would have noticed the faint signs
that we two had so little precious time.

But now, it is too late to make a fuss;
I carry on with just parts left behind,
and the brief glimpse of love that you made mine.

08 MAR 2003

for LJ user cathla143

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