continue

On the table
sit two glasses

Unfinished gulps of wine
last of the night

Tv off, one light remains

Angelic body under covers
Curves and flowing hair

Awkward creature standing
alone. puffs of smoke

tries to keep away
from the smoke detector

chugging down the last
of the wine then refills

stealing glances
of the gorgeous curves
that the covers hug

savoring the moment

longing for the night
to continue

footsteps

Footsteps die against the hustle of downtown
serve their forward purpose

A body passes through the crowds
The cold wind and colder rain
Have no chance against his dreaming
Of better days ahead
Forgetting a past behind

The campus smells of new and old
Promise and fulfillment
Life beginning at whatever age
The only opportunity left in such a world

Those footsteps carry him off the campus
To the job he depends on
The dark he confronts
Hopeless and dead end
The wasted existence that pays the bills
Provides the tuition

Others have parents' monies
He has dirty hands, sweat, and dreams

Thoughts of that campus
Will keep him alive all day

right

The right friends to have
err.. I mean connections

The right car to drive
designed for millions like you

The right neighborhood in which to reside
safe, secure, and away from people

The right balance
of compassion and ruthlessness

The right things to say
to the right people

The right amount to invest and save
for retirement that may not happen

The right employer
to sell your labor cheap

The right girlfriend or boyfriend
that will be proper

The right relationship
it’s all spelled out

The right amount to drink
just enough to be wild

The right years of abandon
to leave a broad smile in memory

The right religious service to attend
to fit in

The right tone of voice
that shows where you rank

The right looks and clothes
that convey normalcy or rebellion

The right information to digest
to think like all the others

The right books to read
to be exposed to what you are supposed to

The right experiences to convey
that fit your role so well

The right emotions to share
like everyone else

The right thoughts to have
let others know they’re not crazy

The right interests to pursue
to build commonality

The right events to attend
see your connections
err.. I mean friends



These are musts
to convey that you fully embrace

All the normal things in life
like death

Creativity, sleep, and sex

Sometimes it just isn't going to happen.

Finish (great poem by Bukowski)

"We are like roses who never bothered to
bloom when we should have bloomed and
it is as if
the sun has become disgusted with
waiting"

Charles Bukowski

another night

The hell with it all

The bold and low force against walls
Taking for their pleasure
Paying no mind to consequence
Stripping off clothes
Penetrating deep inside
Taking all the worth
Getting theirs
Against the will

And they get away with it
They always do
Whether it’s a person, government, or business
No matter the victims
Number, beauty, or worth
They get it all
And then we worship them

Meanwhile the kind, decent, and gentle
Get punished and beaten
Pay for the sins of the bold and low
Because they care
Because they do right
They are shit, and treated as such

The hell with it all

so little

The aftermath usually comes later
when I am too drowsy to know better
She left early tonight, unfulfilled
A last dance was had though;
jazz moved us
even as neither felt well
Making the most

Nonetheless, she left early
too much to do, she said
Leaving me with nothing to do
no one to hold
Empty, dead, messy apartment
combined with insomnia
The vacation of her presence over too early

I lose myself in wine and writing
of time long ago
cut into short chopped sentences
few words that say so much
Pouring myself on the screen
honest with faults countless
My next project takes form

The wine comes too slow to dull
aches of absence of the missed
while a creative mind maps ways
to cut what I know now
into short concise sentences
that say so much
and patch so little

same day

Brightness can be seen through the blinds
A beautiful day lies in wait

Hot coffee chases the hangover
That the mumbling echos

The young and beautiful play in the sun
Without a care in the world

A hot shower and five minutes
Full thermos and off to work

Boats are on the water
People crowd the beaches

Another day of stress
And low wages

A beautiful purple sunset
Marks the end of child’s play

Deadlines, deadbeats, unpayable bills
Cigarette smoke and grumbles

Couples walk hand and hand
Beautiful evening of love

Another day of getting nowhere
Worsening gloom of tomorrow

Moonlight lights the way
Laughter fills restaurants and bars

Cheap box wine fills the glass
The one pleasure left

Children and the beautiful have restful slumber
Eager for a new day of sun and fun

Laying there tossing and turning
Not wanting a new day of nothing

one day

The uncertain voice of an old friend
seeking comfort
The insecure look of an aggressor
seeking to hide
The tone of a beautiful woman
who caught you looking
The shift when the subject
is changed from dying to living

Compassion and decency mandate
that you play along with each of these
and many more
for the sake of the stricken
who are bigger than you
in need so very pressing
meanwhile you are left
to deal with it all
alone

How many?

the guy who never left his hometown
the workaholic who never left the job
the alcoholic who was never sober
the wife who never had another
the man too shy to meet women
the writer who never submitted
the singer who never recorded
the intellectual who never studied
the child who never grew up
the factory worker who never took a day off
the morman who never drank
the poor who never got off welfare
the rich who never struggled
the ideal never practiced
the words never said
those who don’t know or care
the love never returned
the hurt never acknowledged
the desire never explored
the life never lived

how many of these apply to you?