Author: poetryfest

Should I be flattered that you think I care
Just how and when true lust comes down your pike?
As if to Cupid I could dictate where
His arrows of outrageous fortune strike.

Why do you claim the roses scratched my itch
When it’s your nose that found their scent did please?
That I was won by sweets so full and rich
When those the tongue and guts alone would tease?

You say I should have seen what was to come
Not MY job; fore and hindsight’s on the eyes
You say I should have heard the danger hum
But it’s the ears’ task to perceive the lies.

Today feels empty, future’s clear as mud…
Don’t blame your heart, kid, I just pump your blood.

I did not want to die that day
I was getting high
I did too much
I heard them say
I felt the floor meet my head
The next thing I heard
I think she’s dead

Suddenly I was all of everything at once
The people in the room
every sound and place
It didn’t last long
I was saved by God’s Grace

Whatever you do,
The voice said, don’t turn right
What do you want to do
What do you want to do
Sounding like a choir
Loud, powerful and melodious
The choir sings do you want to fly
Do you want to swim
What do you want to do

Crying lord, I don’t see the sky
And not the water
The voice I loved so much
Said all you need Is to believe
Trust me sinner
Follow me

And as soon as those powerful words
were said suddenly found I was not dead
Wondering how I got back here alive
Of what I once knew was my life
Next thing I know
I am sitting in a tree top
I know how this sounds
High above the ground
It seemed so natural
Looking down

It was easy as can be
Climbing down from that tree
and running around leaving footprints
on the ground Earth Home
Thank God for my life
That was not my time

And the voice I knew so well
Said hurry child
Remember what I said
Run fast as you can
And don’t stop
To eat strawberries
That you know you like
You are in a hurry
You don’t have much time

The strawberries were growing near the
Path leading home
I did notice them, how could I not
They were everywhere
They smelled delicious
I had to stop

They were the largest berries
That I’d ever seen
The valley where they grew
Was awesome and pristine
I did make a stop, a brief one at that
I picked the best berry
The best one of the crop

Down in the valley of death
I found God’s living Grace
I kissed the fruits nectar
I partook of its taste
Instantly I knew that it was a mistake

As I bit in to the fatal fruit
I gasped for my last breath
That I knew I would lose
If I didn’t choose to listen to
The good lord himself

I crawled
I struggled
I’ve made mistakes
This was my chance
To clean my slate

I hurried home
my body turning blue
Just when I thought
I saw the pearly gates
An angel came down and carried me away
Not yet my dear
You have more things to do
So here I am
My earthly home
I am here today
Saving Grace

The Savior brought me to believe
The Savior brought me to my knees
Before I saw the way to salvation

They called it a near death experience
An out of body realm
A fatal experience for some
I know it was a revelation of
What will come
An angel carried me all the way
I am here today
Saving Grace

Spring flowers may look nice to see
But they’re not as bright and pretty as you
Your smile can light up even the darkest day
Anyone can see at a glance that you’re in love
Why else would you look so happy and bright?
Manners maketh man, but love makes a woman
Being in love lifts one’s spirits whenever down
Just thinking of your love for me and I feel great
My troubles just fade away into the background
With you, I walk along with my head held high
And an unsung song ready to burst from my lips
My heart pounds with passion and love for you
Our friends recognise that we are madly in love
While others only feel sad that they are not

My Love for you is a Great War
Four years of fighting, no end in sight
Infinite casualties, infinite death
Sunken eyes, pale faces
Morale has long waned
Like the tide of the ocean and the Moon of the Earth

Blinded by the beauty
Of the irreparable damage of knowing you,
I will continue sending men to their graves
Buried shrouded in their sweet innocence,
Original Sin
And all great Neptune’s Ocean will not wash this blood clean from your hand.

All is fair in love and war

Fall River. Smith Mills. New Bedford. Freetown.
A slow drive into charcoal blue. Silver
Beach. Ethereal Grey Gables. Frozen
Creek. Flying Horses Carousel. The wind

was whipping along the coast and you were
West Chop bent at the hip. Your arms cradled
dozens of Conque shells. And I was East Chop.
My arms full of shells, too. We were a mile

apart but still so connected. Looking
back, I think that sea air whipping and shells
falling from our arms were a kind of map.
A way of wandering we understood.

Heaven Heights. Pie-in-the-Sky Bakery

She hit me with the beautiful madness of her.
that she was covering little by little
my intense droughts
in a scandalous way
she brought warm swirls
to repair my essence.
she filled me with caresses
the empty shelves
and without making promises
She managed to take away all my pain
Trafficking in my secrets to
change my ideas and moods
She broke the harmony of things.
to repair my freedom.
She taught me
with a beautiful kiss
how love is defined.

What is it to share a lifetime in short,
childhood passes in curved blurry lines.
Disharmony resides in youthful abundance,
where love sits, without notion or purpose.
There are very few others, who share in this bond
family love, bestowed tender & strong.
Experiencing the tribe, joined internally…
As true knowledge is ours from birth to beyond.
Grievances set aside, jokes & humour abound
reminiscing about childhood exploits surround.
Things only a chosen few know.

Now one of us is gone, prematurely ahead
and memories aren’t holding the same.
As we age, and turn to lean on our kin
for testimony and proof from within.
It’s like gasping for air on a swell of the sea
as we shift through our personal storms.
Oh how we miss your unique point of view,
we learned early on of your voice.
Notice given freely, whether wanted or not
likely ignored, but offense never taken.

We were The privileged to witness up close
Your genius your loyalty
your light from within.

You are loved,
you are missed.
And the older we get,
you are yearned for,
you are spoken of dearly.

Unique beyond measure,
loved beyond time.
This is for you,
our dear dear brother.

Maybe our lives weren’t intertwined
Maybe they just intersected
Maybe we weren’t forever
Maybe we were just for now
And maybe i shouldn’t be crying
Maybe I shouldn’t be this sad
Maybe I should just be happy with all the memories that we had
Maybe i should be optimistic
Maybe I should look to what to come
Maybe I should move on
Maybe I can still find my someone

Because maybe you weren’t my person
Maybe you weren’t the one
Maybe you were just a glimpse of what was to come
Maybe you were a pitstop
Maybe you weren’t my destination
Maybe you were just a heartbreak
Maybe you were just having fun

And maybe one day you’ll be there
And maybe you probably won’t
And maybe I’ll be okay with that
But until then I’ll use maybes to cope

Voice Over by Val Cole

What this journey through time and space isn’t,
a fissure split between earth and spirit or a
mere yawn of seasons, but maybe it’s the ignorance
about the end, its invisible grasp that holds us
in a headlock we’ll never be able to escape from
that steers us free.

Our bodies a compass being navigated
led like sailors by the stars or bees by flowers.
Every day the sun, yellow orange yellow, hope
pulling life up and out with its invisible force.
Travelers we are seeds blown asunder by chance
some settled close to their origins

others adrift over land and sea, no matter
all of us just passing through, witnesses or tourists
to a time and place, waves rolling in and moving out
forgetting that we’re all headed towards the same place
and just like birds in migration our souls will know
where to go, leading towards the final excursion.

Our shells, souvenirs left upon the shore.