Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 146

It Gets Better

Rent is due, funds are scarce and

The landlord is a putz.

Johnny’s failing all his classes.

Suzie is a klutz.

 

Momma says she needs new shoes.

Dad needs a new shirt.

Both bemoan the plight that comes with

Being poor as dirt.

 

Grandma called. She thinks that Grandpa

Should be in a home.

Can’t remember diddly-squat,

His mind has turned to foam.

 

Bubba fell out of the truck;

Broke an arm and leg.

Won’t be working for a while.

At least he saved the keg.

 

Aunt Fannie’s getting married

For the twenty-second time.

A slight exaggeration…. But

It should be a crime.

 

Maybe I’ll sit down tonight and

Write the Lord a letter,

Offer up a midnight prayer and

Hope that it gets better.

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Gamble Gambit

Anti up and deal the cards.

Face down. Face up. Call your game.

Call my bluff.

         Perhaps I’m lying.

Shrink and fold

         If you’re so lame

You can’t endure the hot/cold sweats,

Take a stand without regrets,

Lose the battle?

Lose the farm?

Face the challenge?

Place your bets.

 

You might be a first-move-maker

If you have it in your gut to

Gnaw and gnash and bare your fangs,

Claw and climb the rotting rut.

 

Taking chances.

         Lashing out.

                 Slashing deep

                          The unkind cut.

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Too Damned Lazy

Left unfinished,

         Left unstarted, 

                          Left for someone else to do.

Right a wrong.

         Write a letter.

                 Right wing. Left wing. Nothing new.

 

Preaching, teaching,

         Reaching forward.

                 Backward, sideways. More delays.

Laboring

         Procrastination,

                 Bellicose to boast malaise.

 

Don’t demure to

         Sinful sloth,

                 Sob and sigh for jobs undone.

Do the deed to

         Damn the doubters.

                 Slam the slobs who shun the sun.

 

Sit up. Get up

         Off your ass.

                 Although vision may be hazy.

There’s no season,

         There’s no reason left

                 For being too damn lazy.

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Dark Tunnel

See the tiny pinprick light

That in the distance glows, it

Grows as I move closer through

This dark and dreary hole.

 

I would cash in favors for

A flashlight or a lantern.

Man was never meant for the

Existence of a mole.

 

I had both eyes open when I

Waltzed into this wasteland,

Welcoming the challenge of

A bold spelunker’s quest.

 

But here the night is smothering,

Leading me to ponder that

When next I need a challenge

I’ll just smash a hornet’s nest.

 

Find a rope to lead me

Out of this dark tunnel maze,

Ease the claustrophobic grasp and

Put my soul at rest.

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To the Moon

Earthbound and shackled by

Constant confusion, daily profusion of

Sanctified sacraments,

Fretting the gamut of secular musings,

Seeking a meaningful, practical pose.

Wherefore and what for,

Therefore and much more.

Searching and lurching,

Gasping for air,

Grasping a dare to break free

Of the confines

Defy all the gravity holding me here.

What then to do?

Where then to go?

Do I find Valhallaor Brigadoon?

So many places to fly in the heavens.

     Venus…

          Mars…

               Or just to the moon.

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Let Me Out of Here

When did these four walls materialize?

Could I have been so hard asleep

I did not notice the carpenter’s hammer

Banging and framing? Closing me in.

 

No door, no window, no staircase to climb.

Nary a toehold to boost to the top

So I might peek the other side to

Spy my accuser, determine my sins.

 

 Trapped in a prison, not knowing why or

When or if I’ll deserve a reprieve.

Silently praying, petitioning Heaven to

Send down an angel to rescue my soul.

 

Wond’ring if anyone knows where I am,

Cares that I’m gone and alone in my shame

As darkness descends and I cry in anguish,

Plead for deliverance from the cold.

 

Lost and alone.

Bursting with fear.

Will someone please

Let me out of here?

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Basic Evil 101

Born of serpents to the darkness.

Raised in shadows, out of sight.

Stalking stealthily the night

To prey on poor unfortunates.

 

Creeping out from under rock just

Far enough to test the air.

Lashing out at those who dare to

Cross your wayward slitherings.

 

Don your pretty plastic mask

To hide the fire that otherwise

Comes flashing forth from flaming eyes of

Grand deception, burning lies.

 

Pity those who cannot see

The heinous horror in your hate, who

Shake in fear when it’s too late

To simply turn and run away.

 

Vigilance its own reward

To spurn the serpent in his lair,

Lock the door and keep him where

His poison will not kill.

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Suspicion

Hovering just out of reach,

Sightless shroud of malcontent

Waiting, lingering on the fringe

Trying to look innocent.

 

Hoping to create some doubt,

To find a crease into the mind,

To wither any self-assurance,

Rip it, strip it from the vine.

 

Such a beast, jealous mistress,

Such a greedy, seedy slut.

Bastard of the first degree

Plunging daggers in the gut.

 

Mixing potions with your poisons

Stealthily distributing

In lethal dose to unsuspecting hunted prey.

You close your ring.

 

Silent gestures still the night,

Fill each chamber with despair.

Nations tremble,

Kingdoms fall,

As suspicion fills the air.

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I Fear…

It’s not snakes or hour-glass spiders,

Angry dogs with snarling fangs,

No, not reckless breakneck speed

Or deadly drops from desperate heights.

 

Not the threat of godless cons who

Battle brave behind a gun

Conscience bare of any shred of

Civilized humanity.

 

Not wind or water, hail or blizzard,

Nor any form of nature’s force,

Though nature is a frightening bitch

To be respected, if not feared.

 

Not the sound of cannon fire

That rings a distant knell of death, or

Storming troops in battered streets

Killing anything that moves.

 

Rising up in silence on a morning

Fresh with golden sun,

The thing that I fear most of all:

Waking without you.

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Pursuit

Must be at least a thousand beats per minute now

Thump-thumping pumping radically

As though it might explode.

 

Endorphins flying high on the adrenaline

Reaching out emphatically

To take the overload.

 

Elongated light curves out ahead of me

Bending back so I can see

Pursuers closing fast.

 

Reaching out with claws to slash and tear my flesh,

Teeth to gnash and grind my bones

To powdery repast.

 

Shifting all my power into overdrive,

Find the means to stay alive,

Keep the bloody beast at bay.

 

No bold rescuer, no cavalry

Swooping in as savior. It’s only me

Desperate to get away.

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