Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 215

Donnybrook

Where were you when the fight broke out?
Under a table?
Out on the edge?
I was flat-footed, smack dab in the middle,
Caught in the melee,
Stuck on a ledge.

Tried to play peacemaker. Nobody listened.
Tried to back out but
The exit was blocked.
Vainly attempted to punch my way clear.
Only succeeded in
Getting cold-cocked.

I don’t remember just how it all ended
Since I was unconscious,
Senses askew.
No one would even say how it all started.
I was blind-sided.
Were you?

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Collage

Picture, if you dare, every
Memory you had today,
Capsulate the fragments into
Micro-mini retrospect.
Paste the pieces in a jumble
Overlapping, intersecting,
Introspecting to a point of peace
Reflecting yesterday.

Is it odd?
This sanctuary no one else can understand.
Only you can tell its glory,
Only you can touch its flesh.
Flashcards of imagination
Reach across an empty room
To hand you salty memories
Never to be swept away.

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Gloaming

Standing watch… No fear,
No trepidation for the passing years.
Could not stop them anyway,
Would not even if I could.

Weary and yet satisfied,
Sliding into destinies to
Meet the gloaming eye to eye,
Riding high on memories.

Seems like only yesterday when
Nimble youth was much engaged.
How delightful are the smiles
That greet me as I reminisce.

Happy to have come this far,
Hopeful to go farther still.
Helpful the experience
Accumulated on the way.

Now that twilight dips its head
To touch the tops of tireless trees
I lift up a silent prayer,
Thankful for the gifts received.

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Heretic

Do you believe in anything?
Does anything believe in you?
Does conscience march on heavy hooves
Storming through your restless nights.

Looking for the mood to swing
From amber bright to shades of blue.
Wait in dread the pack of wolves
Who rage to slaughter helpless sheep.

Can you face your audience,
Bow expecting loud applause?
Is your ego so intense
It flies alone without a cause?

A simple member of the cast,
Lines learned early in your youth.
Good and evil intersect
Leaving just a single thread.

Heed the echoes from the past.
Search your soul to know the truth.
You won’t have to hesitate or
Live your life in mournful dread.

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Malarkey

Starts with just a single statement,
Point of fact,
Simple truth.
Magnified a thousand fold,
Growing feet,
Begins to stroll.

Stretched to realms of disbelief,
Drawing back,
Moving on.
Beating brows adnauseam til
Backs are turned,
Heels are shown.

Knowing that the truth is lost.
Treasure the
Epiphany.
Moving out and moving on,
Better done and
Better off.

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Mayhap

It may happen
         Somewhere far into the future.
         Who can know?
         Who can see what miracle of happenstance
         Might cause two paths to intersect?
         Not you…
                       And certainly not me.

It may happen.
         Lives can crumble in the jumble
         Ending up so tragically.
         Basic instinct of survival
         Kicking into overdrive will
         Still the pain…
                 Compensate to some degree.

What may happen?
         No one knows.
         Mysteries of life and living
         Vex our days, haunt the night.
         Keeping caution as our guide
         Makes us vigilant and wary
         Of the dangers.
         Keeps us reaching for the light.

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Prelude

Trying hard to work up nerve,
Wake up feelings dormant for
So long that they are near forgotten
In this mad chaotic rush.

Tempt me with your sultry smile.
Beckon with a wink and nod,
A sly come-hither interlude
That speaks in volumes understood.

Coming just before the touch;
The first of many, hopefully.
Prelude to a memory,
Memento for ten thousand nights.

Save this moment. Hold it close.
Press the rose inside your book of
Heather-scented memories
To keep forever and a day.

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Reprobate

Rejected as an outcast…
Lost soul searching for a home,
Damned and duly destitute,
Despised and wholly victimized.

Seen through sad judgmental eyes that
Never seek to look within.
Disapproval driving home a
Wall of censure full of hate.

Lost to stroll the streets in silence,
Walk among the heinous hoards
Sowing seeds of condemnation
In a garden so corrupt.

Gypsy bands play gaily
Til the fall from grace is absolute,
Dance around the fire until
The gloom of Lucifer appears.

Who are these unprincipled?
These hail and hearty sideshow freaks?
Watching as their numbers grow

Until damnation is complete.
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Flimflam

You can’t sell that nonsense here.
This is not some backdoor scam,
A bait and switch to flim the flam on
Some poor unsuspecting dupe.

Break the chain so much reviled
That preys upon the meek and mild
With unrelenting painful force and
Knocks the victim for a loop.

Is this some vast eBay scheme?
A slice of toast, an image seen
By someone whose imagination
Casts a wide suspicious net.

Should I bite and make a bid?
Cast my lot across the grid?
Forsaking common sense and logic,
Take a chance on what I get?

Can I beat the flimflam man?
Will I lose and be the dope?
Taking chances,
Dancing dances,
Holding out eternal hope.

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Climb

You can stand on the 
mountaintop looking down 
or in the valley looking up. 
Climb. 

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