Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 221
July 14, 2019
Standoff
Barricaded!!!
Trapped behind a wall so high
That I must struggle on my keep
Around the clock. Her fortress mocks me
As my eyes refuse to sleep.
Sailing off into the sunset
Is a haunting distant dream
That lingers near, never clearly
Focused as I plot and scheme
To free these bonds, escape this prison,
Throw my jailer to the ground
And run to freedom somewhere distant
Where the fruits of truth abound.
If I only had the strength to
Face the showdown up ahead;
Bold to face the consequences,
Fearing still the flags of red
I sit quiet in my armor
As the stalemate lingers still,
Testing every ounce of metal,
Every measure of my will.
So, the standoff must continue.
Neither side will acquiesce.
In the end, just who will win?
Who will come out second best?
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Trapped behind a wall so high
That I must struggle on my keep
Around the clock. Her fortress mocks me
As my eyes refuse to sleep.
Sailing off into the sunset
Is a haunting distant dream
That lingers near, never clearly
Focused as I plot and scheme
To free these bonds, escape this prison,
Throw my jailer to the ground
And run to freedom somewhere distant
Where the fruits of truth abound.
If I only had the strength to
Face the showdown up ahead;
Bold to face the consequences,
Fearing still the flags of red
I sit quiet in my armor
As the stalemate lingers still,
Testing every ounce of metal,
Every measure of my will.
So, the standoff must continue.
Neither side will acquiesce.
In the end, just who will win?
Who will come out second best?
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
July 13, 2019
Bustin' My Chops
Why should I be bustin' my chops?
Sweating for somebody else's crops
Where payment is grossly under-fair,
Where dignity reaches the edge and drops
Like a hammer crashing a pane of glass
In a World obsessed by position and class.
A struggle as old as primordial man
Where strength and aggression are played hand in hand
And survival had only two classes, it's said;
Divided between the quick and the dead.
But these days it's money that seems to divide
Where the classes are structured, how we decide
Who has worth, what has meaning, who gets the bone
With the meat neatly picked; who ends up alone.
Worshiping God on an altar of green
As immortal worth becomes ever so lean.
But truth is not fleeting.
Please, make yourself clear.
Our struggles are not always as they appear.
The classes are self-made and self-imposed,
And nothing the freehearted ever need fear.
For happiness crosses all boundaries and classes.
Contentment survives and thrives with the masses.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Sweating for somebody else's crops
Where payment is grossly under-fair,
Where dignity reaches the edge and drops
Like a hammer crashing a pane of glass
In a World obsessed by position and class.
A struggle as old as primordial man
Where strength and aggression are played hand in hand
And survival had only two classes, it's said;
Divided between the quick and the dead.
But these days it's money that seems to divide
Where the classes are structured, how we decide
Who has worth, what has meaning, who gets the bone
With the meat neatly picked; who ends up alone.
Worshiping God on an altar of green
As immortal worth becomes ever so lean.
But truth is not fleeting.
Please, make yourself clear.
Our struggles are not always as they appear.
The classes are self-made and self-imposed,
And nothing the freehearted ever need fear.
For happiness crosses all boundaries and classes.
Contentment survives and thrives with the masses.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
July 12, 2019
Thinking Small
The tiniest creatures
Will often times cause the
Most irritation for Humankind.
The pesky barrage of the
Infinitesimal pest is a test
Of the tolerant mind.
Consider the flea, the louse
Or the tick,
Diminutive blood-sucking vermin
Who kick and claw
Until they get into your skin,
Inviting legions of their kith and kin
To come along for the bountiful feast,
And drink the blood of the giant beast.
But the most destructive cannot be seen
With the naked eye, no matter how keen.
They breed and grow without procreation
'Til their legions are the size of a nation,
And their needful ways are cause for alarm
As we shrink from their coming
And quake from their harm.
Microscopic beast of evil,
Hidden armies you employ.
Singular is your agenda;
Humankind would you destroy.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Will often times cause the
Most irritation for Humankind.
The pesky barrage of the
Infinitesimal pest is a test
Of the tolerant mind.
Consider the flea, the louse
Or the tick,
Diminutive blood-sucking vermin
Who kick and claw
Until they get into your skin,
Inviting legions of their kith and kin
To come along for the bountiful feast,
And drink the blood of the giant beast.
But the most destructive cannot be seen
With the naked eye, no matter how keen.
They breed and grow without procreation
'Til their legions are the size of a nation,
And their needful ways are cause for alarm
As we shrink from their coming
And quake from their harm.
Microscopic beast of evil,
Hidden armies you employ.
Singular is your agenda;
Humankind would you destroy.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
July 11, 2019
Ready to Take on Life
Give me your best shot!
Take me on up to your highest level,
Then give me a push.
I've been waiting, watching and learning
For four or more decades
To take on the rush.
The elders all say that I'm just a kid,
Still ill-prepared in the ways of the World,
But I disagree, and if you ask me
I'll tell you it's time that
My flag was unfurled.
Just step aside and lend me some measure,
Pass the baton,
Rap the drum,
Play the fife.
This is my turn
And I run with a vengeance
Forward and ready
To take on life.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Take me on up to your highest level,
Then give me a push.
I've been waiting, watching and learning
For four or more decades
To take on the rush.
The elders all say that I'm just a kid,
Still ill-prepared in the ways of the World,
But I disagree, and if you ask me
I'll tell you it's time that
My flag was unfurled.
Just step aside and lend me some measure,
Pass the baton,
Rap the drum,
Play the fife.
This is my turn
And I run with a vengeance
Forward and ready
To take on life.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
July 10, 2019
Silence
Silence speaks volumes
to those who take the time to listen.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
to those who take the time to listen.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Training Wheels
I must have been no more than six or seven
When I learned to ride using training wheels on
A little blue bike that I rode much too fast
And wound up destroying before it wrecked me.
I learned to balance in very short order;
Learned to fly without leaving the ground;
Learned the spirit of kinetic motion that
Stirred my soul and set it free.
A few trips over the handle bars,
A few dips into the puddles of Spring,
A few slips and slides in the graveled driveway
Resulting in torn pant leg and skinned up knee.
Lessons are easy when young and resilient,
And balance is learned at the drop of a hat,
And vision is clear for the future is now
And our day is filled with simplicity.
Pity we can't use training wheels
In learning to scale our emotional lives
Where balance is often a fleeting companion
Blinded by sunlight, unable to see.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
When I learned to ride using training wheels on
A little blue bike that I rode much too fast
And wound up destroying before it wrecked me.
I learned to balance in very short order;
Learned to fly without leaving the ground;
Learned the spirit of kinetic motion that
Stirred my soul and set it free.
A few trips over the handle bars,
A few dips into the puddles of Spring,
A few slips and slides in the graveled driveway
Resulting in torn pant leg and skinned up knee.
Lessons are easy when young and resilient,
And balance is learned at the drop of a hat,
And vision is clear for the future is now
And our day is filled with simplicity.
Pity we can't use training wheels
In learning to scale our emotional lives
Where balance is often a fleeting companion
Blinded by sunlight, unable to see.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
July 9, 2019
Messenger of Pain
No one likes to bear the burden,
But someone has to spread the news
That comes with cat-like urgency
Destroying midnight's restful peace.
There is no way to be prepared,
To be the calm recipient
When hearts are ripped and shredded
By this cold and mindless beast
Who stalks the night in Terror's cloak,
Seeking victims unaware,
And plunges them into a well
Of desolation and despair.
Waking with a sudden chill,
Bolting upright from your sleep
Filled with frightful premonition
Of a burden buried deep
Inside your heart. Your mind is racing
Through a windswept hurricane.
It is you, and no one else,
Must be this messenger of pain.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
But someone has to spread the news
That comes with cat-like urgency
Destroying midnight's restful peace.
There is no way to be prepared,
To be the calm recipient
When hearts are ripped and shredded
By this cold and mindless beast
Who stalks the night in Terror's cloak,
Seeking victims unaware,
And plunges them into a well
Of desolation and despair.
Waking with a sudden chill,
Bolting upright from your sleep
Filled with frightful premonition
Of a burden buried deep
Inside your heart. Your mind is racing
Through a windswept hurricane.
It is you, and no one else,
Must be this messenger of pain.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
July 8, 2019
Framed
I was minding my own business;
Wasn't bothering a soul, or
So I thought.
Obviously, I was wrong
As someone else's bold agenda
Crossed my path at intersections
I was unaware existed until now,
This very moment as
Your finger points my way.
Innocence is fleeting when
An alibi is needed
And friendship carries little weight
For guilty parties panicking
To take the fall and pay the wages
For their action, unprepared,
Helpless in their weakness,
Spineless, cold and scared.
So now you point in my direction
As you seek to transfer blame,
Looking for a sacrificial lamb,
A patsy you can frame.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Wasn't bothering a soul, or
So I thought.
Obviously, I was wrong
As someone else's bold agenda
Crossed my path at intersections
I was unaware existed until now,
This very moment as
Your finger points my way.
Innocence is fleeting when
An alibi is needed
And friendship carries little weight
For guilty parties panicking
To take the fall and pay the wages
For their action, unprepared,
Helpless in their weakness,
Spineless, cold and scared.
So now you point in my direction
As you seek to transfer blame,
Looking for a sacrificial lamb,
A patsy you can frame.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
July 7, 2019
A Baser Emotion
With honor ignobled
And courage defamed,
With decency comatose
Fleeing the fray,
We kindle the spark of
A baser emotion
With unlighted candles
Leading the way.
How does it build in
Contemptible measure
To seek out the center
And lend it to change?
Where does it find the
Inferior being
And tempt it awaken,
To rise and derange
All the commonplace senses
To indecency?
Setting the Devil
Inside of us free.
Fighting a war of
Perpetual motion,
Seeking to rise above
Baser emotion.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
And courage defamed,
With decency comatose
Fleeing the fray,
We kindle the spark of
A baser emotion
With unlighted candles
Leading the way.
How does it build in
Contemptible measure
To seek out the center
And lend it to change?
Where does it find the
Inferior being
And tempt it awaken,
To rise and derange
All the commonplace senses
To indecency?
Setting the Devil
Inside of us free.
Fighting a war of
Perpetual motion,
Seeking to rise above
Baser emotion.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
