Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 25
January 23, 2025
Evil
Cloaked in shadows, darkand deep,
Silent stealth asfootsteps creep
With measured paceprepared to leap
Upon an unsuspectingfool.
This evil, unprepared towait,
Whose appetite cannotabate with
Meager morsels from aplate where
Conscience bears nomortal rule.
This evil with hiscunning lies,
The hint of promise inhis eyes,
A thousand ways tomesmerize,
Each whispered breath awicked tool.
This evil, never changingcourse,
Who rides upon a paintedhorse
With sabre drawn ofdeadly force
With purpose cold anddeftly cruel.
And who will rise to facethis foe?
To challenge evil’sdeadly blow and
Sound the chime so allmay know that
Hope may yet survive theduel.
January 22, 2025
Bucket List
Gliding high beyond theclouds,
Plunging deep in silentseas,
Lingering in Paradise
Relaxing with the tropicbreeze.
Tramp across thecontinent without
A care to cloud the day,
Soaking in the Muse ofevery
Songbird chanced alongthe way.
Write a book. Compose asong.
Sing an anthem for thecrowd.
Leave a footprint sounique
It will make a nationproud.
Travel to a foreign land,
Learn to speak the nativetongue,
Ambitious as the daybegins,
Humble when the day isdone.
The list goes on…
And on…
And on…
So much to do,
So little time.
Scratch off one, anotherwaits.
A valley to cross,
A mountain to climb.
January 21, 2025
Fortune
Prosperity can be apilfering pirate
Recklessly raging theseven seas,
Never quite quenching thecavernous craving
That mangles the mindset
Like bent twisted trees.
“More,” cries thecringing crowd.
“Forever more.”
Never enough when there’smore to be mined.
But wealth is rewardedwith misery’s mystery
Fraught with the follythat all might unwind.
Minions who manage onpaltry possessions
Seek solace in prospectmere money can’t bring.
The freedom offellowship,
Kindness and kinship
Silently soar onunwavering wings.
And we who are left toreview the reward
May only observe absoluteacclamation.
The fortune of love wefind for each other is
The greatest of giftssince the dawn of creation.
January 20, 2025
Fear
Fear is a thief whoflaunts copious faces,
Creep into places behindbolted doors,
Across creaky floors
Wearing sheepskin in shadows,
Wading through wallows of
Flesh-scorching embers.
Loss-laden liar of vacantdefiance
Forms an alliance with preconceived notions,
Swallows the potion ofpromised relief
Until ruin and grief abideside by side
Lost in a promise that no one remembers.
Who is this harbinger
Living in darkness
Alive with the starknessof blistering scorn?
And who will bring light
To a quivering night
So fear may be banished
And hope reborn?
January 19, 2025
Faith
Faith is a pillar that
Stands straight and strong,
Symbol of right in a
World that’s gone wrong.
Faith is a pillow of
Feathery down,
Compass of comfort in a
Realm spinning round.
Faith can move mountains,
Conquer all seven seas,
Leap to the moon to
Defy gravity.
Faith seeks the truth behind
Desperate lies that
Linger in shadows where
Decency dies.
Faith is believing
Through sorrow and strife.
Manna from Heaven
Nourishing life.
January 18, 2025
Fate
Life is just a deck of cards
To shuffle and deal, win or lose.
All who choose to play the game
Accept the levy of their fate.
The finite possibilities are unforeseen
Til hands are called and
Kismet floats with subtle kiss
To spin her wheel of destiny.
Eight ball rests upon the rail
Or teeters at the pockets edge
As fools lay wager, skill or luck,
Bank or combination shot.
The level of a steady hand,
The measure of what’s meant to be,
Divinity or providence, the
End results are still the same.
And luck is but a fickle mistress
Pleading for just one more chance to
Grab the glory found in fortune
With no thought of consequence,
While Karma lingers near the borders
On her wild horse carousel
And fate the only one who knows
The final chapter of the tale.
January 17, 2025
Saying Goodbye
No one likes to say goodbye
When loved ones part with mournful sigh
And dare to beg the question,
“Why?”
It turns a beating heart to stone.
A tear or two to soothe the soul,
But still the story goes untold.
The ending lurking in the cold
Unyielding darkness, all alone.
Never seems to go away,
Recurring with each break of day.
A bitter price for hearts to pay,
A chill that settles to the bone.
Should be,
Must be,
Willbe more.
Someday upon another shore,
Another chance,
Anotherdoor,
Another world where hope is grown in
Gardens lush and free from pain,
We will meet to love again.
January 16, 2025
My First Car
Chevy, vintage 1953.
Only slightly younger than me
When I turned sixteen and
Started to drive, fresh with the
Freedom of being alive.
Yellow and white as I recall,
Slow to start, but
Quick to stall.
Automatic transmission they say,
When the gears didn’t slip.
She had her own way.
Often in need of a push
Or a jump.
More often than not
A pain in my rump.
No money to spend
Except to buy gas.
Repairs were a luxury taken to task.
Driveway decoration
-Belle of the ball -
A tastier memory I can’t recall.
January 15, 2025
A Prayer for Peace
One may hasten to believe that
Prayer is cure for every ill that
Humanity might sore conceive, a
Magic panacea pill.
One my listen to the news
With wonder and bewilderment,
Knowing that such travesty
Could never have been heaven-sent.
One may walk a pious path
Professing reverence as a creed while
Behind a mask, on bended knee,
Praying only in self-serving need.
One may make a passionate plea
For all who stand in desperate need,
Victims of misfortune or
Another hungry mouth to feed.
One may pray an end to wars,
May violence forever cease.
If granted an answer to just one prayer,
Let it be a prayer for peace
January 14, 2025
A World Undone
I know that feeling,
The feeling of one.
Adrift on a desert,
A whole world undone,
Praying for shelter from
Cruel midday’s sun,
No word of comfort
From anyone to
Ease the anguish
Left in the wake of
A melted mind, of
A heart that breaks.
Tossed in the rush of
A fiery lake,
Trapped in the rubble
Left by the quake.
If time is the healer
A broken heart needs
Then hasten its passing
Wherever it leads.
More weathered miracles,
More races to run.
Faith finds Her passion
When worlds come undone.
