Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 33

Prudence

Would it be prudent to

Walk away silently?

Should I back down

Without passion or heat?

Could there be consequence

Bent on inaction?

What good would become of

A velvet retreat?

 

I wasn’t wrong!

Well, maybe a little.

I was the victim!

But you were hurt, too.

You were the stubborn one!

I only wanted for you

To see my way.

Well, that’s nothing new.

 

Rethink the middle.

Retrace the path.

Prudence is practical.

You do the math.

 

Ultimatum

You must!

I insist!

No doubt!

Your decision.

 

No trust.

You persist.

Don’t shout.

Grave collision.

 

We fussed,

Made a list,

Walked out

On a mission.

 

Disgust

With a twist.

Next bout,

No remission.

 

Ultimatum

Must abide.

Do or don’t.

Get off the ride.

 

Liquidity

She moves downhill,

Begs no favor,

Filling cracks and vast depressions

Along the way to overflowing,

Always growing, always knowing,

Lending, giving, smothering.

Being absorbed by Mother Earth

Who only borrows for a while

Then gladly gives her back.

 

Nothing lives without her kindness.

Flora, fauna, man and beast

Must bow to her intrepid wisdom,

Cling to every precious drop.

 

And what are we without her wealth?

Only dust blown by the wind

To every corner, every niche,

Lonely souls without a shape.

 

Facilitator

Make it happen, Peter Pan.

Sprinkle us with Pixie dust so

We can fly to Neverland

To dance and be forever young.

 

Fairy God mom, waive your wand.

Dress your favorite for the ball.

Make her magic dream come true

Til midnight’schime at last has rung.

 

Teach me, Merlin. Make me king.

Help me raise this sword from stone.

Give me wisdom, confidence

That I may rule with measured hand.

 

Walk with me on hallowed soil where

Once a carpenter was slain

To give us hope, to give us peace,

To spread His gospel through the land.

 

We are vessels, every one,

Facilitators by degree,

Reaching out and letting go

To set our listless spirits free.

 

Carousel

Up and down, around the magic circle

Into wonderland,

Flying, floating fantasies of

Fearless fairies flying high.

Wait for no one,

Casting eyes and casting fate

To gentle winds,

Dancing to a lively muse

Who knows no lullaby.

 

Newly indestructible,

Mounted on a faithful steed,

Armored in imagination,

Sally forth with shield and sword.

Slaying dragons, tilting windmills,

Rescuing the maiden fair,

Seeking justice in the end

To be its own reward.

 

There are cares and grave concerns

That must be brought to bear,

But only when the ride is done

Will I be forced to care.

 

Nickelodeon

You were truly before my time,

But that doesn’t make it any less meaningful.

Nickelodeon, play for the piper,

Give them a tune as they wait for the band.

This symbol of joy placed a

Smile on the face, a

Dance in the step, a

Song in the heart of all who

Were lucky enough to have known

The nameless enchantment

Unique to her name.

 

I grew up later, knowing her grandchild.

Three for a quarter and

Hungry for more.

Playing the records I’d heard on the radio,

Now entirely at my command.

Driving the older crowd

Into submission,

Wond’ring what mock aberration was next.

Dancing a jig if it suited my purpose.

No false apology,

No sense of shame.

 

Nickelodeon, thanks for your progeny.

Who knows what wonders will shadow your fame?

Survivor

I often wondered which of us would

Ultimately outlast the other

In this snarling war of words where

Reason is a casualty.

 

Grappling like jungle beasts who know

The tactics of our foe

And seek to slash with razor teeth

All semblance of reality.

 

Can’t remember who was first,

Don’t recall the reason why,

Only know that it’s been going on

Far longer than it should.

 

Pass the blame from left to right

To left again, and on it goes.

Don’t know how to stop it

If we should, if we could.

 

No way to resolve the difference.

No hope to revive.

One moves on and one is left

Struggling to survive.

 

Shadows

Shadow Stalker, cold and gray,

Bend my eyes to find your shape

Hiding from the naked light,

Secrets kept beneath your cape.

 

Would you steal my sanity?

Leave me here to quake and quell?

Lead me down a narrow path

Into the darkest pits of Hell?

 

Such a fine and fragile line

Separates you from the light.

Desperate to be known to none,

Always running from a fight.

 

Play the reuse of your deception

While your stealth divines my fate.

Help me find your dark agenda

Before it is forever late.

 

Patience serves the waiting throngs

And hope is never all or none.

For every place a shadow falls

Somewhere there must be sun.

 

Placebo

What was meant to be a cure

For a broken heart turned out to be

Little more than a sugar pill,

Blind faith taken for a ride.

 

Turns out naught was as it seemed

In your tawdry token web

Ringed with phantoms of obsession

Talking trash, singing hope.

 

And I believed you.

Bad mistake.

Yours was not a random cure.

Taunting me with your placebo

As the knife turned in your hand.

 

Now I see you in the light

And the question begs to ask.

Can a heart that’s broken twice

Find the strength to carry on?

 

Escapade

Here I sit biding time

Waiting for the world to start

Revolving, solving every woe,

Spinning as it did before.

 

Are you here?

Are you real?

Must I steal a memory

From darkened corners, dusty rooms

Caged and sealed behind locked doors.

 

Shall we share abandon in

Our reckless new adventure,

Or is it just a mindless prank

Of my imagination?

 

Tell me that your world is true

And I’ll pick up the gauntlet,

Walk beside you every step,

No thought or hesitation.

 

Standing on the threshold as

You contemplate the dare,

Leap into your escapade,

I will join you there.