Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 36

Phantasmagoria

Magic lanterns in a dream

Bending, blending, changing shapes

And sizes til they run together

Feather-lite and then to naught.

 

Bits and pieces, this and that,

Can’t remember all the story,

Scattered treasures buried deep

Beneath the sands of afterthought.

 

Rapidly the scenes are changing,

Grand illusions on display.

Heavily they layer one on one

Forever asking more.

 

Was it real or just imagined?

Will it ever come again?

Fearless flight of fantasy

Mesmerizing every pore.

 

Sleepless phantom of the night

Keeping dreams alive,

Dancing freely through my mind

That hope may long survive.

 

Nefarious

Feel the caustic wickedness

That sallies forth from fiery eyes.

Cage the beast before it flies

To dust the souls of piety.

 

Demons breathing firebrand

Nefarious in their delight

To capture unsuspecting minds

And bend them into shapes of fear.

 

Plotting as the village sleeps,

Plodding through the endless night

To land on open windowsills,

Set to pounce before the dawn.

 

Preying on the innocents

Who fail to recognize their fate,

Who sadly fain to raise their shields,

Never reach to draw their swords.

 

Praying for a silver knight to

Cleanse the stale and fetid air,

To quell the dread iniquity

And save the maiden fair.

 

Eclectic

Mix and match in hopeless hodgepodge,

Sight and source as yet unknown.

Blended bites, so eclectic,

Puzzle pieces don’t connect.

 

Must use high imagination

Linking up the scattered dots

To form a shape so unfamiliar

No one feels the full effect.

 

Riding winds of wanderlust to

Wild exotic wonderlands,

Seek the secrets of the ages

Though they may not match your dreams.

 

Widely scattered, wildly different,

Children of diversity.

Nothing matches,

Nothing matters,

Nothing is quite as it seems.

 

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?

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

Mayhap

Itmay happen

         Somewherefar into the future.

         Who canknow?

         Who cansee what miracle of happenstance

         Mightcause two paths to intersect?

         Not you…

                        And certainly not me.

 

It may happen.

         Livescan crumble in the jumble

         Endingup so tragically.

         Basicinstinct of survival

         Kickinginto overdrive will

         Stillthe pain…

                  Compensateto some degree.

 

What may happen?

         No oneknows.

         Mysteriesof life and living

         Vex ourdays, haunt the night.

         Keepingcaution as our guide

         Makes usvigilant and wary

         Of thedangers.

         Keeps usreaching for the light.

 

Prelude

Tryinghard to work up nerve,

Wakeup feelings dormant for

Solong that they are near forgotten

Inthis mad chaotic rush.

 

Temptme with your sultry smile.

Beckonwith a wink and nod,

Asly come-hither interlude

Thatspeaks in volumes understood.

 

Comingjust before the touch;

Thefirst of many, hopefully.

Preludeto a memory,

Mementofor ten thousand nights.

 

Savethis moment. Hold it close.

Pressthe rose inside your book of

Heather-scentedmemories

Tokeep forever and a day.