Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 6

Up

Up is the way to hold your chin

When the world has put you down.

Up is the incline of your lips

That forms a smile from a cheerless frown.

 

Up is a million miles in space

And many millions more.

Up is a thumb to indicate

It was just what we were looking for.

 

Up the river. Up the creek

With paddle or without.

Up each morning bright and early.

That’s what life is all about.

 

Up to snuff, fit as a fiddle,

Ready for whatever comes.

Up to date on rhymes and rhythms,

Quite prepared to pound the drums.

 

Up is more than a direction,

More than we propose to know.

When we’ve fallen to the bottom,

Up is the only way to go.

 

I Don’t Get It

Why do people stretch the truth

To a point where it will surely snap?

I swear, as a child, if I’d done suchtricks

My rear would have felt the razor strap.

 

And why should these liars think others soshallow

That they cannot see past their rants?

If only that time-ridden adage was true,

We could tell by the sudden fire in theirpants.

 

Luckily, most people are of good nature,

Trusting and forthright, noble and kind,

But also naive, often prone to fall victim

To swindlers whose moral conscience isblind.

 

Must always be vigilant. Must be aware

Of the villains and varmints lurking about

Who will lie and deceive without worry orcare

And leave the world reeling in doubt.

 

Here is the answer, my best advice,

Which I offer with wisdom and couth.

You won’t have to remember about lies youmight tell

If you always tell the truth.

 

 

Going, Going, Going Still

Time is a universal fact.

It only moves in one direction.

Never yielding to mistake,

The closest thing to pure perfection.

 

Humans, on the other hand,

Keep starting, stopping, backing up,

Sideways, longways, upside-down-ways,

Worried about that half-filled cup.

 

But time is a soldier, marking cadence.

One to two to three and four.

Hut! Repeat, repeat again to

Infinitum evermore.

 

Time was here before beginnings.

Time continues past the end.

Time will never need to know what it means

To begin again.

 

And when we all have made our climb

And passed beyond that lonesome hill,

Time will keep on marching strong,

Going, going, going still.

 

 

Catch Phrase

Do you have a catch phrase?

Something you are prone to say

In certain situations

Regardless of the time of day.

 

You might simply blurt it out

Without a doubt that it applies

To every situation that may

Likely come your way.

 

My catch phrase is ‘Excellent.’

A term of swift acknowledgement

To honor and congratulate a

Happy positive event.

 

Getting married? Excellent!

Having a baby? Heaven sent.

You can name it after me

And that would be just excellent.

 

Keep your catch phrase tried and true

And people will remember you.

Keep it clean and keep it sweet

For all to echo and repeat.

 

Rain Coming Down

Gently on my window sill

Tiny pellets sound their voices

Telling me the clouds are weeping,

Giving up their provender.

 

Nestled soundly in my chair

I hark and happily rejoice in

The cycle of life-giving rain

Those fleeting melodies infer.

 

In the distance, faint but growing,

Rolls on rolls of thunder grumble.

Praying that the storm clouds slacken,

Feeling frayed and slightly humble.

 

But the rain, my fervent friend,

Speaks with unrelenting ease,

Seeking shallows to be filled

To nourish flowers, fields and trees.

 

In the grand scheme, in the end,

There is really nothing like the sound

Of the tender murmuring of

Sleepy rain coming down.

 

Mountain Top

From a distance I see only majesty

In your demeanor,

Standing tall and proud,

Unflinching, watching over your domain.

 

You sport a soft nightcap of white

As if the night was stilled forever,

Sleeping giant hushed in stillness,

Nothing to explain.

 

Offering a simple challenge to

The village folk below:

“Who will dare ascend my walls to

View what only I can see?”

 

Few will try and few succeed and

Fewer still will ever know

The meaning of fulfillment

Of your bold hyperbole.

 

Eons in the making

Climbing boldly through the clouds,

The mountain rest in stately pride

And looks down on the crowds.

 

To the Core

People will be people,

Some you loathe,

Some you adore.

Some are saintly, some are sinners,

Others rotten to the core.

 

When the world has knocked you over and

You’ve been dragged across the floor,

Find your feet,

Raise your head up high

And walk right out the door.

You don’t need to be a part of all

The grit and grime and gore

So, spread your wings

As your heart light sings

And let your spirits soar.

 

Travel to a time and place

You’ve never, ever been before

So you won’t have to deal with people

Who are rotten to the core.

 

North-South-East-West

Go west, young one, to

Seek your fortune

In lands of opportunity.

There was a time when this was true,

And many joined the jamboree

As shifting borders grew the realm

To manifest its destiny.

 

But the sun lives in the east

To greet the day,

To wake the beast

So all may shed the cloak of darkness

To earn their place

And share the feast.

 

Travel north into the tundra,

To the land of frozen waste where

Life is hard and death is harder

And directions can’t be traced,

Where souls of hearty constitution

Choose a life to be embraced.

 

In the life of southern comfort

Where the seasons change in kind,

Time to savor every season

As the calendars unwind.

No directions, no decisions,

Only rest and peace of mind.

Music, Music, Save My Soul

Music has the power to

Inspire the very soul.

In the deepest, darkest hour

It can be a saving hand to hold.

Lifting up and moving onward

With a new resolve,

No obstacle impossible,

No problem that’s too big to solve.

 

Whether you like Rock of Pop

Or Folk, Hip Hop or Blues,

Country, Jazz or Heavy Metal,

Anything you choose.

Classical, Soul, Alternative Rock,

Punk or Funk or Indie,

Disco, K-Pop, J-Pop, New Age,

Latino or Hindi.

Gospel, Grunge or Showtunes,

Classic Rock, Rhythm and Blues,

Reggae, New Wave, Techno, Celtic,

There’s no way to lose.

Some you love. Some you may hate.

Some you may not even know.

Let it be my medicine.

Music! Music, save my soul.

 

Wishes

Wishes are butterflies

Fluttering about

On magical wings, darting in, shifting out

From flower to flower,

Bloom to bloom,

Chasing the daylight,

Banishing gloom.

 

Candles on birthday cakes

Mark the occasion, a

Noble tradition in

Life’s celebration.

Blow them all out and

Your wish will come true

As if it be a miracle

Out of the blue.

 

We all have wishes.

We all have dreams.

We all have plans, plots,

Projects and schemes.

But it takes dedication

And a staid attitude

To make, in the end,

All your wishes come true.