Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 68

Thinking Small

The tiniest creatures

Will often times cause the

Most irritation forHumankind.

The pesky barrage of the

Infinitesimal pest is a test

Of the tolerant mind.

Consider the flea, the louse

Or the tick,

Diminutive blood-suckingvermin

Who kick and claw

Until they get into yourskin,

Inviting legions of theirkith and kin

To come along for thebountiful feast,

And drink the blood of thegiant beast.

But the most destructivecannot be seen

With the naked eye, no matterhow keen.

They breed and grow withoutprocreation

'Til their legions are thesize of a nation,

And their needful ways arecause for alarm

As we shrink from theircoming

And quake from their harm.

Microscopic beast of evil,

Hidden armies you employ.

Singular is your agenda;

Humankind would you destroy.

 

Ready to Take on Life

Give me your best shot!

Take me on up to your highestlevel,

Then give me a push.

I've been waiting, watchingand learning

For four or more decades

To take on the rush.

The elders all say that I'mjust a kid,

Still ill-prepared in theways of the World,

But I disagree, and if youask me

I'll tell you it's time that

My flag was unfurled.

Just step aside and lend mesome 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.

 

Training Wheels

I must have been no more thansix or seven

When I learned to ride usingtraining wheels on

A little blue bike that Irode much too fast

And wound up destroyingbefore it wrecked me.

 

I learned to balance in veryshort order;

Learned to fly without leavingthe ground;

Learned the spirit of kineticmotion that

Stirred my soul and set itfree.

 

A few trips over the handlebars,

A few dips into the puddlesof Spring,

A few slips and slides in thegraveled driveway

Resulting in torn pant leg andskinned up knee.

 

Lessons are easy when youngand resilient,

And balance is learned at thedrop of a hat,

And vision is clear for thefuture is now

And our day is filled withsimplicity.

 

Pity we can't use trainingwheels

In learning to scale our emotionallives

Where balance is often afleeting companion

Blinded by sunlight, unableto see.

 

Messenger of Pain

No one likes to bear theburden,

But someone has to spread thenews

That comes with cat-likeurgency

Destroying midnight's restful peace.

 

There is no way to beprepared,

To be the calm recipient

When hearts are ripped andshredded

By this cold and mindlessbeast

Who stalks the night inTerror's cloak,

Seeking victims unaware,

And plunges them into a well

Of desolation and despair.

 

Waking with a sudden chill,

Bolting upright from yoursleep

Filled with frightfulpremonition

Of a burden buried deep

Inside your heart. Your mindis racing

Through a windswepthurricane.

It is you, and no one else,

Must be this messenger ofpain.

 

Framed

I was minding my ownbusiness;

Wasn't bothering a soul, or

So I thought.

Obviously, I was wrong

As someone else's bold agenda

Crossed my path atintersections

I was unaware existed untilnow,

This very moment as

Your finger points my way.

 

Innocence is fleeting when

An alibi is needed

And friendship carries littleweight

For guilty parties panicking

To take the fall and pay thewages

For their action, unprepared,

Helpless in their weakness,

Spineless, cold and scared.

 

So now you point in my direction

As you seek to transferblame,

Looking for a sacrificiallamb,

A patsy you can frame.

 

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.

 

Threadbare Stripped

There you walk in all your glory;

Pride divested, plucked andbared,

Every shred of decency has

Been removed and stashedaway.

 

No resolve and acquiescence,

No reserve humility

To rise above the lustfulgreed

That drives your mind toseize the day.

 

Think back to a simpler time,

To lessons learned atmother's knee,

To times when hearts wereopen

To the cries of all humanity.

 

Somewhere there along thejourney,

As the seasons made theirchange,

The soil around your laboredroots

Was hardened and your soulestranged

From threads of commonality.

Spirits cry to be set free

But get no answer - no reply

Escapes your lips in vaindecree.

 

The world was yours to reignsupreme,

But you came laden,unequipped,

And you have left yourEarthly treasure

Desolate and threadbarestripped.

 

Maximum Effort

Do you try?

Do you really try?

Or do you simply give lipservice?

Just enough to paddle by;

Far too little to succeed.

 

Dig down deep into your soul

And remember who you'reasking.

Lying to yourself won't helpto

Realize your fondest dreams.

 

What is it you want fromlife?

Have you really askedyourself

What goals you're waiting toachieve?

What tangled web you long toweave?

 

Which direction?

What's the plan, the angle

To manipulate?

Who must yield and who mustperish?

Who must be left in your wake?

 

Someone wins and someoneloses,

And the loser's soonforgotten

Buried in the aftermath

Or left to burn; tied to yourstake.

 

You must choose; must reallychoose

Which direction you willtake.

 

Sour Grapes

Savoring her sweetness,

The very nectar taken fromher vine,

Can make me giddy withdelight

As I sip tasty droplets of herwine.

Never wanting to take more

Than she may yield upwillfully

Lest her taste be bitter from

The sin of immaturity.

Waiting oh, so patiently for

Sunlight's rain to fill herheart

With sweet seductive fullness

That her shapes and coloringsimpart.

Longing for her gentle touch

Upon my shoulder, on my nape,

Instilling wide emotions that

My flustered heart cannotescape.

But she has chosen someoneelse

And I'm alone at close ofday.

So, I console myself that she

Was likely sour anyway.

 

November Rain

I shiver in November rain;

Never should have comeoutside.

Each needled drop a pin-prick

Penetrating into tender flesh

Left uncovered and exposed to

Elements so raw and rigid,

So dank and frigid that I'm

Left to question

The very sanity,

The sanctity of my decision.

Perhaps it's time for anotherplan,

Or at the least, a boldrevision.

 

Taking on the elements

With no protection from thecold,

Exposed to late November'swrath,

Enduring every ache and pain,

I struggle forth upon myquest

Seeking answers sorelyneeded,

Knowing not what lies ahead

As I defy November rain.