Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 91
March 31, 2023
The Innocence of a Child
Hate unlearned,
Selfishness applying to
An empty bottle, nothing more.
No fear unless the inner ear
Perceives a sense of falling.
All else unlearned,
A block of clay
All moistened, primed for molding.
Wide eyed child of innocence
Breathe the air of youthfulness.
Soon the world will beat a path
To rob you of your freedom.
Lessons come in many sizes
Shapes and forms. Who knows the package?
Circumstance and happenstance
Are strange professors, guiding all.
May your teacher be compassion.
May your lesson be the truth.
May your heart be always open
As it was in unlearned youth.
March 30, 2023
Down is Up... Up Is Down
The world is downside, upside down,
Topsy turvy, overturned.
Which side? Where side? What side? Who?
Ever changing,
Nothing learned.
Bills come...
You pay.
What's that?
No way?
That's what you say.
Don't play dumb.
Sitting, waiting, hesitating,
Never knowing what may come.
Vast profusion
Of illusion,
Mass confusion all around.
No one knows which way it goes
When down is up
And up is down.
March 29, 2023
Do You Fear the Wind?
The rustle of a patient breeze
Sighs softly through the waiting trees,
Touching every single leaf as it glides by.
Laying soft against my skin,
Who could fear the gentle wind
Rising from the fragile earth
To kiss a waiting sky?
Will you be as benevolent
When patience runs its' course?
Will you stand to face the wind
When rolling clouds amass?
Or will you run to shelter,
Fleeing deep into your cave,
When mother nature's greatest force
Begins to rise and pass?
Unseen powers drive the wind.
The breath of God is billowing,
Swirling inhales,
Angry exhales,
Twisting, falling, growing,
Tangled fears will multiply,
Foresee a bitter end as
Heads get buried in the sand.
Do you fear the wind?
March 28, 2023
Drag Queens, Tambourines and Mom's Apple Pie
Ching-chinga-ching-ching, ching-chinga-ching.
Tambourine pounds rhythmically to palm and thigh.
Cheerful, laughing emanations wafting through the air,
Almost as American as mom's apple pie.
Folksy music of a note simplistic in its view,
Dressed in Levis, flannel shirt, bare feet and fishing pole.
"Hardly" understanding or tolerant of any who oppose
What was once her noble sentiments and goals.
The drag queen bursts upon the scene
With fashion and with flare,
Traveling a vast uncharted sea.
Being what he has to be and
Answering the dare,
Taking up the challenges
To set his spirit free.
Tambourines pound chinga-ching,
And folk songs fill the air,
Waving flags and ragging "fags"
With righteous indignation.
Commentary saddened through
A lack of understanding.
Sad obituary to a closed imagination.
March 27, 2023
Save Me Wolfman Jack
Deep into the night he sauntered,
Seeking souls of restlessness,
Saint or sinner,
Priest or pirate,
Cure for the insomniac.
Gravel cords to pierce the darkness
As the meek and weak confess.
Crying out in desperate measure,
"Help me! Save me! Wolfman jack"
Sneaking in a dedication,
Lonely hearts a specialty.
Howling to a moanful moon
He spins another stack
Of unbridled joy and romance meant
To wile the night away.
Screaming loud into the darkness,
"Help me! Save me! Wolfman Jack."
March 26, 2023
If... Then...
If the chicken came first,
Then where did the egg come from?
If the egg was first,
How did it get laid?
If life gives you roses,
Enjoy the profusion.
If life gives you lemons,
Make lemonade.
If freedom is paid for
By loss of a life,
Then whose freedom was it
You sought to attain?
If reason is lost,
Then freedom means little
When nothing but
Bittersweet memories remain.
If Jesus was man,
Then are we immortal?
If sin is a curse, then
Why is there such blight?
If questions abound unspoken, unanswered,
Then our quest lies deep
In the heart of the night.
March 25, 2023
The Tribute
It seems so unfair
That we should pay tribute
To those who from all but
Our memories are gone.
The stars that glow bright
Are not all in the heavens,
All through our midst
They are scattered and strewn.
We as a race get to
Choose our own heroes,
Canonize saints
Long after they've passed.
Tributes and monuments
Grace our cathedrals and
Squares end to end,
The first to the last.
There are heroes among us,
Saints by our sides.
Slaves to compassion abound.
So, here's to the living
Who give of themselves
Everywhere love can be found.
March 24, 2023
What Do You Want?
What do you want out of life?
Do you want fortune or undying fame?
Do you view life as a pretending game?
Tell me,
What do you want out of life?
Do you know why you are here?
Don't you think it's a bit queer?
Can you insist that you truly exist?
Do you know why you are here?
Such philosophical mush
Must put your mind in a rush.
If you've an answer, please,
Don't fear to flaunt it.
Tell us all.
Just what do you want?
March 23, 2023
The Other Shoe
We sat befuddled and bemused
At news too curious to ignore,
Wondering what great misfortune
Dropped its' shadow at our door.
It seems there's always something
Brewing, stewing, simmering.
It comes in pairs or sometimes threes,
At times full-circling.
So, here we sit, our minds agog,
Backed firm against the wall,
Braced and ready, waiting for
The other shoe to fall.
March 22, 2023
Teacher Teacher
Who taught the teacher who
Taught the teacher who
Taught all those treasures to you?
Who gave them knowledge and
Foresight to realize
You must know everything
There is to know?
What makes the ages evolve
In their wisdom and
Keep adding more as the
Eons pass by?
Who fills the oceans with
Waters of learning,
Understanding the
Ebb and the flow.
Questions need answering.
Curious minds
Deserve to be fed
With the figures and facts.
Starving minds falter
When teachers don't teach them,
Leaving them prey
To the reapers attack.
