Month: June 2015

Preoccupied

She was a basket case,

Carved out of long nights,

And very little sleep

Laughter was never taken lightly

Smiles only showed their face,

When the moon was full

She spent a lifetime,

In that tiny, dirty room

Filling page after page,

With bad afterthoughts,

And secretly hidden regrets

I should have seen it coming

I should have paid better attention

But that wasn’t my job,

And selfishness often takes away,

The very thing we live and long for

The very same thing,

We were too preoccupied with,

All the times that never counted,

But never,

When they counted the most

© Dicky J Loweman 2015

 

Far From The Maddening Crowds

All the lines and the bustle,

Take a backseat out here

Car horns and voices,

Are replaced with,

Chirps and squawks

Thousands of shuffling feet,

Give way to flapping wings,

Slithers and jumps

Smog and stagnation,

Is replaced with breezes and sunshine

Life slows back here

Life looks smaller, simpler

The world doesn’t seem so big or scary,

And problems get shoved,

Into the forgotten spaces of the mind

Back here is ‘away’

Back here is ‘vacation’

Out here, far from the maddening crowds,

Is where I feel most at home

© Dicky J Loweman 2015

Hold To Grace

You hold to grace,

Like a bull in a china shop

You teeter from side to side,

Like a rudderless ship

If you told me you were dancing,

I’d have to believe you

There’s a certain art to you,

A style soaked in you

This can’t be duplicated,

Can’t be imitated

But somehow,

You manage to pull it off

And I know the walk home,

Will be interesting,

And filled with hundreds of extra,

And dizzying side steps,

And circles

Got to smile

You have it all worked out,

Down to a science,

And perfected,

And done so without shame,

Or care,

Or regret

Like a small child,

I guess you just don’t know,

Any better,

Any other way

© Dicky J Loweman 2015

 

A Pause To This Life

As I sit here,

I think about everything,

And nothing,

All at once

The heat of the day,

Has zapped my thoughts,

And any words I might have considered using

I keep fixating on the old clock

With its old neon tubes,

And it’s deafening hum

I watch the second-hand tick

Tick, tick, tick, tick

I feel as though,

I have been in this same spot for years

And I feel as though,

I might stay here for several more years

Not moving,

Just watching

Tick, tick, tick, tick

This is how I’m spending life,

Right now

In an old bar,

Which is held empty,

By the early hour,

And the sun’s stifling heat

Tick, tick, tick, tick

The bartender’s slow reach,

To the bottle on the back bar,

Looks to me,

Like a speeding train

Tick, tick, tick, tick

Then suddenly, I’m back

Back just in time

To catch his sudden movement,

And watch the glass being set,

In front of me

Like a plane landing at night

In the swirl of jet fumes,

And heat,

And that old neon clock

Tick, tick, tick, tick

© Dicky J Loweman 2015

Miller’s Problem, Not Mine

Push against the wind,

The wild flowers,

The rains,

The sea, the sun,

And all those who get in the way

Stare down the barrel of a gun,

And smile wide,

Just like you would do for the camera

This is all that’s left, my friend

The good times,

Jumped ship,

And I’m thinking,

You should, too

But make sure to go out with a bang

Make sure they remember you

Who cares if they ever knew your name

But make sure your face,

Is forever seared onto their brains

Stick to it,

Like dog shit to a shoe

Make it good,

Make it count

Then go and count your blessing,

Lick your wounds,

And cry to all the nameless faces,

You stored away,

And hoped would stay locked up,

For all of time,

For good.

© Dicky J Loweman 2015

Nighttime Calling

Countless stars,

Mixed with a cool breeze

The night has no moon to shine,

And that makes it darker than normal

I should have gone straight home,

Found my bed and slept,

But nights like this intrigue me,

Call to me,

Pull me in

So here I am,

Back at the marsh,

With all the sounds of the frogs,

Gators, and owls

This always seems to be,

The best way to end a night,

And the comfort found here,

definitely beats out the sleep,

I will never know

Worth it,

Oh, so worth all the while

© Dicky J Loweman 2015