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Anthony Smith Oct 2021
A rekindling of an old friendship
One many years forgotten
Begin with but a word; an image.
Hello.

Memories from a time removed
Flood back into reality
Do you remember the orange hat?
I do.

Let us talk and be merry
A moment to reconnect
Swap our tales and woes as we go.
I see.

Let’s get that beer, so to speak
Embrace this night
And all the ones we missed.
Why not.
Anthony Smith Aug 2021
They say the end is near
An empty prediction
Nay, an estimation.

Media man spreads the word
Like an unforgiving pestilence;
Fan the flames a little more.

Did you hear the news?
Of course you did,
It’s embedded in our mind.

The sirens blare
Our panic will have to wait
Time now for our commercial break.



Tell me a story, Grandpa
Of a time before the screen
I’ll listen here upon your knee.

A time with hope; peace of mind
Before we knew too much
We were never meant to hold such empathy.

Where man was free
Of distant tragedy, when
Smiling wasn’t such a rarity.



Let us interrupt this tale
Welcome back to reality
Now tell us all that
Tomorrow may never come.

Say it again the day after next
The one after that and more.
We will remain with vigilance
Eventually you’ll be right.

At least for now,
We have our memories.
Anthony Smith Jan 2020
Christmas Without You

We are just so lonely now

Why did you leave us?
Anthony Smith Dec 2019
Here We Are,
Our First Days On This Earth
Spent Together As Friends Until The End.
Our Childhood So Well Entwined, Our Souls Seem To Bind.
But Life Is Full Of Change               And Sometimes We Must
See That Maybe We Can't                Always Be Together Today
    So We Are Forced To Grow               Apart From One Another As  
   Our High School Days Come              To An End, The Colleges Say    
     Time To Go Our Own Way               To Live For Ourselves, Alone. 
   Study And Learn And Then               We Earn Our Degrees. Hurray. 
     I Marry, We Love, We Build             For Ourselves A Life Apart      
  This Is So Until That Day Our             Paths Happen To Cross Again 
          As We Shop At The Store,             We Get To Talking And Learn  
We're Both Expecting And It Is Time To Return.
Rekindle Our Friendly Spark So That Our Kids
Can Spend Their First Days On This Earth
As Friends Until The End.
Anthony Smith Jun 2019
The evening air
The smell of pine
The grass tickles

Perched on the edge
Looking out
Over the city,
See the lights.

Olive, they call her
Because of her hair
That rustic green
Defines her now.

A gentle breeze
The strands sway
A gentle sigh
She is at peace

The moonlight shines
Through her emerald eyes
Her skin so pale; she looks so frail

Nothing to do
She’s free to ponder
To aspire, to wonder
To watch the bees

As the sun sets lower
And the shadows grow long

A final sigh, she calls it a night
But she’ll be back, as soon as there’s light.
To rest once again
In nature’s delight.
Anthony Smith Jun 2019
A steady heartbeat,
A silent breath,
A Slowing clock.

They’re watching; waiting.
Take the shot, Take the cup.

The timer counts down
3..2..1

Shatter.

Vision blurred
Heart racing
Sweat dripping
Head swaying
The floor rises

Thump.

They’re watching; running.
Come on, get up. Take the shot.

Silence. Darkness. Peace.


Flashing lights
Sirens crying; howling
Voices everywhere
Hands touching

Weightless
Rising
Up
Up
And in.

Count down for me
3..2..1
Sleep.
.
.
.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Open your eyes, Take the shot.

Dimly lit, shed the tears.

Weak
Afraid
Lost
Confused

Beep.

Mother’s here
Don’t leave me, dear

Beep.

Did we win

Beep.

You took the shot.

Beep. Beep. Beep.
3..2..1
Sleep.
This started with the image of tiny melancholic glass shards tinkering to the ground, perhaps as though in defeat. That image was condensed into a single word, shatter. And from there the poem grew.
Anthony Smith Jan 2018
A Word

            There you are
                Sitting so peacefully,
                    Typing away at your keyboard.

            I'm gazing upon your beauty,
                Wishing for more.
                    Will you notice me?

            "Come look at this."
                You say to me, so I walk on over to see,
                    A video and nothing more.

A Sentence

            We meet again; months have passed as
                We look around this new class.
                    It is with recognition that we sit together.

            Day after day, week after week,
                We listen, we chat, we study and test.
                    Together we learn what this man has to teach.

          
A Paragraph

            Help, you're in need of
                A babysitter with no time to wait.
                    "Can you help me?"

            I'm here for you, happy to help!
                Time and again, I'll watch her for you.
                    Such a delight, she shows me the light.

            Our friendship grows with each passing day
                A coffee, a visit, a walk, a lunch break,
                    Our bond grows stronger as time passes us by.

A Page

            The child already knew,
                Long before either of us.
                    Until a friend asks and we're together at last

            No longer hiding it from ourselves,
                We begin to move forward as
                    Hand in hand, we tackle this world.

            We run, we play, we date, we love.
                With smiles and tears, and hugs and kisses,
                    With texting at night, and calling all day.
            
            Soon we find our own way, an apartment just for us,
                We've a family to raise, and experiences to make as
                    Our numbers grow with a baby on the way.

A Chapter

            Sickness befalls you, this pregnancy is hard,
                But I'll care for you as we fight for our child and
                    Together we will make it through.

            Every day that I watch you lying in bed
                I am wishing I could take this pain from you
                    But all I can do is stand by and try to help.

            So many hospital visits, so many needles,
                Until the day we have been striving for arrives.
                    Today our son will join us in the light.

            He has left you so weak, you can barely stand.
                As you recover, time goes on and our love grows stronger
                    Until, sure in my decision, I buy the ring.

An Epic
            A picnic in peace among the trees.
                A question I ask, your eyes full of joy
                    A tackle more than a hug, yes of course you will.
            
            We tell the littles, the excitement grows and
                We begin to plan, how will it go?
                    Hurry not, we have time to decide

            A quiet ceremony to follow,
                A Monday dressed in purple
                    I do, and so do you.

            Smiles and love from all around us,
                We feel it in our hearts, we're on the right track
                    It is time to move forward, no looking back.
                    

A Novel

            We find a bigger home and are
                Settled at last, our rhythm restored,
                    We live happily for awhile until...

            A rumble, a quake,
                Our world begins to shake,
                    Filling with judgement, blame, anger and hate

            We begin to fight, to dissipate.
                We heal and break, time after time.
                    We're both wearing thin.

            Do we stay together?
                Do we put up a fight?
                    Do we make the call, will it be alright?

            
            Looking for a resolution
                We tried to make it work but
                    Every attempt only made it worse,
                    

An Ending

            I have given up, I've let go of hope.
                I have stopped the clock, it ticks no more.
                    We couldn't keep it up, we've broken down.

            Although your tears hurt me,
                They do not persuade
                    And it is with a heavy heart that I walk away.

An Epilogue

            I've moved out, we have gone our ways.
                But I am not gone, my kids shall not be without.
                    Yet come today, I find there's no going back

            We've fought our fights and talked our talks,
                We'll find our new rhythm and learn to coexist,
                    But we both know that things will never be the same.

            Our past is what makes us, we would never undo it
                Now at a distance we stand, no longer hand in hand
                    As we gaze over the horizon and look to the future.
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