Walked through a field full of llamas
Wooly babies, papas, and mamas
But these llamas were purists
And spat on this tourist
Turning excitement to trauma

"Pretty boring sunset"
"Those colors aren't so bright"
"Not gonna waste my time with this"
"Not much to see tonight"

And as the crowds drifted off
Expressing their dismay
I sat and watched the last light fade
Perfect ending to my day

Not a scene you'd likely see
In any picture frame
Nor find for sale on postcards
Nor bring an artist fame

But as I stared in silence
Twilight rolled across the sky
Revelation rolled right through my mind
How miniature am I

Though others turned their gaze away
When the sky refused to preen
Twas among the most magnificent
My eyes had ever seen

The mind of a poet is such a curse
Its search for words an endless thirst

Poets cannot sit and simply be
Soak in the splendor of all they see

Confronted with beauty which defies description
A quest for lyrics is the poet's prescription

Thinking wordy expression will enhance the sublime
Poets lose the chance to be lost in time

Though graced with wonder again and again
The poet can't find that elusive zen

A collision!
Everyone frantic
All worried about

The people
     Are they ok?

          The damages
               How much to fix that?

                    The traffic
                         How long is this gonna hold me up?


But maybe...


   C  ould we all just stop for a minute and
   R  ecalibrate our priorities to truly
   A  ppreciate the incredible variety of
   S  ounds joining together in perfect
   H  armony as the cars smash into one another?


Go ahead
Call me calloused
But listen:


Squeal Screech Honk Bam Boom Smash Bang Clank
Wham Crack Thwack Rattle Whoosh Hiss Gasp

But mostly
That unmistakable
Hauntingly mellifluous

CRASH!!!

Looking round, the world's changing too fast,
But there's something reassuring about the night sky.
Same moon, same planets, all the same old stars
Just as I saw with my eight year old eyes.

How far away is that one twinkling at me?
How long ago did it send its light this way?
Has the universe changed or has it stayed the same?
Maybe some planet back then was just like Earth today.

Don't look down, you won't recognize the world:
Center of aimless progress and innovation's mindless hub.
Instead, turn your gaze and your thoughts to the infinite.
When you feel lost, just look up.

they say there ain't rhythm
they say it don't rhyme
but people get famous off that kinda ****
all the ****
day

You can't say
What you wanna say
She said

But I just said what I wanted to say
(Or so I said in my head)

Again she said, no
You're saying
What you don't want to say
To say
What you really want to say

Say then
Whaddya say I go ahead and say
What I want to say
Though it's already been said
(Albeit in a way I didn't say)

And I daresay,
It will be said again one day
Perhaps when I learn to say

What I want to say

Fanatics fixed their eyes upon
The screen to cheer their team
The mood there in the air was tense
Tricolor seemed out of steam

The clock was counting down
The time was drawing nigh
Doomed to lose and head on home
Bid Russia their goodbye

An errant shot deflected out
Gave them one last chance
To score a goal and prance about
Show off their famous dance

From the corner, the ball soared in
A hero rose above
Mina smacked it with his head
And won his country's love

England shocked to see the win
Snatched right from their grasp
Colombia delirious
Successful at last gasp

And thus the game was sent along
Into the overtime
Two periods were played to nil
Two teams full in their prime

Penalties would now decide
Which team would advance
The locals glued to their tvs
The nation in a trance

Falcao scores! Kane as well!
Cuadrado, Rashford too!
Muriel then strikes one home
Tricolor up three to two!

Ospina blocks the next one
Hypes up the frenzied crowd
But Uribe hits the crossbar
And the silence echoes loud

Trippier knots it up again
We're down to final shots
Bacca fails to get his through
Past Pickford's valiant swat

Fate rests upon this final kick
Well placed with perfect spin
Just past Ospina's outstreched hands
Dier seals the win

The cafeteros reel from shock
No sign of jubilation
But still the crowd, crushed in defeat
Show their appreciation

Colombia eliminated
We give them all a hand
And though their World Cup here is done
I'm now their biggest fan

is it important to rhyme?
do the cool kids care?
will they give me the time
if the 4th line ends in a different sound than line B?


the nature of poetry's changed
we've given up the rules
we allow a greater range
of thoughts and rhythms and forms and types and schemes and what not


you can even follow tradition
writing old-school poems
but make it special edition
by ******* with people's minds and changing one little structural thing mwahaha


will this trend stick?
can i name this new style?
or should i just pick
whatever words come to mind to wrap up this so-called-poem
and make people wonder what the hell they just read?

the words will come
just let them

the words will pour forth
without prior consideration of the meaning they'll produce

sometimes words have a tendency to do that
those fickle little things

little grunts and clicks and hisses and waaahs
that somehow collaborate
better than any set of politicians the world has seen

or sometimes create more chaos
more confusion
more discord

than if they'd never been uttered

so be careful with those words
those fickle little things

More words have been spilled
Over staying up too late
Than any other **** subject
That ever comes to this tired mind

When the nights drag on to mornings
And I wonder
Why the hell I'm still awake
There's nothing left to do
But turn that angst into words
And slap them down on a page
And pray that at my age
That lyrical Ambien
Knocks me right out

I've written more poems and dissertations about my bedtime
Than minutes
I sleep each night
Than pillows and sheets
I've owned in my life
Than times
I've ever made the bed
Than bedside books
I've ever read
Than midnight snacks
I've tried to sneak
Than my family's cumulative
REM cycles per week
Than my lifetime
Running count of sheep
Than strategies
I've tried to go to sleep

But when the clock strikes
oh-my-god-is-that-the-actual-time
Before I lay down my head
In the end
I won't go to bed
I'll give in again
And let the words flow
Cause staying up late
Is all that I know