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Michael Stefan Apr 2020
2 cups of coffee
...shake off the dreams
2 cups of coffee
...with sugar and cream
2 cups of water
...bring the headache down
& 2 cups of gin
...drown out the sounds
Michael Stefan Mar 2020
It is but a fool, traitor, and swine
That would trade love
That would trade kindness
Or friendship so true
For paltry treats
Like 30 pieces of silver

Draw your tribal ring
And watch it become forcefield
As you sleep face-up
And jilted friends bide time
For your 30 pieces of silver
May form a blade in your spine
Like, just treat people with respect and never sell out your friends.
Michael Stefan Feb 2021
That city never saw it coming

They sat upon the highest ledges,
Watching the storm rage below

That old deli on the corner of Main,
It always had a little arcade machine,
Street Fighter I think

Even Johnnie's tattoo shop,
Got swept away with gutter water,
And the tire store near Nick's

We couldn't do nothing,
Just watch the raging waters,
Tearing away my childhood;
All that beautiful
And ugly graffiti paint,
A backdrop of my memories

And when it was done,
Most everyone cheered

They cheered the coffee shops,
Applauded the free range grocers,
And kissed every brick;
Building a wall,
Around my memories

Who knew the river,
That same Cheyenne I loved,
Ran through barefoot,
Drank the runoff water,
And laughed in the warm swirls,
Would **** it all

I will mourn,
Each and every brown stone,
Chalk-stained sidewalk,
And homeless man,
Who would buy a fifth,
In exchange for a dime of ****

No one ever looked twice,
When my McDonald's cup,
Turned blue;
The bottom dropping out,
As alcohol eats all the edges

The city that was once mine,
Is now to be yours,
And someone else's,
Right as you get comfortable

True destruction,
Ain't got no target,
Nor does progress,
Far as I can tell.
Just a narrative poem with me musing and mourning my blissful childhood and the changes our world will always undergo.  For better or worse.  Sometimes building is the same as tearing down.
Michael Stefan Apr 2020
'Oh, for tools of humankind
  Be rage and machines of war
    For fires to burn of heavens
      And grace be lost in clang of anvil

'Oh, for tools to take
  That which belongs to none
    The tangling of wicked souls
      Seen on faces of the empty

'Oh, for tools in usage
  Forged in fires burning blue
    Make paths away from redemption
      And build infinite worlds, absent grace
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
Absolve yourself, with sick rationality
Tell yourself that it was okay what you did
Never look back and face that sad visage
Sling your bag over your shoulder
And lie to yourself
Just like you lied to us
Michael Stefan May 2020
We are all afflicted
In one way or another
A slice of anxiety
With depression sprinkled in

Why could I not be diseased
With a severe case of good sleep
Or come down with the "smiles"
Only to become terminal
With stage four happiness
It's just been a rough week with a lot of sleepless nights and an unseasonable cough
Michael Stefan May 2020
We the people, imperfect union
Beaten brutal by the news
Red-white-and-blue we bleed
From misanthropic bruise

Some say stand, others say fall
Some just sit and wonder
It's a ******* miracle
Our country isn't torn asunder
Sorry, I typically avoid political poetry but I have been listening to a solid stream of partisan nonsense from both sides.  A party line is a line in the sand that prevents you from walking to a room full of compromise where everyone gets a little of what they want.
Michael Stefan Nov 2020
If you want to be respected
You must simply craft some clever words
To give a frame to rampant emotion
To give a *** for public sentiment
To grow and twist and tangle
To be the balanced arrow
Fired at the heart of everyone's nameless fears
If you want to be famous
Simply take the words
That everyone is screaming
And scream them the loudest
Eh, I got nothing to say on this one.  Just philosophical musings and making words to place my feelings.
Michael Stefan Jan 2021
You squeezed
every drop of blood
from my veins

Left drained
and without
solid ground

My cadaver
almost sensuous
in its gutter

To never mutter
one more word
on this earth

It slid
like black snakes
through distant ponds

And broken bonds
compress me
into a seed

Against your will
I will grow
again

and spite your trend
of ending
anyone else
Sometimes you just feel bad and need to put the feelings into words.  Hope everyone else is feeling good today.
Michael Stefan Mar 2021
I eat, sleep, breath a self rendition
A puppet acting what should be,
The greatest work of art;
Life

Yet, arms and legs
Are bound in fallow strings;
Like earth-binding vines,
meant to drag the angels down

Never hold tight;
Gripping all our mistakes,
Like a life-raft,
In a churning sea, we have yet to understand

All footsteps,
Disturb the gravel ground,
As we lead them,
Or they lead us,
Towards whatever goal we choose
Just a musing on how we can forge our own destiny, but sometimes play the role of the casual onlooker to our own lives.  Wake up and do the thing you are too afraid to do.
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
Her tears soak my shoulder
As her grip grows ever tight
Her daddy got a new job
No longer working longest nights
I utter just a sniffle
As my hand glides along her back
So much more than a friend
Is leaving on those steel train tracks
That moment drags on forever
As she reminds me what we've been through
And abruptly she grabs her things and leaves
And I'll never get the chance to say
"I love you"

Goodbye Jody
Michael Stefan Apr 2020
Glib to a point of maddening
Always quick-witted and ill-informed
You draw smiles on my face
And place gentle hands on my shoulder
Yet in those inadequate moments
As you fuel a rumor-mill to churn
And boundless imagination
Of long-lasting untruths
Just to bend the ear
Of other fools passing in your direction
I will always love you
And despise you
And cherish you
As I wished you were very far away
From me
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
Hard it feels against my back and gleaming of a crimson red
Conjures images of elephants, roll tide the crowd all said
American as apple pie, as pageantry, 4th of July
My father’s dreams as a large green woman traversed his eye
My sweetheart blushes in my mind, hand held tight
But still, that thick American Red fills the long goodnight
I can hear the band playing, reveille, and taps
One second we are meant to stand, the other to lay back
Many of us snuggled up, no greater dream than love
Some of us build community, praise be to Him above
Some of us moved forward while many of us fled
A universal truth as we’re washed up in American Red
The screams of love are echoing, the shouts of fear are deafening
We trumpet joy, sing of gain and loss, each cry is now strengthening
But none shall hold dominion over the whisper of the wind
Ill intent swept around as the voice is that of Death
And so the story at its end
Foreign soil hard against my back
You will forget everything about me, my sacrifice unsaid
A uniformed American boy, bleeding his American Red
I wrote this poem to express the idea that everyone defines life in different terms.  Very few people will understand the sacrifice made by American Soldiers.  Most people spend their entire creative life devoted to the pursuit and ideal of love, or sadness, or anger.  Very few people will understand a job where death is evident behind every corner.
Michael Stefan Apr 2020
sweet black trickle of rainwater in the dark
disturbing slumber of the squirrels in the park
who gather 'round to see the madman ride
upon his chariot pulled by nightmares in full stride
exhaust valves open as menagerie takes flight
piercing heavens, through clouds and out of sight
elegant dark design makes space travel simple
while his horrific monkey butler bangs on cymbals
I think the title says it all :)
Michael Stefan Mar 2021
oh naught is a child taught.  patriot.  hating it.  standing for the silver bells.  scream upon the idiot box until the blind deaf dumb - unfounded in your belief.  whosoever holds the sword is sworn to the hoard and sits above board as you swing for your lord.
deafening is the caw of crows
a grave upon to plant rose
in rows of swaying circles
as the world comes back around

and you sit silently and cough as they turn off the camera.  finally alone
I have loved the work of E. E. Cummings and used to read 'next to of course god america i' when I was in the military, to look at the just and unjust nature of each mission.  I think he firmly encompasses the duality of fighting for something you believe in and having the fortitude to evaluate if what you believe in is right.  And that does not just apply to war but all forms of conflict you engage in.  Think about each keystroke you make.  Cheers to you, Mr. Cummings!
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
Shout and hold your banners high!
The drumbeat guides us step by step
Warriors raise voices of song
And the heavens will quake as we march forth
Righteously wrapped in absolution
Absolved of any of our sins of war
Truly we are the glorious few!
And belt now our anthem
To besieged strongholds
We never stopped to question
Never truly learned the words
And our anthem rings across mountains
Echoes through deep valleys
Of a long-forgotten cause
I love passion and expression and standing for what is just and right.  It is one of my greatest woes that I meet so many people inflamed and impassioned to political, religious, or polarizing beliefs with so little understanding of what they stand for.  Stand tall for a cause, but please make sure that you understand what you are fighting for and understand the stakes of defeat and more importantly, victory.
Michael Stefan Apr 2020
Quietly droning as you drone on quietly
hiding violent tendencies
and tending to violence
harsh words were written harshly
on paper turned over for space
made of recycled paper
it's obvious your hopeless
but oh so hopelessly obvious
as you love for them
they might love you too
fast forward to happy times
while your mind rewinds
and replays the sadness
as you sit by their side
and they slide away
you've never felt further away
then when you are at their side
things will get better
as you get better things
while you impatiently await
a measure of patience
Michael Stefan Apr 2020
April showers
bring May flowers
but winter sunlight
chills my bones

The cat's in the cradle
with a silver spoon
but your dog
won't leave me alone

If roses are red
and violets are blue
what color are my eyes
when I look at you?

If one in the hand
is worth two in the bush
then why am I
feeling so blue

Fourscore
and seven years ago
we all dreamed
that we would be free

Jack be nimble
Jack be quick
as the rest of us
march into the sea
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
Note:  This is some random crazy stuff an old dude said to me on a bus and does not constitute an opinion of the artist.  I just wanted to share.

"Boy, never run backward
Through a cornfield
Without your overalls on...
Unless you have a *** of warm butter."
So yeah, that happened to me.  I just wanted to share the poetry that is ****** upon me in my everyday life.
Michael Stefan Apr 2020
Thunder cracks,
A release of rain,
To soak our clothes,
And chill our bones,
Beneath dark sky,
Turbulent and terrible,
Tremendous and chaotic,
Wind swirling,
Whipping our hair,
Grabbing our scarf,
Cast onto muddy landscape.

Brace yourself,
And weather the storm,
For after the clouds,
Will always come sunshine,
Apres la pluie le beau temps.
This is one of my favorite French phrases which literally translates to "After the rain, nice weather."  A poem of an entire nation that I just wanted to pay tribute to.
Michael Stefan Mar 2020
Your arms grow tired
When you
Bear a heavy axe
Michael Stefan May 2020
I've had you
But I will never have you
The door always slammed shut
On your way out in the morning

You will never possess me
But your presence possesses me
Every lonely night
As I stare blankly out the window

You said we'd be together
Forever
But we only exist now
In a place called 'never'
"Every rose has its thorns"
Free will always plays a part, for better or worse, in relationships
Michael Stefan Jan 2021
My words are broken,
While others choose theirs wisely,
Mine flow without filter
Free as a bird...
And ugly as the pit,
A well from which they're borne
I'll never shake this view
Which haunts me like a scent,
Sweet honeysuckle,
Drifting through open windows;
A poisoned tipped blade
Whose hilt I find
Buried in mine own chest
Michael Stefan Mar 2020
Every wall I make, you tear down
Every wish I have, you deny it
You devalue every effort made
And highlight my mistakes
No matter how many times I hold out my hand
You always feel the urge to bite it
And I'll never understand why you are
Compelled to attack me
Michael Stefan Mar 2021
Where on person can spin gold from straw,
Another squeeze silver into clutter
A positive attitude will always determine;
Who makes precious metal,
And who swims in seas of *******
Just a musing on perspective and the power of positivity
Michael Stefan Mar 2020
My love for you is automatic
.45 caliber fire
As I dream of painting you
In broken ***** tapestry
Bathed in milk and honey
As I try to nourish
And you play a flourish
On your sewer pipe flute
I am every rat in this parade
Lost forever, infinite maze
Instinctual reaction
With automatic love
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
Mechanical and Robotic
Sentences in line of Code
Schedules and Timestamps
Clockwork and Progressing
Power down, power Up
Maintenance performed Regularly
Uploading to the Cloud
Mechanical and Idiotic

go Where You Are told
perform Your function
analyze The data
upload To The cloud
prepare To Power down
you Have Functions tomorrow
goodnight You automaton
Michael Stefan Mar 2020
warning, explicit content**
I F E E L ******A D R I G H T N O W
Y O U D O N T S E E M A F F E C T E
D A T A L L A N D I W A N N A C R Y
A L L T H E T I M E W H Y D O E S I T
G E T                                                   O U T
Y O U              why the ****              A R E
T H E              didn't you stay           W O E
T R Y                  was I not                 I N G
T O H            worth your time          U R T
H U R                                                  T M E
A L W A Y S E N D U P T H I S W A Y W
I T H M E H O L D I N G T H B A G L I K
E A N I D I O T I A L W A Y S E N D U P
B E I N G T H E O N E W H O C A R E D
This is definitely a 'woe is me' poem that I put together a long time ago to be a sick mockery of a crossword puzzle.  It took so long formatting it on this website lol.  I know that it's pretty bad, but we are always the worst judges of our own work.
Michael Stefan May 2020
She will always wear,
threadbare gloves
with jagged tears
gloves her mother
made for her
Unravel with the passing years-
draping back a yard of thread,
the only tether to her past
Just a small poetic monologue.  I thought the idea of some old and dusty piece of clothing representing a lost childhood was an image many of us could relate to.
Michael Stefan Mar 2020
Great tower, built towards God
Came crumbling down
Felled by communication
As stones hit the ground

So long until we learned
To speak to each other
But based on how we talk
You would think...
...we constructed another
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
Speak my name
And I shall materialize
Casting dark shadows
To blind your eyes
And bind you
To misfortuned destiny
Speak my name
And prepare to see
That bad luck has a dearly cost
But comes to you for free
Michael Stefan Mar 2020
Cassie Lane Gray, ever so slight of frame
Hit harder than a train, playing her martial games
Cassie ran eight miles a day, and she never strayed
Her routine was tough as iron, her boxing gloves were frayed

Her momma put her in ballet, but later on, she disobeyed
Strapping wraps to wrists, uppercut finisher each day
And when she said she wanted to box, her momma turned away
But she was gonna fight, with no one in her way

Cassie Lane Gray grew up poor in San Jose
Never had much to say, just wanted in the fray
Her ballet, in a way, made her opponents pay
As she moved with dancer's sway, they later would convey

Cassie's family prayed that she would portray
The sweet and simpering visage of a classy dame
But it wasn't in the cards, for Cassie Lane Gray
The "Bantam Weight Ballerina"
A strong young fighting woman
Was in the ring to stay
This poem was inspired by a filthy ragtag tomboy friend that I spent a lot of my youth with.  She was tough as nails and loved to box.  Her parents had tried to put her on the pageant circuit every year, and every year they would find her in a ripped and muddy dress, fighting with the boys.  She was such a wonderful person and despite several state boxing championships, her parents never loved or appreciated her work and accomplishments.  Follow your dreams and don't let anyone try fit you into their mold.
Michael Stefan Feb 2021
Sweeping grains of endless sandy beaches
And painting blue the azure sea
To occupy your hollow mind
And keep you from the open gates
...to exit from your pain
Michael Stefan Apr 2020
Never let her see your scars
They draw a wretched map
Bright pink lines of roads you've traveled
Etched on you until exsanguination
Leading to nowhere in particular
Until you met her

Always cake the make-up on
To fill in deeply carved crags
You don't want him to say goodnight
To tomorrow's yesterday
As your tears smear mascara
While he walks the shortest way out

Always meet them under the willow tree
The lighting hits you just right
And you want to be just right
Even as you stand
On the shallow graves, you've dug
For all your ghostly skeletons
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
You never did enough to break me
But you left me a little bent

Like a square peg put to a round hole
A chair with one leg just too short
Or a peach with just one bruise

Like tangled fishing line
A trash can lid that won't close right
Or a chipped rim coffee cup

Like a calendar from last year
A fluorescent bulb that's flickering
Or a screen door in a windstorm

You never left me broken
But I still wish I wasn't bent
Just a little monologue about adversity in relationships.
Michael Stefan Dec 2020
16 axes sit along
A wall of stone and red
15 all had wooden handles,
But one had black instead
15 cut down wooden trees,
The other made wounds that bled
If only we could give respect,
We'd get to keep our heads.
This poem refers to the lack of civil discourse in our country and our lives.  Politics, media, online interactions, and so many other forms of communications are slathered in anger and a failure to understand another person from their perspective.  But as the old saying goes, "Work as a team or die as an individual."  I hope we all learn to communicate with a little more respect and kindness before there isn't a 'we' anymore.
Michael Stefan Nov 2020
Oh, sweet monsters,
filling pages
of infinite minds
left to wander

We of blissful comfort
wrapped in nightlight cloak
and blanketed fortune
hide from fiction
and dark reality

Never could it happen
"never to us"
we think in quiet reverie
of those missing,
murdered,
and lost

But my precious,
monsters of man and woman
with blackest heart
and deadest eyes
do walk among us

Stay basked in bedlight
and wrapped in crocheted armor
and pray we stay
the lucky ones
This poem was inspired by my recent obsession with true crime podcasts and my continued deep dive into abnormal psychology for my licensure.  It is terrifying and fascinating what horrors have happened around the corner from us without our knowledge.  We never know until it is televised on the evening news.  Stay safe, stay warm, and stay smart.  You decisions keep you happy and home.
Michael Stefan Mar 2020
She tied a black ribbon around my wrist
Like a dark lake reflecting moonlight
And in my enchantment, I missed
The ribbon was tied far too tight

She tied a black ribbon around my neck
So cold on my skin like ice
And in my fervor, I failed to see
The ribbon was knotted up thrice

She tied a black ribbon around my heart
Winding its way through my veins
She gave a tug, and I gave a start
As her ribbon turned out to be chains
This is a really dark poem that came about from being young and dating.  I was really into this girl who didn't view me the same way.  Instead of letting me down, she carried me along.  I was too stupid to see that I was being used and couldn't get out of the situation.  The poem is built on a simple lyrical rhyme structure.  Hope you guys like it!
Michael Stefan Nov 2020
fussin' over bow-tied manacles
and pleather braided belts
on midnight suits and bone-white shirts
-
as flags are hangin' high
on the right-hand side of silver Cadillacs
and rust-patched Ford trucks
-
stirring limply in heavy breeze
from thick thunderclouds
that always visit on lonely days
-
whilst we fall behind in convoy
of flashing red and screaming blue
towards that muddy earth patch of death
-
raising high our black umbrella
keeping rain from washing tears
off so many placid sad faces
-
from memories held dearest
to chance encounters
of even slightest recollection
-
we all hold black umbrellas
over single person lost to life
and condemned to earth herself
-
but what cosmic crowd
grips cheaply crafted plastic hilt
over the grave of earth herself, condemned
Sorry if this was such a ******.  I have been having a lot of difficulties looking to a hopeful future for society when we seem to continue to splinter and fracture further and further.  Allow yourself polite discourse with those you disagree with.  And allow them the room to speak their thoughts and yourself the time to assess the information before you condemn a person for their ideals.  And always know the topic you speak of, from research and not from cherry-picking single sources of news media.
Michael Stefan May 2020
Each second ticks-
Like a hammer on an anvil in an empty room
Eventually, the darkness suffocates
Each can of beer grows warm
In life's shaking hand

One day we'll peel
One day we'll break-
Away from the leather sofa
In search of greener pastures,
And even greener silken sheets

But that day is not today
As eyes grow bloodshot-
Like the crimson of autumn
Or the twilight of our dying youth
Insomnia and pondering life at it's finest
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
So many wonderful colors to choose
A rainbow palette
With brush set to task
Wondrous landscapes before me
Blackbirds upon golden willow bough
Green grass and ochre hills
With a scarlet setting sun
All these wonderful colors
Pale before you
And with you on my mind
The only color I see is blue
Michael Stefan Mar 2020
Oh sweet small sparrow
I did not mean to wound
'Twas cruelest of mistakes
That led me to break you

And deepest sorrow I felt
As you lay with broken wing
And my deepest regret
That you shall not sing

Your gorgeous sparrow song
Into my foolish ears
And this mistake I've made
Flavored by my tears

Were I a kinder man
I would have suffered through the night
With comfort and consolation
To see you again take flight
Michael Stefan Mar 2020
The man in the uniform smoked a cigarette.
"Oh, how they beat against
the rubber walls.  Stuffed fists
battering with urgency.
It made my heart sad,
as we closed the lid on this one.
My eyes caught the dinosaur boy.
A small stuffy lad, with cracking eyes.
His "mama" was wrapped around him
I suppose
that's what you do
when you are a snake.
Despite the frayed fur, he still had a smile
I could hear her voice in my mind.
[bring him]
A tear welled up as this was the end for them.
I knew it, and they knew it too.
Brains like mashed potatoes,
but still full of common sense.
[bring me]
His furry flesh was used but soft.
I really wish that I could
rewind the clock on this.
I remember that lad on the swingset.
He fell and got *****.
I took him in the bath with me."
[bring me]
The man puffed on his cigarette as he closed the toy box
"I wish I could bring you, Rex.
But I'm a grown-up now.
And grown-ups don't bring toys to work with them."

[bring us]
I remember the day that I looked around my room and realized that I no longer really played with toys.  I still had all my stuffed animals and action figures in a box in my closet.  It felt so wrong to leave them there.  They stayed in that box for several years until I gave them a deserving child.  This is almost my monologue/poetry version of Toy Story 3 lol.  I hope you like it and take a minute to remember the toys of our childhood and what they meant to us.
Michael Stefan Apr 2020
measure costs
with true intent
as we build
our lives
from scratch;
certainty
is needed here
lest our feet
tread bridges built
of bones
from friends
we left behind
Just some friendly life advice as you continue on your path
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
Heavy is the head that wears the crown
But what of us with no such responsibility?
Why then does my head still droop?
And weariness besiege me
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
Who are you to light fires
Among dry weeds and felled trees
Spread your wrath elsewhere
Lest someone with more heat
Comes to cool you off
Michael Stefan Apr 2020
I
am terrified
by silence
scared
of hollow
romance

I
wish on every
falling star
begging
prophets
from afar

To
feel like
I'm all together
would
only take
one gesture

It's
okay when
you don't notice
when you do
though
I feel hopeless
Michael Stefan May 2020
It
This    
      Body
Bound        
          In flesh
Haunted tomb                  
                       From which we
Are born            
               Into which
We must            
    Die
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
Cassius Bartholomew, a dapper gentleman
Oh, two-toned fuzzy suit, and smile so genuine
Regarding his tough muscles, a good workout regimen
Gracious with affection, his love is never tentative
I greatly love that Cash, so I write these sentences

Cassius is a cuddle monster who snuggles day or night
Oh, that Cashboy is such a manly man despite his tiny height
Ruggedly running through rolling hills, superlative delight
Gusto! Cash's cry of joy when his name you cite
I hope you understand by now, Cash's character's airtight

Cassius is a Corgi, a big-eared loaf of bread from end to end
Cashboy is the best of dogs
He's truly man's best friend
So yeah, I have owned Corgis for a long time.  Cash is my male Corgi and he is constantly filled with pleasure being around people, roughhousing with his mate Lucy, and will park himself directly on your lap for hours trying to soak up some love.  For being such a large part of my life, he deserved a poem.  I also used the lines as an acrostic poem to spell out C-O-R-G-I twice.
Michael Stefan Feb 2020
Everyone keeps looking down
And no one returns my waves
Or their face is buried in their phone

The streetlight keeps flickering
I wonder if anyone is going to fix it
It looks like a Tool video under there

I wonder where she got her haircut
Would it be wrong to say it's cute?
She looks busy anyway

Why do professors take attendance
Aren't I paying to be there?
Who's business is it if I waste my money?
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