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Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
I am an old thing.
I am all the love and concern and happiness and anxiety
of all the past generations.

I am a new thing.
I am borne from the differences—the spaces between—
all the past generations.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
I am thankful for the free refill.
I like getting something for free.

I am thankful it is so affordable,
and easy, to get.

I just had to join the club.

And give them my personal information.
and agree to receive their newsletter,
and promotional offers.

And then I have to buy
5 expensive coffees
and then I'm in.

And now, whenever I buy
an expensive coffee—
and I finish it
before I leave the store—
I can get my cup refilled,
for as free as it gets.
Jon Gilbert Dec 2015
It starts
as a wild thing. Thoughts
and ideas every which way. I pare
out bits, exposing hidden
needles, creating spaces.
Simplifying it—
revealing the
theme. It
takes shape;
evoking
the smell
and shape
and colour
of the original.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
Before the screen door factory closed,
we used to go down to the Dairy Queen,
almost every Friday night.

I lived in a frozen dream land of hope
and whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

Before the screen door factory closed,
we used to go to the drive-in theatre,
and watch movies, on Saturday nights.

I lived in a world of triple-features and warm beer
and french fries from the concession stand.

Before the screen door factory closed,
we had a home and a charcoal barbecue,
and a yard, where we'd sit on warm evenings.

I sat in lawn chairs and barbecue smoke
and smiled and waved to the neighbours.

Before the screen door factory closed,
the phone would ring and we would answer it,
and it wasn't the bank, and we'd sleep all night.

Life was peaceful, and it would go on forever,
and never have to change.

Before the screen door factory closed,
Life was good.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
I feel cool;
              very cool.
I wear sunglasses;
              extra cool.
I don’t look cool;
              uncool.

I look
              in the mirror.

What’s up with the moustache?
You’re teeth are too small.

I laugh.

Don’t let the ******* get you down.
*You’re too cool for that.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
If you don’t mind, could we keep dancing?
If you don’t mind, could I hold you for a little while longer?
And, if you don’t mind, could you please hold me too?

It’s cold and it’s lonely over there—
over there with the wallflowers;
and, it's so nice here—
so nice here with you.

So, if you don’t mind, could we keep dancing?
And, if you don’t mind, could I hold you for a little while longer?
If you don’t mind, could you please hold me too?
Jon Gilbert Nov 2015
Waves of embarrassment wash over me
from the top of my head, down.
Can they see it—feel it—
my lack of self-assurance?

Knots of tension
build up in my shoulders,
I try to make them laugh
with me—at me—it doesn't matter.

My hands are shaking—
I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing—
I'm afraid I'll betray myself.
But now I'm done.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
Flippant, frivolous, funny.
Witty, droll, comic.
Jokey, playful, sportive.
Mischievous—a whole 'nother
can of worms.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
Farewell, so long, goodbye;
Adiós, adieu, au revoir;
Bon voyage, have fun,
I love you.
Jon Gilbert Nov 2015
Your bed is at least
as good for sleeping
as my kitchen crate.

Except when there’s a fire
in the wood stove.

You understand.
Jon Gilbert Nov 2015
Heart worms
eat my love—
I feel nothing.
Jon Gilbert Nov 2015
He was a non-judgemental man—
abhorred bullies;
helped any who came,
seeking their path.
He was light in a dark corner.

He continues his Spirit Walk.
Free of constraint—
knowing not the limitations
that the physical world imposes.
He is everywhere.
Based on, and extracted from, Loren Gartly’s writings about Peter Collins (http://cowstongue.com/2015/11/06/loren/).
Jon Gilbert Jan 2016
I cling to life,
to all I know—
to the only thing I know.

I cling to life,
hang on
even though I am gone.

I cling to life.
don’t want to go—
afraid to go.

The Voice beckons,
Don’t be afraid,
You’ll be okay.
Jon Gilbert Jan 2016
I cut my thoughts like diamonds—
Flaws chiselled away,
pure heart exposed.

I cut my thoughts like diamonds—
Facets polished,
clarity revealed.

I cut my thoughts like diamonds—
Inner brilliance reduced
to shadows on the walls.
Jon Gilbert Nov 2015
I dream in colour.

My dreams are vivid,
       exciting,
              dramatic.
I travel to Agra;
I walk the Great Wall;
I eat baingan bharta.


I live in black-and-white.

My life is plain,
       ordinary,
              blah.
I travel to Starbucks;
I walk through Riverside Park;
I eat at McDonald's.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
"I'm completely speechless, " she says.

She continues, "I don't know what to say."

She goes on, speechlessly,
for another fifteen minutes.

I understand.

Sometimes speech is not enough
to express what I am feeling.
Sometimes it is sheer magic
that I am understood at all.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
Where does inspiration come from?
From me? From you?
From the moon? From the stars?
From the divinity? From humanity?

Where does inspiration come from?
From awareness.
From interactions.
From everything.
Inspiration comes from awareness of interactions between all things.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
I wave goodbye to my neighbour.
I can’t hear her;
I have my headphones on.

I had offered her my pen
when she was having trouble
with her pen and
now we are connected
Jon Gilbert Nov 2015
I wrote a song by accident.

Where did it come from?
I don't know.

I wrote a poem on purpose.

Where did it come from?
I don't know.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
Hum
Hiccup
Babbling
Gibberish
Gargle
Cough
Achoo
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
you
you
you
you
you
you
you
Jon Gilbert Dec 2015
Last night I slept on the altar,
on the top of the temple.

Heavy rain washed my body
as sleep washed my mind.

I awoke to sunshine,
cleansed inside and out.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
He loves her to the best of his ability;
She loves him as much as she is able.
They are as happy as can be—
as happy as they can be
for now,
for as long as they are together.
Jon Gilbert Dec 2015
Cheese?
Oh, please!
I know that trick.

I know cheese and
I know peanut butter
and chocolate and biscuits.

I even know oatmeal porridge.

Still,
sniff  sniff
I'm hungry.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
Thank you.
I have no place to stay.

I need to regroup;
to organise my life.

I really appreciate this.


*******.
I feel humiliated.

I need to be independant;
to stand on my own.

I feel really ashamed.


Thank you.
I am learning to be humble.

I need to shed my pride;
to lessen my arrogance.

I accept this humiliation,
on the road to humility.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
I do not want to write
a perfect poem.
I do want to express
my feelings and ideas.

My perfect poem would be
thoughtful and sensitive.

My perfect poem would be
bold and exciting.

My perfect poem would express
my feelings and ideas.

I do not want to write with
perfect form.
I do want to write
a perfect poem.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
It’s not easy to be rich;
                                      but,
                ­                           it is easy to be poor.
To be rich, I must
                            always
                         ­               be accumulating more.
To be poor,
                   they just do nothing
                                                     at all.

It’s not easy to be poor;
                                        but,
              ­                               it’s easy to be rich.
To be poor, I must
                             always
                                        be working or else how will I eat?
To be rich,
                 they just do nothing
                                                   at all.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
.
            ocular
                of the eyes
                    sight, vision
                        blindness



            aural
   ­             of the ears
                    hearing, audition
                        deafness



            nasal
  ­              of the nose
                    smell, ofaction
                        anosmia



            oral
    ­            of the mouth
                    taste, gustation
                        ageusia



            tactile
­                of the hands
                    touch, mechanorecption
                        anesthesia
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
Sit alone—take a sip.
Lean back—take a sip.

Enjoy the shade—take a sip.
Look around—take a sip.

Pet the dog—take a sip.
Sit alone—take a sip—and drink beer.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
pleasure                                                         ­   happiness
sociability                             amusement
anxiety        grimace
smile
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
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Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
If I paint a picture
I get the credit.

That's my painting;
I made it.

If someone else paints a picture for me,
it's their picture.

So-and-so made me this painting.
It's their painting.

If I shoot a picture with my camera
it's my picture.

Just hold on a minute.
The camera did all the work!

I just pointed it in a certain direction and
push a button at a particular time.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
you
me
hate
we
us
pain
two
If words are to a poet as notes are to a musician, can I write a poem in just one key, using only seven notes?
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
you
me
live
we
us
survive
all
If words are to a poet as notes are to a musician, can I write a poem in just one key, using only seven notes?
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
you
me
love
we
us
joy
two
If words are to a poet as notes are to a musician, can I write a poem in just one key, using only seven notes?
Jon Gilbert Nov 2015
You put a bouquet
of yellow flowers
on the bathroom vanity.

Thank you.

They brighten my heart—
they lift my spirit.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
I've done things to the Toilet Brush,
Things that shouldn't be done,
even to inanimate objects.

I'm not proud.

I ****** the Toilet Brush
into the dregs of my waste,
and it sweeps them away.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
Desk—screen,
keyboard and mouse.

Headache—pulsing,
right eye throbbing.

Tension—sore
neck and shoulders

Hands—numb fingers,
wrists on fire.

Mind—wandering;
sleepy and distracted.

Waiting—five o'clock,
weekend, retirement.

Life—wasted,
nothing accomplished.

World—rotting,
worse than ever.
Jon Gilbert Nov 2015
Truth is absolutely the most important.

Well, rhythm and then truth;
You can't have a song without rhythm.
Rhythm,
Then truth.
But truth is the second most important.

Okay, rhyming and then rhythm;
People like songs that rhyme.
Rhyming,
Then rhythm,
Then truth.
But truth is the third most important.

Wait, social media and then rhyming;
You've got to connect with your fans.
Facebook,
Then rhyming,
Then rhythm,
Then truth.
But truth is the fourth most important.
Jon Gilbert Dec 2015
What she really wanted
was to be loved.
The kind of love
you read about it books.
In happy books.
In happy, fairy tale books.

What she really wanted
was to be loved.
The kind of love
you can count on
The kind of love
that lasts forever
and doesn't hurt.

What she really wanted
was security.
Jon Gilbert Oct 2015
You are strong.
You’ve shown that today.

Sometimes you are are afraid.
You lash out angrily
because you abhor weakness—
especially in yourself.

But, you are strong.
You’ve shown that today.

Sometimes you are enraged.
You rant furiously against
the injustices that you see;
that you’ve lived through.

But, you are strong.
You’ve shown that today.

Today you helped your most loyal,
your most devoted, companion
take the necessary next step
of her journey—of her life.

Showing, beyond a doubt,
that you are strong.

— The End —