Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
 
Nov 2020 · 77
Not I!!
Keith W Fletcher Nov 2020
I know not
why - we
collectively do
what- we
do not- or even
try to  understand

I know not
how- we
connect into
that which they
will not allow or endow
what we demand

I know not
when we
decided to
undo - not view
that knot
that was once
that strand

I  know not
where we
go from here
once we
don't get to imbue
Upon Our Land

I know not
who you
listen to
when naught
was said that engendered
to expand

even the smallest thought
or doubt - idea or regret
or what- might- be lost
by  those
who care not why...
... they just do !
Might that be you ?
Well...
... it's not me!
Oct 2020 · 94
Temptations
Keith W Fletcher Oct 2020
The life of a human
Is a short time span
So we do need to look quick
at all we can ..
at all the things
that ...
..might be missed
any of which
could be
something that
should  have ...
...been
on your list
and just might be
the thing
that could
have
gotten you
past ..
...that...
...which
you needed ...
... to ...
.........resist !! .
Oct 2020 · 119
Lighten up
Keith W Fletcher Oct 2020
If you cannot see the humor
In some of the small faux pas
That you make each day
Then I feel sad for you
For all the big ones that
You've made along the way !
Oct 2020 · 373
How it feels
Keith W Fletcher Oct 2020
I've never really been homeless
but I lived right next door forever and ever
or so it seems
I've never been hopeless
but I've seen my light
go dim for a while
as I while away
without any dreams
I've never really been lifeless but I've had times
I could have lived
a little bit more
I never really felt worthless
but I've had those times
I felt like my life could have
had a bit more in store
never have I been homeless
so I have no idea... how
it really must feel
even though ...oh ohhhoh
I always lived soohohhhoh close
to that edge-  it's not
the same....
    because
it's not real...so how
do you feel?
Sep 2020 · 266
Repairing
Keith W Fletcher Sep 2020
I can't say that I don't care
That I fell into disrepair
but it seems that I am there
and it really really is nowhere
nowhere that  I want to be
holds no views I want to see
I need to find a remedy
I am sick and I am tired
of this life in which I am mired
I don't have to be admired
just want to have a voice for choice
is all I have ever desired
choose the way you want to live
choose how much of you..
... you want to give
don't try to always relive those parts  parts of you....
... that you decided to give.... away
at last
to the past
I can't say that I don't care
that I once fell into..... disrepair!
Aug 2020 · 75
Yet to deserve
Keith W Fletcher Aug 2020
I paused to stare
across
-the void of emptiness
where I have tossed
so many promises that I
have made
all the memories and people
that time will fade
then the fog always seems
to appear
obscuring all there
that were just here
pushing me to move along
telling me that I was
some how wrong
To even give the past a chance  even taking a single glance and what do I do
I'll let life intervene
rise up and come between
start slowly shrinking
to suddenly disappear
and then I walk on past
the empty
shadow that I cast
if I could I separate myself
from all those memory traps
Where I always seem to fall
I find that I cannot help myself  always I seem to pause
to peer across the distance void where I've always lied decried  , as, as full of emptyness
when I truly knew
exactly what it is that I see
every single one of those
scattered memories
Like  mausoleums
inviting me to come on In ,,
While inside my head
Voices telling me to move on
before I release some  inner peace
Soothing out all the inner pain and ever-present nerve
  So away I go to avoid
Any  piece of mind
I don't believe I yet deserve.
Aug 2020 · 89
As at across
Keith W Fletcher Aug 2020
Stopping by the grammer store
I  bought a few pronoun bars to strengthen up my descriptabilities
A variety of verbs
To alter the activities
My proclivities ....
...in danger
of being denounced
renounced by pronounced
Excommunication exultation
Forming on the vestigages of
The voice once possessed
Now seemingly at rest
Unsuitably impressed by
The nothingness of
any redressed grievance
When sentenced to question
Ones own viability ...
reliability or inspirability
Without pardon ...
I left with a full bag
of prepositions as i wandered and wound my way  home  ...
Never knowing of the hole
Where in my wake
i left a trail behind me during
before and after ,up against
Over and through ,near ,for among and between here and there i lost them all but one
Hanging half out without knowing where at
Aug 2020 · 77
up to date lists
Keith W Fletcher Aug 2020
Sometimes I fear that our only hope
is those who can are extending the rope
to see how far the degradation exists
while keeping copious and up to date lists
Aug 2020 · 86
do not
Keith W Fletcher Aug 2020
I do not have
unrequited dreams
what I have are dreams
yet fulfilled !
Jul 2020 · 103
seeking reincarnation
Keith W Fletcher Jul 2020
I am slowly slipping
my fingertips
no longer gripping
all progress
in regress
and i do feel
a need to confess
that i base my decision
on a questionable guess
but then without more
then that's it  
naught  else to address
nothing more
nothing less
than a wordless postmortem
as  it takes its last breath
then goes to find  out
if there is life after death!
Jul 2020 · 100
I die every night
Keith W Fletcher Jul 2020
I cried out
to my demons
won't you- won't you
won't you please.... let me be
I've always known ...that
I would die all alone
but at least let me be
let me be....free

the cost
cannot be compared
to the pains of others...that i have shared
I cared
and I've had to say goodbye
too many times
too many times
for anyone ...anyone
in one lifetime of despair

won't you won't you please
  let me be
simply do as I have done
and forget all about me
pretend
that I
I am no longer around
tell everybody
I just cannot be found

all the  places I have haunted
and the ghosts
that I have shared
shared all the wounds
that I've encountered
so why is it now
that I have been spared ?
okay ..okay...OKAY !
I see how it is
life wants to continue
to punish me ....to punish me

so I live day after day
and I die
night after night .
when I feel so cold
as cold as stone  and all alone
Sometimes it seems
even to me
even to me even to me
I seem to be out
out of my mind
out of my sight
Jul 2020 · 113
Row me home
Keith W Fletcher Jul 2020
Row me along a path of...
least resistance ...and in my wake
I will leave no sign of passing

Row me through the rocky rapids
and in my wake ...
I will leave only my fear

Row me down a sheltered stream
and i will slow to watch the world
and all its beauty

Row me out into the vast
and endless ocean ..and I will be lost
without direction
So that is why ....i think of you as ...
my love ...and my Compass !
Row me home!
Jun 2020 · 115
Bigger View
Keith W Fletcher Jun 2020
there was never anybody
in my life but you
I never really saw it
because I didn't have a big enough view
to really see it...
....for what it always was

When my life got tough
and I fell on my face
I would  have been lost
if you hadn't given me a place

To rest...to take a deep breath
you said ..." its just what a real friend does !'

when I got stronger and  could stand
-on my own two feet
making  myself a promise that those
mistakes made I would never ever  repeat

so the one I  made should have shocked me awake
but I guess I never felt even the slightest buzz

then came that day I finally slowed down
taking a look around and back at people I had met
you stood out like a bright light in the darkest dark
I knew nothing would ever ease the pang of regret

for not realizing how important you
and what you did for me really was

Or for not seeing you
for who   you really were
how it never did occur ...to me ...
...that you had to be
the one person
that gave me everything

everything I've got in my life
I want you to know -I owe - to you
so anything I have - if you need it
then it's yours simply because... it always was
but I guess I forgot the words you once said

" its just what a real friend does !"
Jun 2020 · 84
Lost
Keith W Fletcher Jun 2020
I'm looking forward
not to fall on my face
as that would only
add more pain
to all that I've lost
oh how can I
ever pay the cost
when there's no valuation
that could ever suffice
not everything
in life
not everything in life
has.  to.   have a price
some things are priceless ..
...especially when it's lost
Jun 2020 · 82
Live and grow
Keith W Fletcher Jun 2020
Love trusts
the way water will trust
the path thru hill and Valley
around Rocky turns
and that is how
a river is born

so that people who love
have loved
Will Be Loved
and will be remembered... ...forever
Like those  Sunday drives
and evening walks
for that is the kind of love
that keeps water flowing
keeping in its wake
so many  flowers growing ...
...always growing!
Just  love pure. so you can
live and breathe and grow!
Jun 2020 · 87
I didn't throw it away
Keith W Fletcher Jun 2020
she truly  loved him
His name was George
she watched him spin
in elliptical gyrations
rising higher than ever
she watched him go
shearing off the turn light
before flying
pedal perfect
through the shield
then to fall....under the wheels
stopping the monstrous advance
Oh God ! she thought as she watched
what a grand departure friend
A Tribute to
the partnership we did forge
I really loved our time together
she whispered past flowing tears
good-bye my friend...my bike...
..my hero named GEORGE!
May 2020 · 110
Tumbling across....
Keith W Fletcher May 2020
Lunacy  zigs and zags...
...across time and history
like crudely sewn patches
On the knees ...
...of childhood dreams !
May 2020 · 155
list of names
Keith W Fletcher May 2020
a trace of me (will be)
moving on
powerless  ( against)
the rising tide
pouring over me (as I am)
washed out ( where )
nothing is nothing ( and )
totally incomplete (is)
the inevitable outcome
that led me .....
right from the start
in futile search (I am )
gone without notice
facing a future ( of )
expanded consciousness
even in the garden of inspiration
dark days
color my  world
Chemicals (keep)
burning bridges
been here before
beyond the boundaries
beyond a dream
standing at the edge of tomorrow
( wondering )
Do I even exist ? (is)
my collection of rejections
my alpha and my omega (has)
the restless rider (been)
resurrected
rising above
spinning a timeless tale (along)
the fine line
echoes of my silent world (across) 
the valley of infinity (so)
whats the difference
where do I fit in ?
I am but flesh and bone
Human
hoping I never find me
Evolving
every way I can
drawn in - dragged out (now)
Dialing back in  (to what is)
A Different world today
Aa couple dozen poems from my list to become ( maybe) a self published collection
Apr 2020 · 68
To want what i need
Keith W Fletcher Apr 2020
When you are rich
it must come with the fear
that one day you will awake
to find it did all disappear

So the advantage to me  
I was blessed to be born poor
I can give.away all that I've got
then go out and earn more

Not saying it's what one should do
just a thought to allow that bell to ring
Those times I can't afford something I want
wanting not needing then it's just a thing
A wifi modem issue caused a delay as I was penning this so to any who read or experienced an incomplete text....my deepest apology. Thank you.
Apr 2020 · 731
Trial in error.
Keith W Fletcher Apr 2020
there are those that claim
that you - no you!- no you are to blame
so what is the truth?
when it really comes to be
that which was ignored..
...may have cost more
than anyone of us....
....you or I could afford

For power is often salacious
to those most most perverse
intent on halting all progression
putting the gears into reverse
meeting lawful non-conformance
with overbearing aggression
for them - any question becomes resistance
and reason for unreasonable oppression

long before ever existed our constitution
when Kingly whims were sacrosanct
John Adams spoke of that to come
as a nation of laws - not of men
And that would be great if only twer true
for so often these days and times
they don't apply to I and I
only to you and you.    

I am who you must obey  until you become I - YOU have naught to say
you must comply -you must...
"YOU MUST OBEY!
...WHAT EVER I SAY FOR YOU youyouyou to do ! you must do!"

You may have been lucky enough to claim
Wasn't here ...didn't make the rules
meaning that I'm not... I'm not... I'm not to blame
I see no unjust inequality here ... being done to you
don't blame me because I'm not you
and we are not the same
  just submit and obey ... do whatever is said
by the mini- Kings of the day
until comes that time
when there are no more"yous" to abuse
the gun barrel... seeks out a new target stance
if then and only then
my friend... you realize
what many of us already do
that as a nation of laws..
... not of men
if all men "created equal" really is true
we are all the same ...who do we blame
for having not a clue...not realizing
that we are US And I am you?
Mar 2020 · 107
words once said
Keith W Fletcher Mar 2020
I do not have the time to unwind
or to help you unwind
the words you , chose to say
and at this point it doesn't matter
as soon as I rise up
from this layer of paint your wide brush left me under
I will depart as to start moving on
Beyond whatever it was we had.
Or thought we had...... Which is what
I truly find
makes it doubly sad


I have no plans
to read you chapter and verse
throw a fit or leave in an angry Huff
I figure I'll do something far far worse
by donning that all too familiar
grimacing and yet
remorseful smile
as truly
its the right thing to do
not my fault if that
is so much worse
than being assaulted by vile curse
so sorry...
but that's just not my style

I know you regret your thoughtless word
upon thoughtless word
as much as I regret having heard
sadly though ,life has no refresh button
allowing reset back to a place
before the damage occured .so I say   peace to you my wayward friend
Mar 2020 · 80
Arose
Keith W Fletcher Mar 2020
few things exist
in man-made terms
that cannot be rebuilt
yet , with deep regret
I believe I am witnessing
what very well may be..
.. the slow demise
right before my eyes
that most critical one ...
..of the few!

Then: ..when! ...what?
how do we reestablish?
any excavation of...
...without means to recognize
or understand any remnants found
..for what they really are?

Without the tools to reassemble
what our collective ancestry
formed
by sticks and stones
pain and perseverance
add- ons and detractions
Acceptance , Needs, Failure
When once not wants
flies fowl of foul
those lies left of rites
when wrongs became
the claim of rights
by might of might

Kings and Knights
as darkness dons
the errant plights
that the light of dawns
healing rays
again and again
allows mankind to raise
what man(un)kind
manages to raze

Yet ...so easily we can now see
through histories window pains
all that is lost
all that it cost
the forward progress ...
..through understanding
naught wrought by force
or one voice demanding

As cities rise from ashes
again and again
settlements become cities
civilizations become nations
while ancient mysteries fade
into histories...
...darkest abyss
some we still honor for value
to fan flame the light upon those
we happily dismiss

Few are those things
Built by the hands of mankind
that cannot  be reconstructed
by the tools man had in mind to design

And  yet ...here I sit
in adamant descent
through fervent lament
by all decimation seen
wondering how we will find
any way to reset
when we've bent and rent
every rule,  tool and...
school of thought
if no one cares to be ...
...or not to be ...a Rose

For that is the answer
soon to be lost...
..beyond questions.!
Jan 2020 · 85
The Earths just a rental
Keith W Fletcher Jan 2020
erosion-corrosion
or one big explosion
look them over and choose
the Earths just a rental
don't get sentimental
We really got nothing to lose
we've exhumed all that matters
ripped and torn into tatters
till there's little left we can use
we made our  divisions
voided out any and all revisions
simply put we lit the fuse .. once we started defying, denying
consistently implying
that everyone's lying
crying out that it's ...
all just more fake news!




.
Jan 2020 · 71
What life lacks
Keith W Fletcher Jan 2020
I placed an order with my brain
to refrain
from seeking  out
childish pavbacks
Stop believing I can walk  through life
without my leaving any tracks
always resist the need
to prove
your thoughts are actually facts  
visual eyes
how easily we turn blind
our mind
to accept not -as it distracts
so half-empty or half-full
matters not if oblivious to that glass
and all the cracks
you can pour
forevermore
in a futile effort
feigning ignorance to all that
your life lacks
by lording over those without
do you gain a measure of pleasure
as  empty sacks
it doesn't raise your value
near as  much
as the doubts
in the eyes it often attracts
so to  reside inside
a pristine facade
built
to avoid seeing your life
and all it impacts
your core ...
... when more
concern is placed upon you
by way of how a stranger reacts
  is the incalculably high price
soon  paid
by the actor inside
who believes that their life
is perfect
and we are the critics.
bent on .....   personal attacks.
Dec 2019 · 189
The night Before...
Keith W Fletcher Dec 2019
Keith W Fletcher Dec 2015
Twas the flight before christmas
Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Not even a computer mouse
All of the people and pets
Were nestled in bed
Waiting for a fat man
In a flying -reindeer sled
Just as I ventured
To slip off to sleep
A noise -- maybe a clatter
Was heard from the street
I ran to get me a view
Opening the window
I put my head through

Down on the corner
Across from the jail
A fat drunken bearded man
Was singing off key
Merry Christmas to all you boys
I hope ya all make it out without fail

The kettle had just enough money
To make my  own flippin bail
I was annoyed  so I yelled down
Go home you soppin santa --you stinkin clown
GO HOME-
So the real Santa might actually appear
F* off you a hole he yelled back
As he popped open a beer
I am the real santa you * head
Then he sorta suggested
My reindeer flew off when I was arrested
Mrs. Clause is so cold
Them elves is lucky they don't get molested
But if you're worried ya won't get your gift
Then get your dumba  down here
And give me a lift
Hastily dressing I wondered
If anyone else might have heard
But the way they were snoring
Obviously they heard not a word
Grabbing a jacket I picked up my keys
Went out to take this crazy drunk home
So that he won't freeze
When I finally found him
It way back behind the dumpster
Where he was tossing his cookies
Being eyeballs by two coppers
Who looked like a pair of rookies
"COME ON " I pleaded  " lets get you home"

He peered at his wristwatch"sh* he exclaimed
I'm supposed to be delivering  gifts in Maine
He clumped into my new Volvo --stinking of *****
"A Volvo" he sneered why couldn't you drive a Ford ..comet
Then he mumbled some words below his stale breath
And my car floated up in the air  -- scaring me to death
He yelled out commands as my car shot forward
"Rides pretty nice" he muttttered" but not as nice as a Ford"
     "On Volvo .. On Volvo .. On ..oh heck .. Just hook a left
   No nonono I mean right
Then he yelled out the window
MERRY(buuurp) CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD EFFEN
NIGHT.    ** **. Cough cough Hoooo!!
Dec 2019 · 117
, life has its protocols
Keith W Fletcher Dec 2019
I rang the bell
to no avail
I rang again to which
I was greeted with a total fail
so I knocked
lightly
so to not create a situation
and the door came right open
then started the strangest conversation

he stepped outside to whisper
  you the guy ?
I called this morning?
"I believe I am" I replied
" I ....wel..l.... I.. he whispered "cool!"

" then ...first look this over !"
and without warning
he pushed a piece of paper...
nearly up my nose

"You can deal with all that.....
( he suddenly turned it look in the doors open crack) I suppose? "
still in whispering tones

I  looked at the list- twice -as instructed
my mind did insist
no problem.... no problem... not really a problem and I don't know i found myself whispering "about that one... but it'll  be okay I promise
I know people I smiled
He didn't!

okay if you can take care of all that
without causing me grief
and her to have a fit ...then...

Then man ...
you will be the man ..the man with the plan the man who can ...too bad your name ain't Stan,!"

is this guy three days
into "a crankup in session ..or what?"

I was about to beg off
then I thought
just wait and see
hear him out then reflect
on the whole picture.

I'm here to be of service ..I thought
so why the hell is this guy
so freakin nervous ?

we both heard a squeaking sound
from Beyond the crack in the open door
and just like that
he changed
al  surreptitiousoddity vanished
like smoke up a chimney flue
"  gooddeal  "he said
she's riding her 30 minutes
stationary bike by video...!  you know ?

I smiled sweetly... still wary
"okay I'm sorry "said the guy
let me explain
what it is it's been making me so insane

I took a week off work...like a ****
so I can relax
and deal with some of those things
Ive neglected  
around the house. ..ya know
But  could I? No!
NO!  she said N...O....no!!

Then  she said "you can't.
You don't know the right protocol
and I said what protocol?
Protocol to spackle a wall?
"you know,...he sorta  grimaced...
door **** hole through  sheetrock? "

I nodded and muttered,( still whispering )

IDK Why!

"As common as sparrows" I said
okay then... I'll fix the doorbell  
she said you can't.. No!
You need to find the right protocol .


( hey YOU reader.. I already saw it on the list so ha! )

  then last night I went downstairs
after midnight ...mind you
to Google what the hell she's sayin
Or what it is that I'm missing
found some instructions ...some warnings abusive helpers  trolls full of crap
and that's it.. no protocols do exist
or are , nonexistent or
so nonspecific that...anyways...

and I hate admitting that I sat there
For more than an hour
just turning the knobs in my mind
seeking some mysterious power
To find ....
Trying like hell to ring some bell ...
...and that's when ... I accidentally
accidently ...now!
I nudged that Mouse along the pad
and up popped your ad

then I was mad... bad bad mad..then sad ..but  glad
all that in about a 3 second span
So i sent you that text
to save me
and you will be ...forever be...
...my ever-loving
Pro 2 call
Then he flung  the door wide
in a normal voice he said
come on come come on in
So I stepped past him..ito begin
What i came to do

he shouted out loud
Honey!I found the man you was looking for the man ...the man with the plan ...the man who can
and his name is Stan; he winked at me
and tossed  me a grin

To continued on with
I got me a tee time at 10
and he gave me another grin
did a 180 spin
headed out the door! wow!
Whispering once more
good luck fella  see ya stan....

She opened the door  
said hello to me then said
what was that Stan ?

***  ...what the hell!

I said hello ..uh..He left
but I'm here...to..
To ..ahhh well... to fix the doorbell 
 
She hesitated... confused to which I related then said okay!
Im still 20 miles from Marrakesh
so I'll see you when I get there...okay?

Okay?

She shut the door and the squeaking
began once more.
What a way to start the day and it ain't even 8:30 yet.
Dec 2019 · 112
Do we have a choice then?
Keith W Fletcher Dec 2019
Loneliness often
comes
with depression tagging along
as they conspire
to completely unwire
the security systems Within...

Their bag of tricks
has
within its mix
what it needs to affix
unconcerned
with whom it afflicts
or those it restricts
by Monumental repercussions

turning any or all minor discussions
into a world of hurt
where all involved
try to skirt.. the edge
that is crumbling beneath
those suddenly so clumsy feet
until that ring..
..so tentatively held is abruptly dispelled
Bringing
all involved - nothing solved
To a mind shattering halt
With none at fault

Just a slip a loss of grip
to fend for themselves
as they each reach out
To clasp onto
with an anchoring grasp

Desperate to pull themselves up and out where they will gasp
and often weep
While looking on
is loneliness and depression

Patiently waiting
for the outcome to provide
new clients
As  sadly they have come
to a reliance on us
when our stubborn Pride
Undenied ..yet set aside

When we abandoned those in need
in order to succeed
In saving ourselves....

Did we......?
Keith W Fletcher Dec 2019
A breakdown in the system
Doesn't seem to bother me
I'm too busy payin the bills
To worry about others misery
Revolutions have to wait
Till all the parties get in line
But they're all still waiting on uniforms
That noone has yet .....to design

Working at cross purposes
From a thousand different ways
Just makes a working stiffs ....
           ......eyes go dull
Like they're walking in a haze
They hang like meat at the end....
                  ....of the day
Shuffled along with all their toys
That shields them from the real real world
Behind a great wall
of  consistent white noise

It will bring the world together
Said the spider king one day
And the world changed in a second
A thousand years faded away

While smoke hung like a curtain
And lightening lit the sky
Buildings crumble with ferocity
As people continue to die
Bringing the world together
Seems to push us more apart
Somehow it seems that every end
Is just...
...another new start

False starts beg the question
Is this the final dream we've sought
Cash in for what your buying
Cash out for what you've bought

Revolutions have to wait
For all the parties to get in line
I'm still too busy payin the bills
And now I'm working off my fine

A breakdown in the system
Doesn't seem to bother me
A breakdown in the system
Hope you're not counting on me
A breakdown in the systemmmm
A breakdown bre bre  aaakdoooo........
In the syyysttteeeeeerdm.....
Dec 2019 · 276
Was it worth it ?
Keith W Fletcher Dec 2019
Im serious ...
...as serious as that
suddenly noticed... minut chip
... on the windshield of your......!
Then you realize
30 miles
And 20 minutes later...
You just spent all that time
Worrying about just when it will crack.
Was it worth it?
Dec 2019 · 238
One with you
Keith W Fletcher Dec 2019
My shadow looms largest
At the dusks dwindling light
Overwhelmed by darkness
Disappearing from sight
Leaving me alone to atone
For all that I feel I might have done
in careless disregard for others who
Dont realize night doesnt cover their shadow ...... It joins it to all become one.
Nov 2019 · 128
Powerless
Keith W Fletcher Nov 2019
Was it the fitful dreams
Or maybe it was the annoying flies
Persistent in their touch and go
landings
On the tip of my nose ..that opened my eyes
To be met
With the reality
Of a pillow drenched with sweat
From my bedraggled saturated hair
As that may have been more the cause
That rousted me into this sweltering putrid air
Not even the ceiling fan was moving
As the power had been pulled 2... or
Oh... who knows....... a few days ago
Outside the grimy fly spect window I could see
The rainbow bedazzled sailboat sail
Gently moving across the placid aqua blue water
From up here on the second floor  
I could see the entire lake is it stretched away
To seamlessly blend with the baby blue sky

Closer in along the shoreline a dozen little kids at play
Content in their animated movement as they skittered about
All brightly dressed little 4 or 5 year olds
Reminding me of gumballs as they spilled out of a torn sack
Watching carefully were the parents or guardians
Posted in somnolent but  wary guard duty
Along the peremater wall of park benches

Along the bright green manicured ground
Brightly colored and abstract blankets
were scattered around
Where people sat or lay back
To watch the lazy movement of cotton fluff clouds tracking north

Standing there taking this all in
I noticed two dead flies that had crash-landed on the windowsill
Victims of that invisible barrier to freedom
Good I said to myself  out loud
As I hoped one was the kamikaze who woke me from the sleep into this
Although I had to admit the beauty
All that life - Love - happiness and fun
Was something special to see  for
certain
And I stood there sweat drenched
Overheated and overcome by the overwhelming desire to close the ****** curtain
So that's exactly what I did
And then lay back down with laced fingers behind my head
To stare at the ceiling and the fly that wandered around and around the  motionless ceiling fan blade
And I was ....
Powerless to do anything about it
Nov 2019 · 130
Losing all value
Keith W Fletcher Nov 2019
Somewhere somehow someone
Concluded
That it's okay
To allow the water to be polluted
As long as it's downstream
From the elite and privileged classes

And if they please
They mow down the trees
Ignore the sign and pay the fine
Amid smiles and afflicted laughter
The glasses ring with a fine crystal ting
And they reset the finish line...
.... yet another time

While somewhere deep inside
Mother Earth shudders and sighs
Hope is torn loose from the truth
That no longer matters or applies
Serving as an example ,how to trample
The garden into total submission
Nov 2019 · 139
Newday
Keith W Fletcher Nov 2019
A pall fell over the crowd
When they heard the announcement
The pronouncement
That freedom had been rescinded
Pursuit of happiness has ended
Your liberty is no longer honored
Arguing is no longer tolerated
Your reality is about to be eviscerated
By the new one we have created .
Nov 2019 · 89
To me
Keith W Fletcher Nov 2019
It  ain't always fiction
And you' ll feel that friction
When you get dragged across...
... those memories
That are as rough as cobblestone
And you know that means you
really are...  really really really are
all alone

Bleeding like rain from all your wounds
That you ignored  
Or tried to - for so long
Like trying to find happiness
While listening
Listening to the saddest tunes

Cant ever really dance
When you are broke in half
No matter how hard you try
Cannot turn those painful days
Into good nights by trying to fake a laugh

When you know
That you still leave a trail
Everywhere  you go
from the sharp edge of each fine detail

When you are being dragged
over those
Cobblestone memories
as it keeps all
those wounds bleeding - just like water flows

And you know...OH YEAH!
Yeah you really know
That it will take some time
To allow your SELF to really heal
Both your body and your mind
Until one day
You take a chance
and glance behind ...To find
exactly what you need
That you did indeed... manage to succeed
In weathering out the storm

Because ...BECAUSE...

though the wounds do still exist
you see that they no longer bleed
Cobblestone ...Cobblestone
Time to allow my memories
To stand on their own
Whatever they turn out to be
Whatever they turn out to be....TO ME!
Nov 2019 · 116
Low hanging fruit
Keith W Fletcher Nov 2019
She came a kickin through the doorway
Just sbout  as mad as I've ever seen
her hair was on Fire and she smelled like gasoline
She was spittin out words at a mile a minute
I tried to intervene with a word or two
But I couldn't even squeeze a syllable in between
But it seem to have something to do with her daughter...  Delta Dean
who had just barely turned 17
And just as pretty as a vine ripe  peach
And I know that you know
Exaaactly ...what I mean!

I  figured it was probably some young stud
Who decided to see if he was tall enough to reach

Whoever he was
trying to see if he could get into that tree
I kind of feel sorry for ya
whoever you may be
I can't imagine Colleen
Puttin up  with anyone to trifle
And I imagine she's up there now
searching up and down looking all around
Fit to be tied and ready to rip off my hide
If she cant figure out where I might of hid
Her daddies old rusty trusty squirrel killin rifle I mumbled out a prayer
up under my breath
I don't know Who You are
but if you have any sense
you'd be scared to death
A making Fast tracks for getting out of the state
or out of the county
at any rate
and then I heard her coming back down
When she stepped on that old creaky step
went up in a rage but came back down
Much more sedate
earrings in her hand and I guess
that she saw that strange look on my face
so she kissed my cheek
and she said I don't know if I can take it
she wants to drive
and  that's okay
but she got my diamond stud earring
and I got to wear these of little old pearls today
As she was Heading out the door
i started to let myself say
Pearls Before swine
but at the very last second
I grabbed my tongue  
And I changed my mind ......



What the hell were you thinkin ....
   You been drinkin ?No!   Well maybe we outa be
Cause that was too close .
Oct 2019 · 673
Time moves on. ....
Keith W Fletcher Oct 2019
TIME WILL TELL US WHEN ITS TIME!
I am beginning to realize the depths of corruption ,and absolute hatred necessary  to fracture the very  foundation that is needed for any  civilization to exist within the framework of world history,!  Time alone dictates when tribalism becomes the natural antidote for the ills of entrenched  governments- not ones borne of true rule of law or any visionary enmeshed enlightenment,- but one simply conjured up by the latest charlatans of any era. The ability of persuasion is probably more powerful when introduced to the upward mobile societies because the very same momentum that is required to navigate the rise is also the fuel that will widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
   No government ( as we understand such elements today)  could step into power here and make a balancing  attempt short of totalitarian austerity, simply because those who have become the rich and powerful riders are not concerned by who , what why or how they are allowed to ride so comfortably up the rise . No! Sadly they only care about their seat, and making it secure for themselves and theirs, not the multitudes of laboring, hungry ,abused, and neglected who have found their life is simply 1 of 2 choices . 1 is to just push and survive for themselves and therefore their families or quit pushing and try to get out of the suddenly backsliding monster , hoping to salvage something - anything - from the eventual catastrophic collision as the future propels itself into the reality of an ever looming past ; that is time itself and cannot be stopped. Certainly not  by our insignificance, no matter how vainglorious we believe we are !  In the end, - as in any beginning -  time has shown that we are nomads to entrenched stone fortresses... back to nomads.. to bigger, stronger fortresses that never hold forever- time sees to that as it passes by.. ,carrying the latest brand of tribal nomads with it and crushing all in its wake. The world ,- I fear - has never seen the likes of the  American  
nomads, who are now being manufactured as we stand here today ,arguing about what MAGA means and what bathrooms should be used . In Federal terms AGAIN indicates a return to something we were... which is something time simply will not allow , as those riding high and unconcerned are determined to see for themselves as it flashes before their eyes . I am no longer pushing or encouraging others ,who may believe a rest will exist when we reach the crest. No crest exists because time is constant ,it's march always steady and it's path is a flat endless plane while we create the rise and angle of ascent  in mathmatical precision ...calculated by the number of ,and energy needed, by the ones   pushing-multiplied by the unknown factor of X (what it takes to stay alive )
.   Hungry, hopeless ,frightened, sick and neglected people cannot( no matter the good will and pride )  keep going if more energy output only steepens the angle. Time runs this show and you know what that saying is ...only time will tell.
Absolutely correct ...only this go round we may still have an internet connection linking us back to who you were and what you did to your family name . That will be your legacy ,but it may well be the heavy chain of shame that your children and  grandchilren will bear the weight of for generations to come- and only you know why they are sentenced to do your time as  the Amercan version of untouchables
Oct 2019 · 89
Weighted so long
Keith W Fletcher Oct 2019
Allow me to be
T.he one
Who helps you
Set yourself  free
Removing all those chains
That had  been  for so long
weighing you down
Wipe away those stains
Set you back on your road again
So  that  THAT.....familiar ground
WILL hopefully
remind you
where...it was
     ...once you were bound

Then if you need...someone
to walk along beside you
For a moment a minute or a day
Well that would be me
and if you need somebody
To walk farther up ahead
Even behind
That would be okay
I dont mind ..really
Im here for you ...  
        ...not me.
Oct 2019 · 96
Mordant Dreams.
Keith W Fletcher Oct 2019
I love the way
her hair creates
a mysterious land
of shadowy depth
As it falls across
  the outside
corner of her eye
As that accentuates
those cool pools
glistening eyes of mordant green
Inviting the overheated
The physically depleted .
A respite  an oasis
Right at the entry
Of that shadowy mystery
Like a fairytale forest
I want to get lost in that woodland
haunting beauty and waiting mystery ,
but alas  i dare not trespass
Time may find a chance perhaps
For now i slip silent into the cool
Of the eyes so green where i can float
Where i may swim or Then again
I could just dive deep
never to resurface
and still...live a hundred lifetimes
In the beauty of her face... .your face!
Oct 2019 · 186
So sad .....that
Keith W Fletcher Oct 2019
In the America we are building
we fight hard for our right
To do others wrong!
Keith W Fletcher Oct 2019
I fell
lost and forlorn
upon
the grief stricken
darkness ladened
Time braided
,minutes and hours
While she lay
in chill surround
Far away from
All things familiar
I like to think
I feel her energy
I must believe
She lives to see me
To cry out in mournful relief
At my arrival joyous wailing
Not the bellowing of my own grief
When this morning i return
To the vet and hope my baby
Was not in need of all  my woes
Of my long night
of overflowing  concern
Yet.....
Im scared to death
of mornings light
And what will be the things i learn

"Please Oh God of  love.....don't......"
Oct 2019 · 335
Bad news n blues
Keith W Fletcher Oct 2019
They stand in blatant disregard
Unmpressed by how deeplly scarred
The lives are
As they roll through
Protected by the coded hue
The twisted visions and pirate pose
Avast and untouched area grows
Where
A veritable smorgasbord  
of victims wait
and saturate
In the oily slime
Of those committing legal crime
Doing all they believe they can do
With anonymity
  and  assumed impunity
Behind the thinnest of veiled ruse
Blue lines and the sides each
will choose.
Oct 2019 · 355
Someday soon
Keith W Fletcher Oct 2019
Someday soon
this space
will be empty
No for rent sign
Will bring to mind
What used to be
The occupant  who
Truly fought to do
All he could
thinking that should
Be enough to sustain
The publics relation
The joining together
Through true considerations
Re•noun•ced  reverberations
Pronoun•ced vowel use
In sentencing alliteration
To solitary inconsiderations
In deliberations or  indeterminant
Interrpretations.
So in the end
resulting  Inclinations  
may have hinged upon
That period
with an overriding Exclamation  
marking the end
extinguishing the flame
accepting that the now dark  emptiness
May have
Tried  to guess... as they did their best
To seek out some exclamation  mark
but in the end, they could not bend
It into a question mark  
For
The end came like a thief in the night
Leaving an emptiness all but unnoticed  
As poem after poem came tumbling down
Torn loose by the very same hand
that  also once wrote us
Someday soon  this space will be empty
With no  "for rent " signs  to  remind 
 anyone
That anything ever even existed herein.
89
Oct 2019 · 162
NO TRADES
Keith W Fletcher Oct 2019
FOR SALE- cheap
Make me an offer...today
I can no  longer afford to keep
Since its not working - that is to say
It runs okay
Just not for me...
...Is it able to do ....
....all it's supposed to
So its just a thing now that is in my way
What its real value is
I haven't a clue
Just needs to be gone
Out of my sight
OUT OF the memories
That are all torn apart
Comes the need to succeed
As i am Sellng cheap ....a one- owner heart.

NO TRADES PLEASE .
Keith W Fletcher Sep 2019
Just what makes us think
perfection ...
is something we should strive for
some sort of goal
something we need
to make us whole
something that we're missing...
thats beyond our control
what makes us think there is such a thing
Or that we deserve it.

I don't know
if any of that is so
or if I ever had the chance
to ever really know
because I have not had
a life ...
for me to live

I had one for someone else
to control ....so...
I guess you could say
that I was out of control
but I wasn't perfect
never thought I was
I just had to counterbalance
in such a way ..as to stay
somewhere near the center

So feeling  that way
Created in me
a need to succeed
I had to seek perfection
in everything I've done
or I would have quit.. the game
long long ago
and that again
would have been out of my control

What makes a driven ego
Be
by trying to survive
for

creating a need
when someone else
has put on the brakes
trying to make sure that
you never
arrive ...
...at any destination ...
anytime or any place
It didn't matter
where when why or what      
how arriving there
without their God in my pocket
Could somehow be
some sort of disgrace..is
Idk because once again
That should not have been...

...Out of my control

now I'm left sadly empty
trying hard not to fill back up
with remorse anger or regrets
because if I was a mess before
and didn't know it
to do all that
would be the end
of all antes and all bets
as this game has no Bluffs
or any winners
it.... sure.... like....
seems that way to me
in or out
that's all it's about

just how far down there
Will they allow themselves to go
When there is no other teams

ldk...I walked away
long long ago
Without knowing
where I was bound
but what I didnt know
was just how hard
they had a hold
trying always and forever
To do anything they could
in dragging me down

so I'm glad that I was
always able
to keep me at least close
to the Center.... of Perfection
or as close as one may reach
in order to be able
finding something
to strive for
So  Im  aware that
somehow I was given
exactly what I needed
to keep me on..... going on
Finding a reason for livin

because  although there is no
such thing as perfection ...except maybe
as a check on ... a reason for
a counter- balance
When a life is
  predetermined
  to be filled with nothing...
.. but rejection
from those who were
suppossed to  help you
find direction .....
....not to make sure that you get lost !!
Aug 2019 · 480
I can't wait.....
Keith W Fletcher Aug 2019
Someday the words will be right there
Of poignant value and so much social  implication
That it will ensnare
the unwary
Hopefully probing deep
for some thoughtful inclination
That such effrontery
would normally inflame so many
But here I have the last word
the last meme.

the quote of quotes,
the Ayatollah of RocknRolla
My words set hard in Stone
soft in gist as jest
clearly seen
To be ... absolutely correct ,
mirror bright in reflection
Telling  in the action.
what they will....albeit in slight delay
Inspiring  more ...I hope
Than simply
a reason to smile,  
May they become
a direction
Hopefully  to be a remindier
that we may have lost our way
But not our self respect
Sorely tested
But never completly arrested
Is our humanity
If  that be so then
may some laughter
some genuinely thoughtful
moments after
To comment a silent homage
As a few will  ....suddenly take action,
leaping up and aside
..once it will dawn upon
All who are drawn in
by those
small ...elaborately engraved words
..in hopeful consideration
To  inspire ..both
Elevating  thoughts
and
Tentative  to raucous laughter


               

 ALL MY LIFE
   PEOPLE HAVE LOOKED
    DOWN ON .. WHILE WALKING
     ALL OVER ME....SO NOW THEN ...
JUST  LOOK....
..at what YOU too  
   are doing right now  ,


I can't t wait ...oh OH! Oh no.. yes I can ! I can wait just fine
,
Keith W Fletcher Aug 2019
You may find that I seem to be
All shut down emotionally
Wary like some cornered animal
Anytime someone seeks a deeper me

I truly have no gauge to lend you here
Or mathematical statistic to apply
In order to explain what differences
Do or don't apply as to what you...
...and what I perceive to be
Distance , temperature, cynicism..
Cultural divide , from some past hurt pride
Because I cannot be the judge of my beings
Ability to be Unconsciously projecting
, if it is like some background security app
That You can see as some... constant guard, ,
Intent on saving  my  frailty from becoming a heart of stone , choosing alone as ....
...my default position
It was..never set forth as mine...
....or anyone elses lifetime  mission


All I know to tell you is that upon some
self reflection,
my heart is chained down and tightly padlocked
With most finding all inroads securely blocked
.... padlocked without a key
Because I am not really all that easy
To reach down into..and open
..,beyond a simple invitation
as we each seek out the others own
unique and personal combination.





human frailties...
Keith W Fletcher Aug 2019
It's not those creations we're so proud of
Or those ideas we perceive
Not our wonderful childrens public persona
Not the lasting impression we hope to leave

It's not an endowment
Or business built by love
Not the tree we planted in the yard
Or the peace inspired painting.... of a lovely dove

Don't get me wrong I have no cause
To diminish any or all efforts you pursue
I applaud  all good intention, success or fail
And all the things that you will do

I just believe it's not the things we create
That are to be what is thought of....as  our real desire
To leave for a marker as to who we were
As much as it will be our real Empire...
by way of those things...that we do inspire

We may never see...and yet...maybe...
Aug 2019 · 165
Go with Glory
Keith W Fletcher Aug 2019
By the grace of all goodness
we live lives of gifts unnoticed
like pebbles in a whirlpool
we get lost in our lives and quotas

miracles of such proportions
considered just for the fun they give
With all lost sincerity miracles exist
that should be...
...celebrated through the times we live

notice the lack of integrity ?
the dismissal of all the world's condition ?don't allow the beauty or bounty of..
... these gifts be lost
by means of sad attrition

polar caps melting and people die
temperature soaring to an all-time high
yet the indisputable truth is lost
in the constant push forward

saving the world can only save ourselves
By saving our own Nation...
....becoming a house undivided
We show that
no future is or will ever be....
already decided!
Keith W Fletcher Jul 2019
I passed by some memories
Along the trail of my life today
I didn't say a word
or even ask them to stay
I just kept moving on
It's not that I have any sad regrets
That make me feel I owe some long past debts
The past is exactly what it will always be
Like a flower encased inside solid glass
you can't smell it or touch it
But it can always be seen

So call me sentimental
call me hard as steel
call me non-committal
Or what ever you will

Nothing said outside of my mind
can ever reach so deep as to find
what I dredged up a long long time ago
  So go ahead  say what you will
Or what ever you  feel you must
You might even find the very thing
me and myself never found to discuss

It could even turn out to be
What could be the exact key
Allowing me to stop dredging up
some sad past regret pretending to be
Just another memory
So maybe this time while I'm down
I can scratch fresh earth
Dredge just enough to plant a seed
For a long overdue rebirth
Then even if I find that it never did exist
I can at least cross it off
That sad , tired and timeworn list!!
Next page