Mike Hauser: Favorites

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Unknown

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Sally A Bayan

Unknown

?????????

Time is not flying
the evening hours are so slow, inching by
and spent tossing and turning
my restless mind roams dark avenues
my restless feet roam the bed,
left...right...then back, over and over.
the bed, that was my hammock....no longer sways
a promise of peaceful slumber, flies away,
???????
new and strange images
start to trail me...they're heavy tassels,
tagging on the hemlines of my mind,
seeking to connect...to be known
???????
this late hour, i recall
a forked road, not far from a winding road,
from afar, a child admires a white castle
high as the clouds, its windows, foggy,
its high fence, mossy...on its front lawn
is a treehouse, perched...resting like a bird
inside a very old tree, leaning to its left side,
with a long set of steps...all painted white.
just below the white steps are gathered,
doyens of poetry...seated in their own chosen
corners...tacit, yet, empowered by their brilliant minds
the tips of their feathered pens, smoothly sliding on
paper......strange, that they're waving at me,
why, they could be dead!
???????
i must be dreaming...my muse is showing
me paths, i would think twice of treading
???????
a quartered moon selfishly glows
unsettles even more, my murky thoughts...
yet....my pressing thumb is on my journals
i must heed.........the need.
???????
"o' my elusive unknown poem,
kindly show me...lead me to your home
let my pen give light to your dim path
give second wind to my weary mind and heart,
deny, even a bit of a space......for wrath,

help me, push me...my efforts musn't cease
show me your face...we'll both have peace."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
~
Sally

© Rosalia Rosario A. Bayan
April 21, 2018

...started with a dream.....then scribbled...and scribbled...
I don't know if there is any sense in all these...pardon me, guys...

#strange #dreams #doyensofpoetry #whitecastle #unknownpoem

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Puzzled

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Brian McDonagh

Puzzled

Cryptograms:
Secret messages waiting to be revealed
A symbol shields the letter in hiding.
Gee, a hint would sure sound nice,
But cryptographers aren’t always that merciful.
There are times where I am left
To guess, err, and scribble down
The correct corresponding equivalency,
Z=A, for instance,
Until I arrive at the satisfactory accomplishment
Of a puzzle solved and a stronger knowledge of code.

Jumbles:
Another newspaper favorite,
Words appear as sloppy anagrams,
Which requires much staring and mental shifting
Of letters until a rearranged combination of letters
Produces an existent word approved by Oxford or Webster.
Within each blank printed box is a certain number of circles,
The puzzler, guessing the words from each row of nonsensical anagrams,
Gathers the letters in the circumscribed spaces
Only to do more mental or written unscrambling
As no answer exists without persistence and resilience.

Crosswords:
My “worst nightmare” in the world of puzzles,
The only enigmas where I have to leave enigmas be
Because I always fall behind in experience and knowledge
To have any clue of what the hints mean,
For some hints are implicit cryptograms,
The solver needs to consider each word of the hint closely
To understand the pun, the sarcasm, wrapped up in the obvious literalism.
Some days I come close
To filling in all up-words and down-words,
But realize that I am never quite right, even in my most confident state.

Is a puzzle ever truly solved?
I don’t know! Figure it out yourself!

When I stated in my bio that I love puzzles I wasn't joking lol.

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Labyrinth of Growth

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Brian McDonagh

Labyrinth of Growth

I ***** down my drive way
My two shoes clomping along the gravel;
Shouldering myself to the right I walk
As though time were not a factor.

I stroll straight ahead momentarily
Sandwiched along the street with houses, cars,
And the sky above my head, like a hat
That doesn’t itch.

When I am not bothered by the muscle it takes to walk
And as I gaze at the natural scenery above me
And the homes beside me
As if I were peering out the window inside a moving car
I am faster than time.

Remaining on the road’s left
My feet angle left, and I enter a circular path of gravel.

I take my time, I think throughout
Bowing down, and looking up
Wrinkling my face towards the clouds
Sighing breaths not of boredom, but of struggle
For confidence on my path.

I could circle around the scrunched circular path forever,
But dogs bark,
And since I have no one to tell me to stop,
I felt that’s my cue to leave.
As evergreens line my procession out,
I pass from life before
To life ahead.

I received inspiration for this poem from going to a meditation session,
and I had the opportunity to walk meditatively along a labyrinth mat laid out across the room's floor!

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

God Loves Gays

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Max

God Loves Gays

You think that it
Is not okay
To be even
Semi gay
But I want you to look
In that thick *** book
Because your behavior
Haveth me shook
God says he loves all
His love will not fall
So get your nose out your ***
And give him a call
I promise he will say
I still love you though your gay
Just do me a solid
And try to change your ways

I’m still gay. That won’t change
But that doesn’t mean
It’s not okay

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

The Trouble with a Drifting Mind

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Amy Perry

The Trouble with a Drifting Mind

She spoke of swallowtail butterflies
In her native tongue,
Floating and drifting
To each new idea unsung.
But like a hummingbird
Caught in a net,
She was told to put
Her ideas to rest.

#nature #mind #butterfly #hummingbird

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Love's Poison Dagger

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Amy Perry

Love's Poison Dagger

The shards of a heavy dagger
Remain in me every moment.
You reached into my wound,
Wanton and haggard.
I gazed at the jeweled weapon
Tucked out of view
And the gape in my chest
I thought I outgrew,
Covered and sutured,
Well treated and healing.
But like a cold draft entering a weak archway,
You plunged deeply, weightlessly,
Leaving me reeling.
Poking, prodding,
Pointing out my shards and my scars.
I told myself I removed all of you
And the dagger soaked with love's poison.
You showed me shards from
The poisoned blade still linger,
The truth lies deeper than
Where I can put my finger.
You touched my wound with
The force of words.
How it stings with the sharpness of pain.
Twinging inside me,
Twisting like ivy,
Welling my eyes like a curse there to find me,
Pointing out my poison and shards,
Fiddling with the sutures of my scars,
And like a haunting winter's chill,
You left as quickly as the blood was spilled.

#love #pain #hurt #poison #dagger #knife #scars

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Always

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Laura Duran

Always

The fear brings anxiety
The anxiety brings panic
With panic comes pain

Hope fades away
Depression sets in
guilt becomes your companion

The struggle is real
But it is not mine
She is the warrior

She fights
She reaches out
She crumbles

I watch
I listen
I cry

I am humbled by her strength
I am proud of her courage
I am broken by her sadness

But....I'm here....
For what ever she needs.....always.

For my Angel....my warrior who is battling depression.
You will beat it.....and I'll be beside you for always.

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

The Lady in the Corner Chair (stories of the ICU waiting room pt 2)

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Laura Duran

The Lady in the Corner Chair (stories of the ICU waiting room pt 2)

She wasn't just a "visitor"  she'd been here a while
She sat in her corner chair, word search in hand
She always had a blanket around her shoulders
A big bag filled with snacks open at her side

Some times she'd have company
Out-of-town family maybe or perhaps a friend
They'd sit and chat, drink coffee from a paper cup
But mostly, she sat alone

She'd always leave her corner neat and clean
During visiting hours a "newbie" would never know
That corner chair was taken....that was her chair
After visiting hours she'd stretch out and re-claim her area

We knew though, we'd never take her spot
We some times met at the coffee ***
"How's your husband?"  "The same...How's your dad?"  "The same"
"Keep praying."  "I will....you too."

Then one morning I watched as she packed her things away
With tears in her eyes, she looked at me then slowly shook her head
As she walked passed me, we clasped hands for a moment
"Keep praying" she whispered, then she walked away

Perhaps it was just a coincidence....but
No one sat in her corner chair all day
She was only one person and yet...
The ICU waiting room felt empty without her

The lady in the corner chair

#waitingroom

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Stories of The ICU Waiting Room p1

Apr 2018 Mike Hauser

Laura Duran

Stories of The ICU Waiting Room p1

On the first day I sat
I stared at my hands
I silently prayed
Please...get better.

After a week
Things only got worse
Family began to show up
Some from far away.

I didn't know how to act
Seemed like a reunion
People greeted me saying
"Oh honey, it's been too long!"

I wanted to scream
I wanted them to understand
My dad was dying!
But, I knew he wouldn't like it.

My dad would say
"Show some respect mija"
He'd want me to say hi
He'd expect me to greet my elders.

So I did. Every time.
Every newly arrived relative
I faked a smile
Then sat and silently prayed

mija is a Spanish word for my daughter, however any one older than you can and often will use it.