You can look over your shoulder
And dream the left behind
As you continue growing older
Another place, another time

How many are stuck in I wish I may
Hoping once again I might
Find the youthful days they gave away
Another place, another time

When bowing to the throne of the good old
Many fail to turn on the light
Where years from now all they'll think about
Another place, another time

It's hard to be happy in ignorance
With the memories we've left behind
In both heart and head those loved and left
Another place, another time

If we had an inkling to do it all again
We still wouldn't get it right
And yet dream of rewriting our history
Another place, another time

this is a poem
about another poem
that touched me in ways
i may never know
it's hard to explain
how this could be so
the moment i read
this other poem
it talked of its sorrows
it talked of its joys
it set down in words
that which i've never known
it brought to the surface
mysteries it needed to show
this other poem
i think reached its goal
as it moved through the rhythm
rolled through the rhyme
took me to places
in other times
made me look inward
enlightened the mind
this other poem
i read at one time

this is a poem
about another poem
that touched me in ways
i may never know
it's hard to explain
how this could be so
the moment i read
this other poem
it talked of its sorrows
it talked of its joys
it set down in words
that which i've never known
it brought to the surface
mysteries it needed to show
this other poem
i think reached its goal
as it moved through the rhythm
rolled through the rhyme
took me to places
in other times
made me look inward
enlightened the mind
this other poem
i read at one time

with a little luck
and a few good props
maybe i can squeeze out
one more drop

pull one more line
from my set of rhymes
give it the ole collage try
one last time

from my bag of shtick
swing the poet stick
see if it is
a hit or a miss

without even knowing
where it is going
that's how i'm sowing
most every poem

I have heard
Of another world
With another boy
And another girl

Much like you
Much like me
But in this world
They have yet to meet

When they do
They will fall in love
In this other world
Like the both of us

Much like you
Much like me
In this other world
They will be happy

In their world
They will make life plans
Walking along
While holding hands

Until the day
They both marry
Much like you
Much like me

Then they'll grow old
In this other world
Where their kids will have
Kids of their own

Watching them play
From their front porch swing
Much like you
Much like me

I call them blessed
This boy and girl
On the day they meet
In another world

Paper...check
Pen...check
Have I forgotten anything
Oh yea, that little item I refer to as a brain

So I guess I best unpack this mess
From inside my cranium
Take it out and dust it off
If this job is to get done

If I could only find where I put that rhyme
Was it in pile right or in pile left
Maybe it slipped out of my head
While I slept tight last night in my bed

As I make my way from the start of this day
One thing I'm sure I'll find
Insanity I think for me will be good company
On this here poetic ride

I met Lord Byron in the pathless wood
along the lonely shore
pleasure in the rapture
a place I'd never been before
set me free beside the deep blue sea
with music in its roar
holding hands with this gentle man
as nature plays the score
making me love it even more

when it comes to Facebook
i no longer like
finding social media
takes up to much of my time

and in today's society
how many peak in for a look
at what their friends are doing
making them feel they've kept in touch

or how we Snapchat our activities
and in seconds it is gone
i ask can you picture that
if not Instagram's not far off

and if your in a hurry
with the words you have to say
in no time you can tweet it out
then soon be on your way

all this newfangled socializing
is anti-social at its best
never to deeply diving
yet still wearing our masks

please don't get me wrong
social media does have its place
it's just sometimes in this book
we all wear a different face

and no amount of liking
can real time face to face be replaced

Looking down from the stars up above
We look like a farm full of ants on the run
Moving here and there at a frantic pace
Not a one of us projected to win this race

You would think we would think after awhile
This nonsense of happenstance is wearing us down
Constant chaos in and out of our ranks
As we take the bait on who next to hate

Not a one of us here seems to care
As we hither and thither in this heated affair
Every last one like ants on the run
As seen looking down from the stars up above

i'm more up
than ever down
far more a smile
than a frown
if there's a jump
i'll take the leap
with all of this
...a part of me

if there is laughter
to be heard
i'll dig and dig
till it's unearthed
less with answers
than questioning
foot loose and free
...a part of me

i'm more lost
than could be found
sometimes in
most times out
shallow at both ends
not too deep
quite swimmingly
...a part of me

crooked lines
straightaways
my road you'll find
times misbehaved
finders keepers
losers weep
all this time
...a part of me

with less goodbyes
and more hellos
the more of me
you get to know
the more you see
in word and deed
the more you'll want to keep
...a part of me

I saw you walking down the street today
And thought about your life
I really have no idea who you are
Nor how you spend your time

I sent a little prayer your way
In hopes that you will find
What gives me strength throughout my day
The saving grace of Jesus Christ

Then as your day progresses
And you pass someone new
You can give to them the same blessing
That I just gave to you

Have we become apathetic
In the way we handle life
Sit back, relax, try our hand without a catch
And watch it all pass by

Comfortable in our daily walk
Where we tend to walk away
Giving up on the eagerness
That we once proudly displayed

Lost out on our Godly zeal
In a constant loop of hide and seek
Trading in a life that's real
For this one of make believe

White-washed tombs that look beautiful
With dead bones on the inside
Attitudes of leave me alone
In how we now handle this life

Running round in circles
Giving the devil his due and credit
There I went and said it
Have we become apathetic

I keep a picture of myself
In a drawer beside my bed at night
So when I wake up in the morning
I can remember what it is I look like

Because when I look into the eyes of the mirror
And it looks back into mine
It takes who it is I feel that I am
And replaces it with old man lies

It doesn't see the youthful heart in me
That I wish it would, so instead
I keep a picture of myself
In a drawer beside my bed

You know what I find a pity
The way some folk behave
And what really gets to me, is I see
That I sometimes behave the same

Some things in life that I don't like
In others, I see in myself
Still I find a way to complain
About everyone else

Don't you find this all a pity
The way some people do
Stand here long enough it's not that tough
To see you do it too

pick a subject
take a dip
pack a line
where it fits

clever, playful
ever bold
as you dabble
in the fold

move it, use it
shake the mat
make a list
slap the facts

tell it, sell it
mark it sold
looky, looky
it's a poem

I decided today when I woke up
To write a poem  for everyone
I'd start off with the very old
And end up with the young

In between I'd have kings and queens
Along with a peasant or two
A genius with a dozen degrees
Even a few without a clue

For the in-laws and the outlaws
Though at times they act the same
If right now they're sitting next to you
No need to mention names

I'd also write it for the Catholics
Protestants and Jews
So as not to leave anyone out
A Methodist marching band with kazoos

What would a poem for everyone be
Without rodeo and circus clowns
The ones that paint happy faces
Over the top of their life's frowns

The tall the short and skinny of course
Those that are tipping the scale
Which these days are most of us
But let's not dip into that well

And of course I can't leave out
All the gays and all the straights
Who never knew that they were straight
Until the gays knew they were gay

I guess we've all been labeled
I really don't mean to offend
Oops...I almost forgot to include
All the mustached women and hairy backed men

If you find you weren't in here
And think that your unmentionable
I'd like you to know my friend
My rudeness was unintentional

You may take this poem for everyone
And do with it what you wish
Perhaps the closest receptacle
Where it may join it's friends...the trash

This poem will certainly be a big hit
I'm throwing everything I've got and more into it
All the bells all the whistles all my poetic tricks
Rolling up my sleeves, into my open palm I will spit

This poem I'm pulling out all of the stops
Remove the plug at the bottom, raise the roof at the top
Fill in the middle with all that I've got
Blowing it all on the entire lot

This poem will either make me or break me
Lose me or save me, I'm thinking maybe
They'll love me or hate me, all want to date me
In Mardi Gras beads they'll want to drape me

This poem will embarrass all the other poems
Because this one poem will have it all going on
From the time it's conceived to the moment it's born
All other poems will concede to it's throne

This poem may even bring on the end
All the poets of today will turn in their pens
They'll be to afraid to write anything
As it will be the blue print to how a poem's written

Now that last thoughts got me thinking that it shouldn't be wrote
As it being the only poem is a scary thought
And how this single poem could yield so much power
I'd be crazy to set it free to dispose and devour

All this poem could do has really opened my eyes
So on second thought I'm not going to write
I'll lock up that thought shut the door tight
Another poem at this time I'll just have to find...

This poem
will certainly be a big hit
I'm throwing everything I've got
and more into it
All the bells all the whistles
all my poetic tricks
Rolling up my sleeves,
into my open palm I will spit

This poem I'm pulling
out all of the stops
Remove the plug at the bottom,
raise the roof at the top
Fill in the middle
with all that I've got
Blowing it all
on the entire lot

This poem will either
make me or break me
Lose me or save me,
I'm thinking maybe
They'll love me or hate me,
all want to date me
In Mardi Gras beads
they'll want to drape me

This poem will embarrass
all the other poems
Because this one poem
will have it all going on
From the time it's conceived
to the moment it's born
All other poems
will concede to it's throne

This poem may even
bring on the end
All the poets of today
will turn in their pens
They'll be too afraid
to write anything
As it will be the blue print
to how a poem is written

Now that last thoughts got me thinking
that it shouldn't be wrote
As it being the only poem
is a scary thought
And how this single poem
could yield so much power
I'd be crazy to set it free
to dispose and devour

All this poem could do
has really opened my eyes
So on second thought
I'm not going to write
I'll lock up that thought
shut the door tight
Another poem at this time
I'll just have to find...

I'd like to write a poem
Unlike any other one

A poem that brings to mind
All the best of times

One that doesn't take away
From the point it wants to make

A very special poem
Enjoyed by everyone

It doesn't have to bring world peace
That would be nice but there really is no need

This poem will have done it's part
If it touches just one heart

Taking from the best it has
Then giving it all back again

That to me would be the poem
Unlike any other one

What your holding in your hands
Is a poem within a poem
Both far enough apart
But close enough to get along
Set within each other
So as not to be alone
This poem that your now holding
This poem within a poem

One poem rhymes it all in love
From beginning to the end
Talks of those new beginnings
And the giving within the giving
How love holds a lasting truth
And spreads it faithfully
This poem that rhymes it all in love
Then holds it out for all to read

While the other poem talks of the past
The what has and hasn't been
The artful way of looking back
And how it is now seen
What you gave up that you once had
That you wish you had again
This poem that brings up the past
A scent that's on the wind

Both poems similar in degree
But very different all the same
Both bring love into the notion
That you can have it once again
While they are relatable
In the way these poems both bleed
They both are very different
In their basics needs

So what you now hold in your hands
This poem within a poem
Is far enough apart from one another
But close enough to get along
Placed here both together
So as to not go it alone
This poem of the past and of the love
This poem within a poem

Uh...are you talking to me?
Can't you see I'm busy licking myself
I hope you're calling cause dinner is waiting
You know I can't be bothered for anything else

What's the broken glass all over the kitchen?
It was that dog of yours in the middle of night
I told you he'd be nothing but trouble
No one ever listens to me though I'm always right

Yawn...is that toy supposed to entice me?
Hey stupid your only entertaining yourself
I'm now ripping through the yellow pages
The voice you use when you talk to me, I'm concerned for your mental health

The funky smell that's coming from out of your bedroom?
That's a special surprise from me
I left under your covers while you were working
On which tonight you can warm your feet

I'd like to take this moment
to apologize
For the mess we made right out of the gate
and the world we'll leave behind

But of course when it was given to us
it was already in a tail spin
Without a shadow of doubt closer to the ground
than we could have ever dreamed

Soon enough to own it in a matter of moments
being first to the crash site
So fasten your belts as it quickly goes south
with us all franticly waving bye, bye

First off my friend
Let me begin
By saying I ain't no poet
Just a fool with a pen

Now with those pleasantries
Out of the way
Let me proceed to say
What I need to say

I've written different poems
On different subjects, different matters
Some soft as a kitten
Others mad as a hatter

Every now and then
I stand on the serious ledge
But more often than not
I fall right off of the edge

Like I said before
I'm just a fool with a pen
Drooling from my smile
Cross eyed in my grin

Separating in rhyme
All the boys from the men
Cackling in crazy
From the beginning to the end

Thanking my lucky stars
Rhyming comes so easy
Like a trip to Venus or Mars
Half baked brain and over queasy

Like I said before
When all of this began
I really ain't no poet
Just a fool with a pen

i put a door on my aquarium
so the fish could come and go as they please
although the idea might be scaring them
it's not like i made it screened

if they just barely open it
that will help to stem the flow
i know the goldfish are all hoping that
the guppies don't treat it like a swinging door

i'm sure they'll get used to it in time
as we all do things in life
and when they do they'll come to realize
above all else my genius mind

What's the opposite of  Goodbye
Would your attention on that be grabbed
If you took out all the happy
Would you be left with sad
If there was a magic number
Could you count that high
If you lost what you do for a living
Would that cause you to die

These are some of the questions
That it is I've got
Oh, one more thing if you don't mind
Is that the opposite or not

With your head stuck in the clouds
Do you find it hard to breath
If you turned that frown upside down
Would a smile intercede
If you went out with the Butcher
Would the Baker still supply your sweets
If you dated the Undertaker
Would the afterlife come cheap

These are some random questions
That I have running loose
Wait a minute, here comes another
What's the opposite of truth

Is there an account on daylight savings
I can put interest in from my time
Should I have saved more of the day
And spent less on the night
Could I dilly dally in the stock market
And take it out in trade
Or buy a balloon in the shape of Johnny and June
And watch them float in serenade

Just a few of the questions
That I like to throw
By the way can you tell me
What's the opposite of  *Hello

Dear Archie,

It's best you find your bunker

The world as we know it

Has certainly gone asunder

Political correctness

Don't it make you wonder

If we should be taking names

And writing down their numbers

Oh and Archie,

Lucky now your six feet under

Out of lightenings range

And all the man made thunder

Those were the days

We could laugh like ******

At each other

Goodbye Archie bunker

This is a repost of a repost I once posted
Just to get somebody to read
As I'm quickly running out of ideas
In the relm of poetry

My hopes is it's far enough back in the pack
Where the first repost has faded from mind
Along with the fact originality I lack
At this moment in time

I might add an extra line of rhyme
That didn't come to mind the first, second, and third time
In case it looks too familiar
When brought out in the light

Then with this repost of a repost I once posted
No one should suspect a thing
Although they may have their suspicions
In its rhyming and its ring

Sometimes I figure if even I can't remember
Myself writing out this poem
Then I have no worries as we all read in a hurry
And no one will ever know

I see that you started following me
Did you click the gold star on a whim
Are you now sitting back, trying to relax
Waiting for it all to begin

Did you come here looking for answers
Or simply to be entertained
Should I now bring in the flamingo dancers
Arriving daily on the boogie train

Are you here to share in some laughs
Or looking for a shoulder to cry
Maybe you felt a pull to follow this fool
And you have no idea of why

Did you read the fine print..."If you follow me"
To closely it might drive you insane
I have dozens of  lawyers waiting in the wings
That can expertly shift all the blame

So whether I hang out with the head of Johnny Depp+
Or start belly button lint dust fires+
Even digging up the body of Elvis +
All would be true if it wasn't a lie

Just remember that whatever happens
When I open the door to my soul
And give a slight peak, inside to see
It's not like you haven't been warned

We stood on this side of the fence
Two boys just biding our time
There was a job that had to be done
That job lay on the other side

I brought the pick ax and shovel
Bobby the tarp and the twine
We synchronized our watches
Both read a quarter past nine

With the fence now far behind us
We used the cloak of the night
To reach our destination
Behold, such a heavenly sight

So as not to wear ourselves out
We both shared in the work
While one kept steady watch
The other was shoveling dirt

Bobby was the first one to hear it
That glorious heart throbbing THUD
Both of us working the tarp
We rolled our jolly friend up

Wondering if we'd made a mistake
As sirens and flood lights filled the night
For regrets sake it's much to late
In our rear view the Memphis sky line

The moment we pulled into the drive
There was a great sigh of relief
A job that was well done
The King smiles from the back seat

Can anyone actually blame us
Or even call it a crime
When my Granny just wanted to see Elvis
One last time before she died

Arghhh!!!

Why does poetry have such a hold on me
I'm so rhyme blind, that's all I can see
I spend most days down on my knees
Hoping against hope for some relief

Arghhh!!!

My sanity is quickly moving deep South
This taxi of poetry won't let me out
As the meter is turning like a crazed spinning wheel
I'm not sure anymore how I should feel

Arghhh!!!

Is there a doctor in the house
Or at least someone who could help me out
Put me to pasture where I can be free
Instead of inside shackled to this poetry

Who would have known who would have guessed
That you'd say no and I'd say yes
When all we do is argue all the time

I bring with me my best of game
Which is kind of feeble and kind of lame
But it's the only game that I can find

If either shows that they are weak
The other jumps in with both feet
With claws extended looking for the ****

Would I do that...yes I would
Would you do that...if you could
Enjoying all along the cheap thrill

We come to this party all prepared
Hoping that the other is unaware
Of the dangers that lurk around the bend

You smile at me with the greatest ease
I smile back with sharpened teeth
Knowing where we're going and where we've been

Have you ever stopped to wonder why
We always fuss we always fight
Isn't it time we put this to an end

And since I know the way you are
You should be the one to start
Cause your the one that started it in the beginning

it started out an argument
where neither side knew what they meant
with faces red, they had a fit
which only helped in screaming it

both sides saw the other wrong
in word and deed is what they thought
with ears that fume and eyes that cross
they state their case at any cost

no show of hands in reasoning
not sure exactly what they mean
in what they're told not what they see
just tap your feet to the lemming beat

an argument no one can win
when neither side is giving in
which leaves us this predicament
to live in love to love and live
to stem the tide of the argument

Around the charcoal fire
We deny that we know Christ
Warming up to this world
Finding it's all steeped in lies

We do it out of fear
A faith that's laid to waste
Grinding of the sinful gears
Where would we be without God's grace

The chill that's in the air
A bitter cold that crushes bones
Before the rooster crows
We'll deny we even know

The one who gives true life
Who took on himself our shame
This battle fought, a gift from God
Sacrificed in our place

All whilst we warm ourselves
On this our funeral pyre
Hands held out to the heat of guilt
Around the charcoal fire

Sitting around the charcoal fire
The Savior calls us in
Three long days in the grave
Forgiveness for our sins

A fresh start for humbled hearts
Escape from the past
Throughout the generations
A promise God has kept

Asking, do you love me
Then please feed my sheep
Give a hand to those you can
In doing so, you do for me

This turning of the tables
Turning of the tide
Fill the warmth that gives us hope
When in the Spirit we reside

As the sins of our transgressions
Are removed from our lives
Forgiveness we are left with
Sitting around the charcoal fire

Poetry pulls me over
With screaming siren and blue lights
Knocks me to my knees slaps the cuffs on me
Forcing me into rhyme

Why can't it mind its own business
And stop giving me such a hard time
Leave me alone to do other things that I want
I ask you, is that really a crime

Behind bars, hard labor forced
Pen and paper in hand
Writing off my time in this do it or die
All at the judges demand

Guess they have me a poetry thief with a need
Serving time between the lines
Of this poetry that has control over me
With its insatiable need to rhyme

Here in this life doing hard time...

if i was a baby

just popping out

i'd think that maybe

i'd have my doubts

about where i'm going

not where i'd been

if i was a baby

new to this scene

i would think maybe

this is all a bad dream

all the fussing and fighting

and goings on

if i was a baby

new to this world

She is just an arsonist
Setting hearts on fire
Strike a match to her latest catch
Ash deep in desire

She is just an arsonist
Fanning hot the flames
Adding twigs in the shape of men
Burning each of them

She is just an arsonist
Destruction in her wake
Trial by fire burns hotter
If you're caught up in her blaze

I'm having the hardest time
Trying to find something that rhymes
With Paul Simon's counterpart
Garfunkel so I'll just call him Art

Always standing to Paul's right
Feeling left out in his life of strife
Struggling in the crossing over
This bridge of his troubled waters

Although he can sing sweet as sin
There's nowhere for Art to put his hands

While Rhyming Simon strums his guitar
Empty are the tinder hands of Art
Pockets front and pockets back
Are his only plan of attack

If he had known it'd go down this way
An instrument he would have learned to play
But as far as history goes
Who wouldn't love to have his voice

Although he can sing sweet as sin
Art Garfunkel has nowhere to put his hands

We must be living in the future
As far as the future goes
The beginning of the end
Of all that we have ever known

All of the past memories
We crammed in our heads
If it were up to me
I believe we should have kept

Instead of this Artificial Intelligence

We shot ourselves in the foot
Instead of for the moon
Not sure why we hired these cooks
Spinning crazy spoons

If we keep this madness up
There won't be much of nothing left
We've learned to trust the science
Just not the scientists

And their Artificial Intelligence

Break the beaker Brandon
We'll take it from here
Changing definitions
Won't make it any clearer

They keep on pushing buttons
Hoping for the best
Hold tight to your muffins
They're cooking up a mess

With this Artificial Intelligence

i lost touch with my beginnings
    somewhere between the here and then
       do i miss it that much
           i'm not quite sure because
              that part is still left to be seen
                   i could drop you a line
                      from above dizzy heights
                in the shadow of the moon
           you can share what you like
        whether it's wrong or it's right
    either way we're bound to lose
         you can call me a visionary
              i'd rather you call me a cab
                 i need a ride
                     from the dead end of life
                           into what ever it is that is left

I had a series of dreams last night
All involving you
Holding hands on the beach the other in flight
Out beyond the blue

Dancing away until the break of dawn
Both light on our feet
Me turning to you giving my all
You giving everything to me

Alone on an island gazing at stars
You and I side by side
My love for you flowing wherever we are
In dreams or in real life

I often wonder on this side of the dream
If perhaps they do come true
I had a series of dreams last night
All involving you