a lone figure
on a solitary beach.
me, pebbles, water and I.

then I tried the stage
me an actor, the thespian  
(Shakespearean, Greek tragedian
you know)
"Man and the arms I sing" - like that -
and so the director told me
I'd come on stage left,
a dramatic moment
amidst full sound effects
(and full house, of course)
and I would proclaim:
"O ye Gods, and O ye elements
and O ye thunder - rage on, rage on
for I fear not"

and I so galloped on stage
amidst full sound effects
(and full house, of course)
but I was confused by the sudden
and raging thunder above my head
and I proclaimed instead:
"What the **** was that?"


*And so ended my stage career
as it began
with a bang

I drown in a sea of sorrow
Dragging me down to follow
Never finding the words to speak
A cold crystal tear on my cheek

And the sea continues to flow
As it takes away my very soul
On the distant show of the land
He refuses to offer a helping hand

And I can hear him laughing at me
A laughter that leaves me now empty


I suffer the pains of knowing rejection
Never being one to be picked for sellection
I feel myself going under from the waves
Another unnamed victim in unmarked graves

And they watch as I float on the ebb tide of life
Trying to keep my head above the current of strife
They fail to throw me a life line to hold on to
Leaving me floating with not knowing what to do

And they are laughing at my own misery
They continue laughing for everyone to see

And when I had been long forgotten to the past
I came back to take my revenge at long last
For all of those who thought I had fallen from grace
I came back, and on them, I etched my own face

Like the phoenix of old, I arose from the ashes and was reborn
I proved that I could return, when they thought me gone
For every man and woman that had been cast aside
They joined the rebellion gathered at my side

To fight, with words, and take back that which was once ours
We battled to win, counting the days and the hours
For a better world, we were heard, they listened to our voices
For all of time, we took our options and took our choices

But still in the distance, I hear the laughter coming back tomorrow
I hear the laughter, that will drown us in a sea of sorrow






copyright Chris Smith 2010

Let's cover the walls,
In words we will never say,
Sheets we'll never sleep in,
Pictures never taken.
Let's be blind to what could of been.

i still try to remember
to take my boots off
at the door

my feet are wet
from walking in the rain

i leave laetoli footprints
on the pine floor
-like the first man

trying to walk upright
but can't seem to
get it straight

There's a lot of empty space
in a house
so full of quiet

wishing for thunder.

r ~ 9/5/14