#bass
I sit next to this girl
who plays the bass
like it owes her something,
head hung low
with chipped black fingernails
and untamed curls
that unfurl around her face.
I hear iron maiden playing
through her headphones
as she taps her fingers
to the beat.
She never seems to smile,
though she has the most beautiful
kohl rimmed brown eyes.
But back home,
she smiles at her little brother
and spins him around.
She takes song requests
on little sheets of paper
from sticky hands,
and she’ll play them all
just for him.
She writes him stories of
heroes and hope,
then tucks him in tight,
and disappears to her room
where she’ll write all night,
the things
she’ll never
say out loud.
May 21, 2025
May 21, 2025 at 11:20 AM UTC
Bass and bourbon notes
Flutter down through my system
And I taste the sound.
Dec 15, 2022
Dec 15, 2022 at 11:19 PM UTC
And you could have given us this and that
but you were in the throes of some spaz attack
Spiral down
your spires of blame
and you end up forgetting all the innocent
in their small existence
Influenced by their helixes
and culture, the temperature
and more than we can comprehend
Forgive yourself first and
you'll stop being such a ******** to all the rest
The malaise of the mayonnaise
Lives of all these unwitting folks
Jan 15, 2022
Jan 15, 2022 at 10:37 AM UTC
I can't believe that life is life.
I can't believe we are allowed to dive into this world where we live.
I can't believe I can take a breath every day and come out swinging.
I can't believe that in the future I might capture someone's heart.
I can't believe that one day I will be able to cuddle in close.
I can't believe that one day a touch, a shiver, a model of heavenly love will be next to me.
I can't believe that I am allowed to write about this, that my hands are free to practice their dexterity.
One day I will use them to their full potential.
I can't believe that today is not that day.
My arms will one day reach out for a hand.
A hand to dance close to.
Feeling the movement of the music and using her heart as the beat.
Cheeks slightly flushed from the moment, skin soft to the touch.
A warmth overtaking my body in the knowledge of the present event at hand.
I can't believe that today is not that day.
Lips that slightly part.
An approach going ninety and hoping they receive you and go the other ten.
Lips slightly apart.
Hearts beating a little bit faster, goosebumps cascading over limbs.
Lips slightly apart, waiting for this to be our last first kiss.
I can't believe that day is not today.
Walks hand in hand, listening to the music that we both agreed upon.
Walks hand in hand arguing over what music will be played.
Walking hand in hand making decisions together, making them with Heaven on the mind.
Walking hand in hand in the dark torment of my soul, letting her know I am inside of my head more often than not.
I can't believe that today is not that day.
I can't believe that life is life.
I can't believe we are allowed to dive into this world where we live.
I can't believe I can take a breath every day and come out swinging.
I can't believe that in the future, I might capture someone's heart.
First encounter, movement, bass lines, and drums.
A string quartet for the cheesy one.
Rhythm sections and complimentary instrumentation just going with the flow.
For the mistakes of live music is what makes it beautiful.
And girl when I find you it is going to be beautiful.
Making music and making love.
Tracking the guitars across your abs.
Drinking coffee too late at night.
Sharing the thoughts I'm too scared to tell anyone except for God.
I can judge too much.
I can be set in my ways, and change is hard for me.
I'm going to make you crazy, my anxiety is going to get in the way.
But I can't believe that one day you will be there to handle me.
And I will be there for you.
Video games, and board games.
Movies, music, and tv too.
Reading books together and apart.
Being with friends and enjoying the moments apart.
Coming back together to keep moving past the start.
I can't believe I'm entertaining these thoughts.
I can't believe I'm allowed to doubt.
I really can't believe that I'm allowed to believe.
To believe in love, *** and dreams.
To believe in warmth, security, and truth.
To believe in all the things that make me, me.
I can't believe that life is life.
I can't believe we are allowed to dive into this world where we live.
I can't believe I can take a breath every day and come out swinging.
I can't believe that in the future, I might capture someone's heart.
I can't believe that one day I will be able to cuddle in close.
I can't believe that one day a touch, a shiver, a model of heavenly love will be next to me.
I can't believe that I am allowed to write about this, that my hands are free to practice their dexterity.
One day I will use them to their full potential.
I can't believe that today is not that day.
Jul 29, 2020
Jul 29, 2020 at 7:51 PM UTC
the calm synth exhales.
i close my eyes as the rumble of the wheels turn.
palms face up on my lap, i pray.
señor, cuídame en este viaje.
estás conmigo.
inhala; exhala.
my stomach dips with the beat,
the bass picks up & so do we,
right on cue in perfect harmony.
i’m not scared of flying.
i found a peace in that moment
where the song, the sky & my soul
snapped into sync so smoothly
that i sighed in serenity.
i’m not scared of flying,
but sometimes of where i’m going,
& of what lies ahead.
but let me have this moment,
where daniel & kali
soar through the clouds with me,
where everything seems to click.
let me breathe,
despite the lack of oxygen outside.
& save a seat for Him.
~ pilot of life, perfect attendant & guiding wind.
Jul 10, 2019
Jul 10, 2019 at 1:58 PM UTC
_Spin me some velvet,
Scuff me over with gravel,
Pick me some bluesy strings;
Tie me a bunch of wildflower quavers,
Let’s hear how your phoney sax sings.
Dip me in treacle,
Needle me with soul,
Groove me some dirt and some bass;
Blow me your ***** devil’s pipe strong,
Let’s play us some bourbon and lace.
Spin me some velvet,
Scuff me over with gravel,
Lay me down in meadowsong;
Rent me a dime’s worth of old dust and daydreams,
Honey chil’, you cain’t do me no wrong._
Jul 3, 2019
Jul 3, 2019 at 9:13 PM UTC
Took a break from work,
Decide to write a poem
And I thought of you...
In blankets,
LOoking for a song,
You're living in a fascinating world
Where the languages are different
But the people are selfish and
Lost at sea
Torn apart at the seams
The poem's page is torn into pieces
The message is still on the phone
As a text
I have 12 minutes
Before I take you to pieces
Look at your ashes
They all burn to seamless
Floating on the breeze
Dusty windows at the yellow dawn
Of green day
Of Dookie's release
Jan 4, 2019
Jan 4, 2019 at 7:50 AM UTC
When I pick you up (my bassy bassy bass)
I feel my thoughts pour into your neck
And by the time I've finished laying you in my lap
You and I have become so synonymous.
If I'm feeling a little glad, the notes come with ease
As my thumb lets loose and does whatever to please
If I'm feeling a little sad, the notes quiet down
And try to uplift my darkened deep frown
I never once stopped feeling dry as a bone
And I never once stopped to respond on my phone
Cause you give me what I want so good and well
A world without you would undeniably be hell
A guitar is quite nice with its bright merry ring
And it sure is easier to hum along and sing
But the low fat sound of the bass is a thrill
And I never quite have enough of a satisfying fill.
Sep 20, 2018
Sep 20, 2018 at 1:01 AM UTC
Piano trilling
Drums thrilling
Bass pumps straight through your heart
Guitar screams,
Keys dream,
Vocals piercing like a dart—
Mist shifts
Mood lifts
Hot chills electric down your spine
Crowd yells
Colors swell
Lift your hands, lose your sense of time...
Aug 25, 2018
Aug 25, 2018 at 7:04 PM UTC
You are the poetry I wish I could write
Every feeling I get around you
Every word of yours I absorb
Every stare I wish I could immortalize
You are the poem I read over and over in my head
The one I wish was mine
Your words are like luscious braeburn apples
Sweet and transcendent
You are the very definition of oenomel
Combining strength with sweetness
Even when you are far away I feel your presence near me
I feel your gaze, your love, your heart
I can hear the beat as if you were right next to me
Like the heavy bass of a metal song it hits every note
Lulls me into tranquility
You are the reason I love to write
You challenge me to describe how I feel
Even when none of these words feel just right
How can I explain the feeling of your eyes, your smile
How can I define the connection I feel
With such a limited word bank
How could I possibly explain why you feel like poetry to me
Why your words are like a braeburn apple
And why your heartbeat is like the bass of a metal song?
If I could I would illuminate you with more light than this world could possibly contain
You'd be brighter than the sun and all the other stars
Perhaps that would help you understand
Just one drop from my sea of love for you
Jul 24, 2018
Jul 24, 2018 at 1:36 AM UTC
Start the happy synth
Cue the steady drum
Come in with the sly bass
Whistle the hipster hum
Move your feet to match pace
Dance with me now love
A chemical swirl got us moving
A chemical swirl will put us to sleep
But for now, while night is looming
Don’t stop moving those feet.
Jul 1, 2018
Jul 1, 2018 at 1:33 PM UTC
My bass guitar & I
It's a weird relationship I know,
See, I can slap her, but all she does is sing.
See, I can pull her strings, but she sets the rhythm.
See, I can run my fingers down her neck and she moans so ****
It's a weird relationship I know,
But **** do I love it,
How we intertwine in the heat of the moment,
To create a song you can feel in your chest.
How we play with each other, until we reach our peak.
And slowly fade away with one last grunt.
May 11, 2017
May 11, 2017 at 10:30 AM UTC
The Dream Stream
I transfer the rods energy from slack to a hell bent back cast stroke,
The line straightens, teeth clenched…..I push the casting arc forward.
My delivery is spot on, dead drift fly traveling the same pace as the current,
The trout’s jumping rise brings on a grin and the caddis hatch is on.
I look up stream and catch a glimmer of another heavy hatch of Caddis,
Grandpa’s eyes search for mine and finding them he flashes a toothy smile.
“Having Fun?"He shouts….I nod my head emphatically and give him a thumbs up.
And we keep it going until darkness prevails and the hatch finds sanctuary.
We walk and talk all the way home and I can’t remember a better time.
And now I have the honor of teaching my own son this gift.
Generation after generation it’s our duty to pass down our experience & know-how to the next.
And just before I close my eyes tonight, I recall this quote…
“It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons”. F. Schiller
- K.E. Carman 2016
Dec 30, 2016
Dec 30, 2016 at 5:38 PM UTC
Keep hold on the standing bass
and *** *** ba-dum us to a slow dance,
because the two step’s too quick
and I want to hear some sad trumpet improv;
The perfect impression of us in love.
It’s too humid here,
I can see sweat race down well-worn wrinkles
eroded into Ms. Carla from 30 years of cabaret.
She sways on the microphone,
while her deep voice hangs in the air,
fragrant, and ready to stifle the pairs
mixing love and lust beneath her stage
They move,
sweaty and close,
***** and dark,
familiar-passionate
slow,
but furious.
Another evening of Jazz and ***
So this night passes,
a melody in my head
leading a world within my arms
as we rock,
ba-ba-ba-dummed by the bass.
Nov 17, 2016
Nov 17, 2016 at 9:35 PM UTC
Lost in the ways of sound waves
Swimming in the tone of the loud bass
Hoping I can make this home
Let my home be a soundscape
Let my thoughts drift off,
my mind is infinite
When I think of this, I think of things
That are intimate, increments, sentences
No I'm not sexually speaking
Art is inside of my soul,
from the outside it is reaching
Oct 19, 2016
Oct 19, 2016 at 12:59 PM UTC
A rush, a thrill
Heart won't chill
Exhilarating
Mind debating
Should I stop or should I go?
Drop it high or drop it low?
Bass from lips to hit the floor
Reacting well, they want some more
I box the beats, I beat the box
Some say I **** others I rock
I really really give no f_cks
I'll keep on going, I can't stop
Aug 17, 2016
Aug 17, 2016 at 7:16 AM UTC
thrumming bass pumps into my body
an electric pulse, thumping through my bones,
zapping my veins and frying my nerves
creating static as the golden drops pour into my ears
hair flying around my head in a wreath of hell
the speakers sing
*I'm ****** up, I'm black and blue. I'm built for all the abuse. got secrets that nobody knows. I'm good on that ***** **** I dont want what I can get. I want someone with secrets that nobody knows. I need a gangsta, to love me better, than all the others do...*
a tech hum fills my body
bodys sliding in tune with the tempo
hands run on hands run on back and thighs
the song croons with delectable bass
got me up so im barely breathing...
fingers trace my neckline and I bend with the notes
eyes closed hands clasped swirling in a mob of people,
all surging with the beat
the energy is high, and seeping in through my skin
i drink it all in
Aug 13, 2016
Aug 13, 2016 at 11:56 AM UTC
the second we take the stage
an undeniable unspoken bond
is created by our passion
to lead, love, worship
in the presence of our savior
with the fellowship of believers;
the second we take our corner
a thrilling thriving bond
is created as he starts the click
to play, sing, worship
in uncontainable joy
without a care in the world;
the second the music takes us
a dependent determined bond
is built on complete trust
to know where he’s going before he arrives
in spontaneous moments following his every lead
without a sense of worry or fear;
though it’s never brought to light
what we have is real,
we have a musical chemistry
that could never exist off stage;
and it is marvelous.
Jul 20, 2016
Jul 20, 2016 at 1:06 PM UTC
Can we jam, brothers and sisters?
Dare we meet at the impalpable chat room
that exists beyond our third heaven?
Dare we to speak in tongues and timbres,
our skin taut across hollow shells,
our veins strung across cadaverous bodies?
I'll grab my drumsticks if you grab the guitars,
and there's somebody on the bongos
slappin' the skins with zealous fervor--
where my tambourine girls at?
Don't worry, I haven't forgotten our forlorn hero
sitting behind the keyboards--
Tickle me those ivories with pious hands and aching fingers,
shake em down sweet Jerry Lee!
And so we begin--
I lay down the drum beat that bops heads and scatters feet,
and the bassman always on top of things
slaps and slides and skips and sizzles
hot diggity dog!
I hear that sweet guitar scream and moan,
praying for death under hazy lights
and we all coast with eyes rolled back into our skulls
and torpid lips drooped open over slack jaws.
Not a word is said from a human voice,
we speak through hands and feet,
basking in colors eking from every kick drum stomp
and the desperate wail bleeding from amplifiers.
Feedback sings and screams, fighting the silence we taunt
and hold at bay.
Around every corner the colors trail
coursing through our vesselious bodies
propelled along the dizzying venture.
We somehow spot every pothole and take detours,
embarking down backroads and backalleys--
We can turn the wheel,
but don't think for a moment we know where it's going.
And the mirror's have all vanished,
we know not from where we came.
Someone shouts from the discovery
as we exit a phrase to enter serendipity,
toying with destiny, clay in our hands,
stretching out the ****** perennially--
We laugh as the gods try to remind us we are Man.
And the screams and the moans
sensing the ****** is getting close
so there's a crescendo I ramp up the tempo
ahhhhhhhHHHhhhHhHhHhHHHHHhhhETERNITY IS NOW AND WE HOLD THE KEY TO HEAVENS GATES AND TIME STANDS STILL AT HIGH NOON IN THE TOWN'S SQUARE WHERE TRIGGER FINGERS TREMOR AND WE SPEAK TO GOD ON HIS PRIVATE CHANNEL COMING THROUGH WORN SPEAKERS CELESTIAL CREATURES IT WOULD BE SACRILEGE IF WE WEREN'T SUDDENLY SO HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY HOLY
So I say again, brothers and sisters,
can we jam?
SO I SAY AGAIN, BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
CAN WE JAM?
SO I SAY AGAIN, BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
CAN WE JAM?
So I say again,
brothers and sisters,
can we jam?
Jul 10, 2016
Jul 10, 2016 at 12:39 AM UTC
Shaking hands
stuttering speech
nervousness takes over me
bass in hand
I take the stage
no other option
I must stay
I steady my hands
and try not to speak
controlling my mind
bass in hand
on the stage
no other option
I must stay
can't turn back now
must look away
calm myself
bass in hand
now center stage
no other option
I must play
Apr 18, 2016
Apr 18, 2016 at 1:52 PM UTC