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Timothy Ward Sep 2016
say what you mean
mean what you say
a simple truth
a child can weigh
spare yourself words
and "emotional" spin
for when you rationalize
your ego's kicked in
Integrity
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
We wish we knew you Mr Brown
The lights glow dim in Poets Town
We stand beside Magnolia trees
And pray your soul is fancy free

I read your verse with teary eyes
And hope that I can be as wise
You were a gentle soul of song
The joy you brought is just as strong

I'm glad your verse you did not brave
Upon Magnolias to engrave
Your words of wit are safe with me
For Poets Town is your tree!

Unlike the old Magnolia tree
Poets Town is full of spree
She was a fool to lose your crown
But we'll always love you Mr. Brown!
RIP Mr Louis Brown. I'm new here and mean no disrespect to him, but simply trying to honor a very creative spirit!
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
Only the orphaned
Crave family
Only the violated
Crave shelter
Only the insecure
Crave validation
Only the dying
Crave life
Only the the embattled
Crave peace
This has potential for misunderstanding! I only speak personally of a craving for, not the appreciation of... !
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
o palmyra
lonely sentinel
to know you
was to love you
your silken threads
were spiced with gold
we trade today in
hate twice sold
faith in the
Almighty's trust
and now you are but
dust to dust
As an architecture student it broke my heart to see ISIS destroy the Greco-Roman city of Palmyra which sat on the crossroads of the Silk Road for centuries! Cultural infantilism!
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
the sun is out
the beaches dry
my heart worn out
no tears to cry
with aching heart
and open arms
we drift apart
pacific calm
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
every now and then
an ocean wave pauses and smiles
to watch us kiss
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
Rancid emollients
Abrasive salves
Crocodile tears
Insipid passion
Contrived emotions
Spare me your
Hollow empty
Sin mongering
Religious rectitude
And make your
Living like we do
Earn it!
I am so tired and disgusted with grown men of "the cloth" playing moral arbitrators in our lives, while preying upon the innocent. The hypocrisy is despicable, and I have personal experience, so spare me your defense of the Holy Sea and its factions! If there was no God and no church would you all of a sudden have no sense of moral turpitude? What utter nonsense!
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
pyramids            crumble
one again with the desert
scattered   to   the   winds
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust
Timothy Ward Feb 2016
sand pipers darting
hopping over ebbs and flows
picnic at the beach
The sand pipers are a metaphor for mankind, the ebbs and flows the vagaries of life, or ones emotional well being, the last line suggests we enjoy the here and now much as the sand piper does on his inter tidal meal! :) I realize haikus should not be explained... but on another site I always had ppl asking me what I meant. Let me know if you would like me to abjure!
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
I try to be poetic
This is hardly a gift
It's linguistic aesthetics
For emotional rifts

Humble are the poets
Who write with such skill
For they foster heroics
And cry with ther quills
Timothy Ward Oct 2016
fear not radicals
as we break bread together
we hunger as one
It is difficult to spill the blood of someone you have shared a meal
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
sheets of rain pour down
cleansing the city again
i splash about town
Nothing like a good splish splash of puddle jumping in the rain to take one back to the fun of childhood :))
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
A child is well fed
A mother is tucked in bed
It was a good day
A mother dotes over her child who in turn takes care of her. Unconditional love.
Timothy Ward Sep 2017
Louis Brown Jan 2011

The Old Magnolia Tree

Beneath the old magnolia tree
I used to hold you close to me
And there I carved upon that tree
That I loved you and you loved me

Beneath the white magnolia blooms
You cast a spell with your perfume
I believed those wooden words were true
Ingrained in hearts of me and you

But time wears out what boys engrave
Nothing's left of the love you gave
Except that old magnolia scar....
I wish our love had come so far

Yeah, I wish those words were still on track
Cause every spring I dream me back
To tender lips and sweet perfume
Beneath the white magnolia blooms

But time wears out what boys engrave
Nothing's left of the love you gave
Except that old magnolia tree
Reminding me.....reminding me......
Copyright Louis Brown
------

This was a poem I wrote to honor Mr Brown whom I sadly never got to know but was a brilliant poet on HP!
Miss his verse...

Ode To Mr. Louis Brown

We wish we knew you Mr Brown

The lights glow dim in Poetry Town

We stand beside Magnolia trees

And pray your soul is fancy free



I read your verse with teary eyes

And hope that I can be as wise

You were a gentle soul of song

The joy you brought is just as strong 



I'm glad your verse you did not brave
Upon Magnolias to engrave

Your words of wit are safe with me

For Poetry Town is your tree!



Unlike that old Magnolia tree

Poetry Town is full of spree

She was a fool to lose your crown

But we'll always love you Mr. Brown!
Mr Louis Brown has a phenomenal body of work on HP and plz visit his collection if you're searching for poets to read. He has great meter verse and rhyme in his poetry given that he was an accomplished songwriter as well.
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
goose bumps
and chills
my skin
tingles
with
excitement
as i'm
consumed
by you
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
we set out
expeditiously
climbing quizzical
stony faces
grasping
slithering
clambering
to the top
we lay down
spent
you have breathed
sweet life again
past parched
unloved lips
into an empty soul
craving
simply
to be quenched
I finally met someone for the very first time as a 21 yo! Mountains of barriers - internal n external - keep coming up but we keep climbing over each Khyber Pass together :)
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
empty is the room
where silence bellows loudly
sacred is this space
Dedicated to all spaces physical and temporal.
Timothy Ward Oct 2016
Dysfunctional families
Gather together
In crises
Like fallen leaves
At the base
Of the family tree
In a hurricane
The constant churning
Charades
Keeping up appearances
Wasting
Precious resources
Lives
Cast to the
Wind
As Hurricane Matthew barrels down on Florida I was thinking of how some of us will come together while others ...
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
a world
sans war
a world
sans hunger
a world
sans pollution
a world
sans corruption
a world
sans man
a world
at peace
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
must our words
cause so much pain
must our words
cause so much shame
must our words
so much abrade
must our words
so much degrade
watch our words
our words we must
It's a poem dedicated to all who ostracize and marginalize those whom they judge "unworthy"! In my case it was my parents, friends family at various points for being gay. Let's not hurt those we don't understand - try empathy! ; )
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
he came as promised
he returned disappointed
a sh

              a        t

                      t
           ­                         e           r

                                     e                   d
                                                               ­           image
Last line: a shattered image
Timothy Ward Sep 2017
I dread each eve so filled with grief
A heart benumbed in disbelief
I rant, I rave, I cry, I pray
Why does my angel so betray?

In bed I stare awake all night
Frigid fear, orphaned plight
I pinch and zoom and try to clutch
To reconnect - one last touch!

I'm haunted by that blessed call
When you hit the dreaded "wall"
I pray you're on the other side
Free of pain, strength in stride

Another morn, another fright
Sleep escapes, emotional blight
O Mom, I hope you hear my plea
From my demons set me free!
6 months after my moms passing what continues to haunt me is the decision I had to make to stop the meds when mom slipped beyond the point of no return. No child - of any age - should have to make that decision. The docs force family to decide WHEN. And I had to sign off. I am haunted by signing off on my moms final departure!!! I ask her forgiveness- she was too weak for us to discuss it prior to this happening- she declined very very quickly. It's terrible and I talk to her every day but all I get is silence. I hope she understands n I hope I did right by her.
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
let's share loneliness
an insatiable hunger
and an empty plate
5-7-5
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
the winds relentless
asserting their right of way
man cowers for peace
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
my voices
are the
demons
who
clip my wings
each time
i learn
to
fly
Timothy Ward Oct 2017
A child is weeping
An urn is filled with ashes
The sea gulls silent
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
we're bare
we're naked
scratched
and torn
our tongues
still sharp
rip at our
souls
where do we go...
so full on empty
where do we go...
so full on empty
The poet's path is a lonely torturous introspective pilgrimage into the depths of the divine and the demonic.
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
Waves are not
measured
in feet and inches
they are
measured in
increments
of
FEAR
Timothy Ward Oct 2016
I am
Grateful
For the gifts
We shared
Of ourselves
With each other
I shall
Choose
To remember
Only
The sweetest
Of memories
Now
...and I begin the painful process of closing a chapter on someone who walked out on me then wanted to walk back in again. I was angry briefly but now I'm just disappointed- clearly age does not equal maturity for some!
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
a beautiful child
beaten
grows up
a broken adult
looking for love
in all
the wrong places
still scared
still shaking
ceaselessly filling
an empty
void
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
an ant stops to see
as mankind destroys itself
sans humanity
Timothy Ward Oct 2016
A poet struggles
While mockingbirds entertain
The forest echoes
Man v Nature The struggle continues unabated.
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
shattered
pieces of memories
tattered
emotions wailing
silently
as i patch and stitch
and sew
my present
a blanket of scars
Ever healing one breath at a time mostly!
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
it landed
delicately
retracting
its wings slowly
i grabbed
a puff of yellow
pigment
then
quiet stillness
i had just
caught
myself again
Read a great book - most of which went over my head - Godel, Escher, Bach by Hofstadter. This is a attempt at a poetic representation of an Escher infinite loop geometries!
Timothy Ward Oct 2016
You embrace
Fears
But shun
Your gay son

You embrace
Life
But not
My "lifestyle"

You embrace
Publicly
But loathe
Me privately

I embrace
Your ignorance
But spurn
Your rejection
Coming out is a mixed bag for everyone. My parents were jerks about it to put it mildly. I'm over them and the process and hope others see that life is too **** short to worry about eyes, skin, weight, height or sexuality. Only the judgementally religious, deeply insecure and the salaciosly gossipy seem preoccupied with the sexuality of others! Get over yourselves! ;)
Timothy Ward Oct 2016
shallow people
seemingly unaware
reviled most
by themselves
deceitful reflectors
loathsome lonesome
interlocutors
lurking
in their own
shadows
devouring affection
utterly incapable
of reciprocity
Every now and then I bump into this type who charm the pants off me - well not quite! - and I have to ask myself to slow the f down Timmy! These are the "shape shifters" who seem to have an uncanny ability to find my tender spots and tap them to their own advantage- if only for the sake of stoking their ego or whatever bizarre agenda they might have. I don't try to figure them out - but time exposes them if they are genuine or not.
Timothy Ward Oct 2017
i cannot
stay stuck
when time froze
at 7:07
as my world
came crashing
down and
tear-filled icicles
pierced this
pincushion
heart...
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
O cast a glance so I may know
As I do bear fair Cupid's bow
My quills I aim right at your soul
I quiver tremble lose control
O cast a glance so I may know
O cast a glance so I may know
O cast a glance so I may know
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
I want to kiss you
Slowly tenderly
All over your lips
I want to kiss you
Gently gingerly
Down to your hips
I want to kiss you
Smoothly softly
Up to the tip
I want to kiss you
Kiss you kiss you
Kiss kiss kiss you
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
i watch
i shield
my candle
she flickers
she glows
she melts
away
slowly melting
my heart
i watch
i shield
my candle
my mother's
long goodbye
Wrote this for a friend whose father passed recently and whose mother is now down with AD. I've seen him transform into a serious adult with all the burdens of responsibility and the toll of emotions. AD - Alzheimer's Disease- hope they find a cure soon!
Timothy Ward Sep 2017
and as i
look deep
into your eyes
i see cruel
expanses of
emptiness and
insecurity and
self
deprivation
i see
me
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
winds    blow    ceaselessly
waters rush down rivulets
a      mountain     crumbles
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
orphaned by the night
your tender whispers silent
a tear soaked pillow
Timothy Ward Sep 2017
On Pismo Beach
Beside the sea
That autumn eve
You held me free
Etched in my heart
The lovers plea
That I love you
And you love me.

Redwoods lurch
Our seagulls sigh
We kick at waves
Throats run dry
In vain I search
Into your eyes
The tide recedes...
We say goodbye
Timothy Ward Aug 2017
The loss of you
Is a grain of sharp sand
Embedded in my heart
It hurts with every move
Every tortured breath
But I know
That if I can only hold up
Long enough
The time
And the pain
And the living
That flows over it
Will form a thin,
Smooth, gleaming layer
Around this tiny fragment
And then
It will not hurt
Quite so much.

More time
More friends
More living  and
Less thinking  
Will add coat
After coat
After coat,
And one day
Some day
It will form
Into a pearl.

And then
I'll hardly feel it at all!

That little
Sharp...
... grain of sand.
Timothy Ward Sep 2017
Oh for the skill of the poet's pen
That I might stir the souls of men
If only to an introspection
Pensive moments of reflection
For in such moments man is real
He can allow himself to feel
To listen, love, to shed a tear
To cry aloud, though all may hear

Pray why is it then
That men, "true men"
May never share
Their love, their sorrow, their despair
Is this the world thus juxtaposed
Where love and sorrow are so loathed
Or might have earth 'tween night and day
Begun to spin the other way?

No fates, nor stars are there to blame
Nor must man's fate remain the same
Pray heed the word the poet tells
In lofty verse he shall reveal
To all who have but ears to hear
To all who would but shed a tear
Oh for the skill of a poet's pen
That I might stir the souls of men...
Co-writing this with my friend abe who is not a member of HP yet. I'm helping with some additional lines and tightening it up - it started as blank verse with some a/a rhyme scheme I'm places. It's a work in progress. Abe is a singer so he sees this as a folk song - he's from Hawaii- so it's Hawaiian island music in his head! :)
Timothy Ward Sep 2016
watch wave after wave
splashing the faces of rocks
glisteningly clean
My favorite pastime at  Pismo beach when life and thoughts get overwhelming
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
the sun will
kiss the earth
each day
and soon
these dashing lines
of youth
hard charcoal, pen and ink
dancing, arousing
the parchment
shall also fade
portraits ought to
be lived
not
preserved
This began as an exercise in Architecture Design class. We each had to do a self portrait and design a space for ourselves for the rest of our life! One space! Very introspective n mind altering exercise!
Timothy Ward Oct 2016
Choose your memories
Bestill your thoughts
Quiet your mind
From thoughtless thoughts
Been reading up on a great 20th century Indo American philosopher J Krishnamurthy from just down the road in Ojai California. Brilliant mind and simple man who was touching on neuro-biology and habit pattern formation as a theoretical construct in the 50's-70's before fMRI's could decipher this stuff! Check him out on YouTube - to my friends from India ... you have a hidden treasure!
Timothy Ward Jan 2016
you marched into my Jericho
blowing down my walls like Scirocco's
our world it seems is lost in time
our hearts abeat to thoughts sublime
our fears recede conflicts subside
we share a dream and dare confide
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