father punched him lightly in
the shoulder
and said, "Hey, keep that chin up, buddy.
Just know that a time
will come when life'll smile at us."

Sure, he'd been saying that
since forever. That was the earliest
and most common memory of him

Grinning from ear to ear
and saying that a day will come when life'll
smile upon them

But until that day
they'll have to sit in the town square
and play their cheap instruments
for passersby to drop money in their box

Keep that chin up…

Oh, father. You can't play the
violin holding your chin up
And life won't smile if you keep playing
it sad songs

-

lying on a closet floor
that stretches for over
two decades—

memories

messages, pictures and songs
from back in the day stored
inaccessibly in a rusting box
that has not functioned in years

and next to it, a laptop with a
deployed CD tray sits sideways
partially draped by a sheet

these machines may have
shared stories once,
but its doubtful they really
knew each other

—

miles away in a nursing home
a petrified brain rests in some
kind of medicated peace

while another lays quietly on his
side under a blanket watching
for the other one's last breath

hearing kids just outside
laughing into their devices —

he hopes for a chance to take
his last spin on –anyone's–
old record player...



s jones
2021

.

no shinning light

ambulances and cop cars and nightmares
concrete and ashes 

streets too dead for dreaming

the abandon buildings
like tombstones waiting


as night edges prison walls
in the vanishing landscape

we were kings of the neon sky


and when the bars close
through puddles of lost tomorrows
running every red light
on main street

in a sun turned black as night


we were the kings of the neon sky

I just wanted to say I love you before
I'm not forty-four anymore
Cause 44 = 2 x 22
And those numbers mean you

Be careful
I forgot to mention
my heart
is proximity-activated

Golden sun

When you come up and say hello
the whole world gets this glow
Reflected in so many things
Flowers in full bloom opening
Trees
Green leaves , oxygen
Blessings of the light
Gratitude for precious life.
In twilight zone you meet the moon
The one you love so much
A lingering love forever
It’s a deep gaze and  see you soon
Then you say goodbye
close your eyes and go to sleep
My sweet sun of paradise
Constant love of life.



Shell✨🐚