"bennie" poems
first musical memory
playing Mary Poppins
over and over on my portable suitcase
phonograph
not convinced that
a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
went over to my friends house
to play Barbies
heard B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets
on her record player
began my life long
love of rock music
grew up attending a Southern Baptist church
if my faith continues to evolve in and out of specific creeds and dogmatic beliefs
right arm will never fail to involuntarily rise
towards the Heavens
whenever i hear
How Great Thou Art being sung
parents were in their late 30's
by the time i was born
was exposed to big band music
show tunes
mom's favorite
French operatic singer Edith Piaf
Riverview Elementary
in music class
taught how to do The Hustle and The Bus Stop
to disco records
got to bring in
on Fridays
love of guys with
long hair
blame
on the big hair
bands
the 80's
the 90's
such a kinship to the dark depressing sounds of grunge
believed Scott Weiland
Kurt Cobain and
Jerry Cantrell
plagiarized my thoughts
mad or need to clean
my house
the 2 often go
hand in hand
heavy/nu metal blaring
at maximum volume
Currently
am at a crossroads
need of direction
helps me to undergo the deep soul searching
inecessary
major life changes are required
give myself vehicular therapy,
driving around Wilson Lake
symphonic classical sounds from the radio
surprisingly
maybe not
blaring
maximum
volume
brainstorming
my options
to the
music
overheard
ppl say
they wished that
their life
came with
a soundtrack
Mine does.
May 30, 2015
May 30, 2015 at 6:07 AM UTC
He made the stairs up from the yard,
Without falling even once.
Entered the house with a feeble little
skip and a bound of renewed energy,
Wagging his long crooked tail,
wearing the shaggy faded yellow
coat of an aged Labrador.
Loose skin and bone where once firm
muscles shown.
Nearly blind and fully deaf he still managed
to grab up an unclaimed tennis ball from
off the floor. Tooth and gummed it a few times
then flopped down on his rug, exhausted and spent.
Sixteen summers and winters lived,
Loving companion, faithful friend,
Raising my grandsons to the ages of seven and ten,
Slept by their beds and protected them.
The mobile Vet has come, it's the needle not the gun.
I can not attend, too soft of heart,
I've buried too many canine friends.
My son is stoic, tending to what must be done,
But later alone, he will grieve and weep as I have done,
He is after all his father's son.
Rest in Peace Bennie you brought our family much joy.
Mar 10, 2015
Mar 10, 2015 at 5:04 PM UTC
Bennie in White House
helping the rich get richer
while poor quickly rot
Dec 17, 2015
Dec 17, 2015 at 4:22 PM UTC
When did the world drive you mad
You angel, caveman, protégé
Surrounded by cardboard and insensitivity
Who told you your worth was determined
By riding above your painted tires?
**** the mockingbirds
Stay in your beautiful garbage world
Surfs ablaze, ocean waves swallow the buildings
And Bennie brought the jets, gliding in armored cars
Did you open your tequila factory up there?
I'll make sure to ask the tour guide
Or get a road map, when I get there
(Your head met your hands in a way only you could understand)
Nov 19, 2011
Nov 19, 2011 at 7:41 PM UTC
Hippity hippity hobo hopped a train in mobo, whilst mobo and toe-do flowdoed down dits bitsy mountain. She-ha and he-haw hast rode bikes to sleetah where burritos were bandits and bandista's on barnyard fence. Smoky and choky were high on mangozee and tis they loved posies of the same tilling field. Geuber and Gruber maketh infants as scoopers whilst dust is their slooper,
Slippery dipsy dask.. . uncle tis and Mrs tas. Tadpole Bennie, neon jenny, Mike and shunny.. Bunnies of two..honey's of few. Crick-crackle pop the hobo didst hop, as I caught him, as he fell, he bumped his head and yelled...( Hobo forever)
As I smiled to his passions...
Jun 23, 2015
Jun 23, 2015 at 1:45 PM UTC
And it's still hard to believe it's been a year
even after a year has turned into a year and one month
And the burn that follows a tequila shot
is accompanied by your laugh
And coconut anything smells like you
And anytime any one of the many songs you loved plays
You are all I see
And I think about your eyelashes
when I put my makeup on
And red lipstick and polka dots
cannot be worn without remembering you on any other day
And lemon squares taste
like those good times
LOTR? The Beatles? Pink Floyd? Fleetwood Mac? Shakespeare? Hilary Duff?(only you would understand)
All enjoyed with you in mind
And everything that's awesome
has become a reminder
that you missed being our tequila queen on the first day;
that you never got to wear your cap and gown
and eat pancakes at 5 am;
never got to see eighteen
and put your well educated vote to use;
and you never got to stand to your full five feet and one inch
and say to the world
"Here I come."
And I guess the songbirds keep singing
with that blackbird
in the dead of night
But it's hard to hear
because we're all butchering Bennie and the Jets
at the top of our lungs
from atop someone's couch
Just like you'd have wanted,
just like you'd have done.
Aug 10, 2013
Aug 10, 2013 at 2:05 AM UTC
Piercing rays of Sunshine
Thawed the chill some
And I shed my black cashmere scarf
With subtle silver stripes,
A birthday gift from ma,
Dear departed,
Who loved God
And wanted to preach on Sundays
Like Jimmy Swaggart
Or Bennie Hin
She'd write checks
Of a thousand or more....
'For The Lord,' she'd say
'They are doing The Lord's work!'
And I smiled like the Saturday morning sun
Over Canarsie;
My tearful tide had crested on Friday at sorrow's peak;
And I stared at the clear blue heavens,
Scanning the clouds
For the smiling face of a new angel
Who loved God
And wanted to preach on Sundays
Like Jimmy Swaggart
Or Bennie Hin
My grieving eyes soon found
A solitary bird,
Wings askew and waving,
Dashing with childish glee
Through the skies above...
A whistling dove,
Or skylark,
Or perhaps the mariner's albatross;
Her work on earth was done...
'Twas time to fly...
In Paradise
~ P (#attf)
10/31/2013
Oct 31, 2013
Oct 31, 2013 at 11:41 AM UTC
Bennie said "We all have to die"
Jade said "Nobody ever dies"
Yahnie said "Death is but a dream"
Bennie said "In dreams we find death"
Jade asked "But do the dead ever dream?"
Yahnie said "Only if they forgot to live while they were alive"
Bennie said "We all have to die"
Jade said "We all live forever"
Yahnie said "I believe in believing"
Bennie asked "What is there to believe in?"
Jade said "The mystery of Forever"
Yahnie said "The words of the prophets"
Bennie said "I'm my only prophet"
Jade said "Now you understand"
Yahnie asked "What are we talking about?"
Bennie said "Death, 'cause we all have to die"
Jade said "Life, 'cause we all have to live"
Yahnie said "I think I've been caught dreaming too much again".
What?
Mar 20, 2014
Mar 20, 2014 at 4:49 PM UTC
For Dana
Woman
Sister
Mother
No matter the title or label
None fully define that which is
You
That which is
Dana
Studying your hands I’ve learned
all things are possible
even though you make them seem effortless
Studying your soul I’ve learned
true strength is limitless and unmatched
Studying your arms I’ve learned
true love is unconditional
Thank you Dana
for being the first woman in my life
Thank you Bennie
for being the first sister in my life
Thank you Ma
for being my one and only
Mother
©Christopher F. Brown 2015
May 9, 2015
May 9, 2015 at 11:30 PM UTC
You smell the bacon cooking on the stove.
You hear your siblings bickering over the remote,
like they always do.
You hear dad in the garage working on his Plymouth
Reliant, with no floor in the passenger side
and a plastic back window.
Hes always working on that thing.
You hear the family pet Bennie chasing butterflies in
the backyard.
You see the tire swing in the big oak in the front yard.
You smile, feeling at home.
Feeling yourself being wrapped in warmth and love.
You walk to the front door
prepared to knock.
As you raise your hand,
you wake up.
The image fades to a yellow ceiling.
It felt so real.
But it hasn't been real for years.
They're all gone.
Forever.
You lay back down and hope your pillow muffles
your sobs.
Mar 29, 2013
Mar 29, 2013 at 11:16 PM UTC
B-B-B-Bennie
And Lola both left you here
Stuck here for today.
Dec 22, 2012
Dec 22, 2012 at 3:17 PM UTC