"ombudsman" poems
The many voices of the evening
gramophone the sky voice the cell phone
the tablet the notebook, that monotone
observer of mutations purveyor of maladies
the persistence of memories, pale pink light sink
burning in the fires lighting up the skies
an old pang, smitten clang, the pain balm
mug-life, pen-knife, kettle-strife, all the sheaves
them echo-songs that haunt the drill-wells
that are cut wounded and wear fetching
chants, to an yearning oblation
bay leaf, curry leaf, yes, them colander coriander
there's a rhyme of charlies, looping from
our holy wars to now our holy hours with
the ombudsman, the omniman, the only God
who used to thunder for the ****
old Zeus, the Lord of Betelgeuse, him who we
called dead, exhumation, exculpation, exaltation
an ancient loneliness that calls from the nether
depths, now science, now freedom, now pagan.
Jan 14, 2015
Jan 14, 2015 at 3:20 PM UTC
i've waited so long to get what i've got
you must have pretended to be something you're not
i feel as if it was a waste of time
i did all this work with you on my mind
i think of this as a mere prize
to be able to look into your undeserving eyes
if you leave, i'll pull the trigger
stricken with agony, i will wither
i'm stuck with this mercurial disease
of self pity, brokenness, and jealousy
the ombudsman will come and ask you
"sir, i've looked over evidence, searched for clues
do you know how much pain you've cost?
because of you, her life is lost
the troubling glances, the disturbing glares
i hope they all cause you great despair
in finding new love, new dreams, no strife
because, young man, you've cost her her life
no, not like that, she's not dead you see
she's lost everything that fills her with glee
for the rest of her life while she lays in bed
she'll have thoughts of you running through her head"
and with all that, i'll also leave this
a lifetime of guilt and a goodbye kiss
Jan 28, 2014
Jan 28, 2014 at 11:24 AM UTC
-
i can just imagine how things would
end up, me being a little more than
hesitant to even consider vocalizing
myself "Live" to dozens of listeners
—_me_—
starting out on a platform in some school
gymnasium just a short million miles away
from the safety of my writing cubical deep
inside a worm hole underneath my domicile
im sure that a few in the crowd will wonder
what this _thing_ is doing there, my thin, shaky
form walking erratically to center stage with a
tablet in one hand and a cup of water in the other—
well, it could be *****
the microphone will be way too big for
what little i have to say, commencing
with an unsteady vocal that many will find
indistinguishable from man or woman,
the rhythm should get better after the first
of several stanzas, but i will have already
spotted the ombudsman standing near the
emergency exit listening in—
just as i feared,
_and as our eyes meet, his expectation
of structure and rigidity will boil me
down to the hardwood floor, reducing
me to the basic size of a Cornish hen,
spun lengthwise upon his rotisserie,
roasting away as a smoldering torso
from his slow hand-cranked rotations
over the campfire which he will light his
cigarettes from, leaving me choking
from the smoke of his evaluations
as i drip into the cinders and
evaporate along with most
of my self ~esteem.._
i realize that he'll just be some ghost
that has haunted my every attempt
at simple boldness,
but i know he is gonna be right there
if i ever climb up to laser like stares
and the wide-open ~hears~ of
kindred poets and curious ears,
an easy fellow to pick out—
he will be the one
holding my neck
in his hands...
s jones
2008-2020
.
Dec 12, 2020
Dec 12, 2020 at 8:34 AM UTC
Cursed in my daze
Need to be saved by a omnipotent ombudsman
The longevity of my loss of luck
Lonesome underground
Rather be burned in ashes
To one day be replanted
Being eaten alive doesn't sound like a dream of mine
Paying it forward through my sacrifice
In this air I never felt well
Loss of sleep gave me bags to keep
Desensitized from reality
The more I see
The more I feel dead as I speak
Stop before you get close to me
My soul isn’t lost
My body is just gone
Temporarily
Feb 1, 2025
Feb 1, 2025 at 2:27 AM UTC