"radley" poems
Small talk is much more of the former than the latter,
small, definitely,
but I've rarely, ever, talked.
My favourite?
"How Are You?"
As if the true gauge of such a complex question
can be summed up in a random stop and chat.
My response?
"not bad",
or something similar no doubt,
but sometimes,
I feel like being honest...
honestly...
i feel like boo radley in a town full of atticus,
feel like i deserve no more than the back of the bus,
feel like every single word that i say,
is another cliche, just another cliche,
feel completely silent, scream with no effect,
hope to find a true meaning, it still hasn't happened yet,
feel divided, from this joke we partake in,
where every single victory, is simply, a fake win,
why is nostalgia the only feeling that's appealing?
back when inadequacies weren't worth concealing,
that's all i cherish, that's all i want now,
and instead i'm standing here, and you're wondering how...
am i?
“...How Are You?!”
when fate's gentle whisper turns into a scream,
and crashing down come all of your dreams,
a roaring tide from what once was a stream,
tell me, is everything as lost as it seems?
"when one door closes, another one opens!",
that's nonsense,
i'm staring at a one-sided peephole, hoping,
that the people that said they would help,
and forgot,
truly feel how the hell i've felt.
...that's how i am.
Jan 21, 2011
Jan 21, 2011 at 10:14 AM UTC
maybe, just maybe, somebody
hollowed out the empty spaces in
the trees at crescent park
just as a secret message to me,
to remind me that it's okay
for beautiful things to feel empty.
May 7, 2013
May 7, 2013 at 8:49 PM UTC
the only time we care about the poor
is in disaster,
there's been freedom for decades,
but we're still owned by slave masters,
incorporated trademarks
branded on our spine,
the american dream,
might as well be bovine.
flagpole sitting flappers,
never expect to fall,
'33 til infinity,
greed affects us all,
and it's more,
than a disease,
there's no atticus,
instead, great gatsbies.
and boo radley,
aint gonna right these wrongs,
all we've got are our words
and the will to stand strong,
and it seems we're just monkeys,
launched into orbit,
in spaceships,
that only fall once reality hits,
and i don't see any solutions soon,
we consume and presume,
that this is all a cartoon,
asterix fiction,
we lack conviction,
we lack the diction,
to speak our mind,
we are confined,
to the roles,
and the moulds,
and the holes,
that are made for our souls,
we stay out of the spotlight,
even when the times right,
allergic to great heights,
like madden going to superbowls.
ice cold,
a wise man said was cooler than cool
but these fools aint never heard of ice-nine,
it's the right time,
got the right rhymes,
who cares about these thugs,
i'm set on madoff crimes,
who cares about the dealers,
follow the money like the wire,
we're civilians in vans under apache fire,
and the cover-up is comin,
the cover-up is comin
the cover-up is comin
the cover-up is comin
the only time i'm hostile,
is within,
when i gotta smile
at these businessmen,
that are tearing us apart,
and ******** on our soil,
tearing out our hearts,
creeping like the mcboyles,
i've toiled in the trenches,
for most of my days,
as have the majority of those i know,
and we can't just quit,
we gotta get paid,
materialstic societies depend on dough,
so we dream of being on boats like samberg
the only threat to our fatasses is the hamburg
-ler, there's no cure, there's no care,
there's no health, it's not fair,
but if you keep on dreamin, one day it'll be there,
simply stare at the sun, things'll brighten up,
keep buying that product, trust me, they give a ****
fall into place, stand in single file,
and whatever you do, don't forget to smile.
Jul 3, 2012
Jul 3, 2012 at 4:21 PM UTC
Mr. Miller was our neighbor,
And what a mean, grumpy old man!
At least that's what we kids thought.
Whenever we saw him, we all ran.
He seemed to have an uncanny sense
Of knowing when we were in his yard.
Some of the feisty neighborhood kids
Tried to catch the grump off guard.
At Halloween the Miller house
Was one I always tried to avoid
Until one night my friend said, "Let's visit
The Millers." I wasn't overjoyed.
Mr. Miller opened the door
And--wow!--he wasn't wearing a frown.
He and his wife were warm and friendly
And they had the BEST candy in town!
It's odd how suddenly a person can change
To a kind neighbor from a mean old ****
But amazingly the transformation
Was not in him, it was in my heart.
Soon after that Halloween he died
From a heart attack; that left us in shock.
I'll never forget kind Mr. Miller--
The "Boo Radley" on our block.
How often we judge before we know!
How often we live in fears we create!
Once our eyes are opened, how glorious!
But when that happens, it's often too late.
- by Bob B
Oct 9, 2016
Oct 9, 2016 at 8:47 AM UTC
i never want you to know
how needy i am
(you will run away,
with your superfastsneakers)
But I wonder
if being needy
is the one thing that makes
me human. In that case,
I want you to know that I need you all the
time. And when I PUSH
you away, pull me right
back in. It's just a test.
There will be times when
I seem mad. I am.
Kiss my nose and my
cheeks. Don't let me
stay mad. Let me cry
into your button-up shirt
until it's stained
with my make-up.
I will always need you.
Jul 26, 2011
Jul 26, 2011 at 8:46 AM UTC
I don’t know if it’s just the bitter cold
or the failure of the liquor to warm my soul,
but there’s frostbite on my lungs and an emptiness deep inside me.
“The future is bright” oh what a lie,
spending every night with my only company; the sky,
the stars lose the fight and even fade when the sun rises high,
and it does so spitefully.
I’ve got unlimited time,
claiming invincibility as a crime.
I’ve got an endless list in rhyme,
but I have no conclusion.
Tell me Scout, is this a joke you were planning?
Boo Radley’s tree is not for hanging.
Gritted teeth and fists are banging.
I’ve got unlimited time,
but no energy left for the climb.
I’ve got never ending points to chime,
but it’s all an illusion.
Tell me Scout, is this a joke I’m not understanding?
Boo Radley’s tree is not for hanging.
Dodging punches and slurs they’ve all been slanging.
I evaluated the situation up and down, left and right,
and I still don’t think it’s accurate of that night,
‘cause the level was too hard when I meant to choose beginner.
I tried to hold your interest with all my might,
but I noticed your eyes drastically dim in light,
the screen flashed “game over” before we were even done dinner.
Oct 10, 2019
Oct 10, 2019 at 8:37 PM UTC
Ugh, how can one person be so enjoyable?
When I’m with you my jaw legitimately hurts because of how frequently and how hard you make me laugh
You’re one of the funniest people I have had the pleasure of spending time with
You allow me to be myself and you let me make fun of you and you don’t think I’m a *****
If that’s not compatibility, then I don’t know what is
You understand self-deprecating humor and you understand the words I use and you laugh at the same things I laugh at
You know…I don’t like old movies
I hate black and white movies, I think they’re stupid and pointless and so boring and they lack color, what the **** is that ****
But I want to watch them with you
I hated To **** a Mockingbird, hated it
It’s one of your favorite old pieces of literature and you can quote Boo Radley, and I may hate the novel but the fact that you respect such a highly acclaimed work of literature makes me respect you
I would watch that **** movie with you 100 times just to make you smile
You’re really something great
I’m so sorry I let us wither away
Oct 23, 2017
Oct 23, 2017 at 12:58 AM UTC
Dear Self, the Milky Way is hurtling through space constantly,
which means you’re always moving forward, even if you can’t feel it.
Dear Self, when you’re trying really hard and nothing’s changing,
remember that even with all the energy of the Sun, it takes light over 8 minutes to reach the Earth;some things just take time.
Dear Self, if you lived on the moon, everything would weigh just a sixth of what it does on Earth
So when the weight of carrying your shortcomings around makes you shake and hunch over
Remember the years you spent in high school forming a backbone that could withstand a hurricane
And realize what your mother meant when she told you how strong you are.
Georgia Radley, Letter to My Self.
Mar 16, 2014
Mar 16, 2014 at 2:50 AM UTC
I'm 9 going on
all of ten, when:
reading TO KILL>>>
A MOCKING BIRD.
I wanted to be Scout
when I grew up
didn't matter I was
a boy
just wanted to be
her
that great explorer
of how to be
in the world
that great frontier of
becoming.
Then, in '67
the bus crash happened
& there was always
that empty chair
a nowhere of me
always calling my sister's name.
I became Boo
Radley.
living inside my head
like it was a haunted house
with a me who wasn't
me no more
looking out of eyes
that belonged
to someone
else
like Boo...
I didn't
".. have anywhere
to run off to..."
Aug 15, 2015
Aug 15, 2015 at 6:13 PM UTC