Poets a-la-Ode

Sweetened with sugar, add some spice
Are all the poets, words, advice
Prepared, seasoned, stirred so nice
If for sale, Inflate the price

Muse your content And let it bake
When its done, cut and take
Serve it now, serve it well
An aromatic poets smell

Its time to dine
Its time to sup
So grab your fork
And fetch your cup

A tasty dish
And story untold
Our bellies are full
With a-la-Ode 

World without TV

The world without TV
a very productive place
I'd actually know my family
Appreciate their face

No movies, cable bills
or all the movie shows
We have to open up,
talk to one another
I hope, I suppose

A World without You

A world without you
simply would not do
There would be no one
to lift me up
none to pull me through

A world without you
simply would not do
For I'd be without
My poem PAD crew

Without two sugar, without one cream

Without two sugar without one cream
Coffee so disgusting
I'd barf or scream

Without two sugar, without one cream
A day of brain farts,
Another to redeem

Every thought on stand-by
Every nerve rebel
Sighs, yawns, grumpy spells
Everyone could tell

Medium coffee
Two sugar, one cream please....

The Earth without Light part 2

Darkness...
Veils its lovely face.
Commands the surface of the earth.
Vanity....
Crawls, creeps
Spreads, seeps
Into every valley
Corner,
Crack of the Earth
Until....
Its filled...
with nothing.

Earth without Light

If there were no rays?
There would be no ways,
to sow, grow, reap.
Nothing for my soul to keep.
Darkness, Vanity
ain't for me.
A lifeless planet,
is a worthless one. 

A Dog-less World

A dog-less world without
bites and barks
less hair, less poop
and walks in parks

Less friends for some
Less stress for others
Less jobs for many
A lot less to cover

More break-ins and crimes
There'd be no K-9's
Or bomb sniffing dogs
To arrive there in time

More homeless fleas
More drugs to be seized
No dog food, no collars
And no pedigrees

Well I guess,
Without dogs and their breath
A dog-less world
Would be more or less a mess

A Dog-less World

A dog-less world without
bites and barks
less hair, less poop
and walks in parks

Less friends for some
Less stress for others
Less jobs for many
A lot less to cover

More break-ins and crimes
There'd be no K-9's
Or bomb sniffing dogs
To arrive there in time

More homeless fleas
More drugs to be seized
No dog food, no collars
And no pedigrees

Well I guess,
Without dogs and their breath
A dog-less world
Would be more or less a mess

There's a poem in the poet

A supermodel star
And a champ who spars

Supermodel:

A Supermodel star

With flocks of locks that need finesse
with a little bit of make up
and dressed to impress

A dash of perfume, with a little eyeliner
Reflect in the mirror
Still could be finer

A dazzling dazzler
should then my poem be
slick stockings, high heels
Hair bouncing free

Consider those red luscious lips
Tender in the legs
And limber in the hips

Gaze at the Supermodel
What do you see?
There's a poem in the poet
and the poem is she


A Boxer that spars:


Quick jab to the ribs
Knuckle-sandwich to the jaw
Left hook, right hook
Face beneath his paw

Down for the count
on a count of three
sweat, tears, pride
are running free

Up on my feet
and tie up my shoes
Look me in the eye
and try to stop my muse

Ducking and sliding
While throwing a punch
His mouth popped open
Then out popped his lunch

Can you smell again?
The smell of victory?
There's a poem in the poet
And the poem is he

Am I Your Leader?

Nope.
Too passive.
It couldn't possibly
Be me..
That would mean
I would have to direct
something, or someone.
waiting....
waiting....
For someone else to take the lead
Everything is a mess
I wish someone
would do something.
Where..
Who...is the Leader?

Following the Followers

If a leader has not been trained
by following at the hands of another leader
How could he lead?

If he has not followed anyone himself
How could I ever follow him?
Should I follow an incompetent leader?

My leader must be a follower
Because I follow the followers

The Best Leaders

The best leaders are the best learners,
and the best learners are the best followers,
and the best followers are the best leaders.
Do you follow me?

Follow, learn, lead.

I've been led

Mine eyes are possessed
inebriated with a lush vista
can't stop drinking the rich greenery
Mine eyes are a testament
to the glamorous green
Mine eyes a witness
of the white light
Bending, bounding,
Racing at brilliant speed
Reflecting the raiment
of a battalion of trees
Cutting asunder clotted limbs
interpenetrating their personal space
revealing the stunning beauty
of the forest

The forest, that's where I am
I've been led
Into a forest
The forest of my mind
of my imagination
Sometimes I sink back
into reality
But sometimes
I just like to be in the forest

Swallow The Leader

What will I do
Upon spotting a nice yummy pack
of graceful deer
And snack-tag on back

I'll sprint on all fours
then commence my attack
and proceed to...

Swallow the leader

An Unknown Leader

The Earth is a field
and a very dry place

There is no fruit
smile upon its face

But she is ripe
for a Leader

To lead our feet
into the way of peace

Death, war, famine
will completely cease

He will return

Someone Lead Me Down PA Street

Can someone lead me down PA street?
Where the finest people, poets meet?
In dance and prance upon our feet
As we read, comment, poem, tweet
Standing still to gleam and glare
Arriving masterpieces everywhere
Yes, April's royal celebration
And a poets convocation
But please don't you think
Its a one sensation
Hand in hand
Its a poets nation
From north to south
To east and west
This PA street brings the best
Across the globe to and fro
Young and old watch them grow
Buds and blossoms, leaves not few
Fresh new words as the morning dew
A poets gold, diamonds jealous
Wise men, sages, ninjas zealous
Until I find it
I won't be complete
Can you lead me down PA street?

I am a Follower

I am a follower
What do I follow?
I follow a vision
Whom do you follow?
Persons?
In themselves?
Of themselves?
NO
All great followers
Follow great leaders
Because they have
A great vision

A Parable of the PAD poets

What would you say about the marvelous PAD poets?
How would you liken them?


Like a thin young man
standing slim yet prim
Falling down a mountain
Rolling round the rim

Bowling and romping
still picking up speed
Daily adding poets
Tallying poem deeds

Growing bigger and mounting
for a straight thirty days
O' to liken the PAD poets
in so many ways!

The Fall of the PAD Poets upon their prey

Ascending the height
with nothing to prove
A flock of PAD poets
Are in sync within groove

They're side by side
and wing to wing
Like eagles in full crave
Downward descending

Upon the April PAD
a poem a day
Swift to their prompts
as swift to their prey

Every word, every prompt
is a meal down the hatch
Licking their chops
What a treat, what a catch

But the splendid eagles
will soon take flight
Come the thirtieth day
And soon ride the night

I thank my fellow poets
for displaying each thought
For a poem a day challenge
For a poem a day fought

I Cherish the Sound

I cherish the sound as it falls on my ears
Of a fresh pen on paper
As I resist strong tears

I like my new pen
With it's fine rippling ink
Within my control
Flowing out what I think

Sitting, wondering, er pondering anew
Five days of PAD challenge
What are the poets to do?

A gaze at my new notebook
With a crisp new page
Sculpting my new poem
Poets' out of its cage

A nice trendy ride for twenty five days
To see the inner poet
expressed many ways

From free to shadorma
To triolets to lune
Maybe we'll cross pens
Sometime..
Perhaps real soon

Anti-Procrastination

Always toward tomorrow
And never today
Rotting is my diligence
Character in decay

Eluding right now
With much skill in delay
Tomorrow is my now
And is never today

Immediately and now
Are the words
That I need
To give heed to my nows
To be freed
Now with speed

Never choose tomorrow
When today you can see
Dancing around
A due date late
Skating elusively

Choose your tomorrows wisely
For morrow may not be
Don't procrasinate
Don't wait
Do it immediately

Second Guessed My Seconds

My First plate was quite yummy
But only half full of a tummy


To no surprise
That thoughts soon arise
That I should vie for some seconds

I know I'm quite paunchy and fat
And cannot eat this thing or that

What should I do?
I eat till I'm through
I'll need to buy a new pair of pants

To jilt plate number two is quite hard
To say no to sweets, cheesies, and lard

Pretend that I'm through
Is all one can do
But I know that going to get seconds

No longer thin, slim or prime
I wonder if wasting my time

To consider my seconds
I shouldn't I reckon
Second guessed a second too long

Love is Becoming One

Love is two becoming one
No longer belonging
to one's own self
But sharing one life
And having one living

Love and two divorces: Anti-love poem dedicated to my dear mother

Love
Love joined
Love's joy
Love lived
Love's betrayal
Love's cleft
Love's pain
Love's misery


Loved once more
Love lives again
Love's second betrayal
Love's wound reopened
Love's permanent cleft

Lonely

Love?

Like a dripping faucet

Like a dripping faucet
I keep trying to hold it all in
But there seems to be a leak
A leak that just won't stop
A steady, constant pitter patter
From one droplet to the next
In harmonious rhythm
The painful pitter patter
Of every drop
Scattering
Becoming nothing
That seems to be getting louder
And Louder
I'm still trying
To hold on
To maintain control
And keep my composure
But
I'm leaking
Obviously
And quite frankly
It's embarrassing
Every droplet
Is a part of me
Escaping
Exploding on impact
Fading down the drain

The Forest and the Lady Bug

She sees the antennae
On a ladybug
On a twig
Of a branch
Of a tree in the forest
But She fails to see the complete view
Lacking the astounding beauty
Of the forest in its thickness
She is the lady bug

He sees the complete landscape
In its Breadth, Length
Height and Depth
He sees the extensiveness
Of the Forest
According to its vast parameters
But he misses the detail
The antennae of the lady bugs
On their twigs
Of the branches
On their trees
He is the Forest

The lady bug and the forest
She's the lady bug, He's the forest

Together they make
A pretty good couple

A Snapshot of the Human Heart

If I could enter into your heart
A bounteous place where would I start?

If in your mind what would I find?
Or in your will could I be still?

In your love or in your hate
Through every hall, clear every gate

Would I slide across complex emotion?
Roller coaster? Or smooth like lotion?

If I could penetrate down to the core
Breach every barrier, escape every door

As an Olympic diver who jumps and takes
A spin, a twist, a splash in hearts' lake

Sifting water quickly descending deep
Capturing hearts' images to delete or keep

Standing in the basement of your heart
Scanning carefully, every inch, every part

Could I take snapshots and see the real you?
Too unsettling If I knew what I knew?

O' the labyrinth of the mind
O' the labyrinth of the heart
If I could search your inner being
Where would I start?

Profile of the PAD Poets

Profile of the PAD Poets
Beautiful, extraorindary persons
Each with the artful craft of words
Sculptors, artisans, Knights
With the gift to wield the sword
Of poetic asides
Masters of imagery
Prompt and Prose
Expressing the inner hidden poet
Residing within us

Missing My Uncle Donald

I sure miss
My Uncle Donald
Some things were
Classic traits
Like your beer and hot sauce
I miss you

Best Friends

My best friend
We grew like weeds once
Time has passed
Grown apart
Not sure if I should see you
Farewell friend

Mom-a-Dear

O' my sweet Mom-a-Dear
You're truly one of a kind
How I wish you were near
Eating liver and pork-rinds

You're truly one of a kind
How you married an Irish man
Eating liver and pork-rinds
Frying fish in a pan

How you married an Irish man
How you made us fetch a switch
Frying fish in a pan
Stiff discipline without a twitch

How you made us fetch a switch
You longed for us to see you
Stiff discipline without a twitch
I failed to visit, free you

You longed for us to see you
How I wish you were near
I failed to visit, free you
O' my sweet Mom-a-Dear

Don't resist the calm

Don't resist the calm
There is a great tempest in the sea
Be at peace it is thy balm
Tis' no longer I but He

There is a great tempest in the sea
Rebuke every wind and wave
Tis' no longer I but He
Strong and mighty to save

Rebuke every wind and wave
He's always within my boat
Strong and mighty to save
Content while life's afloat

He's always within my boat
Be at peace it is thy balm
Content while life's afloat
Don't resist the calm

Maybe I should've been a lumberjack

Maybe I should've been a lumberjack



Maybe I should've been a lumberjack
Puttin' big trees upon my back

Maybe I should've bought an axe
To cut down trees in piles and stacks

Maybe I should've grown a beard
Or would you think thats too weird?

Maybe I should've bought some boots
To knock down trees, trunks and roots

Maybe I'll cut down tall trees, big trees
Oranges, apples, nuts and pears please

Maybe I'll find the biggest tree ever
And show that tree who's boss and sever

Maybe It'll just be a breeze
When I grunt, growl and bend my knees

I'll swing and swing til' the tree comes down
It's trunk and crown upon the ground

Maybe this would be too much fun
Half the time I'd be on the run

I'd find your yard and cut your trees
Slice and dice as I feel the breeze

From national forest to grand central park
around the country I'd make my mark

Or maybe I'm just talkin' too much smack
Maybe I shouldn't be a lumberjack

Never again to be the same

Never again to be the same

There is no day that is the same
Than the one that is already made

Everyday unique, do not anxiously seek
That which has not been

Everyday has been framed
Everyday filed and named
Everyday has been your friend

There is no day that we do not change
There is no way we are the same

Everyday equals change
Everyday does it work

Everyday that goes by
With a moan, hug, or sigh
Writes a chapter in our book

Never again poem

Never again poem

Never again to be 4-10-2011

Never again will this day come again
Never again will a day like this be
Never again will there be a today
For tomorrow is coming real soon

Never again

Never again 

Never again shall I lose a pen
I've set my will against it.

But whenever I do
The same rings true,
Why O'why
Did I lend it to you?

Between me and you
I've lost every hue.
Just to buy anew
My new packet of two.

Minute by Minute

Minute by minute


Minute by minute
Are lives are spent
Life's joys life's sorrows
When the heart is rent

A minute of love
With a moment of thanks
A minute with the kids
With laughs and pranks

A minute to mourn
When the time has come
With a moment of mercy
If others prove dumb

I've learned to appreciate the time at hand
From minute to minute all time expands

From second to minute
From minute to hour

Not an idle second
All time has power

From hours to days
From Day to Day
Every second of every minute
Will prove our ways

From days to weeks
From weeks to years
To decades galore
Our time is near

We can't live in the past
We just have now
Don't look ahead or behind
Just hit the plow

Yesterday is gone
Let it go

Tomorrow is not here
Relinquish the fear

All we have is now
Right now
This very minute
Live it

4:51

4:51 


A bearded goat at four fifty
Razor blades work smooth stylin' nifty
Gliding in haste I wish I was done
Cut myself shaving at 4:51

At 12:03

At 12:03



At 12:03 A hot pot of tea
Emerged a brisk whistle
Steam floating free

Still garbed in my robe
From the swift of the night
Read the day's prompt
But nothing took flight

Still waiting for those wings
That will set to my words
That will give life to my poem
And soar like those birds

The birds of my words
Who would tailor each line
Who would stitch every glitch
Steer focus, drive pine

A tall evergreen would my poem be
I would never forget
When it's 12:03

"Let the children dance"

"Let the children dance" 
O' the emancipation of exultation
O' the joy and energy of happiness
Simply beside myself in rich elation
Come and join the celebration
In the merriment of jubilation
I desperately beckon
For the children to come
To come and dance, run and play
To sing, rejoice, to get away

Let my voice bellow to every fellow
As I called my love to let her hear
Let the children dance!

A Subtle Victory

A Subtle Victory

All it took was one blow
My day had knocked me out
Like a man in a drunken stupor
Intoxicated with the dejection of my day
I stumbled, looking for encouragement
Something to numb the pain
Something to take the edge off the affliction of my heart
An anesthetic to induce insensibility

I tried to ignore the wounds
But too stricken with grief
And quickly hemorrhaging hope
Nothing to bind the discharge
I'm left with the hopelessness of my inner being
There is nothing left for my heart to pump
My heart had stopped but a moment
I danced with the despair of death

Resuscitated only to remember the pain
And the agony of defeat
Yes, defeated by circumstance
The seemingly random arrows of circumstance
Piercing the heart
The mind, emotion, and will

Shall I be defeated by these arrows?
With their deep piercing tips?
Laced with the deadly poison of misery?
Shall I be slighted by the uncertainty of the day
And suffer the Agony of defeat?

My depths were touched
My heart strings were pulled
And Sour notes of gloom were heard
Songs I don't care to hear

But I called upon thy name O'Lord
Out of a low dungeon
And I touched you in a time of need
Again only to realize
The Joy of the Lord is my strength
You O' Lord are my joy and song
You O' Lord are my victory

What if I never married?

What if I never married?

Never finding the love of my life
Only to spend the remainder of my days
In the dark confinement of my loneliness
Never to meet my match
Wandering in the infinite abyss of wonder
The wonder of my imagination
The seemingly endless waves of wonder
Thinking would I ever meet her?
Entangled by the suspenseful mystery of hope
A weak, faint hope
Like a slowly rupturing rope
On it's last threads
My heart would be crushed by the senseless weight of isolation
Tortured by the peculiarity of my introspection
Deceived by the subjectivity of my feeling
Robbed and abandoned
Like a house ransacked by a thief in the night
Left with a vague memory
Of what it is like to have something valuable
How could I bear another day
Experiencing the canyon of emptiness
Echoing throughout the hollowness of my heart?
Is anyone there?
anyone?....
No, no one is there...
No love
Only a desert
Severely parched
With nothing to quench its thirst
There would I be
In this desert under the sun
And there I would wither away
Knowing that my heart would forever be a barren wasteland
Without tree, without fruit
And nothing of life.

Don't Wait: A Procrastinator's Assassination

Don't Wait: A Procrastinator's Assassination

Who are you?
It doesn't matter, I'm here to kill you.
Kill me? What have I done?
Shut up!
What you haven't done is the problem.
How could you kill me for what I haven't done yet?
I have my orders...
Orders?!??
From who?
That's none of your business.
Your not actually going to kill me are you?
Yes.
My orders are to kill you immediately.
IMMEDIATELY??!! NO!! YOU CAN'T!
Can you....can you wait?
No! You're going to die right here, right now.
RIGHT NOW??!!
No please, not now. Just hold off a little longer
WAIT! Please..
Then I'd be a perpetrator like you.
Now is your time to DIE!
NOW!!!

There.
I did it.
I killed you now..
My only regret is that I didn't kill you sooner.

Don't do this, Don't do that

Don't do this, Don't do that


Don't do this don't do that
Who do you think I am?
Your little puppet?
Who do you think you are?
My master? My Lord? King?
Am I to be your servant?
Then I bid defiance.

Toddlers, Start Your Engines

Toddlers, Start Your Engines

Mommy, you can't catch me, I'm too fast!
Much younger, much swifter, you'll never last.
My heart is flaming, my muscles tense,
A high-speed chase will soon commence--

Go ahead, mother, make your move,
Skill, elusiveness, I soon will prove.
Running, cunning, whizzing, sprint
Without a trace, without a hint.

Run, mother, run if you must,
I'll relish the moment you choke on my dust.
Rushing, blushing, zippity-zip
Don't trip, don't fall, don't break your hip!

Dashing, crashing, rolling, tumbling,
To see my fleetness must be humbling.
Bolting, bounding, blazing, burning,
Around a corner, steady while turning...

Accelerate, shift, heavy on the gas
Cutting a breeze, as I'm whipping past--
Across the living room with a snappy step,
Bursting with energy, excessively pep!

Gripping, slipping, slashing, spinning,
My apologies, but I think I'm winning!
Bobbing, bailing, ducking, chuckling,
Give up, Mom, your knees are buckling!

Flying like a butterfly, flying like a bee,
There ain't no way, you're catching me!!

Autobiography of a Fetus

Autobiography of a Fetus
Darkness,
a thick encroaching darkness
Yet there is no fear within me
Rather, it's enveloping comfort keeps me warm
And safe
And I know that nothing can disturb my excellent repose
I know nothing else and no one but this darkness

But I feel a presence
even though I cannot see
Like there is someone with me in this darkness
Yet I am not afraid
But experience a deep cleansing comfort within me
That I am not alone in this darkness
Though I cannot see you
Somehow there is a link between us
I sense your pain, anxiety, anguish
Penetrating the range of my emotion
Nor can I evade
Your joy, happiness, and laughter
Animating my inner being
Like electricity
Pulsing through every wire
Seeking to permeate a light bulb that emanates from it's outer surface

How are we joined even though we have not met?
Our eyes have never converged
My inner ear has never heard your voice
Yet I know
That we share something intrinsically profound

In a rush my repose had escaped me
And secure warmth is suddenly abandoning me
My world is evaporating
Weakness and weeping have defiled my peace

But a swift ardor has returned and captured me
Now I feel another comfort advancing upon me
Yet not so foreign

Now encompassed in your bosom
A beautiful realization dawns
That in this strange new world
You are my mother

The World without me

The world without me

The world without me what would it be?

One less mouth to feed for a poor single mother
One less son, grandson, little brother
One less cousin, colleague, best friend
One less employee, heartache, email to send
One less love
One less couple
One less husband
One less Father
One less voice
One less heartbeat
One less poem
One less breath
One less death

Benjamin Thomas

The Silver Fox and the Banana Seat

The Silver Fox and the Banana Seat

The silver fox with the banana seat
Would know no boundary, surmount defeat.

A silver-gray and black and red
Was my new bike with it's new tread.

They said, be strong, be valiant to ride--
But only to end up on my side.

We won't give up without a fight
Our only hope is to stay upright

Tried again and again without success
Fell, scraped my knees-- oh what a mess!

The two uncles began to wonder
Why I couldn't ride, why I fell like thunder;

An uncle on the left and an uncle on the right,
Stable for a moment, then took flight:

Some hope and cheers began to abound,
But only to see me hit the ground...

Two uncles left, went back inside,
They knew that I would never ride.

It was just me and the silver fox,
Some dirt, pebbles, sticks and rocks.

Off to the station to fix my flat,
On the banana seat I wish I sat,

On the way back I tried once again,
My broken riding began to mend...

The first pedal was good and then the next
They flowed like a river, they flowed like text,

Sitting like a king on my banana seat
Transcending boundary, trumping defeat--

I could not give up without a fight,
We can ride all day, we can stay upright.

In the beginning I was on my side,
But can you believe it
I began to ride!