Month: April 2021

An autobiographical, free verse poem, called, “I Aimed, Pulled the Trigger, and Fired”, which revolves around a hunting trip with my father, a long time ago. (Well… it’s not totally autobiographical.)

I Aimed, Pulled the Trigger, and Fired

I didn’t even know what type of bird it was – when I had to shoot to kill.

I left the comfort of my bed

on an early Saturday Fall morning

to enter the unknown – a nearby forest

so that I could hunt with my father.

The canopy of trees further reduced the light from the overcast sky.

It was chilly, with a scent of damp moss present in the air

the ground wet from the morning mist.

I remember mostly silence

except for my breathing

and the sounds of my footsteps

and those of my father – crushing twigs, branches, dead leaves, plant life, and living insects

clearing the road for my rite of passage

my childhood disappearing with every footstep.

The bird was spotted by my father

a distance away

on a branch

of a colorful, majestic tree.

He handed me his gun

and gave me a quick refresher on how to hold, how to shoot, and what to expect.

The gun was heavy, my arms started to ache

my hands were cold, and trembling.

And then – he told me that I was ready.

And so I aimed                     

pulled the trigger                

and fired.

The bird remained motionless                  

but very much alive.

I fired once more.

Again

the bird, still there

unaffected

and at that moment I asked myself, if I would have to shoot again.

My father reloaded the rifle

and as I reluctantly took it from his hands, he looked into my eyes

and I wondered if he knew.

I fired again.

Again – I missed.

Then a fourth, and final time.

I returned the riffle to my father.

Nothing was said.

Nothing else was done.

I asked myself if one day I would be a hunter.

Before leaving the area

so that my father’s hunt could once again continue

I looked – for the last time – at the branch of the tree that once supported the bird.

It was gone – and I smiled.

(This poem was selected 10th for a Poetry Soup contest in May of 2021.)

An autobiographical, free verse poem, called, “I Aimed, Pulled the Trigger, and Fired”, which revolves around a hunting trip with my father.

This is a rhyming poem, a parody, about a deciduous tree in the forest of its dreams. It relates to human life on our planet.

This poem won a 9th place finish this month (April 2021) in a premier contest on poetrysoup.com.

A Deciduous Tree in the Forest of Its Dreams

in a forest

a deciduous tree with an immortal spirit

germinated in a foreign flora

while surrounded by evergreens

it came from another land

where deforestation is the norm

from a world of destruction

and death

after many years

this deciduous tree became robust and admirable

its trunk sturdy, its branches stout

with its green wide flat leaves in the summer, colorful ones in the fall

and the winds blew, and the storms came

and it was pelted by the rain and hail

thunder and lightning attempted to uproot its soul

but the tree stood tall, and was not dismantled

and all of the evergreens

questioned its existence

laughed at its appearance

said that it was infecting the purity of their sacred evergreen forest

and if this tree could think and speak, if this tree could feel

it would simply say….

“I only seek a better life

in the forest of my dreams.”

(This poem won 9th place in a poetrysoup.com contest in April 2021)

http://poetrysoup.com

A Deciduous Tree in the Forest of Its Dreams

The poem, entitled “My Mind’s Confusing Game”, was written during a time when I was in a moody state of mind. On that particular day, my wife and I were quite involved in painting the walls of a room at our house, and to be honest I was not in a painting mood. Lol.

While taking a short break, which I welcomed, I decided to listen to Leonard Cohen’s poem, “My Lady Can Sleep”, which inspired me, for I quickly grabbed my iPhone, and on a Word document, wrote the following poem. What is it all about? I will let you decide.

My Mind’s Confusing Game

I sit here before you

One might say in boredom, but I think that it’s defeat

I wonder if I will be taken

To find answers for survival, or to a peaceful sleep.

Should I question my actions?

Ask where I’m going from this point on?

Or should I just remain defeated

As one who’s never won?

I want to hold you in the morning

Without guilt and with no shame

I want to lie there beside you

So as to break the patterns of this game.

Will you change my inner being?

Touch me with your soul?

Hold your body close to me

And erase from existence a side of myself that I behold?

Tell me if my questions, my wants, and all my hopes

Give solace to the existence, that this my body holds.

Tell me if I’m foolish, looking for that which might never be attained

As I sit here feeling broken, in my state of consciousness and pain.

In my mind I search for freedom

from the shackles that I wear.

And it is often through your existence

That I find the love and care.

I want to hold you in the morning

Without guilt and with no shame.

I want to lie there beside you

So as to break through the cobwebs of my mind’s confusing game.

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Love Poems: This post has two love poems. The first is called “Lovers In the Morning Light”, and the second is called “Naked Love”.

Lovers…In the Morning Light

In the morning light

I see your beauty

and it envelopes me in its mystery

and its desirable pleasures of love.

I look into your eyes

and like the first time

the need to touch, but more to feel

is there.

And as the sun benevolently gives birth to the day

we are united, and I surrender

to the simple need of body

and to the complex heart of soul.

Naked Love

You were lying there naked

Your body a reflection of the divine.

I saw you there

Naked

As you absorbed the rays of my mind.

You let me hold you

Allowed me to see your inner soul.

I wanted you

Transfixed by your beauty

A beauty I needed to behold.

And as you touched me

Felt my body, but more what lingered in my heart

I kissed you

Loved you

A melding of our souls and a wish to never part.

You held the door open

You allowed me to come in.

Whispered, “I love you”

As you took me to that place

I’ve never been.

You were lying there naked

Your body a reflection of the divine.

I saw you there

Naked

As you absorbed the rays of my mind.

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This is a poem about last night’s hockey game, or is it?

Last Night’s Hockey Game

I saw a hockey game last night

It was there that I saw the fight

The one that some saw as a brawl

While others stated, “It’s part of the game after all.”

I saw a hockey game last night

And it made me wonder

Yes I know we have come a long way

But the crowd cheered and the noise felt like thunder.

There were punches

And there was blood.

And the “settling of the score”

And some in the crowd wanted more.

I saw a hockey game once

Perhaps it was played in my mind.

I thought it was played right

I think it took place somewhere outside of time.

Maybe it has yet to happen… I don’t know

Perhaps it happened a long time ago.

And they played for the game

For the love of stick and puck in a having fun domain.

It was hockey and that I’m sure

There was skating on ice and speed

And shots that hit the nets

And the cheers came from the players’ silhouettes.

I saw a fight today

On the internet and it took place not far away.

It happened in a school yard they said

The two wanted to “settle the score”, is what I read.

I saw a hockey game last night

It was there I saw the fight.

The one that some saw as a brawl

While others stated, “It’s part of the game after all.”

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This Is a Poem About Last Night’s Hockey Game?

A poem about a man and woman on Vegas Boulevard who question their circumstances by looking for answers in what they see as humanity’s game.

In This Humanity’s Game Poem

A man

on Vegas Boulevard

on a scorching, hot day in Sin City

experiences awe for the created structures that he sees

and is amazed by all that his eyes behold.

For a moment

during his pursuit for entertainment and a need for satisfaction

he wonders

on this hot and scorching afternoon

how all was created

and who was responsible

and who received recognition and the fame

in this….humanity’s game.

A woman

on Vegas Boulevard

her hair disheveled

her hands and clothes dirty

is searching

from garbage bin to garbage bin

for scraps of food.

For a moment

during her pursuit for sustenance

she wonders

on this scorching afternoon

how all was created

and who is responsible

and who is to blame

in this….humanity’s game.

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Following are five spiritual poems dealing with both the known and the unknown.

Darkness and Light

How do you turn off the darkness?

How do you set it aside?

Where do you find that switch?

That only you can provide.

And as your light shines on me

As it touches my being

I begin to surmise

That it’s a change I’m foreseeing.

The Virtue of Light of Day

In the chasm of the unknown

there lingers a need

to be one with consciousness

to be one with being.

However…

thoughts interrupt this emanation

and the soul takes a back seat

to the eternal bliss

that one strives to find.

But stillness helps consciousness break through

escaping the encapsulating thought-created cocoon of the mind

diminishing the need of the ego to control and to be

allowing for true self to emerge and meet the virtue of light of day.

Grace

In a state of confusion…little patience…without clarity

Empty of tranquility.

There I was…

But there I did not seek to be.

The guiding path lost within my world.

I was perplexed…bewildered…defeated.

I needed amity of body, mind, and spirit.

I needed the breath of life

to infuse wholeness into my existence.

But that I felt helpless to achieve.

So I sat alone.

In silence…

I waited.

Consumed by my condition.

Unable to call upon decipherability

so as to understand the complexity of my despair

and find solutions for my state…

I surrendered

to the abyss of the unknown.

And then…

I felt it

the emergence of the unexplained

slowly…gently…mysteriously….

taking hold of my being.

for Grace now made her appearance…

and soothed

my sheered and shattered soul.

(This point was awarded fourth place in a poetrysoup.com contest in April of 2021)

I Want to Meditate

I want to meditate

To sit in that state of silence all alone

To bring tranquility to mind

And have meditation take me home.

On a Chain I Wear a Cross

On a chain, I wear a cross

Around my neck I do.

I don’t wear it to say, “I Am”

I don’t wear it for you.

For me it’s a symbol of compassion and humility

And the world’s need for love.

For me it is a cry for a peaceful existence

Just like the symbol of the dove.

When I was young I often went to church

It was a place my parents brought me to.

For I was baptized Greek Orthodox

Therefore, the expected thing to do.

There, many things made sense to me

Now some did not, and don’t.

But I learned to not be bothered

By inaccuracies and the unexplained – I said I won’t.

In my later years I searched, felt, and realized the mystical

In the one God I believe exists.

And in the plants, the animals, and of course humans too

I discovered a spirituality that subsists.

My beliefs might now be complex

Some might say they do not fit a norm.

As I read about religions and the spiritual world

I ultimately went through a reform.

Today I still go to my Orthodox Church

To pray in a place of refuge, where God they say resides.

To fulfill a never ending need to seek, learn, and understand

And to still my rather busy mind.

On a chain, I wear a cross

Around my neck I do.

I don’t wear it to say, “I am”

And I don’t wear it for you.

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Spiritual Poems of the Known and the Unknown

About this poem: This poem, in a somewhat random way, deals with the world, you, me, my soul (maybe your soul), and the mind; in other words with the randomness of existence. It just about covers everything…lol. Enjoy and interpret as you see fit.

The World – You – Me – My Soul – and the Mind

Do you sometimes wonder

how to introduce what is out there to your soul and mind?

how to understand that which exists, in that period of time?

and in that present moment is real, and do you feel guilty if you leave it all behind?

Have you heard that your ego will prevent you

from being who you were meant to be?

And you get absorbed in society’s creations

but you find yourself confused, and unable to see.

And you might search the news

looking for those reads that will reaffirm what’s on your mind.

And you “stumble upon” absurd conspiracy theories

which you “miraculously” find.

Can you somehow see a reflection of who you are?

Or is the mirror broken, left far behind?

Can you ask yourself, honestly, sincerely, what the solution is for human kind?

Or do you get lost within the scope of your very own personal mind?

And as you sit there

do you blame others while looking for a system that creates the hurt?

Deep down you know the answer

it’s selfishness, hatred, power, and greed, which continue to subvert.

What is real and what is fake?

I often wonder what is true.

Yes I listen and I analyze

I use up a portion of my time to see it from a particular point of view.

For now I want to spend my time

searching within my soul for something that I’m unable in this world to find

which baffles me some of the time

because occasionally it’s born and exists deep within my very own mind.

I’m just a being, living and trying to be that which I foresee

searching for the spiritual in that which is before me

at times attempting to find meaning in mortality

with a burning desire to understand and see.

It is contentment which I pursue

Even look inside the cracks

But at times like these contentment hides

And the road ahead confuses me, so I retrace, as I retract.

Maybe I got it all wrong

Maybe some of it is right

Maybe my vision is blurry and foggy

Maybe at times I have trouble seeing the light.

I can take what is happening out there

interpret using knowledge, a view, and perhaps a belief

but often the truth is just not there, and the news really stinks as it permeates

and the nature of the many, rarely offer one relief.

And I’m left with the choice to accept, dissolve, or set it all aside

using my soul and my very own mind.

And after attempting to understand

I ultimately, usually, leave it all behind.

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The World Poem-You – Me – My Soul – and the Mind

This is a “humanity plan poem” that is about a needed change in man’s (and I am putting the responsibility and blame here on the male gender, more so than the female) aggressive mindset identity that exists in today’s world. This identity/mindset has historically resulted in many of the negative outcomes and ill affects often perpetrated on people and other forms of life on this planet. Man today, and historically, has often been a plague to himself and to others by believing in what I call a “macho” identity. This identity/mindset has roots in prehistoric times, which man continues to identify with in today’s world. The violence, the discriminatory thinking and actions, and the aggressive behavior that is exhibited in today’s world is a direct result of man’s mind. In order to see real change, man needs to better understand what is required for blissful existence, which is that man’s consciousness needs to change. This I believe is where the root of the problem lies, and if we do not go to the root of this problem, then we will continue on a road that will be more chaotic than it has been, using a band aid approach to stopping the bleeding.

A Humanity Plan Poem

In the beginning….a long time ago…man discovered aggression.

He lived and survived

then with passing of time

existence was no longer dependent on a combative mind.

But he continued to see power in his macho ways.

Aggression perverted….resulting in malaise.

Barbaric lessons learned

Bullies created….and superiority desires yearned.

And hatred pervaded….and took deep root.

And before its appearance

in the alleys and streets

sprouted in the mind….grew in the heart….and now it repeats.

Violence does not come in only one form.

Real peace and tranquility will never ensue….until they become the norm.

For an onslaught has emerged once more….and if we ignore

Circumstances will ignite….a deplorable war.

And if malevolence continues to rise and advance

Care….love….compassion….does not stand a chance.

So who is to blame?…. Is it you…or is it the other?

This hostility against….sister and brother.

Change is possible in the hearts of men

but perceived strength needs to be reformed….and the questions are how and when?

Leadership….support….protection….should be the true qualities of man.

Now is the time to give birth….to a caring humanity plan.

In the beginning….a long time ago….man discovered aggression

lived and survived.

And now during this moment in time

blissful existence impossible….without a peaceful noncombative mind.

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A Humanity Plan Poem That Cries For Change In Man