By day, you’re out fighting wars
Wherever politicians decide you need to roam
Diplomacy by air, land & sea
& the lucky ones get to return home
But your training doesn’t include this
Unsure how exactly to be a regular guy
Babies & tiaras & unicorns bebopping around
How to explain a child’s smile can make you cry
Image by Sally Wynn from Pixabay
These broken & delayed dreams
Electric toothbrushes that constantly hum
A pocketful of change
& girls with eyes so pretty it makes me dumb
I’m not one to make a great scene
Yet I’m your average middle-aged guy
Not counted among the mundane
I couldn’t be normal, even if I tried
So we’re all stuck in this spinning limbo
A world with mixed up priorities & hate
I’m confused by all this wasted time
One of these days the hourglass will cease to rotate
So, I’m probably going to be late for work
For my beautiful woman resides in this bed
I could be responsible & get there on time
But I’m always going to choose to love instead
Image by Claudio_Scott from Pixabay
Restless strokes of the brush
The telltale image of our love combined
Closing our eyes to life’s explanations
Marching to the sunrise; no longer confined
I’m no one of any consequence
Slowly mixing words; never said I was the best
Repenting from the human I used to be
Contorting language at my behest
I’m sitting here morose
Reading pages & thumbing my nose
Bored by the status quo
Breaking off from the path we chose
I’m searching for a worthy woman
To take by the waist & forever dance
Who desires to explore love
& live by the seat of her underpants
I can’t explain
I don’t have the frightful words
Just know I can still feel
Yet my notions contain the absurd
These nuisance actors linger
Youthful mistakes I always regret
The musty smell of a cracked spine
Odes & reams I can never forget
“Having a low opinion of yourself is not ‘modesty.’ It’s self-destruction. Holding your uniqueness in high regard is not ‘egotism.’ It’s a necessary precondition to happiness and success.”
― Bobbe Sommer
Once upon a suburban street
Where we lived, loved & laughed
Summer comes early in Jax
So, this house no longer has a draft
Warmth lets me resume my natural being
Yet windows aren’t doors; they’re see-through
I strut along, giving my neighbors
A bit more than a casual view
Celestial bodies writhe
She may not be an answer
But perhaps she’s the key
At the end of the Earth
You’ll find no more ground
Dust falling off the coast
Sail around for awhile
Nurture love & freedom
Return to find me here
Within her, I find truth
A value to be upheld
Know the stark secret
Picturesque; popular version of perfection
Flawlessly designed for an afternoon tryst
But there’s something broken in her smile
It appears her panties are in a twist
Few could have complaints on her form
With that yoga toned & sculpted derrière
Feeding on kale & interweb attention
But her soul smelled more like dairy air
But the machine will keep on rolling
Until we end the tolerance of systematic lies
This is the only chance we have here
Life is not lived if it ends in a tempered sigh
I’m trying to live free & clear
While you sit around watching C-Span
Glorifying the criminals on the Hill
I refuse, I say no, I say, “Damn The Man!”
It’s always been my nature to resist
Not sputtering words as an endless trope
Never trusting anything popular nor cool
The outcasts & rejects are who give me hope
Even the poor can spirit an uprising
Don’t speak to me of your pragmatic lever
I’m not going to buy into your propaganda
Never a card-carrying member, nor true believer
Won’t sit idle, watching from the sidelines
Letting the Man throw away the key
Remaining passive in the Shadows
All because I have the improper pedigree
There’s no need to get bogged down
By the regime or other Negative Nancy
Our world is tough enough these days
Our lives aren’t here to stroke some evil fancy
The government wants to lock me up
For I don’t fit into their diabolic plan
Turning society into robotic morons
I just can’t continue to work for The Man
Trying to sell us artificial stimulants
Fickle airwaves that their bully pulpit bought
Falsified histories & professional victims
The system wipes us away without any thought
Pharmaceutical conglomerates tell us
Conscience is a personality disorder we can’t shake
Turning our daughters into Stepford Wives
Stealing our minds – hoping we’ll never wake
Corporations in league with the dolt on the throne
Continuously embarrassing the whole of humankind
Whose agenda has a limited number of characters
How the hell is this the best choice we could find
But I won’t succumb to any of their devices
I’ll take my liberty and the happiness I’ve pursued
Rejecting the crooks & ignoring their feigned power
Won’t find me in Nurse Rachet’s line; docile & queued
I can’t live a life that’s so blatantly false & empty
My soul is no longer pristine, but I’m an honest guy
I’m taking to the wilderness; leaving the State behind
I’m trading their promises for a more natural high
Vibrations coursing through your corset
Am I still making you nervous, my dear
Does your heart beat louder in that chest
Whenever I come near
Walk slowly across the room to me
Let me watch your beauty in motion
The deliberate steps in those heels
Your passion overtaking the ocean
Admiring the view of your new tights
You spoil me something mighty, Miss
My love has never been more obvious
I’ll explain it all through this kiss
The man has you grinding away
The organ makes the monkey dance
You’re looking for the Promised Land
But you never really had the chance
You’re writing your soul on the page
Friends support & love all they heard
But the critics cry foul & laugh bitterly
You’re only as good as your last word
Sitting in front of the vanity
Deciphering all your beauty marks
You see lines, wrinkles & blemishes
I see my very own Domestic Monarch
You’ll never see what my soul knows
But, I know how lucky I am to have this view
I’ll spend my days discovering new ways to cherish
I’m grateful you allow me to share eternity with you
There’s so much talk of being wild
Like there’s a constant harness holding us back
But its just an illusion for others to see
You’re choosing to embrace all that you lack
These false pretenses are keeping you low
Images of a manicured life on your social media feed
Spending your days adjusting other’s perceptions
When these aren’t the actions a happy life really needs
It’s difficult to perceive any truth as you focus the camera
The projection of crazy as you manipulate your reputation
Here’s a secret, the honest people don’t really care &
The real wild ones don’t bother with perfect punctuation
Image by Anatoliy Morozz from Pixabay
Wash away my sins
Lightning striking us twice
Coming summer rain (soft & light)
That lovely woman – cold as ice
Yet I head for her still
Not one to be dissuaded
She’ll warm to my charms
When I leave her hair unbraided
Crawling away from sudden shores
Locked away in anterior rooms
Sunlit beauties try to remain pale
Complexities of intimate bedgloom
Modern mermaids express themselves
Repelled by their former clamshell
Their silence betrayed the insane
Meeting up again behind the bandshell
Eastbound Portola around the curve
Writing hard to retain your shape
Lost in the Inner Sunset
Catching the N Judah to escape
My sweatshirt still lingers with her scent
Pondering what all the flirting meant
Remembering the clouds glowing from the lights
Sitting on the hood, enjoying her company that night
I can still see her – with her long blonde hair
She looked so beautiful standing out there
Crisp ocean force winds
Gentle fresh citrus scent
Lost upon the eternal sea
Forgot where beauty went
A treatise of delicate love
Evidence of a ghost
Smile your sweet smile
I’ve left for the coast
Sound of muted voices
She’s a little too cute
Allowing no more secrets
Down through my roots
Come on up for a cup of coffee
I hope you’ve brought your cheery attitude
My place will be easily discovered
The one with the gentleman toasting you in the nude
I won’t judge you for your past
I don’t care how your body looks
Inward – we all contain equal souls
We can all absorb the beauty of books
Go read! Fitzgerald, Kerouac, Twain
Emerson, Rand, Tolstoy, Hemingway
Thoreau, Dostoyevsky, Neruda, Yeats
Great words are forever here to stay
It is solely up to you
To build up your literary wealth
But I will constantly judge you
For the contents of your bookshelf
Tisk tisk, Mr. Smith
She slapped her hand with the pointer
Looking up, I see she’s stern
I stand, wishing to anoint her
I am commanded to about face
I’ve committed an infraction
Taking stock of my flesh
She swoons in satisfaction
But I’m returned to my kitchen
Now pouring a cup of Lady Grey
The kettle broke the spell
My imagination had taken me away
Ignore my fantastic ideas
For they come out in reams
Please close your eyes
Lest you believe in dreams
My love is uncompromising
I want you & only you
For the rest of my life
Making our dreams come true
Image by Andry Richardson from Pixabay
Captain Q 