I’m not an artist, just a guy with a pen
Upon a lonely night, I started to write
I jotted down some rhymes for me
Teen angst channeled into the light
I’ve never looked back to think
I just keep writing over the decades
I don’t edit my feelings nor judge you
Purely an attempt for the soul not to fade
Feeding page after page into the typewriter
I feel like a Saint from a forgotten realm
They could really write back then
Keeping an even keel with one hand on the helm
I’m not the pirate you bargained for
Simple words of varying degrees
I write of the love you’ve desired
But when I only smile, you call me a tease
Trying to overcome an existential crisis
Harking back to those foundational years
Emerging out of my own wounded shadow
Striving headlong into those ancient fears
Transitionally limping along these days
But my injuries aren’t those to be seen
Nor the stretch marks upon my soul
Yearning for the notion of becoming clean
Throughout it all, forever fond of the Blonde
Woman, hold me close to your breast
Tell me this life is going to be all right
That together, entangled; we’ll always be blessed
Summer fades in our hearts
Though it’s still warm outside
We begin to look forward to
Autumn & beauty that coincides
The air will find a little chill
& we’ll see Winter on the attack
Soon, we’ll be yearning for heat
Wishing for seasons to cycle back
I once had a chicken that went meow
I need to go I need to get out now
They’re after me, you must understand
Please help me, gimme a hand
I’m constantly having to watch my back
To keep them from giving me the smack
Soon I’ll be taking flight
I’ll be gone before the night
The moon still shines in the day
It’s part of their sinister plan
When they get me, I’ll say
Who’s you, man?!
Sun, beaches & waves
To save yourself, you must be brave
I must not make a sound
Or else I’ll be found
They’ll torture me till I’m blue
I’ll cry & scream out for you
Would you come rescue me
Would you come set me free
My childhood comes wanting to play
How long till oppression they will ban
Soon my mind will stray
& I’ll say, who’s you, man?!
Circa 2000
(An old poem that reminds me how simple life once was)
Seeking a spiritual remedy
For my soul isn’t quite whole
Burnt out & emotionally drained
Tea cup’s empty & I’m no longer in control
Midcentury motif & I’m peeling paint
Shrinking violets & closing in walls
Pushing back against our growing pains
Energy to create, but my life remains a free fall
The grand rubbish
That we display here
Our soul’s bleeding
Harking back to fear
But we push ahead
& slowly expose
Our personal thoughts
Fighting the reality of those
Image by Khusen Rustamov from Pixabay

It’s the lost art of seduction
Love her;
Make her eyes roll to the back of her head
Cherish her presence in your life
She’ll appreciate you
Make you a happy man instead
There’s a beautiful woman I know
She’s waiting for me on the shore
The letters say she’s been lonely
Don’t want her to feel it anymore
I close my eyes & silently plead
Please Captain, full steam ahead
‘Cause I got a lady back home
& She’s waiting for me in our bed
Sitting back; waiting on the world
Knowing her beauty’s utmost brilliance
Never been more in love with the girl
Together we’re tectonic resilience
The illustrious words of Hunter (the elder)
We ante’d more than our parents’ share
Broken cups of mottled modeling clay
Abstinence leaving you lonely & bare
Chanting Yeats without a voice
A rye smile at the lively night’s end
Cocktail girls when only a wife will do
Looking to the heavens to make amends
Time is failing on a tractional level
Bleak mornings to come calling back
Needing to move without giving notice
Resurrection only possible with coffee this black
Where are the heroes for our own time
The poets & warriors to lead the charge
I’m not the effigy of your incompetent apathy
Merely the pirate of record, by & large
Who will join me among these ranks
To beat back the mind-numbing attitudes
To hell with society & its reality television
Taking my crew to more temperate latitudes
Even if you have failed
This life isn’t a total loss
You can always get get back up
When you’re living under the cross
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
One must be a seeker
To discover unique truth amongst the thorns
Head down, hiding that grime I feel inside
I’m intelligent, yet not enough to forewarn
Trying to eek out a stable existence
With all these storms heading my way
But you have to want to be something more
Never content at the beginning of the day
We’re bordering on anarchy
With the streets continuing to seethe
This communal madness
Fighting for our shared right to breathe
But I have a long forgotten confession
Which will leave you confused & aghast
Tacked to the back of a soul’s liberty
Forever within the defense of our contrasts
Hiding discarded notes in a shoebox
A back-catalog of creativity to mend
Offering our souls to be consumed
& an apology if we might offend
Trying to recreate life
In spite of these ink-stained fingers
The smudges in the interior margins
Forgotten, yet where light tends to linger
These days aren’t so easily understood
I contradict back onto myself
Leaving traces in my erratic wake
All I know – Love has been my only true wealth
Poseurs, pacifists & poets reek
Sitting high on a lifeguard shack
Nighttime cloaked down upon us
Words in darkness never taken back
Ocean waves break the silence tonight
Only our thoughts to be heard otherwise
Isolation not what you thought it’d be
Tearing out your incessant broken eyes
Midnight sounds to be held on tight
A swim where you can never return
A fatigue to be felt deep down
Love exposed to moonlight will forever burn
Our olden fantasies
Not quite matching casual conversation
The heart’s silent secrets
Masked by our gilded incantations
A kind smile to hide our fears
The dreams left by the tragic shore
But there’s always a way back home
To drink from the hopeful waters to finally restore
I fell out of Jerry’s beard
That trip was critical & weird
Pushin’ the limit in this life
Don’t confuse me with strife
Keep your learned looks
I’ll steal a trove of books
Answers come when they please
Send me back to sail the seas
I’ll dry off at the Westward Ho!
For it is still all who you know
Green mermaid lady
I’m still in love with you
Always been good to me
My affections are overdue
Dimly lit stages for hire
Writing out these feelings
Jittered & confused tonight
Staggered & now kneeling
Inspiration to keep on going
Confidence in my finer words
Blocked out memories past
Forgetting what was heard
Know where you want to be
So I’ve come back to you
Capitalism be damned!
Pour me something new
Image by marvette critney from Pixabay
Chasing time down a rabbit’s hole
Knowing there’s no way to go on back
Don’t look that way, it’s a mirage
Ghosts aren’t known to be tracked
But we seldom heed our own advice
Reason vanished into our past decisions
Demons try to cling, but they don’t exist
For these antiquated memories are mere apparitions
My love rests beyond the ocean
Beyond the miles I can’t control
The one I need to return to
The one whom is intertwined with my soul
Marking stitches upon the globe
I’m stuck on faraway shores
Missing the girl who makes my heart smile
Knowing I don’t want to travel anymore
The world holds no interest to me
For without my bride, I only see greyscale
Time & distance, mere obstacles
I’m coming back, even though I no longer sail
Image by Milada Vigerova from Pixabay
Captain Q 