Offering up a minimalism
Finding cool without effort
Not weak enough to share
Tough; never going to revert
A mental state removed
Not allowing for them to kill
My soul still beating today
The essence won’t be distilled
Try as you forever might
I won’t be boiled down to a word
No single thought or character
All my expressions slowly heard
Cooler temps mark the new day
Fresh air behind God’s wrath
An eerie calm now remains
Watching quietly in the aftermath
Peeking out the windows
Nervous in the hours after the winds blew
Pressure & fear have dropped
I’ll do anything to hold onto you
Emerging from the cool waters
Morning swim to ease my mind
My soul’s been hacked
I needed an escape to unwind
Society is advancing
But merely on the people’s rights
Media’s a crooked lapdog
We’re doomed if we refuse to unite
I may not be anything to write home about
You have standards, expectations & desire
Those are mostly all good & dandy
But it doesn’t account for imagination like wildfire
You once made a list, checking guys off
You’re a handsome lady, playing it as cool as ice
I might be a possible misstep in your plans
But I do know a guy like me doesn’t come around twice
Tracing these feelings back
Wondering where you began to care
Why did you lose your resolve
& fall in love in the summer’s glare
A palm grove as a backdrop
Kissing quietly behind the reeds
Feeling more than you had expected
Unsure of the coming needs
Layers of sand now everywhere
Breeze feeling cool upon your bare hips
Hopeful surprises found refreshing
Nothing less than passion upon your lips
Snark doesn’t make you what you want to be
You’re infatuated with being cool throughout
Constantly proving your wit for all to see
Reality is you’re hiding & putting your soul in doubt
It’s a stale morning
The humidity will come later for sure
But that’s not what I want from life
We need a cool breeze fresh & pure
You don’t see me when you look my way
Like a ghost – I just don’t seem to appear
Faded into the background of life
Unable to compete with all you hold dear
My kind smile & open arms aren’t a reality
Merely static in your fashion-conscious day
I’m over here trying to catch your eye
Yet my shadow is not even in your way
What more can I do to attract you
The uncool of America
Not enough flash
Eagerly & quietly industrious
But we’re still short on cash
You’re out here ridin’ high on your horse
I’m down here with my heart broken
You’re clearly oblivious to my existence
I wonder if you’ll ever be woken
I never said I was good at this
I have no fancy training or school
I just close my eyes & spill my soul
Without any regard if it will be cool
I’m a bush league hack at my best
Wandering my way through eternity
Endless reams within your dreams
But I’ll never be a victim of your modernity
I’m not rich, cool or really any fun
But I’m honest – a Valentine not stamped Made in China
I’ll forever shout “You’re my only one!”
I want to get you naked & kiss your – lovely lips
Immune to a power surge
I sit alone & quietly type
Not affected by technology
Refuse to be your modern gripe
I switched off my terrestrial radio
But I’ll still pound at these keys
I’m not cool or a trendy guy
I’m reserved, doing as I please
There’s never been an audience
Just a few genuine folks
Sharing myself sparingly
I’m better with these slow strokes
I’ll continue to conjure ideas
Preferring to use my typewriter
Nothing fancy; just a love of words
Old, but I can still pull an all nighter
Our fragile egos remain outright
Yet still free – not compelled by those
In the trenches we find disaster
Inspired to richly & sullenly compose
How do we heal? How do we grow?
Absorbing vibrations & her headspace blues
Redefinition of cool among the vulnerable
Rising morale since she turned off the news
Erratic dreams of dismantling love
The early signposts to the apocalypse
Gentle rise becomes glaring to our eyes
Summer mornings feel fresh on our nips
Ground control to juxtaposed fallacies
Squandering purest moments we’ll know
With no intention to rattle a dull saber
Paradise; when I only wanted a cup of joe
It’s a stale morning
The humidity will come later for sure
This is not what I want from life
We need a cool breeze fresh & pure
Perhaps I’m a bit more prudish
Than I ever expected myself to be
Shying away from their exhibitions
Folding my soul back into propriety
Maybe I’m not as cool as you thought
I’m more of a meandering old fellow
Writing out lines of cautious fantasy
Whereas reality reveals itself to be rather mellow
Not on the cool kids’ team
Can’t fit in it seems
Not up to standards they set
Won’t ever – is a good bet
For I’ve never been one to blend
Known to be an unmovable friend
It is what it is & nothing more
Little worth becoming their whore
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
I’m trying to find the rhythm to life
The way for our souls to feel fresh & free
Purging the endless stress & strife
Standing open in the sunshine, just you & me
I’m trying to find more substance in life
While being cleansed by the Lord’s cool sea
Forever embracing my beloved, beautiful wife
Together; is the only place I’ll ever want to be
The warmth of the First Coast has returned
But the ocean haze is beating out the sunshine
Sitting on the boardwalk, cold drink in my hand
My love reading me the pages of ‘Dandelion Wine’
Summer hasn’t arrived with its full force
In the breeze, the air cool, yet warm for March
Sideways glances, thinking of her last night
Her beauty mine to behold, her back perfectly arched
Watching children playing in the surf
These quiet beaches surrounded by thick mangroves
A wilderness of paradise’s perfect setting
Your whole life waiting for such an idyllic trove
Where there’s no concern for silly tan lines
The sunshine kissing our bodies like a magic wand
Getting lost, leaving unmentionables on the line
Removed from sight, her underbrush covered by palm fronds
It’s different once your cross into the sand
Slow your mind, pour a frozen drink & a slice of Key Lime
Colors, flavors & appetites are all enhanced down here
Mother Nature’s sun, precise remedy for the Wintertime
Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay
Now that I’m old, there’s no chance to be cool
I’m that creepy lurker passing the delicates isle
Finding myself lost in nebulous thought
Youth dropping their eyes while I try to smile
You can’t be friendly when you’re a certain age
Somewhere along the line, I missed my cue
Oblivious to the graffiti on the decaying walls
I’m slowly dying, more with each day that’s through
Stuck before I can be the wisened old fellow
Conversations with alter egos as I deliberate
Taunting life with my aggressive apathy
Father Time impatiently waiting for my cryptic fate
A litmus test for fragile character upon my days
Emerging from adulthood with wisdom in my head
Never again a victim to society’s whims
Pushing past expectations; my own hero instead
Rising higher than their own trite requirements
Still not accepted & still the silly old fool
Sketchy, weird & perpetually the outcast
Damn, there went my last chance to finally be cool
Watching them march you down the hall
Empty auditoriums to drown out your words
Writing out rants my mouth will never recite
The world run not by the cool but angry nerds
Step away and log out of their data systems
We’ll send out love & peace in serial form
Never trusted anyone with such confidence
We’ll burn their egos to keep us warm
Redrawing my own figure
A new shape by the point of my pen
Shading away the obvious flaws
Perhaps I’ll be good enough then
Trying not to carry any burdens
Check out my new roguish stance
I’m cut from a cooler cloth now
Perhaps I’ll finally have a chance
The cool breeze under your dress
Hiking the hem well past your knees
Hoping for the glories held within
Knowing you’ll tease me any way you please
Counting all my cufflinks
You tied my perfect tie
Another night by the bay
Lost within the foggy sky
Seeming to float as you walk
Affection rose by a mere kiss
Evening air cool upon your soul
Never knew we could be like bliss
Your dress flailing behind
Setting down an opaque trail
Everything a dream could be
Forever wrapped by the sail
Your fraternity brother picked a fight
I’m sorry I laughed at your cool guy club
But your dude made the wrong choice
& now you have to deal with the heathens down at the pub
Captain Q 