Poem: Prayerful Triplets

Dear Kind, Almighty, Heavenly Father:
What to ask for in a prayer I'm not so sure;
I'll ask from my heart and hope an answer.

What do I want?  A few words to write down.
I don't even wish for any renown:
Happiness comes from the taste of a noun.

Please protect and nourish my family
(Even the ones with conduct unseemly).
And please bless my friends who have been worthy.

May we live our lives without starvation
With enough wealth to avoid privation.
Bless strangers, too (my concatenation).

Help the unrighteous find their way to grace:
The intended goal for our entire race.
There certainly is more than enough space.

To me leave a pen, paper, and window.
I can record light's crepuscular glow:
The sky's prism low upon its plateau.

And Lo, I take upon myself the Name
And say these things to spread his lustrous fame.
Because of the Lamb, the Lion is tame.

Poem: Spiritus sancti

I am the still and silent voice.
I am mankind's every choice.
I am the good and the bad;
I am life's being happy and sad.

I am love and peace, and repose.
I am this life's highs and lows.
I am the light and the dark;
I am the graceful and the stark.

I am always here and there,
I am every- and no-where.
I am the stars and the sun.
I am I, for there is only One.

I am the lost and the found.
I am, to my children, bound.
I am of every life, a part.
I am that fire that burns the heart.

I am the wind that dims desire:
I am the last flicker of that fire.
I am the time until the day
You turn back into the clay.

Betrayal

Betrayal

If asked to betray one you hold most dear
What recompense would you expect to hear?
Would it be done for the sake of one's wealth,
Or fear of torture, or fear for one's health?
Would you prefer secretly to backstab;
Or rather, openly, consciously, blab?
What is the price of the friendships you make:
From what bribe will you these friendships forsake?

To be the target of some deceptions
Leaves one holding unpleasant emotions.
Be careful in whom one places one`s trust --
Or cowardly avoid all of the lust
That gives rise to your worldly attachments,
`Til betrayal is a minor nuisance.

Behind the Walls

Behind the Walls

Mad memories of stone and metal
And plastic forks to eat off of sterile plates
Eyes always watching a human menagerie
As we learn how to be what we once were.
Nobody leaves without the faint scars
Of being labelled, diagnosed, poisoned, and caged.
I sleep in a room like a spider's web
Fearful every night; my atheism dissolves
To make way for the peaceful repose of religion.
I am Zarathustra's disciple, casting spells
And witchcraft.  I am balanced by Tao
But not enough for the vampires who
Take from me my blood at regular intervals.
I glare at puzzles, TV, exercise machines.
I test the walls and columns and flora
And discover that only half are as they appear.
One pillar is stone; another rings like a bell.
One plant is leafy and alive -- the other plastic.
I develop a fixation on cheese.  I am a rat,
My conscience giving hints about my feelings.
I experience metaphor in lively rants and
Colourful behavioural alterations.
Always the question: "are you having suicidal thoughts?"
To which I reply: I wouldn't be here if I did.
My paranoia had lead me to flee the freedom outside.
This was life-saving: a witness protection program.

A month of haikus

These are all from @DwiTrevor.

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Rain drizzles downward, / For several days and night, / Moistening windows

High up on the wall, / Right up against the ceiling, / Window has a ledge.

Archer tried to climb, / But ended up on the floor / 'Neath non-climbables.

Walnut plays with duck, / Softly nibbling at the down / With her incisors.

A friend came to town. / We spent the day near Whyte Ave.: / Did some catching up.

Passover dinner: / Horseradish, crumbly matzah, / Soup, brisket, chicken.

The cat fell over / On the same spot many times; / I moved him a rug.

In this little room / Tonight, I sleep in a bed. / A friend in the cold.

The sky crapped on us: / Until we were well-covered. / Then, the snow puddled.

Room is restructured; / The parts I don't use: throw out. / Fills up garbage bags.

Great gob of thick mud / Attach themselves to my feet / And slow my movement.

I'm leaving the house, / After a breath of fresh air / Has me in pursuit.

Just broke oven in. / Lemon-and-pepper salmon. / Now the cat cuddles.

A man rides his bike. / A man texts on his cellphone. / Same man, same time. Ass.

Woman talks to self. / My face recoils in horror; / I stare at my hand.

Room fills with darkness, / That pours in through the windows / From the darkened sky.

Take the doctor's pills; / Be blamed for the side effects. / How convenient.

The time wastes itself: / Practically no effort / Needed on my part.

It's like a sickness / That obliterates my week, / Leaving me bedstruck.

Speakers buzz softly / And a breathing machine talks / All through the evening.

Fitful night of sleep. / I went to bed far too late; / Never quite woke up.

Movie reference: / Saw a Nelwyn on the bus. / I'm a Daikini.

Poor control of moods / Steals more than one day from me. / I just laze around.

If I spent the day / Doing any other thing / I'd have been awake.

I step off the train. / Bus arrives in terminal: / Forgot my luggage.

Today's sudden drop / Returns the puddles to ice. / Springtime teases us.

The temperature / Means that you need a blanket / When you are upstairs.

First rain, wet dog hair; / It transforms into cold sleet -- / The rain, not the dog.

Orange and teal sky, / Covered in streaks of grey clouds. / A plane roars above.

Awaken at night / After missing the whole day / To see spring's effects.

The day is longer / My jacket becomes lighter / Ice withers away.

It passes us by, / These brief ruins of winter, / And this year's rare snows.

Basin overflows, / Spilling water down concrete / And into the road.

Stealthily, spring comes, / Dissolving the banks of snow, / Puddling salted walks.

The pavement is dry, / Except for a few patches / Where water clings on.

In melted puddles / Deeper than the top of shoes / The drifts of snow fade.

Hurried particles / Slowly build up into piles / That need a shovel.

Crunches underfoot / Leaving a mark on the ground / With size 12 boots on.

Haiku #5

The haikus for last week, on Occupy Edmonton. @DwiTrevor

Grass trampled down flat

Sign staked down in three places

Marker, and dry paint

In an empty park

Tim Horton's across the street

A corner campground

Come for the protest

Keep getting asked for money

Free food brings homeless

One tarp hides kitchen;

Another is lost-and-found;

A third, medical.

News anchors are here

They ask to speak with someone

A queue quickly forms.

She said, "get a job."

But since most of us had one,

A difficult task.

Sonnet #5

On Occupy Edmonton. @DwiTrevor

Desire to change world in positive ways

Was taken by protestors to extreme:

They built up an enthusiastic team.

But seeing the actual play-by-plays,

The project burst apart in a huge blaze.

The expiration of this grand pipedream

Was presaged by a strange, leaderless scheme,

And knowledge that we were hippy cliches.

Many just wanted to talk on the news,

As they threw out any who tried to lead.

These rebels claimed they'd non-partisan views,

But to have no stance is not what we need.

I think everyone who picks up on clues,

In a month no longer carried the creed.