They made a horror flick
He was weak or he was sick
They chose him as the star
He can run, but won't get far
They created a wall compartment
Inside his small apartment
They installed cameras there
Reality show, unwanted, but they didn't care.
(bridge)
He felt ill, he began to ail
No idea of the hand pushing down the scale
Romance and work dove down the drain
They laughed and gloated at his pain.
(Chorus)
It’s a horror flick, but the plot is real,
They aren't like us in the way they feel.
He’s the star they chose, but the plot is sick,
Living and dying in their horror flick.
He heard them speak, felt nerve gas in his room
His apartment was a secret tomb.
He knew too much, but the cops would not believe
And he could not save others, for them we grieve.
So, learn the lesson be an owl:
Around us ghouls are on the prowl
They pass as normal, but empathy lacks
And in normal life, there are hidden attacks.
It could happen to you too
Bewildered by all the bad things that accrue
A life derailed, no suspicion why
When the only exit seems the choice to die.
Fire is a jealous woman I say
I watch her angry, mean dragon way
Started with ten boxes, three of them small
Enraged, she is now spiking eight feet tall
Towering inferno, an orange black beast
These flames are hungry, the boxes their feast
One small light, and she took off like a tracker
Mesmerized, sits my cat, Mr. C.T. Paddywhacker
Neighbor called. Should she send the fire department?
I would like to push her into a tiny glove compartment
Fire is urging me to have feelings of anger and revenge.
A wild maniacal woman, and my best friend.
At a certain age when memory activity
Reminds me of a dream I never had
Absolutely nothing happens
That hasn't happened many times
I come again, but only to forget myself
More reliably than usual
And there's another me, just like the same
Writing something, to the amazement of an old man
Who sits waiting for the train at the station
To fall asleep in the compartment.
The air can’t wait for a Friday declarationn of love
In marble hotels and fireside chairs
It's time to sneeze out some emotion
To cough it up, to blow out
All that accumulated inside over the years
That's boiled there and cooled down
And then it gurgled again one night
So comes the expected thunder, the lightning zigzags
Break the sky, releasing the overflowing downpour
And the dry silence crumbles, and the rubbish
Floats calmly from nowhere to nothing.
The slamming of doors, and a quick chat
Where it's impossible to make out a word
But that’s for the best
In the Leibnizian worldview
Memories
First Platoon boards the Huey, sickly smell of sweat and death
elbow to elbow we sit cramped in the narrow compartment
hot, sticky air like a sauna grips us in its wet claws
rotors spin, air rushes through the open doors
but no relief is felt from the hot, breath of the dragon
gnawing fear grips each man as the bird lifts off
taking us to places we don’t want to go
the green canopy is now below us concealing them but not us
we land at the LZ, bullets snapping and popping as we emerge
the encounter is short, bloody, cries of wounded, silence of dead
First Platoon boards the Huey, sickly smell of sweat and death
gnawing fear grips each man as the bird lifts off
are we headed back to the firebase, home, safety from the fire
safety from the fear and death and sweat
Hueys flying the wrong way, new orders issued
on to the next hot LZ more fear death and sweat
Like an ever-glowing sunrise ascending over the horizon,
God puts great people in our lives to serve His purpose.
I have been the recipient of such gifts from God for many
years. They have enriched my life and assisted me in living
out God's plan for my life.
Some years ago, I walked into a room filled with people.
Among those seated was a man some 15 years my senior
whom I have known for over 30 years.
On that occasion, I captured a special moment and stored
it deep in a special compartment in my heart. It remains
there and shall never depart. When this dear friend of mine
saw me walking in, our eyes met as I heard him say, "There's
Curtis". Those words meant the world to me. Not only did I hear
those words, but I read his heart from which those words sprang.
This man and his wife have never ceased to encourage and
support me. Indeed, he has always been a God send to me.
His name is Bill, and he turns 90 tomorrow. I am more
than thrilled to say, Happy Birthday, Bill.
091124PS
My heart is shaped like a love heart
With different compartments inside
The largest compartment being LOVE
Centre stage and always my guide
KINDNESS is another compartment
For of acts of kindness bestowed
Valued and forever remembered
Accrued along my life’s road
HUMOUR has a compartment
I consider it my hearts fuel
Laughter, fun and good times
For entry is the golden rule
MEMORIES sweet and precious
Has a compartment of its own
Abundant with optimal happiness
Mine and mine alone
SADNESS unfortunately is a compartment
Containing disappointment, loss and bereft
Yet in there is also appreciation
For having had the gift of the ones who have left
Down the bottom of my love shaped heart
Is MINDFUL the smallest compartment in there
Containing hurt and wrong doings
An ongoing reminder to be aware
We’re all important in different and various ways
But we shouldn’t ever get to caught up in our own significance
or self-importance
Whatever we believe, we are transient
Whatever pigeon hole, box or compartment of our lives, we are transient
Friends, strong friends, we may bump into but rarely do we seek or
be sought out with any regularity
We hear ourselves say “we should do this more often”
but we rarely do
We are all guilty
Work environments, once left, people quickly fade
An acknowledgement that the world moves on
Quite rightly so
We are transient
Even with families, that most permanent of connections,
time erodes any permanence
Most can remember our parents and even grandparents
but how much beyond that
We are all of us, transient
Our lives are relatively short, for most our legacy is even shorter
Very few people have any form of permanence in history
This doesn’t mean we are irrelevant
To the contrary
We can be important and influential in a number of ways
It’s important to remember
Who you are
What you are
How you are
Be true to yourself but know life for what it is
In not so many years, no one will know any of this
Drove for thirty minutes to subway station, took a train for forty minutes, got into another for only ten minutes, reached Queen's Park. People were rushing to work-places. I found a seat beside the window, and looked at all the grim faces in the compartment.
I carried a book about art history. How many people read art history in the subway? I did, in between scanning all the faces I had never met before, and probably would never meet!
I headed to a hospital where they treat cancer-patients!
Staff was so kind probably knowing some of us won't be around for long.
A volunteer picked me up the next day - she seemed shocked - "You are from India? Do Indians get cancer! I hear they spice food with turmeric every single day!”
Twenty-five days were gone from my life! But I really enjoyed the ride in the subway!
Sectioned into different compartments,
I'm buoyed,
I stay afloat in the raging sea,
Time has taught me this lesson,
Experience has shown me this path,
The sages have given me this key,
As I sojourn through life's mystery lane,
As dawn chauffeurs me through
the shadows of time,
My heart is not fragmented by the clime,
Every trouble for its compartment,
Every cloud for its drawer,
Every gloom for its chamber,
Sleep is not a wish escape,
I'm not shielded from the smiling sun.
August 4, 2023.
A lot I could say about my bookshelf:
In a way like my half-understood self.
A first-time user should seek my half help
Against a blind book search and its yelp!
Supports the cruel weight of three thousand books:
Fat ones except Camus’ that it brooks,
Golding’s moderate-sized up to ten
And Hemingway’s made to stand like brave men!
Wood that clearly woos the works of laureates,
Notwithstanding, kept spaces for Harriet’s,
Able to secure them from clinched finesse;
Never much in shelf owner’s non meanness…
Shelf that says ‘Yes’ too to Science Fiction
The Best-Sellers for their winsome diction;
War novels that claimed a whole compartment
Some headache to Romance Apartment…
Then, Travels and Autobiographies:
Fine ones picturing Great Lives like trophies;
Frame that made sure it quartered the classic
For to have not done so the Quite Sick…
The flawless apt I want to often lick
And side-talks suppress in South Africa’s click;
The brownish shelf as tall as Hulk Hogan
Had my body organs joined as organ.
Our heart is made up of Five compartments:
The first heart compartment is LOVE
The biggest of all five
Right in the centre of the heart
It needs lots of love to survive
The second heart compartment is UNDERSTANDING
This is full of kindness and compassion
Combined with respect, honesty, trust
Oh let’s not forget our passion!!
The third heart compartment is REFLECTION
Where all our precious memories are stored
Along with life’s accolades
And our special rewards
The fourth heart compartment is the VAULT
Where all our secrets are kept
Locked safely deep down in our heart
To keep safe and protect
Lastly, the fifth heart compartment is GRIEF
This holds our sadness and woes
Some will come and stay long term
Where others come and go!
The big black engine snorting,
Driven by the power of steam
The whistle blowing to trail
Far behind it’s muted scream,
Forging through the night.
I’m safe and warm inside
Enjoying every single second
Of that comfortable ride
A sense of isolation
A feeling of escape
As we steam on through
A dark blurred landscape.
In that intimate compartment
Almost like being in a cocoon
Half awake half dreaming until
Journey’s end all too soon.
Nothing quite as luxurious as
A long night journey by train,
Reality slowly returning to
A reluctantly waking brain.
Back out into a real world
Of noise cold and light
Waiting friends at the barrier
Coming slowly into sight.
The big black engine crouching
At the platform’s very end.
Whispering a steamy goodbye
Almost like a parting from a friend.
It was a dragging argument
For the need to funds augment:
Ten voices in Duke's Department,
Their owners in Fred's Apartment;
Not sure of Duke's contentment
With talks on firm's new investment:
Mention of fridge,no compartment...
All men shouting: poor comportment!
"This company is reputed,
Even as it is refuted"
Still motives being imputed;
To staff's quest for The Computed..."
Demanding The Computerized;
Not having staff characterized,
A chapel for The Lutherized,
Sick bay for sores not cauterized,
Release of machines customized,
Ears for complaints though glottalized;
The work load of staff minimised...
"Profit shall still be maximised."
Audio-Wise And Odd symphony
Staff's voiced thoughts on 'strong company'.
looking at the water
with less money than i had before
thinking about the latest person that was blessed with a lucky scratcher
i look down at my lunch
i look in the armrest compartment at my work badge
i look at the interior of my old lady faithful that i just had repaired
i think about my blessed mobility and what i can still do
then i look up and it has stopped raining and the skies are perfectly blue
suddenly i notice a waterfall that was not there before confidently winking its eye at me
the flow of the water is drawing inspiration from a now well rested sun
i guess i got it and this is some sort of approval gesture
maybe it is a Blessing From God for not only me as an unbeknownst reminder
whatever it is, i ask no questions and just roll with it
my lunch is hotter just like i like it and the orange cream soda is colder and just the right level of refreshing
all views are more thoroughly EnJoyed with New Meaning and with a New Fervor
Today I thought I lost my keys
And knowing what’s at stake,
I searched like crazy, but my husband
Took them by mistake.
An hour later, for a class
Of quilting, I was stopped
When my ruler disappeared
Until I noticed it had dropped.
The class complete, I headed
For a shady bench outside
To write my poem, but where’s
My favorite pencil gone to hide?
It isn’t in my bag
And always has a sharpened point.
I looked in each compartment;
Now I’m really out of joint.
A day like this with many things
I cannot seem to find
Makes me hope it’s not a warning
I’m about to lose my mind.
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