Infused with fear, but behind a safe door,
He gets a Reprieve from the mass’s roar,
And hopes for a better tomorrow.
Fear and hope
Reply
Tag Archives: poems
How long can I wait?
“A Man in Italy”
I stand here,
waiting,
hoping you will forgive me.
Berating, debating
This feeling, castrating.
(words and painting by CD-W)
Do you see me?
Do you see me?
Truly see me?
Through this canvas, through this paint?
Of course I posed,
And then I smiled,
But, dear, I am no saint.
(poem and art by my CD-W)
Is the third time a charm?
What words then do I write
When the ink is not to trust?
A plethora of letters yes!
The thoughts, themselves, disgust.
Do I have words left to say
That will not cause alarm?
Can I wake and try again
The third, perhaps, a charm?
(poem and art by me, CD-W)
You know how they say …
Well, I say:
Keep
Qualm
and
write
poetry
because for me, many of the best poems stem from self-doubt, worry, and unease.
Here’s one I memorized in the 70’s because I loved Rod McKuen’s poetry.
Clouds are not
the cheeks of angels
you know
they’re only clouds.
Friendly sometimes,
but you can never be sure.
If I had longer arms
I’d push the clouds away
or make them hang
above the water
somewhere else,
but I’m just a man
who needs and wants,
mostly things he’ll never have.
Looking for that thing
that’s hardest to find…
himself.
I’ve been going
a long time now
along the way
I’ve learned some things.
You have to make the good times yourself
take the little times
and make them into big times
and save the times
that are alright
for the ones
that aren’t so good.
I’ve never been able
to push the clouds away
by myself.
Help me.
Please.
Rod McKuen 1967
Learning to forgive
by CD-W
Changing Keys
Oh, how the music drew me once –
a cadence with my own –
the perfect pitch, the unison,-
the Harmony of tone. –
But change of keys, a sharper chord –
A melody postponed –
That left behind a requiem –
of death from whence it’s grown
– CD-W
Don’t listen to them
How can you Heal when:
they say you’re too fat or too thin–
they ask where you’re going and where you’ve been–
they say you’re too loud or too meek?–
But if you step away from critique–
Then you win.
painting by me
Letting it flow
Dancing with the Moon
The moon over Memphis, looks down at me.
She shines on a river that drifts out to sea.
I can tell by her glow, what she’s trying to say,
“Please have this first dance with me.”
and we go one, two, three, one, two, three…
painting by me
The moon over Memphis is dancing with me,
We shine on a river that drifts out to see,
She can tell by my glow what I’m trying to say,
“Please have this last dance with me.”
And we go, one, two, three, one, two, three …
(A song I wrote a while back)
Carolyn Dennis-Willingham 