Kimberly Williams
As a muse you are beautiful and endearing.
As a person you make me sad
And I guess I just need to make the choice,
Because God knows I don't need to be sad.
I was sad for years and years.
Sometimes life hands you misery
Then God hands you a keen axe
And lets you think you have battled
Alone through hell and back.
I am never super sad anymore,
As long as I cry when no one is looking.
I break down for brief moments,
That's about it though.
I convince myself I wield my own ax.
I don't have to wonder
What keeps the blade sharp and clean.
Good thing that in your weakest moments
You are still stronger than me.
In your weakest moment,
Stronger than most, it seems to be
Kimberly Williams says she still loves me
Like an old poem, poorly written
Upon dog-eared paper; no Poe for sure.
I still love her too, though admitting
Sometimes dulls the concept of God Axe;
Double-bladed and infallible.
On a North Dakota day,
I still wish times were simple;
I once lived two frozen trailer lots away.
If I only had a broke back single shot 12 gauge,
I could cure this addiction,
But my laptop is dying so I must bid you adieu!
Thank you for the company
But as a shoulder provided,
These old memories provide more pain than solace.
I have miles to go before I sleep,
Dreams of a past without futures,
And axes to grind that I must keep...
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Last Words
If you could remember
The last words you said,
Would you regret them.
If you could remember
The last words you said,
Would you recall them?
If you could remember
The last words you said,
Would you change them?
If the last thing you said
Makes you feel bad,
Then say something beautiful.
If you don’t stop to say
“I love you,” every day
How does anyone know?
If you could remember
The last words you said,
Would you regret them.
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Last Words
They told me to use the last sentence
from the nearest book as the inspiration
for the first line of an epic poem.
But the only thing I have near
Is a dog-eared crossword collection.
From the nearest book, as the inspiration
For purloined words and rearranged letters
I tried to borrow a few lines and phrases
To create the kind of masterpiece and legends
That the likes of Poe or King would read.
For the first line of an epic poem
Should either come from the thinker’s heart,
Or a late night movie on channel 417,
Wherever the real inspiration lies,
As Inspiration for half written lies.
But the only thing I have near
Is the realization that some ships
Should never have been allowed
To leave the safety of a port
Sunwashed and dangerous gale hidden.
Is a dog-eared crossword collection
Full of mistakes and bad guesses
Permanently fixed with the smudging
of a worn eraser drug back and forth,
Like the words to the judge’s last sentence.
Last
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Plastic (Still Life)
Far beyond the plastic Jesus or Mary on the dashboard
The road wanders into infinity
While behind it slowly fades away
In the quiet and still settling
Fall leaves kicked around
By mostly bald tires.
The tangy autumn air,
Redolent with expected winter shivers
Slowly slides back over the scent
Of exhaust, oil,
And hot, overtaxed engine.
Clad in a cheap knock-off
buffalo plaid “LL Bean
Maine Hunting Shirt,”
Now thread-barren,
And carelessly maintained,
With loose buttons and mended seams,
I curse a too hot defroster.
I sing along to the lyrics
From a scratched rock CD
Coming through
Tin-sounding speakers
In my 1986 Ford pickup
And remember.
Life was supposed to be easier
When I left high school
And this tired town
And followed the road
That was laid out
And wandering into infinity
Far beyond the plastic Jesus or Mary on the dashboard.
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Winter Doesn't Last
The robins came back,
hop-hopping along the field.
The robins came back.
Snow receded, revealed
the spring-soft ground
and fall abandoned field.
Listen for the whisper sound
of a worm creep-crawling;
the soft-spring ground.
Softly robin comes calling,
"remember the joys of spring;
of a worm creep-crawling."
Happily he begins to sing
as he pokes for breakfast.
Remember the joys of spring!
Thankfully, winter doesn't last
as he pokes for breakfast.
The robins came back!
The robins came back!
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