Poems
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First of October
Sad news from an old friend Brings floods of tears I remember Harpers Ferry Sitting together with our coffee In the innocent arrogance of our youth Though we are many miles apart I would miss you terribly If you left this earth Broken Glass Architecturally speaking It’s bizarre to say the least And no matter how you flatten it It’s now forever creased And there could be a diamond there Amongst the steel and brass But you would never know Because of all the broken glass |
Wednesday Last
On Wednesday last the modern stoic changed his mind That he was not a drifter but in fact a bedouin And suddenly he was home Life Life moves on And lessens the weight Of living A Cheeky Poem Though I no longer see your face Your Kind humanity and grace Are stored within this lovely vase I keep upon the mantel |
Kim
Lying by your side
I feel
My heart
Made whole again
Alive inside me
Once more
Awake
In the dim light I trace
The gentle curve of your hip
Made more graceful with living
Deeper and
More beautiful
Come old shoe
And nest thoughtlessly
In my strong and failing arms
Lying by your side I can do anything
Anything but sleep
I feel
My heart
Made whole again
Alive inside me
Once more
Awake
In the dim light I trace
The gentle curve of your hip
Made more graceful with living
Deeper and
More beautiful
Come old shoe
And nest thoughtlessly
In my strong and failing arms
Lying by your side I can do anything
Anything but sleep
Odo to Sligo Youth Theatre
Amidst the war and pain and yelling
There is a cure for social ill
An aide administered by telling
All our hearts and minds to fill
With stories of our own
And they will make the rivers run
The forests spread beneath the sun
And they will make the mountains rise
The youth of County Sligo
The beauty waiting in our souls
Is handed down throughout our past
Its power hot like burning coals
Is hard to find but made to last
And stand the test of time
And they will make the rivers run
The forests spread beneath the sun
And they will make the mountains rise
The bards of County Sligo
The daily news is good to hear
And passes quick from day to day
But more important to our ear
And more important still to say
Are stories of our making
And they will make the rivers run
The forests spread beneath the sun
And they will make the mountains rise
While kings and gods with thunderous cries
Salute the youth and spread the word
The greatest stories, warmest songs,
And theatre, it all belongs
To those along the Garavogue
The mythic bards of Sligo
Joel Mason
August 25 2002
There is a cure for social ill
An aide administered by telling
All our hearts and minds to fill
With stories of our own
And they will make the rivers run
The forests spread beneath the sun
And they will make the mountains rise
The youth of County Sligo
The beauty waiting in our souls
Is handed down throughout our past
Its power hot like burning coals
Is hard to find but made to last
And stand the test of time
And they will make the rivers run
The forests spread beneath the sun
And they will make the mountains rise
The bards of County Sligo
The daily news is good to hear
And passes quick from day to day
But more important to our ear
And more important still to say
Are stories of our making
And they will make the rivers run
The forests spread beneath the sun
And they will make the mountains rise
While kings and gods with thunderous cries
Salute the youth and spread the word
The greatest stories, warmest songs,
And theatre, it all belongs
To those along the Garavogue
The mythic bards of Sligo
Joel Mason
August 25 2002
I've never posted someone eases poem to my page before but I am very proud to include this one. My friend Eileen and I share the unfortunate circumstance of having Parkinson's and Eileen expresses one of it's frustrations so simply and so eloquently.
Mistaken Identity by Eileen Blackwood
"Is that Parkinson's?"
Said a man on the bus
I wanted to turn but
I'm stiff and don't like fuss
"Yes", said a woman
Who seemed to know
I wanted to turn and
Tell them "No"
It's Eileen, with Parkinson's
That you see
I may have Parkinson's but
I'm still me!
Mistaken Identity by Eileen Blackwood
"Is that Parkinson's?"
Said a man on the bus
I wanted to turn but
I'm stiff and don't like fuss
"Yes", said a woman
Who seemed to know
I wanted to turn and
Tell them "No"
It's Eileen, with Parkinson's
That you see
I may have Parkinson's but
I'm still me!
I lie awake listening to the sound of my heartbeat
Softly, quietly, slowly
It pumps my life's blood
In cinematic perspective
The camera zooms in
Pause
Fade to black
Heartbeat continues
Softly, quietly, slowly
And stops
Nothing
No meaning
No redemption
No persecution
No afterlife
Nothing
The purpose of life is to live
Have fun, and leave the world a better place than when you found it
And, oh yes, Love
Softly, quietly, slowly
It pumps my life's blood
In cinematic perspective
The camera zooms in
Pause
Fade to black
Heartbeat continues
Softly, quietly, slowly
And stops
Nothing
No meaning
No redemption
No persecution
No afterlife
Nothing
The purpose of life is to live
Have fun, and leave the world a better place than when you found it
And, oh yes, Love
Five hours to Harrisburg
Five hours to Harrisburg I think it was
A bucket of chicken and a counter clerk fishing for a tip
Full tanks of gas, another laugh in a long line of running jokes
Tired eyes and cheeks burnished bright by jovial comradery
Like cowboys pushing matter-a-factly on to the next thing
Oblivious to the concept of nine to five or mine and only mine
Living moment to moment as if that’s the way it was supposed to be
Alone on the road in the company of so many that have gone before
Alone in the habit of being men, or at least being guys
Boys, the sons of our mothers
Living the secret lives of boys, laughing and joking and deep down inside feeling
Comfortable together on mars on our cattle drive
Driving our facts, fictions, and faults before us.
jm 24/01/02
Five hours to Harrisburg I think it was
A bucket of chicken and a counter clerk fishing for a tip
Full tanks of gas, another laugh in a long line of running jokes
Tired eyes and cheeks burnished bright by jovial comradery
Like cowboys pushing matter-a-factly on to the next thing
Oblivious to the concept of nine to five or mine and only mine
Living moment to moment as if that’s the way it was supposed to be
Alone on the road in the company of so many that have gone before
Alone in the habit of being men, or at least being guys
Boys, the sons of our mothers
Living the secret lives of boys, laughing and joking and deep down inside feeling
Comfortable together on mars on our cattle drive
Driving our facts, fictions, and faults before us.
jm 24/01/02
Legacy
I could feel your heart beside me
As I began to realize
And then the sight of candlelight
Reflecting in your eyes
We talked into the evening
I walked you to the stair
You kissed my cheek so gently
I left the future there
The timing wasn't for us
You stepped behind the do0r
It closed without our wanting
I never saw you more
Now many years asunder
With oh so slight a shove
Your memory like thunder
Still inspires me to love
As I began to realize
And then the sight of candlelight
Reflecting in your eyes
We talked into the evening
I walked you to the stair
You kissed my cheek so gently
I left the future there
The timing wasn't for us
You stepped behind the do0r
It closed without our wanting
I never saw you more
Now many years asunder
With oh so slight a shove
Your memory like thunder
Still inspires me to love
Some Time From Then
It doesn’t last for ever so enjoy it while you can
That’s what they say to newlyweds with knowing smiles and sheepish glances
To their own mates
But in those glances you can read
A deepening a tiny seed
A caring of another breed
A love that’s still expanding
Adjusting to a different life
Is full of things you cannot see
With lots of little ups and downs
And sometimes very big ones
But every day I see in you
The girl I saw across the floor
The graceful woman dancing past
Who drew me from a distant shore
And every day I love you more
Though life is full of ups and downs
And sometimes very big ones
We enter in a richer phase
With smiling glance and sheepish gaze
And I will gladly spend my days
In love that’s still expanding
jm Feb 2005
That’s what they say to newlyweds with knowing smiles and sheepish glances
To their own mates
But in those glances you can read
A deepening a tiny seed
A caring of another breed
A love that’s still expanding
Adjusting to a different life
Is full of things you cannot see
With lots of little ups and downs
And sometimes very big ones
But every day I see in you
The girl I saw across the floor
The graceful woman dancing past
Who drew me from a distant shore
And every day I love you more
Though life is full of ups and downs
And sometimes very big ones
We enter in a richer phase
With smiling glance and sheepish gaze
And I will gladly spend my days
In love that’s still expanding
jm Feb 2005
Common Ground
Truth and might seldom found
Both upon common ground
Meet the beast fox the hound
Here upon common ground
Duty calls honor bound
Try it on common ground
Choose a side gather round
Right will win on common ground
Facing fate life unwound
No such thing as common ground
jmh 15 July 2015 10:59 am
A Moment More
By Joel Mason
No one ever pointed out
That being someone's wife
Would mean that every morning
I'd wake up and you’d no longer be
The man whose words would lift me
To the first step of the day
I wish I could have known
How much I love you when it counted
Let me be your little girl
For just a moment more
Come hold me in my daddy’s
Arms for just a moment more
By Joel Mason
No one ever pointed out
That being someone's wife
Would mean that every morning
I'd wake up and you’d no longer be
The man whose words would lift me
To the first step of the day
I wish I could have known
How much I love you when it counted
Let me be your little girl
For just a moment more
Come hold me in my daddy’s
Arms for just a moment more
Finale
UNTIL THE END OF TIME
The love in my heart passed to you
Ensures that I live on
Today into tomorrow
Into all the lives that follow
Until the end of family line
Until the end of all known time
Until the end of endings
Every reason every rhyme
And so shall I forever live
Until the end of time
(8:30 – 9:02, 16 February 2012)
UNTIL THE END OF TIME
The love in my heart passed to you
Ensures that I live on
Today into tomorrow
Into all the lives that follow
Until the end of family line
Until the end of all known time
Until the end of endings
Every reason every rhyme
And so shall I forever live
Until the end of time
(8:30 – 9:02, 16 February 2012)
© 2011 Joel Mason all rights reserved