User Poetry

[kennyc]

Certainly felt that way.....

Thanks Geoff!

[kennyc]

Radio Waves


I listen to Radio New Zealand as I prepare my evening meal.
I think of life before Fox News, Rupert Murdoch, cell
phones and 24 hour infomercials.

A time when life was harder but simpler, more content.
I think of radio waves beamed from Christchurch, circling
the Earth, spreading news, music and culture not only around
the globe but into space as well, beaming towards Alpha
Centauri, spreading at the speed of light from our tiny
corner of the galaxy.

What if somehow we could catch that wave,
pass it and return to a simpler time.



Kenny A. Chaffin – 12/30/2013

[kennyc]

Fate


The End:

Whether recording this is worthwhile
I will never know, yet I feel I must.
We’ve destroyed ourselves, our civilization.
We’ve known for centuries yet did nothing.
Some would say it was the bugs,
but they are only a result, we did this to ourselves.
In a final act of desperation the scientists
have loaded their arks with DNA
and launched them into the inky blackness of space.


The Denouement:

Born of the dying oceans they gather
in swarms. They descend upon the earth,
the cities, the people leaving nothing
but barren soil in their wake.

Miami was first, nothing was left
no buildings, no cars, no people.
Others followed, Hong Kong, London,
Leningrad as the bugs incessantly
made their way inland. Nuclear missiles
were absorbed by the swarm
as easily as were the cities.
Nothing could touch them.

When their deadly work was done
they disappeared back into the sea
from which they came. Scientists
found no clues in the wastelands
other than a complete and utter
lack of biological organisms.

The destruction continued as if
to wipe all traces of the humanity from the Earth.
Within weeks little was left –
no technology, no science, no capability,
no way to save or protect.


The Beginning:

The Jewel of the Sea slipped silently
into NewBoston Harbor. Her biocomp
trimmed and adjusted the solar sails.
Johann nodded his approval as the ship
slid into the assigned berth its belly filled
cargo from Eurosea. Life was good.



Kenny A. Chaffin – 1/2/2014

[gmw]

The following is dedicated to Kenny, with grateful thanks for inspiring my first poem in a great many years.

Capital Offence

I offended someone on the Internet,
it kept me up for half the night.
The words had no malign intent,
I surely did not mean the slight.

It was something short,
not at all like me,
off the cuff humour
I thought all could see.

This was a simple and casual conversation,
the regular and easy banter among friends.
I had no thought nor anticipation,
of raising argument when I hit send.

So in I popped,
with my minor shot,
just a brief little thing
that sprang out so hot.

But talk on the Internet can be hazardous,
something that should give us all pause.
We have only our words to represent us,
and they can be traitors to the cause.

It needn't be said,
nor even suggested,
implied is enough
when intent is contested.

The words inspired by humorous imagination,
the meaning seems clear and worth praising.
But when stripped of their context and relation,
other sense can be refined from their phrasing.

So comes the surprise,
with no warning suspicion,
there is someone
that doubts your intention.

Your words have betrayed you and led you astray,
so you own up and explain what you meant.
But backs comes rejection in very rapid affray,
you're not getting out while that nose is still bent.

Not all will accept,
nor likely excuse,
whatever the reasons
or explanations you use.

The confusion is obvious, you did not mean to hurt,
so you offer apologies for the misunderstanding.
And you tender again those explanations that assert,
you did not mean to rile a friend of long standing.

Sorry can be said,
it can be insisted,
but acceptance is uncertain
when words have been twisted.

Concession, explanation and atonement are all spent,
there seems no correction for these words that have strayed.
What started so lightly, so brief, smiling and innocent,
has now left you miserable, apprehensive and dismayed,

The gallows stand tall,
guilty of nonsense,
words taken badly
can be a capital offence.


gmw 4-Jan-2014.

[kennyc]

Thanks GMW.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Fate


The End:...

Kenny A. Chaffin – 1/2/2014

Another fine science themed poem. Thanks for that one, Kenny!

[kennyc]

Thank you Tom. I'm trying something a bit different with the last few poems. This one is actually a story I've been working on for a while but is not really complete yet, I thought I'd give it a shot as a poem....

Appreciate your reading and commenting.

[kennyc]

What Happens in Vegas

In my dream Las Vegas
was being shoved against
the mountains. At first
it was actually fun riding
the berm of a sand dune
as it slid across the desert
something like surfing
the Sahara.

As we approached the
mountains the turbulence
of the sand increased
a huge lake formed between
us and the tall buildings.

We struggled to stay on top
of the crest and not fall into the
flaming abyss that had opened below.

I somehow made my way
to the left and a path leading
away from the bottomless pit.

From there I saw the high-rollers
in the high-rise fighting
to escape. They were beating
against the blue translucent
plastic windows with anything
they could find. Some were
already screaming as they fell
towards the burning conflagration
below them. Other were bending
and bulging the plastic out. Vague
body shapes pushing outward
beating to escape what to them
must be hell -- only to fall free
into another. Panic and fear
can make us fly.


Kenny A. Chaffin – 1/3/2014

[kennyc]

(not trying to hog the thread, but ..... just glad to be writing again after a dry spell...)



Time Out


Those in the future knew exactly what to do
as each time-traveler arrived.
After all, they’d had the entire duration
to make any special arrangements.

Whether that meant
notifying family or friends for pick up
or arranging medical
or psychological treatment.

In some cases of course
the incoming would arrive expired
due to age or other factors
that could cut a lifetime short.

And yes, of course they aged
when making that instantaneous
one-way trip through time,
there was no getting around that,
it was simply the laws of physics.

In fact that was the point.
There was no memory,
just a blank spot while
while time passed, the body aged
and the criminal sentence was served.



Kenny A. Chaffin – 1/5/2014

[Sothh]

Wow, never knew this thread existed. I usually stick to the dev corner, but I do love poetry.

Here is something I wrote several months back:

"If I were an artist I would paint, so dark so dark with nothing but black.
To show my world, to craft a picture of understanding.
The black and my tears flowing down it, little trickles fading into nothing.

To show a world of grays, the kiss of colorless lips.
The whites blurring into the blacks of the eyes that watch.
I would express it if I could paint.

If I were a singer I would sing, so sad so sad with nothing but screams.
To show my world, to craft a song of understanding.
My face thrown back the tears flowing down it, little trickles fading into nothing.

To show a world of pain, the sand and sky and water a deathly tone.
The ears turning away and forgetting the words that are spoken.
I would express it if I could sing.

But I can not sing, nor paint.
I can only sow these words on pages that will long be forgotten.
For I have no other way in the black of night, to express my fear of darkness.

So I write, and my words live on."

[kennyc]

I like it Sothh! my only quibble is with the word "screams" in S3....seems to me cries might be better.

Let your words live on!

[gmw]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I like it Sothh! my only quibble is with the word "screams" in S3....seems to me cries might be better.

Let your words live on!

A quibble with your quibble, Kenny. I know you're a Pink Floyd fan so think "Dark Side of the Moon", and the screams work - for me at least.

Great job, Sothh, I like it.

[kennyc]

What Matters Most at my Age

These days I look forward
to getting my monthly AARP Bulletin.
Well I’m not sure I exactly look forward to it.
I mean I don’t get overly
excited or anything like that,
my Xanax and Atenolol help with that.

But interestingly there always
seems to be something of concern in it
like “Why so many get Hooked on
Gambling,” or “Statins to the Rescue!”
Oh well, I think I’ll take a nap.


Kenny A. Chaffin – 1/8/2014

[Namekuseijin]

.



Somehow
as the sun goes down
so go my eyes
Looking cold ice
And fresh
Upon the reflex
Sunshine makes
On the lake bed


...

[Marcus365]

How Did You Get So Sweet?


How did you get so sweet...sent straight from heaven, my God given treat.

How did you get so sweet, not too thick, not too petite,

but perfect from your head to your feet.

If you were a song I would put you on repeat, if you were a city gold would pave your streets,

and if I were a puzzle only you would make me complete.

When are you going to tell me how you got so sweet,

Is it gonna take long, do I need to take a seat?

Or will it be too complex to put into words, and I'll walk away still puzzled about what I just heard?

Will you have to write it down and put it in a book, that would get every reader hooked with just one look?


What's it going to take for you to tell me how you got so sweet,are there some kind of requirements that I have to meet?

Do I have to take a class and stay glued to my seat, so I can pass every test and rank among the elite?

Spend long hours studying, and turn my work in nice and neat,

and work hard to get the right answer even when I'm pressured to cheat?

It should be deemed a national holiday and we should trade gifts and eat, on whatever day you decide to tell me how you got so sweet.