Ode To The Odious

There are people out there, who refuse to bathe
Even worst is the fact that they refuse to be saved.
Why oh why!?! Do the uncleanly choose me?
To bother and pester.. I'm unable to breathe!
Oh brother, oh bother nothing known to man can smell that bad
Excepting of course, for your own, own smelly fad.
I suggest you take a long and thorough shower
But you'd just laugh and then flaunt your smell till I cower.
Go away, go away and leave me alone at last
It's a good thing my nose is stuffed because your smell would kill me fast.

(Oh... this is one that I cannot really comment on as the subject will probably be offended that I took the time to write a humorous poem about his smell. I will say it isn't my brother, but someone else's brother who complained to me one night and I couldn't resist to write this. It sucks! But hey - it was intended to be a funny response.)

  Ode To The Throne

Several years of your life are spent
Upon that most ungainly porcelain seat.
A most necessary part of our community
Can you imagine standing above a hole and pit?
No, so praise be to the procelain throne!
Decorate the cover, the seat, the handle rod
Now give me your poor, the weak, the poorly shod
And make them clean and make them neat.
You there! Yeah you! Come here and take a seat!
Haha! Right! Not until at last you're all alone
Will you put yourself upon the porcelain throne.

(In an unlikely fit of humor, I attempted to make Mary laugh with a silly ditty about the toilet.)

  Ode To Valentine

The day dawns bright and warm, like any other
But getting out of bed today is worth the bother.
It's Valentine's day and we all have plans
To find that special time and place for romance.
Saint Valentine, Saint Valentine - patron of the sweet
Bring me my valentine, sweet, from across the divide
So that once again we may, incognito, meet.
Tonight, tonight - upon the morrow I shall find
My valentine, sweet valentine, so sweet and kind;
Dear Valentine, at last - once more, you're by my side.

(Ah yes! The first Valentine after I met Mary. By then she had already returned to the mainland to follow her dreams. Funny thing is, if she had stayed for me... I probably wouldn't have fallen as hard as I had for her. Her dedication and energy are two of her greatest qualities... Overall, a beautiful person to top it all off... Plus being beautiful in truth and fact. She was hit on just about every place I took her.)

  Ode To Caffeine

My senses are dull and my reflexes sluggish
Until I get a dose of my favorite drug-ish
Caffeine, oh caffeine! Where have you been?
Come to me sweet darling, my greatest sin.
I need you at 7 AM, every day of every week
It's your blissful embrace, oh caffeine, that I seek.
To me! To me! You're in my coffee, you're in my tea.
Caffeine, sweet darling... You invigorate me!

(Inspired by Mary after she left Hawaii. She went to a movie and had a little too much coffee. She told me the story afterward about how she couldn't keep from dancing around during the movie... Hence, Caffeine was born. In more recent submissions I have removed the word "Ode" from the title due to the technical definition of an Ode being a lengthy poem, whereas, these are definitely not lengthy. And there is no way I'm going to use the word "Ditty" in the title.)

How is it that once I stood on solid ground
But now the rocks are sand
Now I find myself sinking down
Where is it that I stand?

Where trees and grass once grew
For miles all around, all I see is sand
All the truths are false, all I ever knew
Where is it that I stand?

The ocean blues and sunset shades turned to ash
The waters left, leaving only sand
Happiness is gone, all that's left is the pain that lasts
Where is it that I stand?

Morning will come after the cock's third crow
But where I stand, I still don't know.

  Holding On

Holding on to that which does not last
Tightly gripping on, holding fast
Never knowing why, not caring if it was all a lie.

The reasons to stay and try again to make things last
Coming up, coming fast from our common past
Try and name a reason or two; to find one at least that rings as true.

Letting go is the hardest thing to do but in this we must be steadfast
In our resolve to do what's right, it is for the best that we try this path
To go our separate ways because there is nothing more that we can do or say.

(Inspired by one of those insane moments of loneliness that just sneak up on you after a break up.)

  Party in the Wilds
I hear the fairies, centaurs and their like
Making merry into the night.
And in the morning when I wake
I go outside and investigate.
A magic symbol upon the forest floor
Denotes the sides who number four by four.
Contained within there, there does lie
Evidence of guests and dancing and of very merry nights.

And wrung around the faeries' court I sight,
A lonely trail wound around the field tight.
What manner of man is the lonely trail's source
What great solitudes would make a man follow such a lonely course?

To great dismay I have discovered that I am that trail's source.
Long quiet nights sleeping had hidden deep within my dreams
Desires to see and feel the grass that crushes beneath my booted feet.
I'm looking for company, people whom I may chance to meet.

(Inspired by a wild college party that was raging next door to my aparment)

Confusion

She haunts my days, she haunts my nights
I see her image in the dark and in the light.
Every thought, every notion, every action, every motion
Brings forth a memory, a hope, a dream; however slight.
Why does she do this to me, even now...

Our time has passed, our time is gone, and she is far away
She haunts my present, my future, and my past
I don't know how... I'd thought myself free at last.
But without an effort, once again
She appears to me each and every day
She takes my breath away.

(Inspired by Mary... But don't tell her! Shhh! It's a secret!)

  Jesus Promised

Promised to always be a friend
Promised to be true to the end
Promised to stay by your side
Promised to in, your heart, abide

All for a promise from you to him
To love, to cherish, and by his love abide

(Inspired around Easter my freshman year in college.)

  Weird poem, impromptu

Seeking words to make you laugh
I agonized over word choice and syntax
To write you a poem, from beginning to aft
And failed, again and again to pass
As line after line was receiver of the proverbial axe.
So I put my neck on the line, and realized too late
I'd been given the sharp end of the shaft.

(In an odd moment of sarcastic humor. I had a blank space at the bottom of a page of notes.)

  Just Listen
Listen to the ocean, and the broken waves
Listen to the wind, and the silenced breeze
Listen to the flames, and the spent coal
Listen to the rock, and the cold quiet stones

Hear now the words of the waves
Hear now the words of the breeze
Hear now the words of the flame
Hear now the words of the stone

Crashing and breaking, wearing away.
Roaring and raking, rustling the trees.
Burning and raging, cleansing the soul
Eternal and constant, the foundation unseen.

Momentary Madness

Ghostly apparitions haunt my sleep
Though deeper into slumber I may flee
Closing my eyes does not stop my seeing
The faults that lie beneath my solid character
The cracks in my oh, so carefully crafted exterior.

Masons and stone cutters, words, all alike
Chip away at my armored shell like a blight
Letting in the coldness of the uncertain night
I shiver at the first gentle touch of something amiss
Deeper into slumber I fly, hiding from that which follows
Further into the hollows of my mind I climb
The come still, it seems to know every corner of the abyss.

The darkest corners of my mind, my conscious mind will flee
Black as sack cloth, dusted with ashes, I breathe.
There in the recesses of my mind I witness the torture,
Pain and pleasure, so confused, so warped, so similar
Confusion, the rack comes closer, I run looking for clarity
I find nothing there, once again, it is cold, black and calm...

Armor restored and beast subdued, I sigh with relief
I rest my eyes, once again, in the welcome arms the deepest sleep
And find myself cocooned in pleasant, dry, coolness
Darkness, alone, quiet - just my thoughts for company
Reflecting on the panic of only moments passed
I sink deeper, deeper into oh, so quiet rest, this current madness is my past.

(I don't remember when I wrote this, but I was feeling introspective and for years I have recognized the fact that my own emotional armor has never been restored to its original strength. I find myself tearing and almost crying over the news, moving speeches, and movies. It is a sad state of affairs, but I'm working on restoring a bluff exterior to the world. I'm a guy! We need that protection from the elements if we're to function properly.)

Trying To Fall Asleep
If it's all the same to you, and you
It's time for me to hit the sack
Close my eyes and will the world away
To turn my back on the cares of another day

If it's all the same to you, my dear
I'd like to try and dream
Being with you is nice and all
But leave my dreams to the province of Slumber's hall

If it's all the same to you, oh stress
This is the time that I put aside my fear
Relaxing in dreams, in peaceful deep
Far and near, troubles stress not my sleep

If it's all the same to you
I'd just like a few hours undisturbed
To rest my mind, my soul, my tired back
In sleep unperturbed; I think it's time for me to nap.

Good night, one and all
Eye lids droop, at last they fall.
May Slumber pass her wand and give you rest,
So come the morn, you wake refreshed.

(I wrote this for my friend Erika, after we were both up late one night doing homework.)

Tears of Glass

The statuesqe figure of marble and crystal
Sad and sympathetic over something long past
Standing forever upon her lonely pedestal
She weeps forever and mourns, her tears of glass.

Her sweeping hair, detailed out of stone
Searching and piercing eyes, and so alone.
Her perfect figure chiseled with apparent love and care
She stands, looking out above our heads, sadness in her stare.

And in the eternity since the genius of her making
No man or woman who saw her could withstand her charm
The essence of her sorrow fills the hearts of all who see
The facets in her crystal tears, each a symbol of eternity
Each and every face, on each and every tear
Reflects the love within the hearts of all who dare come near.

So when I look at this rendered, weeping Aphrodites
All I see reflected back at me, is you.

(I wrote this poem about Mary, during an especially long hiatus when she refused to talk to me. It is actually about the fact that every where I looked all I could see were reflections of her. She adores art, hence the statue. The tears represent the pain I imagined I was feeling. The facets on the crystals were each a transparent mirror of my surroundings, and in each reflection I saw her at every turn and in everything I looked at. The statue is Aphrodites... For very obvious reasons.)