Inside a Pretty Woman

(I just had to do one more pointed poem. It's a little tongue in cheek.There's been this video of ten hours in New York from a women's perspective. It is a mind boggling gauntlet of slimy catcalls, come ons, whistles, and demands for attention. Some have said it's fake or edited with bias. Misogynistic vitriolic trolls have raised their ugly cry. I'm a guy and not beyond a glance, but I don't understand that mindset. This classic lyric is interspersed with what they may be thinking. Instead of what is going inside a pretty woman)

Pretty woman walking down the street

I'm the wolf you're just a piece of meat

Pretty woman walking down the block

Just the kind I prefer to stalk

Pretty woman

I don't believe you, you're not the truth

Must be propaganda by some crazy feminist

No one could look as good a you

I sure don't yet I some how think I got a chance

Mercy oooowwwww

Damn! yummy ow baby arwooo hubba hubba

Pretty woman stop a while

Or I'll walk beside you like a sleazy ghost

Pretty woman give your smile to me

If you don't you're a stuck up bitch

If you do you're a slut kitten asking for it

Either way I'm forcing my attention on you

What do I see? Is she walking back to me?

This never worked before. I don't know what to say.

Yeah she's walking back to me

Arghhh! not pepper spray again

oh the burning you'd think I'd have

built up an immunity to it by now

Ooooh there's another pretty woman

wait*squint* oh it's just a mailbox

Guess I won't be checking out any more chicks

Well, not tonight

Eternity Eve

It all was darkness

The silence waited for the day

Before the big bang

or

When the Father said

Let there be light and there was

Light before the day

The dark night before

The day I first met you love

I too was unformed

The second before

We stood and both said I do

I said it is good

Love's our universe

Mysterious unexplored

Ever expanding 

My Heart

My Heart

                                My                                    heart

                           Did not                                 sit still

                       Dissatisfied                             yearning

                    Searching ever                       for some place

A place inside my dreams that I would visit often
With all my words, emotions, and images
That flowed out until I found
I had described my home
A place I had never seen
I was drawn to seek it
I have found a home
I am at peace
And I feel I
Am whole
For you
Love
Me

Hunger for...

Hunger for...

(a Clerihew chain)

...Power

In a galaxy far away the gangster, Jabba the Hutt,

Chained up his princess and made her dress like a slut.

His greed looked like a ravenous pit it was so large.

His own chains strangled his soul on the party barge.

...The Brass Ring

In Middle Earth lies a twisted creature called Golem

Who would literally kill to keep his shiny gold emblem.

Soon both personalities found everyone else suspicious.

Risked fires of doom to grasp his precious. 

...Money

Beware the hazards of Boss Hogg,

His bourgeois suit, car, and cigar pumping out smog.

This false duke warped the law his coin to attain.

His handbasket's going to hell faster than a coal train.

...Sweets

A muppet whose zombie yoda catch phrase is, 'Cookie'

 Looks like Smurfette married a wookie.

He teaches kids to growl and demand sweeties.

Doesn't he know about adult onset diabetes?

...Food

I share a surname with a comic character, Jughead Jones.

Ice cream cones to buttered scones, he eats till he moans

Also hot dogs, hamburgers, and mounds of spaghetti.

I wish his guilty pleasure was sweet apple betty.

...Love

The star of the original hunger games, Mr. Pacman,

Ate pre-packaged meals and fruit from a can.

His Miss bought pepper to his palate, she's amazing.

Still fighting ghosts, Jr. and baby they're raising.

...Righteousness

John the Baptist wore camel hair and ate honey and locust.

On repentance and Jesus his message was focused.

Seek the Bread of life and drink the Spirit like wine.

Chew the meat of the Word and your fruit will bloom on the vine. 

   

Cascade of Dreams

You know you're in love

When you can't fall asleep

Because reality is finally better

(Better) than your dreams

(Dr. Seuss)

When you and the world spin off the axis

When your butterfly brain lights only on her

When your voice is low, smooth honey whiskey

You know you're in love

You walk like an old salt on shore leave

You think in circles that intersect

You speak like the record player's at half speed

When you can't fall asleep

In the ecstasy of sleep you dreamed

She has made those dreams come true

Now you need not be afraid of waking

Because reality is finally better

Reality used to be a fun house mirror maze

Other's image of you tried to bend, shrink, or stretch

In the end no one knows you

Better than your dreams

  

Valorous Omnibus

In the heart of death's shade

I will not be afraid

I will not be afraid

for

you

are my light

are my tower

are my shelter

are my salvation

I will not be dismayed

for

you

will never leave me

are Alpha and Omega

are the fountain of life

are the strength of my life

I will not be daunted

for

you

are with me

will never leave me

have overcome the world

free me from the snares of death

I will not be troubled

for

you

are my God

are my helper

will never forsake

hold me up with your righteous hand

I will be strong

for

you

go with me

are my rearguard

appoint me a guardian

will never let me down

I will be courageous

for

you

are my song

are my shield

are my stronghold

will be with me to the end of the age

I will not

quiver or quake

shiver or shake

cringe or wince

or shudder

I will not be

timid or scared

concerned or alarmed

paranoid or anxious

In flood and fire, river and flame

you are my redeemer

you are

I am

yours

Magic Mysteries

Magic Mysteries

(a Hex Sonnetta)

Magic is everywhere

All that you need is sight

Gaze inside to see light

In the dark be aware

Come the dawn hope is there

Meek and mild become might

Young loves blend into one

Simple seed mighty tree

Troubled souls rise up free

Everyday life begun

Round spider pure web spun

In a skiff saved at sea

Everyday miracle

Shows something magical

(I am a sucker for punishment. I started to do a simple acrostic with the words 'Magic' and  'Mystery' but decided to challenge myself instead. I looked at shadow poetry to find something that sounded magical. I found a form called Hex Sonnetta which sounds like the name of a witch to me. Hex means 'six' here. Two 6 line stanzas and a couplet. 6 syllables each line. I didn't try the meter. The rhyme scheme: abbaab cddccd ee. I even stuck with acrostic as well.)

No Pavarotti

No Pavarotti

"You ain't no Pavarotti",

Said the grumpy frumpy grandma

At the farmer's market shuffling past me.

I stopped playing my guitar and harmonica.

We stood and stared each other down.

No Pavarotti! Where does she get the gall.

Snarky remarks in my mind made my forehead frown.

My words were sharp and sarcastic one and all.

Despite the sharp challenge still in her eyes,

I chose to try a little bit of kindness.

I remembered the words from the book of the wise.

A gentle answer deflects crisis.

First I thought I'd try humour.

"Pavarotti?" I patted my belly. "You saying I'm his twin?"

That really seemed to tickle her.

"No, he can sing. You can't" I just can't win.

"You ain't no Pavarotti. Why do you sing here?"

Ah, so it's a logic diatribe you want.

"Farmer's market. You thought you'd find Pavarotti there?"

No, this little lady I could not daunt.

"You're not a professional. Why sing?"

"Because I love to, I want, and they let me.

I know I'm not the Prince of Pop, the Boss, or the King.

I'd be rich and travelling the world if I was Pavarotti."

I wasn't about to let her off light.

"So you're a big Pavarotti fan then?"

"Nah, that's my hubby's music day and night.

Country's what I like sitting and knitting in the den."

I grabbed my songbook and rocked some Johnny Cash.

"Well, that was actually quite good, young man."

She walked away smiling. I had u-turned our clash.

Every market after, she was my biggest fan.

Artists don't have teflon souls. Feedback makes us cynics.

My epic draws to a close and with this moral ends.

We artists tend to make our friends our critics.

A real art is making your critics your friends.

(Wow. Some poems are yeast, they keep on growing. This is a true story that happened to me while busking)

Turn the Page

Turn the Page

I'm tired of paying my dues

Everything I start

Fizzles

I've slipped off the first rung of the

Success ladder 'til it's

Worn out

Face another new beginning

The old door firmly shut

No choice

This old fighter will not stay down

Don't know the round, but I

Fight on 

Brave of Soul

Brave of Soul

A Blitz Poem

Brave the elements

Brave the fear

Fear the reaper

Fear the unknown

Unknown soldier

Unknown elements

Elements of chemistry

Elements of nature

Nature of the beast

Nature vs nurture 

Nurture potential

Nurture encouragement

Encouragement pumps you up

Encouragement gets one motivated

Motivated to be bold

Motivated to be valiant

Valiant and courageous

Valiant and audacious

Audacious and spontaneous

Audacious and adventurous

Adventurous and proactive

Adventurous and impulsive

Impulsive tendencies

Impulsive behaviours

Behaviours change

Behaviours change others

Others challenge us

Others challenge us to grow

Grow in ways we could not hope

Grow in ways we could not imagine

Imagine there's no limit

Imagine if you will

Will determines fate

Will you you follow your bliss

Bliss is tantalizing

Bliss makes you elated

Elated like a balloon

Elated not inflated

Inflated ego

Inflated economy

Economy in recession 

Economy of movement

Movement needs a leader

Movement keeps the river fresh

Fresh is best

Fresh is how I feel

Feel it in you soul

Feel the thrill of the brave

Brave

Soul

My Footprint

My Footprint

Make a mark, Mark.

You've got to try.  

Fingerprint imprint on someone's soul.

Only you have your snowflake personality.

One touching one molecular bonds of the universe.

The ocean wave is individual drops dancing together.

Play with castles on the beach,

Remember me, they say to the sand.

Impression of a kiss on a frost stained glass.

Nothing lasts forever except in memories.

Those kind words and deeds are the currency of heaven.

Speak boldly, but carry a big heart.

Song of Time

Song of time

Slow and steady wins the race
Slows makes late--don't slow down
Down the rabbit hole Alice
Down the cottontail bunny trail
Trail mix full of flakes and nuts
Trail behind you're left alone
Alone with your thoughts
Alone at the back of the pack
Pack up your trouble in your old kit bag
Pack up and go home
Home is where you hang your hat
Home is where you hang your head
Head in the clouds
Head for the hills
Hills have eyes
Hills alive with the sound of music
Music helps me focus
Music keeps track of time
Time after time is on my side
Time in a Dali is melting
Melting into you
Melting like a soggy witch
Witch curse gives me an itch
Witch hazel soothes my rash
Rash of break-ins
Rash decisions lead to regret
Regret not allowed buyer beware
Regret nothing
Nothing comes from nothing
Nothing compares to you
You oughta be in pictures
You light up my life
Life don't talk to me about life
Life the universe and everything
Everything is coming up roses
Everything is beautiful in it's own way
Way down yonder in New Orleans
Way to be free but I can't
Can't rush a good thing
Can't hurry love
Love love me do
Love is dry without passion
Passion play portrays love in action
Passion is something you can't imitate 
Imitate Christopher Walken
Imitate the jet set
Set the timer down
Set the gauge on slow
Slow 
Down

(This is my first blitz poem. It's hard but fun)

Rain Kissed Bower

Rain Kissed Bower

We had been friends for a long dry season.

Roiling smoky clouds of feeling were brewing on the horizon.

The air was warm and heavy with the anticipation of the coming storm.

As we rubbed together on many fronts the electricity was more than static.

After a lightening bolt of revelation on a bus bound for somewhere

The echoes rolled down the foothills and across the prairies.

A few drops of refreshing transparency fed life to seeds of love long hidden.

Showers continued to soak through outlining joy on our face like a wet shirt skin.

A whirlwind of smug friendly congratulations tried to push us over.

Before running into the the shelter of home, I grabbed her rain kissed hand.

The rain came fast and hard threatening to flood and fling mud.

The pine branches bow their heads to create a moist chapel bower for two.

Like a scene from movie without the artistry or sweeping score, it happened.

Awkward, sweet, and insistent like me that was our first kiss.  

   

The Question

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them. To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: aye, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action.

She

Words, words,words. Good prompt. I used the 'magnet poetry' page. I only clicked new words once.
I've attempted to do a Pleiades form. 7 lines, 6 syllables each line. A one word title. Each line starts with the first letter of the title. Ideally at least one reference to a celestial body. oops.

A Game of Whimsy.

Once upon a turntable light house
Mr. Mudslinger, the mayor of all the garden gnome,
Snuck off fishing to try to escape his spouse.
The piranha that bit his toe off sent him crying home

Meanwhile in a galaxy far far away,
A hooded skateboarder with a sonic umbrella
Caught a rocket for ice cream from the milky way.
Then he hung out on the moon that footloose fellah.

Two households alike in dignity,
A caveman and an Eskimo, in the winter of discontent
Hired a bovine chauffeur to drive them to Miami
To happily play golf until all their money is spent.

I've wasted time and now time does waste me.
Now to rest, dream, and see what I can see.

(Confession time. I was uninspired until I pulled out my Pictureka card game, shuffled, and dealt out my tales. Here is a couple of examples) 
( 

Halfway Mark

(Are we only half way? Some days have been difficult. Well, my procrastination made it that way. Many nights on the way to bed, I desperately tried to scratch something down. Then inspiration comes flooding in. An hour or so later, stiff and bleary eyed yet satisfied with what I'd produced, I stumble down the hall to our room. This is a Diatelle ode to my patient and understanding sweetheart. I hope the title doesn't become my new nickname.)

Halfway Mark

Half

Slowly

Not wholly

Kind of half-assed

Walk through guacamole

Poem ideas I'd not amassed

And because my wife knew I felt harassed

She would attempt to stay awake on my behalf

I glance over there she was asleep fast

My sleeping beauty could not last

Angel face looks holy

Her snores contrast

My lowly

Lonely

Laugh

Thank you Cheeses, Halivah and Edam.

"Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese."
GK Chesterton

(Let me remedy that.)

“Tell me, what is it you plan to dowith your one wild and precious life?”

― Mary Oliver

(Eat cheese)

“Live not for Battles Won.
Live not for The-End-of-the-Song.
Live in the along.”― Gwendolyn Brooks

(Yeah! live 'along' side a cheese shop[stop playing that bouzuki!])

“Resist much, obey little.”― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

(Resist Munster (it stinks), obey little...baby bels)

“Two girls discover the secret of life in a sudden line of(Cheeses).”
― Denise Levertov

“(Cheese) is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is (Cheese) that is felt rather than seen.”
― Leonardo da Vinci

“You must write (about), and (eat cheese), as if your life depended on it.”

― Adrienne Rich

“The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.” Willie Nelson

“How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?”
― Charles de Gaulle

Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese.--Luis Bunuel

“Bachelor’s fare: bread, cheese and kisses.” – Jonathan Swift



Okay, I went a little far with the prompt. 
Like cheese, one piece is never enough.
There is an appropriate maxim I live by
About the fine line of plagiarism/homage.
"Gather your milk from many sources
Make your own cheese."
Here's some 'magnet poetry' from a list of cheeses.

Pun Fun

I'll go out on a Limb(urger) here and get real

 and admit my (bour)sin that's left me (prov)olone.

My (em)mental stress has left me twisted As-Iago.

Seriously Strong Cheddar

In Blarney Castle St. Killian counted the Abbott's Gold.

"We should buy a Golden Cross and frame it in Gospel Green."

Bishop Kennedy that Stinking Bishop spoke up.

"Make no such Celtic Promise you Golden Smoked Rebel."

Sniped the Grey Owl adjusting his beaded Garland,

"This is your Waterloo, you Linconshire Poacher,

This Cougar Gold with it's Sirene call has took your soul."

Bath Cheese

Down the Woodside Alpine slope amidst an Applewood grove

Framed by Bear Hill sat a Llangloran Farmhouse.

Like a Rubens masterpiece Chelsea bathed in an Amish Frolic.

Finn, the bearded Huntsman, was watching with a smile.

She was his wife, this Prima Donna Forte.

In Old (b)El Pa(e)so

Sonora Jack stepped into the dusty street.

In the saloon tears rusting her golden heart sat Flower Marie.

The Hooligan gripped the Little Black Bomber for the bank wall.

He was after the King's River Gold to buy them a life.

With Swiss precision Sheriff Wigmore drew and fired.

In the Roaring 40's Blue smoke Jack spun like a Fuzzy Wheel

On a flying wagon in a Sage Derby. He did not win.

Crayon Box

Down at the Crayon Box 

 It was the end of the day on the sketch pad fields.

Medium Blue, and his brothers Steel and Dodger

Turned up their denim collars and strode into the Box.

Razzle Dazzle Rose slinked up to them like an inchworm.

She tossed her neon carrot curls and pursed hot magenta lips.

Her hand slid down the antique brass on the bar to his arm.

"What's a timber wolf like you doing hiding in the shadow?"

She purred, checking him out with her tiger's eye.

Her touch made him shiver like a wintergreen dream.

Blush flooded his peach fuzz cheeks.

"Just came from the wild blue yonder, ma'am

Down purple mountain's majesty across a mountain meadow."

She narrowed bittersweet lids and spit out,

"Sounds like you came from outer space you mystic maroon."

She went on, "Do want a purple heart or something?"

Her porcelain cheeks turned a shocking pink.

The Atomic Tangerine he'd been drinking splashed in his lap.

Left dripping and steaming like the tropical rain forest

His face went from piggy pink to radical red.

His normally fuzzy wuzzy backbone stiffened

And became a very unmellow yellow.

A banana mania swept through his mac and cheese mind.

Energy shot through his veins like electric lime juice.

He went straight for her like a laser lemon.

Like an ape in the jungle green he spun her around.

His blizzard blue eyes drilled into her screaming green ones.

A cyan tear betrayed the hard metallic seaweed irises.

His heart melted into a pile of purple pizzazz.

Star struck desire deepened his gaze to a cosmic cobalt.

"I wanted to apologize. Beautiful women make me babble."

Like she'd been smoking magic mint, she relaxed and giggled.

Just then Jazzberry Jam, the house band

Started playing something soft, and sultry.

Sweet and warm as mango tango steps pulsed through them.

They began a dance that went all night.

Somewhere they are dancing still.

*************

(I was uninspired until I googled crayola colors. There was a list of 133 standard colours and 6 special sets.

I scribbled down 45 interesting ones hoping to use one or two. I was able to work all of them in except asparagus.) 

   

Obsession

Obsession

Once upon a time. There was a

Boy who desired a girl.

She did not notice him 'in that way' at first.

Eventually, he drew her heart and her eyes.

She was too shy to speak up. He was too

Stubborn to speak first, too hooked to walk away.

In time she made that step and he ran the rest of the way.

Once on the same page, the story was quickly written. 

Now they're a collaboration waiting for the patter of little sequels. 

Pity the Fool.

Pity the Fool

Fool

Folly

Foolishness

Vanity

Pride

These are the things everyone has inside.

They need to be driven out,

Or at least managed.

That is the job of a parent.

The teacher. The pastor.

Be determined, tenacious, and courageous.

Be careful! Each child is vulnerable.

Smothered in shadow or scorched in the sun,

They wither rootlessly and waste away.

Untended they grow like a weed,

Choking out the good growth.

If you don't keep a sharp eye

Birds of prey snatch innocence.

Few things again pierce a well trodden heart.

It's a high wire act.

One wrong step could be devastating.

Structure could become a prison.

Guidance could become tyranny.

Discipline could become oppression.

Let them run free range with wide open fences.

In the end it's their choice.

Demonstrate how to choose wisely.

They may or may not.

It's not your responsibility. 

It's not your fault.