short poems about life

Distant Destination

A creeping foreboding insinuating
Itself into an otherwise cloudless day.
A serene outdoor picnic where the only
Visitor is a breeze and a mountain lion.
Take a moment to resolve whether
You’ll sit still or run, then decide to
Flee and find that your legs are like
Noodles in a delicious Asian soup
You enjoyed one time in a small
Place in a distant destination.
An intimate lunch in a hidden corner of a
Bustling city. Gazing into each other’s eyes
Moments before the check came and
Overburdened your credit card causing
Waves of shame, a loss of face.

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Forest

A clearing in the forest for dance,
Connecting with nature,
Celebrating peace, hope,
Joy, discovery,
Learning, community.

In another corner of the forest
A group worships fear and hate,
Flames licking their way
Up sordid symbols of
Venomous loathing.

Low-Grade Headache

There’s a particular
Kind of low-grade
Headache that insinuates
Itself whenever I have
To do anything remotely
Related to math or
Have to watch or listen
To something that I
Find excruciatingly
Boring. It’s not awful
Enough to scream but
It is annoying, draining,
Sort of like when I
Have to spend time
With certain people and
Pretend I’m enjoying it.

Leaves

Walking along a familiar
Path, I look up and
Marvel at the leaves
Of a particular tree
I had not noticed before.

Later, In a strangely
Serendipitous coincidence,
Someone asks me a question,
I respond that I’m the guy
Who looks at the leaves.

Not Her Audience

On a balmy summer afternoon
She sits tending her booth,
Her lovely paintings on display.

A few people walk by and
Half-smile on their way
To somewhere else.

Others comment or
Ask questions, making
Polite small talk.

Occasionally, someone
Seems genuinely interested
In one of her works.

At the end of the day,
She realizes that this
Was not her audience.

Numb

Like a bunch of awkward
High school students,
They stand around fidgeting,
Desperately trying to one-up
Each other with mundane,
Sleep-inducing stories
About banal experiences
Followed by raucous
Self-conscious laughter.
One guy raises his voice,
Gesticulating wildly,
Hoping the nearby ladies
Will notice, another rambles on
About how big his business is,
Another drinks his fifth cocktail
To numb the meaninglessness.

Happen Again

His people once owned
Other people.

He fights hard so it
Never happens again.

His people once owned
Other people.

He fights hard to
Make it happen again.

Expensive

In a beautiful mansion with
A grand staircase,
Crystal chandeliers,
Sumptuous furnishings,
Expensive art works,
There is a small room
Hidden by a panel,
Off a bedroom,
Lockable from the inside,
Where he can hide
When they come to
Take away what he
Takes from them.

Escape

It begins to
Come into focus.

The incessant quest
For acceptance.

The need to be
Part of the in group.

The endless judgments
And expectations.

The need to
Cater to others.

The sacrifice
Of self.

The urge to
Escape from it.