i woke up
from my American dream
things no longer
what they seemed
what was right
and proper then
relics now
of way back when
human kindness
in short supply
people so
impoverished
why?
how did things turn
so far around
to a time of delight
as others fall down
there must be a place
like the ones
i once knew
sanctuary please
is a dreamscape view
i woke up
from the American dream
and if i couldn’t sleep
i’d surely scream
his step unslowed
his shoulders unbowed
his eyes still somewhat blue
he feels the passing years go by
as finite days come into view
a Sisyphus pushing
against time, defiant
he strains to move
the rock of age
his strength grows weaker
the rock more giant
her step unslowed
her back unbowed
her beauty still shines through
though she knows the toll
that life can take
and what’s been lost
in it’s swirling wake
two hearts beat on
against time’s tide
with scars incurred
from a wild ride
kindred souls
through time
and space
approach the golden stretch
of their human race
they know each other
forever true
all they have
invested
in their sacred trust
me and you
There’s a bit of bacon in the teeth And the mud is squelchin’ soft beneath A pullin’ out of Couddes in the rain. The same stone street in the same damn way With the same dead drill to do today, A hikin’ outer Couddes in the rain.
It’s light packs, helmets and gas masks too, With a drinkin’ Sarge to drive each of us through; Soldierin’ outside Couddes in the rain I’d give my shirt for a decent smoke, I’m tired and I’m stinkin’, wet and broke, A drillin’ outside Couddes in the rain.
There’s slum to-night and my feet are sore, Why ain’t I gettin’ my mail no more? Squad’s eastin’ beyond Couddes in the rain; The poplar’s black agin the sky, The Skipper’s cursin’. God knows why I’m pluggin’ outside Couddes in the rain.
A long hike home when the day is done, The mist may lift and we’ll see the sun, A comin’ back to Couddes in the rain, I’ll bum a bottle of rhum to-nite, And a little brunette to treat me right, A comin’ out of Couddes in the rain.
[ Coudes is a commune in the Puy‑de‑Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. My grandfather, Brooks Bradbury, wrote this poem while stationed there during World War I.]
there was a home that held all i wanted
a girl, two sons, one very human dog
i wonder if that house is ever haunted
by the great love i gave that catalogue
if a high heat my absent heart still throws there
be fixed and focused by time’s burning glass
a gentle fragrance should forever blow there
and flowers sparkle gaily in the grass
there is no need for flame or warmth of fire
no rosy hearth to cheer or snuggle by
there burns the sum of all my soul’s desire-
it was and is and will be till i die!
(An excerpt from the anthology “Backlash”, published by my grandfather, Brooks Bradbury, Copyright 1982, Southbury, Connecticut. Maple Road, in Pleasantville, New York.)
they say this all started
with a rather big bang
fire and rain
begat yin and the yang
millennia passed
leaving plenty of clues
like how we crawled out
of a primordial ooze
we’ve come so far
to get to where we are
as we take another lap
around this old star
where are going?
will we ever arrive?
gravity bound
we live and die
still we fight
for border control
incivility takes a toll
hate for hate’s sake
how much more
can humanity take
religious divisions
deep and dark
as is the rising tyranny
of the oligarch
are we dumb as a box
of asteroid rocks?
after eons of years
dark matter appears
though much of it lies
between two human ears
blind-sided
will we ever find
a way around
the dark matter found
in a dangerous mind?
when the time
is right
and it’s time to go
to seize the day
you finally know
new horizons
calling
to places not seen
as the past
becomes a distant view
when all the lights
turn green
adventure lies
in moving forward
before they change
to caution’s glow
ride the wave,
be brave live on
face life’s
ebb and flow
new horizons
are calling you
to places
you’ve never seen
the past becomes
a distant view
when all the lights
turn green
i was at odds with the world today
and it was at odds with me
it didn’t go where i wanted it to
nor was i where i wanted to be
i’m going to call it an early night
to try and break the spell
out of sorts i can hardly think
please let tonight go well
so tomorrow we’re back in synch
i was at odds with the world today
and it was at odds with me
it didn’t go where i wanted it to
nor was i where i wanted to be