The burn is sizzling
Smoke from nostrils, ears.
Instead, I’m here;
I need to fuel flames,
Tend an inferno.
Blaze brilliantly,
But now I must douse
The burn in reality.
poem-2nd day April 27, 2018
An unexpected opportunity
A lovely surprise.
Or not.
Thwarted by absence.
Then presence.
Nothing’s ever quite what’s imagined.
Intention yields to alteration
or obliteration.
Wishes wasted by
reality.
Nevertheless, we continue
to try.
poem-narrow March 27, 2018
Read and understand,
my children.
The world is not as narrow
as your mind.
If you live a life,
mired in the same mud,
you will never know the
glories of a mountain peak,
power of ocean depths.
Read and understand,
my children.
What you have seen
is not all there is.
What you have felt
is not all there is to feel.
See and understand,
my children.
There is more.
So much more.
Than what you know.
Open your eyes,
to the world
my children.
See and understand.
poem-reality June 21, 2017
Eventually
Reality has to intervene.
You’re not destined for the NHL
Or the corps de ballet
Your voice will not sell
A million records.
Simon sends you packing.
Reality can suck.
But if playing hockey
Brings you happiness
Why stop just because you’ll never hoist the Stanley Cup?
Dance like nobody’s watching
Sing until you’re smiling.
Don’t let reality rob you of the joy
Of the activity itself.
The rush of a beautiful pass and goal.
The beauty of a perfectly formed pirouette.
The harmony than hums in your ear.
Celebrate those moments for ten thousand hours.
They say ten thousand hours yields excellence.
Perhaps you’ll need twenty.
Or thirty.
Embrace the joy.
Share in a community of like minds.
Perhaps after forty thousand hours
Your reality will change
And if it doesn’t,
At least you’ll nurture your soul.
Like reality,
Success has many faces.
poem-inaccurate January 31, 2017
You hear a story
and cling to this narrative,
gripping each element as deep truth
fundamental reality
excuse for your frailty
But it’s fiction
and no matter how loudly you shout
your warped interpretation
insist that white is black,
it won’t transform into fact.
It will only dance to a rhythm of jack boots,
and the sounds of breaking glass.
poem- winged October 5, 2016
I.
On the side of the highway
an outstretched wing
unfurled black
feathers twitch in the breeze
that no longer lift it.
.
II.
On the side of the highway
unfurled curls of black
tires lie.
In the wind of passing traffic,
unwound wires twitch.
I blink.
What
exactly
did I see?
poem- story making May 13, 2016
I did not realize
I was writing a story
when I took your words
and wove them into fantasy
so compelling
I believed you were real.
poem- wedding trauma July 20, 2015
The four year old leukemia patient
asked her nurse to marry her, and he said yes.
Then the whole floor got together to make a wedding:
flowers, brides maids, walk down the aisle on rose petals.
Ring pops were exchanged.
“This is the best day of my life!” the child bride exclaimed.
Youtube wedding video shared. Oh how cute! proclaims the internet.
.
I remember being four years old,
adoring the oldest son of our family friend.
His sisters all thought my devotion was adorable.
“I’ll wait for you,” he said with a kind smile.
And I believed him.
Then when I was nine, a wedding invitation came.
“You can’t have thought he was serious!” my mother snickered
at my distress.
I was rude to the bride, and no one understood why.
But I had learned that grown-ups lie and when your childish heart is crushed
they think it’s cute and kind of funny.
I remember, it was neither
for me.
.
.
.
.
Adults need to remember that children’s feelings are REAL, and that what’s ‘pretend’ is not always clear. When adults enter into imaginary play with such enthusiasm, they must do so with great care. I confess, I’ve never quite forgiven that older brother (now 67!!) for crushing my childish heart’s expectation. While I definitely appreciate the intentions of all involved in this quote wedding unquote, I do hope Abby is not as crushed as I was to learn the truth.
Side story: the rudeness was that I told the bride her bridal hat was horrible and no one should wear hats at their wedding. When it came time for my own wedding, I tried on a gorgeous bridal hat that looked fantastic on me. Always sensible to hypocrisy, I chose not to get it. (Looking at wedding photos from my era, I suspect that was probably for the best).
Article about the hospital wedding here.
poem-perception is reality May 9, 2015
Oh, I know the row you hoe
is dreary and full of woe!
or so you are inclined to think
but we are not defined by your narrow ink
We see you fear to be seen as less
You shout. you rave, you wave distress
It’s not about what we do, dear,
We are not the problem here.
We watch serene, your freak out scene.
We see your strengths, your skills, your care.
We know you’re kind and very fair.
You’re really great. Don’t be irate!
You perceive attacks where there are none.
There’s no one talking at your back.
You do not seek to clarify,
Oh, my, how you leap to conclusions
Each based simply on illusions.
I know perception makes reality
but I encourage you to find serenity
Ultimately, you can not be
great when you can’t see what true,
and when people are contentedly accepting you.
poem- fewer September 13, 2014
There could be no fewer steps
than those he trodded toward you
straight limbed and unencumbered
directly into destiny.
There could be no fewer steps
than those away from dreams
point-less apparitions
of troubled consciousness
directly into destiny.
.
.
.
(I don’t know what it means. If you have an idea, feel free to share!)
Shawn L. Bird 