Poems · poetry

“But, What About…?”

 

“But, What About…?”

 

Large swirling strokes empty the vigor from an eager elbow

Transmitting ideas forward to a fluid wrist and firm hand

Ideas that were born of a brain sifting sensory tides

Alive in the ocean of being

Flopping about while trying to tread for existence

Shapes become words to be seen or heard

Digested by othered others

So they can taste the pain of surviving

Spitting out or stilled around the cavern of speech silent

The sudden recognition of an unfamiliar object or particle within a familiar comfort

It can be jarring…

And recovery, doubtful

Poems · poetry

Summer Cottage

“Meta“ ©️C.P. Hickey 2023

“Summer Cottage”

Summer cottage

Back from the sea

Sand trails worn

Salty breeze

Past noon shadows

‘Round windows sneak

Lazy naps

Blissful peace

Sunset wonder

Horizon squeeze

Barefoot stroll

Soul at ease

Poems · poetry

“Garbage Poems”

“No…You Listen” ©️ C.P. Hickey 1986

“Garbage Poems“

Garbage poems find a home

Pouring from my pen

Garbage poems, parts unknown

Not an if, but…when

Garbage lines unrefined

Jumping to the page

Garbage lines of my mind

Bring this poet shame

Garbage rhymes passing time

Poet’s praying priest

Garbage rhymes human crimes

Shepard’s saintly feast

Garbage art does depart

A poet’s metered mind

Garbage art full of heart

If the bard’s inclined

2023 · Poems · poetry

“Writing Distraction”

“Flake” ©️C.P. Hickey 2023

“Writing Distraction”

Environment skews focus

Elusive ideas remain away

Cannot quite grasp it

Looming large but ineffable

Which is a word I learned in high school

From a young woman named Megan

Which I cannot remember if she spelled her name with or without an “h”

Old dial tone phones with Boa Constrictor cords

Kept us tethered in the wonder of an inconsequential connection

Each of us pushed towards an idea of what we were supposed to be

In spite, of the discomforts of not knowing how

I do not know that we ever kissed or held hands

But—I am certain the seeds of my later courting elegance were sown during these largely small distractions

Flailing at life

Learning to dance

Whispering into the molded plastic receiver of an avocado colored phone

Hoping against hope that my deepest secrets and desires were heard

2023 · Poems · poetry

“Outstanding”

“Keeping Watch” ©️C.P. Hickey 2023

“Outstanding”

Sometimes it’s hard to stand out

Standing up for others that can’t

Backing down bullies’ braggadocio

There are people out to hurt others

Afraid to help others

And ignore their suffering

Enjoying the struggle

Yet—

Some still stand out against that

Hands outstretched

Elevating others

Those are the ones…

That stand out

For me, for you, for all

Standing for righteousness

Standing on

Standing up

Standing out

2023 · Poems · poetry

“Alone From Me”

“Open Air” ©️C.P. Hickey 2023

“Alone From Me”

I don’t know how to be

In a place—alone from me

Sustaining sanity

A misleading reverie

Impatience patiently

In a place—alone from me

Existential parity

Haunts this lucid waking dream

A calm collective calamity

In a place—alone from me

Isolation bursting seams

Old companions take their leave

A desert mirage fleetingly

In a place—alone from me

Unsightly vision still unseen

Alone…alone…alone from me

2023 · Poems · poetry

“Resolution Infinitive”

“Daisy” © C.P. Hickey 2022

“Resolution Infinitive”

When you can’t run…

All you want to do is run.

So, run when you can,

Because you never know when you will be unable to run.

 

Three hundred sixty-five days ahead with which…

To live, to write, to laugh, to think, to reflect, to act, to try, to experience, to fail, to succeed, to mend, to discover, to assist, to uphold, to care, to help, to learn, to mourn, to discipline, to develop, to grow, to understand, to listen, to empathize, to give, to invite, to allow, to celebrate, to cuddle, to create, to read, to human, to celebrate, to guide, to teach, to hope, to weep, to hug, to hold, to grab more from the universe than you were allowed

To grab more from the universe than you were allowed

2022 · Poems · poetry

“Rain, Dear?”

“Moist Surface” ©️C.P. Hickey 2022

“Rain, Dear?”

Splatters drip abundant

Down sloped trolley exoskeletons

Wintering coats repel most water…

But, not all

Surgical masks punctuate the crowd

Riders on then off

The catastrophe of a wet commute

Hangs soggy on the brows of all

2022 · Poems · poetry

“The Pages Between”

“Page Potential” ©️C.P. Hickey 2022

“The Pages Between”

Sometimes at the margins…

You discover the pages between

The ones to add

The ones to take away

The ones to cherish

The ones to loathe

Saving some for later

Staring some down

Pushing lead friction

Ability meets imagination

Right there—

The pages between

It is NOT a safe space

But…volatile, dynamic

An eruption of force

An unavoidable gravity

Nothing.

Consuming all

One finite point

Reaching critical masses

The pages between

Expanding ever outward

Until all is written on—

The pages between

2022 · Poems · poetry

“Mountains Misting”

“Misty Mountains” ©️ C.P. Hickey 2022

“Mountains Misting”

Post dawn play awakens

Mountaintops pulling clouds down

Wisps of Wizard’s beards

Spied dancing among the tree line

Sun rays slicing through

Heralding the advance of day

Echoes of busy, travel valleyward

Surrounded by loud quiet

Peaceful energy vibrates

Nature reminds of its stature

Sunlight washes over peaks

Then tumbles down painting fauna

Jagged granite exposed

Playing hide and peak

Shadows finding the best spots

Tippity treetops tease vertigo

And a sky Godly blue reigns

Mountains misting distant points

Mark moments perceived in time

By the ferocious precious of human existence

What is a mountain misting to man?

What is a man to mountains misting?