Not a Bad Life

There is no such thing as a

Perfect life. It

Simply doesn’t exist.

The peaks and valleys

Trials and tribulations,

Turns and twists.

Back-stepping, sidestepping,

Stepping up, stepping down,

Stepping in poop,

Stepping on eggshells,

Trying to please everyone,

To be a part of a group.

Dealing with losses and

New beginnings.

Eager to figure things out.

Trying too hard to please everybody

When no one can tell you 

What life’s all about.

Hop on the ride of life’s

Big rollercoaster.

Feel every bump, every dip, every curve.

Taste the adventure of every moment.

Feel every meal

That life has to serve.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Faded Plans

That trip to London and Paris,

Dublin and Glasgow.

Maybe even a side stop in Tuscany

Or Nice.

One more (or more) treks to Broadway

To see our favorite “Phantom” and

To dine at Sardis amongst all the stars.

No real agenda,

Just pick up and go.

Any whim, any time, anywhere our

Desires send our footsteps 

To places of bold new adventures,

Tempting our fate.

Learning to quick-step, the jive and

The waltz. You always wanted to

Teach me to dance.

And yes, I know I could still

Do these things.

But where would the meaning be?

Where would the song?

These faded plans we made together

Lose their luster now

You are gone.

 Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Pack a Lunch / Have a Picnic

Looks, to me, it’s gonna be

A good time, apple-shine, scent of pine day.

Polished and tasty,

Fresh from the

Morn’s cornucopian buffet.

Constant and steady,

No plans at the ready,

Completely at spontaneity’s call.

Go pack a lunch.

No, wait. Pack a basket,

Enough for a picnic.

To hell with it all.

Should we walk?

Should we drive?

Would we feel more alive

To set off in directions

Completely unknown?

Do we seek out a place where

The clock stops at midday

With nary a worry about

Getting back home?

We enjoy our repast

From the first to the last

As frivolous time slips slowly away.

And the treasures we found,

Both sweet and profound.

Pack a lunch.

Have a picnic.

Savor the day.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Another Day

Woke up,

Got up, business done.

Ready for another day.

Brush away the overnight

And damn the light

And the mirrors display.

And though I know

I look a fright

With bedroom hair

And droopy stare,

I fake a smile and stumble to

The kitchen in my underwear.

Coffee on.

Pills to take.

Fill a cup of each.

Socks and shoes,

A little news and

Step into the breach.

What grand adventures do await

To carry me away?

Tis grace that’s granted me

The sunrise of

Another day.

 Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Young and Foolish

I would never have guessed that

Getting old would come so soon.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that

High School hijinks were the rule?

So clear in fond reflection are

Those carefree days of Brigadoon.

They sparkle in my memory as

A brightly polished jewel.

And you, my friend, cannot deny

The mischief of our genesis.

We were so young and foolish,

Never counting danger’s cost.

No dare of double-dog did we

Let pass without remiss.

Head over backside we would tumble

Once the gauntlet had been tossed.

 

Looking back and looking forward,

Reckless youth and

Feckless folly.

Lessons learned from dangers spurned

Spared our youth from melancholy.

The what and how, the then, the now

Defined our destiny.

That we survived and somehow thrived

Is still an utter mystery.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Maybe a Miracle

Whatever happened to
That side-fund we had saved
For rainy days?
Oh yes, repairs were necessary.
Bid goodbye to that outlay.
But didn’t I work extra hours
And resolve to change my ways?
Oh, yes, the medicines were costly.
There were doctor bills to pay.

The rent is due.
Utilities are soaring through the roof.
Excuses flow til I don’t know
A falsehood from the truth.
Friends are mute or
Resolute they cannot lend a note.
They seem to be in
The same sea
If not in the same boat.

No doubt these miseries will pass.
Alas, we’ll see it through.
Maybe the gods will smile
And send a miracle…
Or two.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

I’ve Changed My Mind

Woke up this spry misty morning
Restless to change the ho-hum of my life.
Bored with the humdrum/doldrums that’s
Plagued for so long.

Spoke up to issue fair warning
To any who might try to add to my strife.
Nothing and no one allowed to
Silence my song.

Yesterday’s sorrows are still there,
A constant companion wherever I go.
A badge I wear pinned to my heart
Next to your memory.
And all my tomorrows are threadbare,
Fallow, unchanged, unintended to grow.
Day after day after
Long lonely day
Yesterday is all I can see.

But you wouldn’t want me to
Carry that burden,
Living my life in a haze. So,
I woke up this morning and
I’ve changed my mind
To start living the rest of my days.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Wake Up Morning

Good morning, morning.
Time to get up.
I’ve been marking time all night for you.
Come alive with the shimmer of
Daybreak on dewdrops,
Bidding the moon and the stars
Fond adieu.

The robins have found you
And croon your arrival
With subtle sweet smooth serenade.
And as ebony morphs into
Crystal clear dawning
The shadows of night gently fade.

I sit with my coffee cup
Anticipating as lush aromatics bid
Senses to hurry, 
To hasten the sunrise without
Brash dramatics
That send the day reeling and
Lost in a flurry.

Warm as a summer breeze.
Soft as a pup.
Good morning, morning.
It’s time to get up.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

The Heart Never Lies

Go with your gut.
Go with your head.
Go with your heart where it leads.
Life in a rut.
Thoughts filled with dread.
Lost in a wildwood of copious trees.
Why be so needy?
Why be so greedy?
Why give a dingle at all?
No need to act
Until all of the facts have been
Spray-painted onto the wall.

Your gut is the first to speak,
Never shy, never meek.
Instinct akin to survival.
Then the head interjects
As the lines intersect
Til it becomes an archrival

But then the heart barters
For a cloudless new start seen 
Through open and welcoming eyes,
Where decisions ring true
As the color of blue
In a world where
The heart never lies.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

I Am the Eagle / The Dove

I rise above
The tallest trees.
You shall not know my name
And everything my eyes can see
I count as my domain.
No fear,
No anger,
No regrets
My stoic bearing cries.
No ruffled edge to engender tears
To stain my artic eyes.

Comes the darkness of despondence,
Comes the challenge to the fore,
Comes the portal to safe refuge
You may seek forevermore.
I will give you wings of comfort
Though my phantom soars above.
Ever watchful as your eagle,
Ever faithful as your dove.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

No More Mountains

I wish there were more mountaintops
That we could scale together.
We crossed so many peaks and valleys
In our precious time.
No obstacle could block our path,
No worries of the weather.
We dared the lightening and the winds
Collecting memories in our prime.

Though mountains turned to rolling hills
In our lounging later years,
Still we strolled them
Hand in hand
Gazing at the sunset’s fade.

When at last the path became
Too difficult for you to bear
We rested in our solitude and
Held each other unafraid.

Now you rest o higher ground
In rapture’s paradigm.
No more heartache. No more pain.
No more mountains left to climb.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

We Ain’t Spring Chickens Anymore

“Time was I could….”
Yeah, I’ve heard it all before.
Way back then when I was Superman
I’d bust through any door.
Drive my Chevrolet
Til the break of day.
Dance the band right off the floor.
But regrettably time has passed and we
Ain’t spring chickens anymore.

Times were really good back then
When gals were gals
And mem were men.
We’d chase each other round the bend
And never lose a beat.
Summer spent on crystal lakes
Swimming til our muscles ached,
We’d leave no promise in our wake,
No dragons to defeat.

Oh, how I long to harken back to
Winsome days and nights of yore,
But senescence changes everything
And…
We ain’t spring chickens anymore

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

The Jokester

Punster, prankster,
Life of the party
Flitting from pillar to post
In your duty.
Ringmaster, court jester,
Orchestra leader.
No sacred cows in your
Meadows to graze.

Quick to react,
Alert to respond,
Never a case
To be haughty or snooty.
No false excuses are
Deemed necessary, like
“Oh, he’s just teasing,” or
“It’s just a phase.”

But take care, oh, fearless one.
Not every mark shares
The humor you lavishly spread.
Your feckless buffoonery
To the wrong person
Could engender issues of dread.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Cigarettes are Disgusting

Don’t know why I ever got started.
Some misguided peer pressure
I suppose.
Blame it on Uncle Sam.
Blame it on weakness.
Blatant stupidity slurped up the nose.

Took me a few years of
Sucking on stupid sticks to
Reach the roof of
Reality’s realm.
Thankful to quit before
Throes of addiction
Shackled my will
Until overwhelmed.

You see,
I’ve lived long enough
I can make the rebuff to
Any case one might present.
I’ve seen what it does
To the ones that I love
In the final days of their lament.

One thing for certain
On that final curtain
(And in this you can place all your trust.)
Regrets will consume,
Inundating the room
And end your days filled with disgust.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

The Night Shift (Sundowning)

Everything changes at sundown.
Some trigger,
     Some toggle,
          Some shivering switch is thrown.
Up becomes down,
In turns to out,
A blood-thunder chill that goes
Straight to the bone.

Not sure the reason, but then
No one knows why
A brain-numbing chaos
Holds hands with the dark,
Or what raises fear to
A whole other level.
Escaping the jaws of
The great phantom shark.

I only can soothe and assure and
Assuage any angst
That may torment
A befuddled brow.
Pray for the morning,
For clarity’s purchase, and
The strength to get through this…
Somehow.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Hope, Never Lost

Ah, hope.
That noble enigma whose arms
Reach up to a winsome sky,
Favored and flavored with
Peppermint sticks.
Soft as the sound of
A sweet lullaby.
“If only. If only,” she gently whispers
With feather-like tickles
That tantalize,
While tossing a penny into a fountain,
Then patiently waiting to glean
Kismet’s prize.

Where would I be
Without your silent kisses
Tactfully tempting by
Subtle design?
Oh, patron of dreamers,
Siren of seekers,
I never shall lose you.
You’ll always be mine.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Support System

Who would’ve thought
The need would arise for
The solace of caring
In empathy’s eyes?

You know. You’ve
All been there
One time or another
In tragedy’s aftermath,
Quick to discover.

The gathering round, the
Deafening sound of
The silent travail
Where no comfort is found.

But comfort takes time
And a shoulder or two
Or three or more
Before peace might ensue.

It might be a look,
A tangible tear,
A simple. “I’m here,”
Whispered softly in ear.

And thankful should be
For this harbor, this port,
This rallying system of
Loving support.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

It’s Okay

It’s okay to let go…
Even though your heart cries out
To cling with every ounce of
Fitful courage you can muster,
“One more hour.
One more day.
One more precious memory.”
Knowing that without you
Life would surely
Lose its luster.

Through the pain
Your brow unbent,
Unfading smile
Etched on your face.
So adored, my haloed hero,
If only I could take your place.

Asking the travail be finished.
Longing, yearning not to go.
So afraid to leave behind
The precious few to pine away.
Worried for your one true love,
A ghost ship lost without a sail.
Don’t fear, my love.
We’ll meet again.
Don’t worry now.
It’s okay.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Waiting to Go

I’m ready.
     Been ready seems like
Hours ago.
Now sitting,
     Now pacing and
Waiting to go.

If we’re late
(Which I hate)
The blame is not mine.
Rock steady,
            I’m ready
To make it on time.

I ask,
            But you task
Just a few minutes more.
So I wait
(Which I hate)
Til the sweat starts to pour.

But I must confess
That any duress disappears
When at long last you show.
Who cares if we’re late?
You were well worth the
Wait and the worry of 
Waiting to go.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Making Memories

It didn’t seem like much at the time,
Just a simple outing on
A ho-hum day.
Winging the moment could
Scarcely cover it
With sunshine inviting us
Come out to play.

“Hey, Ho!” Coos the docile dove.
“Come share my morning song.
Fly by my side as adventures ensue.”
We seek out the old and familiar
To cheer us or
Drift chasing rainbows with
Brash derring-do.

And the treasure unearthed
Is not squandered in mirth,
Rather tucked away somewhere inside
Until we reminisce
Of the fine times we miss
And the memories we wear with pride.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin