Poetry

In Memory

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Tonight was the last night I will ever get the chance to physically see my grandmother.  A week and one day ago, her time here with me came to an end.  A woman, who has been a part of my entire life second to only my own mother.  Saying that I will miss her encompasses only a small part of what I am truly feeling.  The love I’ve been able to receive from her, shaped me into the man I am today.  I have always been thankful that I was blessed to have my mother and my grandmother raise me. 

The poem I am posting was read to her tonight, the first time I’ve ever read her any of my work.  When she first heard I wanted to publish my poems, the joy and pride in her eyes pushed me further to do it.  Any dollar amount I needed, she was more than willing to give to see that dream come to life.  And when she finally held the book in her hands, she kept it on her bed with her, or on her dresser right next to her bed.  When I’d walk into her room, she’d point to it with this smile like a kid that I will always remember.  I wish this wasn’t the first time I read to her, but I am happy that despite that, she was always proud of my work.

Lenore Ivol Parris, I love you dearly.  Until I see you again…

 

Sunset

The hours have ticked away
Her last minutes have met an end

No more moments can be shared
No more shoulders are left to lend

A full life has ran its course
One that’s filled with a selfless love

One that’s dealt with many trials
But always showed what she’s made of.

The bond that we shared through life
Could’ve been seen from those around

She’d never just let me lie,
She’d pick me up, right off the ground.

Always saw me as a star,
In her eyes I couldn’t do wrong.

Wish to see those eyes again
Staring at me with life so strong.

To hear her voice once again
The one I’ve heard since I could crawl

Hear her tell me once again
“But Kevin, how you get so tall!”

Every time I’d walk those stairs
How you’d great me by your door.

Asking me if I was good,
Then asked again just to make sure.

Always offered all you had
I can’t ever thank you enough

This lost of you in my life
I cannot lie it’s truly tough.

All I have are memories
And a family born of you.

My hope is that we grow strong
Respect your life in all we do.

Mommy Lenore you are gone
Those words will always bring a tear.

But I’ll see you soon again
With that thought this pain, I can bare.

 

National Poetry Month – 2012

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So, once again National Poetry Month has crept up on me so its time to add to my poetry pool.  I think I’ve gathered enough material to seriously consider a second book, but my novel aspirations are still winning the “What to Publish” dilemma I’m always faced with.

These two poems are very different in topic but share a central theme, conflict.  And really, aren’t most works ‘that’ much more interesting when highlighting a continuing struggle or problem.  In any case, enjoy each one and I hope to add on a few more poems before the month closes.

Leave a comment so I will know you were here!!!!

Carousel

I’m amazed at how we go
Day to day around this course

First speaking with gentle tongues
Then those words turn harsh and coarse.

The anger and hurt we hold
To ourselves and each other

Strains hard on those relations
Me as dad – You as mother

Seeking changes in the way
I have been living my life

Knowing full well what you mean
You want more – to be my wife

How you tire of the wait
One that’s born out of a choice

When you turned the home we shared
Into one with just one voice

Over time we both have changed
Yet in us some things remain

Memories have stayed intact
Spend my days holding that pain

You still see the world through eyes
Searching hard for just one sign

Lashing out at everything
That goes against your timeline

Here we stand at this crossroads
Feeling ready to move on

You approach with angst and dread
Weary from singing this song

What you seek can’t be with me
You feel that I want an ‘out’

If only you understood
You’re so wrong – I have no doubt

You are part of all I want
When I think of ‘family’

Shared bed, shared car, shared mortgage
All these joys with you, I see.

But I fear this ride has charged
A high toll on you and I

Now I fear we’ve lost the strength
To give ‘us’ another try.

Maybe time is what we need
To mend the past – I don’t know

Maybe the ride’s truly done
And it’s apart we must grow.

Where We Go

When all the dust has settled
That is the time
We each should look

To find how we’ve all reached here
What wrongs were done
What paths we took

Many lives throughout the past
Have been ruined
Through hate, through fear

The future will see the same
Unless there’s change
That’s just and clear.

We are judged by what is seen
My skin’s color
Projects a view

An image forged through stories
That in my life
Might not be true

My race denotes a status
Within a land
Where race, divides

Yet racism’s billed as dead
Really in truth
It lays and hides.

And the truth is also that
Some who are seen
To be my kin

Help spur this image’s reach
By choices made
Bringing chagrin

Before attacking a group
Or laying blame
As we react

Take note of the ills we cause
Stereotypes
Can stem from fact

The changes must come from self
As we advance
The common goal

Of approaching a true end
Of racism’s
Treacherous hold

In order for ‘us’ to win
There truly needs
An ‘us’ to be

No battle’s ever been won
With a fractured
Or lost army.

Where we go as time moves on
Lies on a path
From steps now made.

Will we meet tomorrow’s world
Still underneath
Racism’s shade.