January 2021

About Poemography
To commemorate the tenth anniversary of my Poem-A-Day Project, I am reprising my daily poetry challenge in 2021.
Every day this year—from January 1st until the 31st of December—I will create a new poem inspired by whatever moves me at the moment I sit down to compose that day's poem, publishing them here with subscription-free access for all.
Every Tuesday throughout the year, I will write and publish one bonus poem that will be available exclusively to my Patrons on Patreon.
In 2022, I will publish a book of my complete poems, spanning more than 40 years of poetry writing. The complete collection of poems will be published in a limited edition hardbound book available for purchase. As an added feature, I'm considering releasing some of the poems in this collection as spoken word recordings by a variety of special guest readers. Enjoy the year!
31JAN21
The Artist's Eye
Visions of an artist with a lens
Eyes focused on bold strokes
Splatters and harmonious hues
Curves and lines and tonal flow
The artist's eye is wide and reflective
It captures movement and stillness
Extracts life from the unsophisticated
Exudes the extraneous from the light
Trees and air and every living thing
Observed with childlike innocence
The moon and stars illuminate wonder
Sea foam and ocean blue in the yonder
What do you see when you close your eyes
Dangling dancing lines and butterfly wings
I'd love to know what you dream about at night
And if you're haunted by the visions of your past
30JAN21
Tchotchkes
I no longer have a penchant for trinkets
A desire to fill my every nook and cranny
With useless mementos of days gone by
Souvenirs from yesteryear's humdrumness
As I child I had one odd fascination
An antique wind-up carriage clock
On a table at my grandparent's house
Never worked and the door latch broken
How many times would I wind it up
Its glass door popping open every time
The handle on top that wouldn't stay up
Why would such a contraption be so coveted
Of all the things I could possibly recall
It's the untold knickknacks and bric-a-brac
All the crummy tchotchkes that linger in my mind
Occupying every crevice and corner of the past
29JAN21
Daniel
I couldn't have possibly known
What you felt or what you thought
Impossible to fathom your suffering
More concerned with mine than yours
What I should have done, could have done
But didn't do haunts me to this day
Scenes play over and over in my head
Fetch a ball roll over and play dead
The truth is I never deserved you
So ill equipped to rise to the occasion
But I loved you in my own peculiar way
We became each other's languid burden
Spending those last few final hours together
News that James Brown had just passed away
Wrapped in old blankets with fraying edges
You quietly slipped away in my futile embrace
28JAN21
My Three Schwinns
I remember the first time I fell in love
It was a little red Bantam from Minky's
Stored in the bike room around the corner
But that didn't stop it from getting stolen
And everyone knew who was doing the deed
The thievery perpetuated by the proprietors
I swear I saw my bike there a week later
Buying whoopee cushions and magic tricks
The urban legend we grew up with
Milton and Shim lurking in the night
Stealing back the bikes they sold outright
Back on the shop floor to be sold anew
My Stingray met the same doleful fate
Trusty newspaper boy bike gone into thin air
Third time wasn't the charm 30 years later
In Valencia, my Transit nicked in broad daylight
27JAN21
And We Kissed
I tried to kiss you once in the back stairwell
We sat there with schoolbooks in our laps
Our heartbeats echoed in resonant silence
Your fingers came between my lips and yours
Then you smiled and gently caressed my face
Told me if I kissed you, you’d be mine forever
I contemplated that notion in deliberate calm
Resting my boyish face in the palms of my hands
I knew the bell would ring soon so I looked up
My eyes all aglow locked in an ardent stare
You slid even closer and my heart began to race
The doors burst open, the moment now seemed lost
But you placed your hand on the back of my head
You began inching your face slowly towards mine
A surge of moving bodies flooded the stairwell
And we kissed as if we were invisible to the world
26JAN21
Stalemate
Life is little more than a perilous game
Frivolous rules restricting movement
Back and forth and black and white
Kings and queens move left and right
No wonder why the pawns are plenty
Small and skittish, bulbous and brainless
Stuffing their heads with fries and energy drinks
Chucking chits and plastic lids through the rails
Ruffians unruffled by the world around them
Rooks and crooks and knights that fight
Pumped up testosterone boys dripping stench
Hanging out loose in the kabab shop door
These are tomorrow's wasted space
Indoctrinated tools a fool's disgrace
What they don't know won't hurt them
What they do will desecrate humanity
25JAN21
The Heavens
Sometimes people return from the heavens
Others remain, released from pain and suffering
Looking down and protecting us from all high
Peering through shrouds of lucent grey clouds
Many things I'd like to know about you
Though I suppose I never will
Little things that make you laugh
Simple things that color your world
I long to watch you sleep at night
Knowing that peace enfolds your slumber
Protecting you from every ominous dream
Holding death at bay if only until morning
And who are all these unknown souls
Drifting up to the heavens above
I don't recognize their names or faces
But can't help feeling at one with them
24JAN21
New Day
How frequently I forget
That the sky is always blue
The sun invariably shining
Stars permanently aglow
Darkness has a way of misleading
Casting a pall over my eyes
Blotting out the truth of reality
Forging lies to confuse and distract
There is air and there is laughter
Breath fills my lungs and flows within me
It's to look at life with a sense of awe
For every new day is chance for renewal
Darkness will set as it always does
Bringing its callous narcissistic ruse
Cunning and calculated drawing me near
I float above the clouds drifting towards tomorrow
23JAN21
Lee's Garage
Was it Northridge or Chatsworth?
Those details escape my aging mind
While others remain freshly present
Like the sounds we made back then
Looking back I remember the faces
Smiling, glimmering, young and fair
Hopefulness and shared determination
In every note, measure, bar and lyric
Cornelius, Scott and Vince played there
Their souls remain in that hallowed place
Big head Mike blew his horn there too
Jon was the Music Man of the day
Me and Lee and Craig were tight
Rim shots and the girl on the Juno-60
Dan and Anne and Jeff jazzed it up
In Lee's garage where the music lived
22JAN21
Sicknick
I've been over it again and again
Watched the reels and the reruns
Attempting to fathom the weight of it
The reason and why and significance of it
All I see in my visions of you
Standing in front of the morning mirror
Buttoning buttons on a freshly ironed shirt
Fastening the buckle on your Bianchi belt
Your shoes are shined and buffed
Breakfast in a rush, teeth are brushed
Sparky and Pebbles fed and walked
Kiss Sandy goodbye one the last time
Hero's duty on the Capitol steps
The rotunda breeched by madmen
Flags and smoke and savage chants
Outnumbered you hardly stood a chance
21JAN21
Industry
Slabs of dreary grey concrete
Lines etched in shiny solid steel
Clear clean panes of pristine glass
Elongated cylinders of composite mass
Imaginations roused from sleepy dreams
Careful contemplation of each and every seam
Pencil streaks, eraser debris and coffee stains
Ashtrays overflowing with acrid smolder
Hard hat, dusty shoes and smudgy glasses
Clipboard notes and pens dangling from strings
Shouting above the din of diesel thunder
Lunch whistle pay stub time clock dings
Industry dwells in prestige and glory
Majesty swells with cogs and beams
The greatest heights of man's invention
Pure embodiment of our outward being
20JAN21
Reaching
I'm always the one who's reaching
Outstretched overextending junction crossing
Arms sore to the point of numbing weariness
Heartache uneasily resting in the pit of stomach
I've forgotten the sound of your voice
Waning memories of what we once were
Each passing day brings subtle decay
Reticent about revealing my indifference
There can no longer be loss and sadness
Suffering has a strange way of adapting
What once was warm is no longer warm
The cold can not be blamed for its coolness
Moss spreads thin across unsuspecting ground
Veiling the earth obscuring sunlit winter days
Remember me when the moon is full and bright
I'll be reaching out in the shadows of the night
19JAN21
Nelson
You seemed so old to me way back then
Balding mustachioed Adam's apple bump
Overbite beady grey eyes glaring contempt
V-neck t-shirt exposing tufts of wiry chest hair
Your jail cell office and thick wooden chair
Scraping the white tiled floor as you stood up
You shut the door behind me and told me to sit
A deafening silence fractured by your stare
You spoke softly through your anger
I wondered if you had children of your own
I looked at you with innocence and fear
Biting my bottom lip to hold back the tears
I returned to the ruckus and stale heavy air
Someone tossed me a basketball told me to shoot
I bounced it a few times looking around for you
There perched in the doorway whispering a smirk
18JAN21
Coffee & Pie
I never had the chance to say goodbye
Not a proper send off or fond farewell
A cup of coffee or slice of cherry pie
One last trip to shop for clothes
I was sitting next to Sedaka at shabbos services
Privileged with the honor of singing Yigdal
The phone's vibration startled me as I chanted
How odd that my mother would call me at shul
Meitim yekhayeh el b’rov khasdo
Barukh adei ad shem tehilato
God will revive the dead in his full kindness
May his name be blessed and praised forever
I stepped outside and called her back
She answered standing beside his lifeless body
That I would never see again except in dreams
And when we reunite in the great beyond
17JAN21
Green Lake
We slept together beneath crisp white sheets
Your belly rising and falling with each breath
I watched you as the sun rose over Green Lake
A warm breeze gently ruffling the curtains
I told myself I'd never forget this moment
Its permanence etched upon my mind's eye
Your beauty preserved in poetry and song
Memories endured through space and time
Our eyes met in the first rays of dawn
You smiled and softly touched my face
Your lips drawing nearer to mine
My heart racing like never before
In that moment it all became clear
The meaning of life and destiny's light
That you and I were forever meant to be
As one in the abundance of love's delight
16JAN21
My True Belonging
Life's roads are often paved with indecision
Leading us wantonly to peril and pain
Journeys where no one departs or arrives
Unknown destinations welcome faceless travelers
I took shelter once in the shade of a sycamore
A woman appeared to me in a dream
She had warm olive skin and flowing hair
Breath that whispered unfathomable truths
She took me gently by the hand
We walked until the night turned to day
She left me at the end of the earth
Kissed me softly and disappeared
I sat in the silence of all I had become
Wondering what the apparition had tried to tell me
Perhaps I had taken the wrong path to glory
Arriving at the destination of my true belonging
15JAN21
Ducks in a Row
Tranquility wades on still waters
While steps away men in suits
Disfigure the face of the Kingdom
Betraying the confidence of the masses
The weak and stricken left abandoned
Body counts rise and the cabinet falls
Battered and beleaguered commoners wail
Weariness prevails in the crumbling halls
History will be an unkind judge
Revealing wounds that never healed
Scars upon a landscape of hallowed ground
Mounds that dot earth like swollen welts
Pretty little ducks all in a row
The wretched stew of society simmers
Ripples on the surface hide what steeps below
Voices silenced by drowning lungs
14JAN21
Odile
If I focus my view ever so carefully
In the space between dreams and reality
What is revealed can never be spoken
It must remain a secret or it shall vanish forever
We laughed about that French chanteur
For years convinced it was a woman
We sat in the garden of a suburban home
You invited me to come in and see your room
Sitting on the bed patting the quilt
I was too nervous to even approach
You looked at me with teary eyes
Not understanding why I had to go
You called to say you were returning home
Regretting not having seen me one last time
I promised to visit you in Paris one day
If only in the space between dreams and reality
13JAN21
Lady in Red
August was never my favorite month
Summer boredom and excruciating heat
Never enough shade to protect me
Or cool rain to soothe my burning skin
But that summer was different
Winds of change blew gusty gales
You appeared at the neighbor's door
Beauty unlike I had ever seen
We took a drive in my yellow MG
Winding roads and vanilla shakes
I parked in front of the Bahá'í Temple
You reached over and kissed me
We walked into Shaw's, all eyes on you
You wore a stunning red, summer floral dress
But it was your elegant crimson cartwheel hat
That made everyone fall madly in love with you
12JAN21
Pale Ivory Skin
Not much changes from place to place
Faces wear discourteous contempt
Loathsome figures shuffle along in silence
The old and the young touting indifference
There is an unsettling absence of spirit
No children or childlike innocence
Only vestiges of forgotten times remain
Echoes of footsteps and muted laughter
You asked me once to write you a song
Some insipid melody and draggy lyrics
Something you could sing to yourself
In the dark corner of your lonely room
I found you there, alone and despairing
Resting your head on a spool of woolen yarn
An empty bottle of wine on the floor beside you
Mascara tears drying on your pale ivory skin
11JAN21
The Secret Season
An undesired foreboding swells through the air
Its cutting wispy vapor numbs my nostrils
Grass flecked with heavy pungent dew
Leather-soled loafers glide me atop the blades
There is no warmth or comfort here
The sun obscured by taciturn clouds
My raspy voice the only sound I hear
Muted only by what I choose to ignore
So many stories I've yet to tell
Imaginary scenes of you and I
Sitting at the river's edge
Silent, present and carefree
The secret season marking time
Revealing its first blooms of promise
A harbinger of better brighter days
Blossoming from beneath the icy ground
10JAN21
Blur
There was an ease I felt as a younger man
A lightness and tranquil air of existence
Reality forged on the day-to-dayness of life
Nary a moment poorly lived or squandered
Travel became my escape back then
I found solace in faraway places
Took sanctuary in your warm embrace
Refuge in your compassionate breath
I can still smell the morning coffee
Hear the wind rattling the shutters
Feel your fingers running through my hair
See the afternoon light shining upon your face
The rest of the story is but a blur
Did you pack a bag or say farewell?
I wished you'd left a note on the mirror
Scribbled in lipstick on your hasty getaway
09JAN21
Fastlife
They say familiarity breeds contempt
But I can't seem to control my emotions
Feelings growing stronger with each passing day
Longing for a presence I once abhorred
I see images in tightly shut eyes
Floating lines and dancing shapes
Subconscious forebodings of whoknowswhat
Penetrating the waning delights of my fancy
I hold on to the memories we made
Sensations of long-lost pleasures
Palpitating fears that grip me hard
The smoke clears but only ashes remain
Who am I to drift aimlessly into your life
Time and time again we confront the truth
You remind me with subtle clues who I am
But more important, who I never could be
08JAN21
Behold
I have keen recollections of that summer
Oh, was I a storyteller way back then
Disguising my peril, pain and predicaments
In chapter upon chapter of thinly veiled fiction
You couldn't have really believed me
Jet-setting about with the news reader
Attending parties with the Prince and his wife
Riding around Madrid on my Electra Glide
My lies were never meant to mislead you
There was no other way to pique your interest
Certainly I would have been a better suitor than he
Younger, bolder, wiser; able, willing and spirited
My efforts to seduce you were all in vain
You were in love and betrothed to another
But you were my muse in so many ways
Your kiss tucked away in yesterday's drawer
07JAN21
The Ring
The moment resonates in my mind
Even after all these years
Your voice through the bathroom door
Revealing the harshest of truths
There were roads I'd walked back then
Leading me to no particular destination
While my eyes saw a distant vision
I never felt the ground beneath me
Love has a way of deceiving the young
It never forgives them their treachery
Innocent and fragile we laughed till we cried
Desperate hearts became disparate and numb
With the little I had I bought you this ring
On bended knee asked you to be my wife
Knowing that only in the face of defeat
Would one day bring the sweetness of glory
06JAN21
Open Wounds
I've walked through life with open wounds
Some that have healed and scarred
Leaving behind scant memories and sorrow
Others that continue to fester and decay
I've had the life all but sucked out of me
Stretched stiff and twisted taut
Gasping for the slightest breath of air
Drowning in a dark dank swamp of despair
When the walls came tumbling down
Wreckage and ruin overwhelming
Dust settling over rubble and remains
Deformed steel bars bent like broken limbs
I took comfort in your gentle kindness
Sheltered in the sunlit dwelling of your heart
Where humanity and love were abundant
Providing sanctuary of what remained of my soul
05JAN21
Reflections (For Michelle)
Looking back is never the same
The memories are dull and muddled
What I remember most about that month
Might be slightly different than what you do
It wasn't the passion or lust
Or the naked pleasures of indulgence
It wasn't how tightly I held you
But your warmth permeating my skin
How did that affair come to pass?
An innocent meal around a family table
Thinking about the exact moment
When destiny foretold the inconceivable
The strongest reflection reveals the weakest truth
The day you asked me that unanswerable question
Barely mustering up the courage to look you in the eye
After all those years the answer comes to me in your voice
04JAN21
Arrival
Adrenaline rushes through desolate halls
Chilled mephitic fumes choke dry raspy throats
Hazy lights flicker diffusing pale sparkles
Gloom extracted from every weary being
Walls that once rumbled are subdued
Where motion is dizzying and fluid
Little more than disquieting calm remains
Slabs of cold concrete bare witness to nothing
Ghostly figures wait without reason
On their way home to purposeless lives
Gloom pervades a wishfulness long forgotten
Sinister and deliberate, passionless and unforgiving
Then from out of the distance a voice calls out
Familiar yet stirring up apprehension and despair
But your face appears in the shuffle of madness
Absorbing every ounce of sorrow in your embrace
03JAN21
Forty Years
The 7 a.m. glow is always the same
The single beam of sunlight
Fragmented on beams of aging wood
A Morse code greeting of dots and dashes
The taste of furikake and my wife's tender kiss
Linger on my lips as I pull into the depot
My old Toyota Crown indifferent to my arrival
Ruffled to be stirred from its calm repose
Long days and interminable nights
Unchanging cityscapes and unwavering solitude
Never-ending chitchat and cellphone squabble
Feigned cordiality and incoherent blather
Forty years driving these streets
Or have they really driven me
I turn the key and the engine spits
I disappear into the morning's misty light
02JAN21
An Outstretched Arm
I can scarcely remember the last time I held you in my arms
But surely it was a moment of solemn parting
Saying goodbye and wishing you well
Not knowing when I'd see you again
Mine are the first arms to have held you
My lips the first to gently kiss your brow
I held your hand and sang you to sleep
Moments too soon lost to the ages
You're never far from my thoughts
And while the chasm of yearning narrows
I fear it shall soon encroach upon my stillness
Upending my sensibilities and faith
And through time and space we remain apart
Distant, disconnected, dissimilar and disaffected
My sanguine arms remain outstretched and open
Reaching into the vastness of long-departed memories
01JAN21
The Passage of Time
Trees don't sense the passage of time
Warm breezes rustle their leaves
Icy gales flutter frozen branches
Heat and cold are indifferent allies
The sky only knows the simplest of truths
A lucid perception of snow and rain
Clouds that shade the evening sun
Stars that revere the morning light
The years quickly pass
Leaving us yearning for what could never be
Time that slipped through scraggy fingers
Crevices that reveal our vulnerable humanity
Your touch is etched upon my mind eternal
A delicate recollection of the passage of time
When I held you in my arms once long ago
Like the dawn's everlasting kiss on a lost horizon