APLS After Dark
APLS After Dark
Come sit for a while.. .
A TINGE OF HOPE
Yesterday
I saw a familiar couple from my drinking days.
James was always a lovely and decent man
Sam
while a beautiful girl
sadly
could never be faithful.
Back then she would put it around in every filthy corner of town
sleeping with every man who took her fancy
and he would stay home with the kids
adoring every inch of her.
It saddened me to see Sam in a wheelchair
with that wretched disease
savaging her body
she needs James more than ever now
as he is now all she’s got.
He pushed her with pride
with a love that time has never faltered
the infidelity could never tear them apart
however much it must have killed him inside.
Now
the S.T.D’s are long forgotten
and with a devotion much deeper than skin
he will cherish her until the final moment
with a strength that I can only envy.
And in a funny way
seeing them together
gave me a tingle of hope.
I saw a familiar couple from my drinking days.
James was always a lovely and decent man
Sam
while a beautiful girl
sadly
could never be faithful.
Back then she would put it around in every filthy corner of town
sleeping with every man who took her fancy
and he would stay home with the kids
adoring every inch of her.
It saddened me to see Sam in a wheelchair
with that wretched disease
savaging her body
she needs James more than ever now
as he is now all she’s got.
He pushed her with pride
with a love that time has never faltered
the infidelity could never tear them apart
however much it must have killed him inside.
Now
the S.T.D’s are long forgotten
and with a devotion much deeper than skin
he will cherish her until the final moment
with a strength that I can only envy.
And in a funny way
seeing them together
gave me a tingle of hope.
By Gareth Jone. copyright. 2014
CAST AWAY
In the doorway he squatsa crouched statue
a tribute to shame
staring into his oiled delirium
old fashioned
incurious and drawn
like a skiff blown into the last
weathered storm
in the cavity where he rots quietly withdrawn
clutching the breath, the only
thing his own
Stiff from the sad tired knowing
a silhouette unnoticed by the urgent march of the crowd
his whole world boxed in the
puddled street
Portent times looming like dark
clouds deafened by his silence
his empty pockets
his ragged mind
full of best forgotten memory
Shivering in tandem with the steps
as a woman sees him in his quiet
repose her soft heart feels the
weight of his burden
She wants to tend his wounds
his hurt
but only looks
and in her hesitation
wipes the watering eye that
mourns him.
By Clifton Redmond.. copyright. 2014
CURTAIN CALL
we hold it all insideso many of us do that
go along, smile
make it all seem alright
so no one will see
no one will think to ask
if we're okay
the disguise takes time
to construct, years and years
once in place, it endures
funny how people
find it hard to talk
in front of a crowd
when the rest
of their lives are an act
one scene after another
academy award performances
if you ask me ~ so good that
no one knows it's an act
so good . .
that we only let down
the guard when we're alone
and then the curtains fall
the spotlight fades
and we bow . .
sad and alone
bowing deeply
so sad and alone . .
Charlie Giardino. copyright. 2014.
MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY
The snow fell lazily from the skies overnight
settling itself upon the ground just outside my window
it blanketed the forest for as far as the eye could see.
White on white on white
a beauty unsurpassed
but deadly like the wolf
only the truly inexperienced would ever trust it.
The tree twinkled in hues of blinking colors behind me
the stockings hung over a roaring fire
all the prerequisites of another Christmas
only unlike the ones previous to this
I would spend this one without you again.
For somewhere out there
in the snow covered beauty of the mountains
lies you gravestone
stark and grey
It reads
Shelby Ann
Wife – Mother – Lover - Friend.
I miss you already
Aurora, Colorado
1953-1983.
It was during a December much like this
that you lost your yearlong battle with breast cancer
the “Silly Season” you used to call it
it was your favorite time of year
mine too because I got to see you smile nearly every day.
Our daughter can’t make it this year
the blizzards on the East Coast have socked in all the airports
so she’ll spend Christmas at school with friends.
It’s just the same
no matter how hard I try to put on a happy face for her
I always catch her studying me
she knows I’m thinking of you.
As I am today
staring out this window
at the blankets of snow and ice
tears streaming down my face.
Merry Christmas, baby.
settling itself upon the ground just outside my window
it blanketed the forest for as far as the eye could see.
White on white on white
a beauty unsurpassed
but deadly like the wolf
only the truly inexperienced would ever trust it.
The tree twinkled in hues of blinking colors behind me
the stockings hung over a roaring fire
all the prerequisites of another Christmas
only unlike the ones previous to this
I would spend this one without you again.
For somewhere out there
in the snow covered beauty of the mountains
lies you gravestone
stark and grey
It reads
Shelby Ann
Wife – Mother – Lover - Friend.
I miss you already
Aurora, Colorado
1953-1983.
It was during a December much like this
that you lost your yearlong battle with breast cancer
the “Silly Season” you used to call it
it was your favorite time of year
mine too because I got to see you smile nearly every day.
Our daughter can’t make it this year
the blizzards on the East Coast have socked in all the airports
so she’ll spend Christmas at school with friends.
It’s just the same
no matter how hard I try to put on a happy face for her
I always catch her studying me
she knows I’m thinking of you.
As I am today
staring out this window
at the blankets of snow and ice
tears streaming down my face.
Merry Christmas, baby.
By Michael Dobson.. copyright. 2014
SORROW
I'm sorry daddyI don't mean to be bad
I would wake up if I could
but my eyes won't move
if I could draw breath
I would tell you I’m OK
if I could move my arms
I would hug you back
but I am out of breaths
and my arms will never hug again
I don't want to go
I want to see mommy again
I want to be held and told its OK
but I guess I’m not OK am I?
It feels like I’m flying
like I’m laying on a cloud
are you still rocking me?
its getting cold daddy
I can't feel my fingers and toes
and it sounds like your getting further away
don't leave me daddy!
I’m so tired
I can't fight anymore
I just wish I could see you again
before I sleep
I wish I could hug you back
I
love
you
daddy...
Jason Getchelll copyright 2014.
Where Words Wait
I wrote to you
words it seemed were all I had,
to touch your heart
ever sweetly
and make love bloom before Spring
I missed you,
in simple ways
like one misses a laugh,
a gentle hand,
or a calm demeanor
Sometimes
it seemed words dripped unto my journal,
forming a collection of poetic sorrows
While my soul whispered
almost inaudibly
Were you listening?
As if something had begun to happen
in the space in time
between who I was
and who I was now becoming
Porcelain smiles
had turned blood red
with pieces of my open heart
coming up to the surface
Vulnerability escaping through tasseled hair
I now moved among mysteries
A heart beat,
in every syllable
in every drop of ink spilled
For you were near
even if I did not see you
you lived
here
in my nights
in my life
in a verse
Always
Maritza Alvarez. copyright. 2014.
THE INQUISITION
It will come before you
the soul's inquisition
a query we all must one day answer
as all before us have.
For a few
it will come in a moment
as was the way
for so many of our great heroes.
For others it comes through years
of constant battles of daily strife
never to be fully answered
until your final breath
but it will come.
Who are you?
What is it that defines you?
What will those that know you well say
when they speak your name in memory?
These are the questions that we answer
not by spoken words
but by the actions we take
in the ways we treat one another.
For in the end all you can hope for
is that someone left will remember you
and remember you well.
the soul's inquisition
a query we all must one day answer
as all before us have.
For a few
it will come in a moment
as was the way
for so many of our great heroes.
For others it comes through years
of constant battles of daily strife
never to be fully answered
until your final breath
but it will come.
Who are you?
What is it that defines you?
What will those that know you well say
when they speak your name in memory?
These are the questions that we answer
not by spoken words
but by the actions we take
in the ways we treat one another.
For in the end all you can hope for
is that someone left will remember you
and remember you well.
By Joey Jones.. copyright. 2014
MISDEAL
Who gave the cards?
of course, this is easy to say
Love each other
be good and honest
But who gave me these cards
who gave me the damn cards?
who gave me a heart full of hate
The deadly sins?
Let's talk about the deadly sins
Who made me a liar?
selfish, greedy
lazy and jealous
And this one, look at him
with the head of an angel
and a smile dripping with goodness
Who made him honest
courageous
compassionate
altruistic?
Of course it is easy for him
Is not it?
It is easy for him to stay on the right path
You know what?
I maybe made greater efforts than him
But the right path
I've never found
So what?
Love your neighbor as yourself?
Well you see, that's good
Because I do not love myself
Is that the real trials of life?
Fight against ourselves?
The true injustice is not in adversity
poverty or suffering
The true injustice is engraved within us
Indelible
Then, the day of judgment
from the top of Your greatness
You shall tell to me
"What did you do with what I gave you?"
But what did You give to me?
Look at these cards
this is what You gave me
Yes
It is You who gave cards.
of course, this is easy to say
Love each other
be good and honest
But who gave me these cards
who gave me the damn cards?
who gave me a heart full of hate
The deadly sins?
Let's talk about the deadly sins
Who made me a liar?
selfish, greedy
lazy and jealous
And this one, look at him
with the head of an angel
and a smile dripping with goodness
Who made him honest
courageous
compassionate
altruistic?
Of course it is easy for him
Is not it?
It is easy for him to stay on the right path
You know what?
I maybe made greater efforts than him
But the right path
I've never found
So what?
Love your neighbor as yourself?
Well you see, that's good
Because I do not love myself
Is that the real trials of life?
Fight against ourselves?
The true injustice is not in adversity
poverty or suffering
The true injustice is engraved within us
Indelible
Then, the day of judgment
from the top of Your greatness
You shall tell to me
"What did you do with what I gave you?"
But what did You give to me?
Look at these cards
this is what You gave me
Yes
It is You who gave cards.