Blog Archives

When Adelia Smiles

2/15/2016

When Adelia Smiles

A heart can feel so heavy,
Overwhelming confusion at it all.
Try to stay so strong and steady,
Confronting an emotional wall.

Impotent frustration,
While ‘why’ is a spectral foe.
Opaque, veiled information,
Fails,
As anxiety with love grows.

And then Adelia smiles,
And the sun seems to rise anew.
Goodness captured in a split second shine,
Pure radiance bursting through,
When Adelia smiles.

Normalcy becomes illusive,
Yet its importance completely clear.
Condescension is abusive,
Only feeding unneeded fear.

Misunderstood perception,
As others attempt to console.
Please allow our commiseration,
For,
It entwines our common soul.

And then Adelia smiles,
With the heart of a lion’s roar.
A strength not given to submission,
And a heart that’s ready for war,
When Adelia smiles.

And when Adelia smiles,
Humanity infuses us all.
We experience a greater understanding,
A singular strength,
From one so small.

When Adelia smiles,
She smiles for us all.

-- William Martin

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Gone Too Soon

2/13/2016

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Gone Too Soon

Seeds fallen from the tree,
scattered along cold cement.
No purchase found for free;
A short life already spent.
A "wake-up" left lying there for all,
gone, so long, so soon, so very small.

Leaves skitter down the road,
swirling in currents unseen.
Death’s dance paying what’s owed,
crackling brown replacing green.
Motion pulls attention to attest,
fleeting moments before final rest.

Snow muffles sound and soul.
Some return, while some are lost.
Crisp air echoes the last knoll;
Ours despite the final cost.
We fight on though the battle is done,
not knowing whether we’ve lost or won.

Yet,

In death’s last gasp we will clearly see,
all of our life’s possibilities.

-- William Martin

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February 13th, 2016

2/13/2016

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Extended Sonnet Number One
(Will Echoed)

Love, forebear allowing me to outlive
thy grace. As it shines before me, I know
radiance brings life, continues to give
so long as thy heart continues to glow.

As petals drift from the flower, my time
passes in expectation of thine own.
Yet deprived of thy life-giving love I
count friendships, count loves, count all time alone.

Thrust off this heavy, mortal cloak I bear,
allowing spirit uncoiled to ascend,
gazing down o’er thy heavenly share
with eyes knowing all and all that transcends.

Yet let not life above prove false in deed,
pulling down death’s darkness that cloaks the day
into a murky loveless sea. My need
for you outlives, out-loves the heavens’ play.

So forebear allowing me to deny,
as it shines before me, your loving grace.
A hollow heart would arc the endless sky
seeking only to glimpse your love, your face.

T’were a burden upon this earth-bound place
and my time upon it an empty space.

-- William Martin

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You Are the Poem

2/13/2016

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You Are the Poem

You are the poem I’ve always wanted to write,
The story I’ve longed to tell.
Devoid of armored cynicism,
Omitting my trips through hell.

A poem arcing through all emotion,
Showcased in an effortless grace.
Lines crafted with an easy eloquence,
Transcending hearts, time and space.

A poem complete in simply holding you,
A heart held in the warmth of your trust.
The rhyme whispered in soft, warm breaths,
The rhythm felt as sacred blood rushed.

It was to be a poem of soul and of love,
An experience of lives touching lives.
And although pen never caressed the page,
The poem was there within your eyes.

Just waiting to be discovered,
Within the warmth of your loving eyes.

--William Martin

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If They Never Knew

2/13/2016

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If They Never Knew

We touch so many lives
During a lifetime
How can we not help
But fracture a few?

We try to mend
Before our end
Yet we wonder…

If they never knew
What we knew
How much stronger
Would they be?

Yet we touch them
Nonetheless
And it’s an unkind
Selfishness
A way to give meaning
To the meaningless

We make amends
Toward our own ends
A soundless thunder…

And if they never knew
What we knew
How much stronger
Would they be?

--William Martin

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A Pair to Draw To

2/13/2016

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A Pair to Draw To

Two jokers,
Wild cards,
Recognizing their mirrored image,
Anxious,
Ready to disappear,
Within the safety,
Of a card-crowded deck,
Hesitant,
To join the Game again.

He wears a coxcomb hat,
While a morion shades her face.
Both are drawn,
To a suit of red.
They contribute,
Yet are out of place.

Both shield surprises,
When they are in play,
Potential pitfalls,
For any who take up a hand.
Yet they too are surprised,
To see a similar self,
And a shared,
Affinity for strong,
Steady,
Beating Hearts.

Their cards bend,
Each bows to each,
Reflections of the self.
Neither of them knew,
Another,
Even existed in this Game.

So let the Jokers revel,
In their discovery,
Delight in seeing Each,
In themselves.

Perhaps they’ll sit out this round,
Allowing the usual cards,
To be dealt,
And engaged in play.

They would only,
Upset the Game,
Pushing against,
The rules,
That players insist,
Must be obeyed.

-- William Martin

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The Grandest Art

2/13/2016

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The Grandest Art

I watch as you walk slowly past,
Reflections in a looking glass.
I wonder what it is you see,
If I’m still there and will it last,
Or if, in looking, fade too fast.

A shimmering glimpse of the sea,
A depth so pure it frightens me.
Sunlight haloing us as one,
An image that has set me free,
Opened my eyes to what could be.

My battles now have all been won,
Lay down my sword they’re all but done.
Drop to my knees with arms spread ‘part,
Embrace the warmth of a new sun,
It arcs the path it’s always run.

Each day with you I see a start,
Each day with you I see a part,
Of how life joins all together,
How we all share a common heart,
How all of life is grandest art.

Our hearts embrace one endeavor,
One miracle held forever.

--William Martin

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Our Hearts Askew

2/13/2016

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Our Hearts Askew

Looking up into the bright pale blue,
A silver jet slowly slices the sky.
Leaving a narrow white trail so true,
It must be lonely up that high.

Traffic runs rampant, roaring right by,
Flashing signals tell us what to do.
A hurried, hostile crowd will comply,
It’s somehow lonely down here too.

Try stepping away somewhere fresh and new,
A peaceful place in our mind’s eye.
Away from the steel and glass we grew,
Yet we cannot create the fractured lie.

It’s enough to move a grown man to cry,
We’ve lost our ability to break through.
We’re on the grid amid the greater “I,”
Plugged in and counted –there is no 'you.'

And we all know it’s true.
And there’s no way to deny,
Our minds have led our hearts askew,
Endlessly progressing without asking why.

-- William Martin

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The Wannabe Blues

2/13/2016

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The Wannabe Blues

Got a Fender Strat on the wall,
A Les Paul hangin’ ‘longside.
PRS? Yes,
I got the best,
But when playin’ my fingers are tied.

Got the rhythm in my feet;
Got the tune in my head.
Lyrics in place –letter-neat,
But for me the blues are dead.

(Chorus)
‘Cause I can’t play guitar,
Can’t even begin to jam.
Can’t play the fuckin’ guitar,
Can’t play it worth a damn.

(Solo)
Scrrreeeeeech! Squaaaark! Twaaaang!
Scrrreeeeeech! Squaaaark! Twaaaang!
Diddley, (stop to scratch my head), Flaaaaang!

They visit me every day,
Hear the blues in my head,
But when I try to play,
They just run away,
Echoes of dirge and feelin’ dead.

Still I try to play what I feel,
Try to play just what I am.
But I know it ain’t real,
--The guitar just squeals--
‘Cause I can’t play worth a damn.

(Chorus)
Yeah, I can’t play guitar,
Can’t even begin to jam.
Can’t play the fuckin’ guitar,
Can’t play it worth a damn.

(Solo, giving it your all)
Scrrreeeeeech! Squaaaark! Twaaaang!
Scrrreeeeeech! Squaaaark! Twaaaang!
Diddley, (stop to scratch my head), Flaaaaang!

Maybe I need a new Tele,
Maybe a wha-wha pedal or two.
Hoping no one will tell me,
My playin’s just no damn use.

(Solo)

--William Martin

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Depression

2/13/2016

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Depression

The left-hook was broadcast,
From a mile or more away.
But I chose to ignore it,
In fact, I stepped in its way.
Watched it coming slow-motion fast,
Why standing still I couldn’t say.
Proclaimed to abhor it,
Yet still invited its play.

It has a strange, seductive pull,
Enveloping in a comforting pain.
Isolation a perverted confirmation,
Each loss an emotional gain.
Keep it going, you’re on a roll,
Hint to others its increasing stain.
Ignore available information,
Focus on the smallest, softest, warped grain.

But you have to hammer that pinion in,
Because free-fall is a moment away.
Looking down into the warm, dizzy mist,
Feels like a mother’s gentle sway.
Hold fast against pulling you in again,
Into the warmth of the numbing gray.

It’s in you to fight, in you to resist,
For better or worse,
Yours is the only power,
Yours is the only way.

--William Martin