collab

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

The Rest As they Say is History


 *an experiment in poetry*




















The Rest, As They Say, Is History



Throwing caution to the wind, I walked into the night,
Down the street, to your door,
Knocked, knocked again,
And gently turned the door knob and it opened.

And there you sat staring blankly at the wall
Then turned and stared blankly at me
You opened your mouth to ask "How did you.....?"
But I gave you no time to ask.

Slamming the door, I crossed the room,
Turned off the tv, turned down the lights,
Took a sip of your wine, took a bite of your apple,
And threw myself into your lap and kissed you like no man
 Had ever been kissed before.

This lip, tongue congress continued on 
For some fifteen minutes or so
And then I stood up, dusted off your dustless lap,
Took another sip of wine and turned the tv back on,
Flipped the light switch back up, hurried across the room
To the front door, opened it, took a deep breath,
Went outside, slammed the door, and did not look back.

But peeking through the window,
I watched as you came to your senses,
Swallowed the leftover wine,
Poured some more,
Ran your fingers through your hair,
Stood up awkwardly and said,
"What the hell was that?!"
Then you sat clumsily back down
At your dinette table, frowning,
And contemplated your life
And whether you were possibly awake
Or dreaming and whether you ought
To call the police and report a break-in
Or if you should go back to sleep
And finish a rather remarkable dream.

Caught in the dilemma of confusion
And mild euphoria,
You turned the dregs of the wine up
And drank every drop,
Stood and threw the bottle in the sink,
Turned off the tv, turned on the stereo,
Did some sort of bump and grind dance
In the middle of the kitchen floor
To a song,
By a band that sounded 
Like a cross between Frank Zappa
And Frank Sinatra......
And stopped and shook your head
With the biggest smile possibly
Ever seen on your face 
Since you were a toddler
Tasting ice cream for the first time.

When you crossed the room
Headed for the door, 
I knew it was time for me
To make my presence vanish
And I turned and ran down 21st Street
Just as hard and fast as I could
Possibly run in high heels
On a cracked asphalt street
At midnight in the rain
On a Wednesday night in February.

But I wasn't fast enough
For you caught me 
By the arm, 
Twirled me around, 
My hair flying, earrings flying,
Heart beating like my brother's
Little tin drum
And just about ready to burst
Either into song or screams of fear, 
I wasn't sure which.

I had had it all worked out before hand
But I hadn't counted on you coming after me
I hadn't counted on that because you were 
The shyest damned man I  had ever met
And you never looked at me, smiled at me, noticed me,
Or gave any evidence that you knew I existed.

Which was why
I had formulated this god-awful plan
With no hope of reciprocation
On your part
And no intention whatsoever
Of explaining myself or
Redeeming improbable intentions
On my part or anybody else's part,
Either in part or to the fullest extent
Of the law, give or take a crime.....
For I hadn't thought much further
Than taking you unawares
There are your kitchen table
Drinking wine
For I already knew that
You never locked your front door
And you always had dinner
At Tom's Cafe on Wednesday nights
And you were always home by nine.

No, I was not a stalker!
I just knew things.

Like I knew I had loved you for at least six months
And that I dreamed about you every night
And that I had made up my lovesick little mind
To hunt you down like a dog
And kiss the living daylights outta ya and split
And I would say now
that that was a Fait Accompli.......

I was pretty proud of myself until I felt your hand
Go around my waist and the other one grab my hair
And you pulled me backwards and we went tumbling down
Into Mrs. Tompkins's flower bed right on top of her gnome
And a granite saint that I couldn't rightly remember the name of
At the moment
And first thing I knew, you were laughing like a crazy man
And kissing me back so hard and so sweetly that I could hardly
Even believe that I had ever thought you shy.

"Don't you think a proper introduction would be in order about now?" you asked, 
Pulling me to my feet and off the top of the unfortunate saint who had rolled down
Under a fake toadstool  and hidden his face in shame at the shocking
Machinations of a girl, half-crazed with love and a caught-off- guard man who didn't 
Rightly know if he should be thrilled or terrified out of his mind
Or what his next move should be.

"I'm the girl that loves you." I blurted out like an idiot and reached to shake your hand
As you shook mine back, dazed and confused and wondering if you had heard Correctly  "You....you're the girl that does what to whom?" You stuttered 
And removed your hand from mine and put it in your pocket for safe-keeping
Like I was going to take it home with me or worse
And so we stood there in the rain with our hair plastered down upon our heads
And our clothes fitting us like skins of plastic.

"Well, I'm...." you began and I rushed to shush you
"I know who you are." I said excitedly
"You work in the cubicle behind mine
And you always have tuna for lunch
And you read the paper and listen to NPR
And whistle when you walk into work."
"That's....that's... correct." you said, puzzled
And cleared your throat and kicked at a rock
With your shoe
"But why should you.......?"you began
And fell silent, reaching to remove a tendril
From across my left eye.

"Why don't we go somewhere warm?"
You finally completed a sentence
And I nodded and wiped mud and dirt
Off of your chin and brushed leaves 
From your jacket and pretended that it was
A perfectly normal thing to do
That the entire scenario was a perfectly normal
Thing to do
And that I was a perfectly normal girl
Standing in Mrs. Tompkins flower bed
In the rain which was an absolutely normal thing to do
With a man I hardly knew and who didn't
Know me at all to speak of
But boy, I sure did want to kiss you again
With your wine flavored breath and your
Soft brown eyes and your smile that was just
Barely able to contain itself
Now beaming at me and becoming prominent.

I took your arm and stepped over 
The fake toadstool, the gnome, 
The nameless, humiliated saint
And smiled a tiny smile of my own,
Wanting to believe in miracles, 
Or at the very least.....good luck
And we made our way back to your house,
Back to your door, back to the kitchen table,
Back to a fresh bottle of wine
And back to what you had been doing
Before I had so rudely interrupted you
Which, as I found out later, 
After three glasses of wine, 
Fifteen shy sweet kisses
And four that were anything but....
Was the shocking revelation
That  you had been sitting there
Trying to think of a way to get me
To notice that you were alive
And about getting up the nerve 
To ask me out on a proper date
And possibly, one day, hopefully, 
Having the good fortune to
Actually kiss me like a proper gentleman
But I had ruined all that, hadn't I?

So, yes, dear children, 
That is how your father and I got together,
Fell in love, got engaged, got married,
Had all you lovely babies and this wonderful marriage
And this wonderful life and these wonderful stories
And lived happily ever after
The end.......

And it had all started with me
Planning and scheming  and taking matters into my own hands
Because your father was too shy to do anything on his own
So I fearlessly marched myself up to his door, into his house,
Into his kitchen, into his lap, "Into my heart!" you interjected
"Into his heart" I repeated smiling broadly and proudly
And we kissed and said at precisely the same moment:
"And the rest, as they say.......history!!"














©by Voo
Feb 12, 2019
4:14 a.m.


























(a mindless write
in which I just typed
without thinking about
what I was typing
and seeing what was on the page
when I got through......)

The Man That You Are

 





The Man That You Are


I don't know how to tell you this
Or even how to start
My mind is telling me to stop
So I'll listen to my heart.

You inserted yourself into my life
In a quiet, friendly way
Encouraging me to think more of myself
And adding some cheer to my day.

I didn't quite know what to think of you
You were different from all other men
So encouraging and kind with a deep profound mind
Looking forward and not where you'd been.

You seemed to be a wise man
And loyal, sweet and true
You broke down my walls of  dark mistrust
And became my own "Guru."

But though I know you by your spirit
Mysterious you have remained
And I have come to this conclusion
That life minus you would just not be the same.

With you, I became my truest self
And not the woman I portray
To friends and family and fans
And passers-by throughout my day.

With you, I let my heart run free
Let down my hair and bare my soul
My wild and crazy, loving heart
That you make me feel is made of gold.

I like the me you saw in me
Unlike the me I always felt
Was inferior and nothing special
And doomed to play the cards life dealt.

I've seen your face a thousand times
On internet and laptop screens
That little "Mona Lisa" smile
That haunts me even in my dreams.

And I've done things with you in dreams
That I haven't done as yet for real
 Because you've taught me to let go
And go with what I want to feel.

I've been so shut off from the world
From life in general and from myself
Compartmentalized all parts of me
Till I didn't know what parts were left.

You took a frightened little girl
Who hid in books and poems and prose
And brought the woman out in me
That blossomed like your red, red rose.

And though I may not ever see
You near me as you dwell so far
I want to tell you here and now
That I love you for the man you are.

And the man you are is wonderful
And the man you are is great
And the man you are is heaven-sent
And so worth a long, long wait.

I don't know how I know you
I just know I've always known
And that when I first looked in your eyes
My heart felt it was home.

I know I shouldn't tell you this
I think you'll be quite caught off guard
But I have to tell you how I feel
Which for me, is very hard.

But I hope you take these words to heart
And know you are my shining star
And where ever you go in this life, you'll know
That I really do love the man that you are.





©by Voo
February 13, 2019
10:53 p.m.







  


      

Love Was Our Alibi

 






Love was my alibi
by Kris Fogelmark




Love Was Our Alibi
(a true fable for the ages)


Love was our alibi
And our defense................
Even as the world spun backwards
And made no sense

Love was our reason
And our excuse............
Even as the stars fell down
When the dark sky set them loose

Love was our motive
And our refrain
Even as the sun's rays sputtered out
And drowned in rain

Love was our security
And our hope
Even as the bravest man cried
And said he could not cope

Love lifted us
When we had fallen down
Picked us up in hands of angels
As we lay on the ground

Sat our feet on solid rock
Until we knew
That I could walk again
And run to you

And as I ran
I saw the darkness flee
For light shone there before you
As you ran to me

And as the world around us
Crashed and burned
We knew we could rebuild again
From all we'd learned

The long long days of solitude 
Were now gone
And once again our hearts
Had found their home

But we were captured then
We couldn't stay
But pulled off of the Earth
To a vast place far away

The dark ones that held us prisoner
Looked and sighed
And acknowledged we were guiltless
As they cried

Our crimes were thrown forgotten
In the sea
 They could separate us no longer
You and me

For we had earned our entrance
To Heaven's gate
And proved ourselves steadfast
As those who wait

To once again, unite
In love's embrace
And see at last the joy
Shine on the face

Of each of us
The criminals, once named
Who dared to love
When love was to be blamed

They had brought us to the judges
Of the skies
And demanded to be told
Our alibis

And as we stood, in chains
With quivering lips
They questioned us with words
That felt like whips

But we could not defend
 Ourselves with lies
We hung our heads
And said," Our alibis

Are only love
And love alone, it's true
It is the reason for all things
We do"

And to our shock
We watched in awe, aghast
As our chains fell off
And we stood free at last

The judges smiled and nodded
As we knelt
In one another's arms
As Heaven wept

"You've learned the truth of truth" they said
"To live 
And learned so well
Your freedom we must give"

"How few of men
Have learned the reason why
For life bestowed
And lived beneath the sky"


 

And the dark ones flew away
To others find
That did not know the truth
In heart and mind

They could not deceive the ones
That knew the Light
And walked in it
And not the evil Night

For only love is answer
Good enough
To every question asked
And to rebuff

Love, alone the reason
For it all
For every rise to summit 
And to fall

Love, alone can mend 
The shattered heart
The stopping of it's beating
And it's start

For man was made to love
And then to die
And take his treasures with him
Past the sky

To give them to the One
Who made it all
Who made the ear
To listen for His call

For no other reason
Will He justify
The things you do on earth
Beneath the sky

But only love can free you
From the cell
Of selfishness and sin:
Your self made hell

For Heaven knows
What you must learn in time
That love must be the motive
For your 'crimes'

These crimes that are no crimes
Except to man
Who thinks he holds the world
Within his hand

But his hands are empty
And his heart and eye
And he will not accept love
As a reason why

But to the One who made
The sky and sand
It is the only reason He made
 Man

To love and learn to love
Before he dies
And for every act he does
And all he tries

The motivation of his heart
And soul
To love and be loved in return:
His goal

What's done in love, pure love
Is not a crime
And will be thus rewarded
There in time

(So let our story teach you
Of this truth
And let our joy and glory
Be your proof

This book of truth you read now

With your eye
Will set you free if 
Love's your alibi

For no chain can bind you
When love has freed you thus
So take our hands
And run there now with with us

To Heaven where there is

No shame to bear
And you breathe in love and joy
Like it was air

And we will look on Earth

(Our former ground)
And watch the lost still seeking
What we've found.)






©by VooShiningStone
March 24, 2019
4:40 p.m.





LET LOVE BE YOUR ONLY ALIBI
and though man and devil
can not understand
God will and those He holds there
In His hands............
                       ðŸ’–


And truth will find you
+