Trying Not To Blink: A Poetry Collection

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Trying Not To Blink: A Poetry Collection Page 5

by Eric Nixon


  By the pressure washer-like spray

  Ow!

  As the water thundered

  I nakedly considered

  How the head wasn't adjustable

  What a situation to be in

  Since most hotels have

  Such lousy pressure

  And here I faced

  Having my face

  Blasted off by the torrent

  Braved up by thinking

  How silly I was being

  So I made the plunge

  And stepped into the back

  Where the jet pummeled

  The tub wall like a boxer

  Hell-bent on victory

  Reached out - ouch!

  Screw it, I needed a shower

  And put my shoulder to the stream

  Gritting my teeth to the pain

  Sharp continuous lancing stab

  Digging into my arm

  I winced and shielded

  My more sensitive parts

  As I hurried fast to end it

  And swung the silver arm around

  To cut off the flow

  And provide relief

  To my aching body.

  All of this time I'd been focused

  On the blasting jet of water

  And not on the poorly installed

  Curved shower curtain

  Drooping down just enough

  To cause the curtain

  To shrink from the sides

  Coating the entire bathroom

  With a layer of beaded moisture

  The spray sent airborne and ejected

  From its violent collision

  Making the floor slippery

  And the countertop wet

  As I wiped up the water

  And contemplated my impending

  Three-night stay.

  I knew this experience,

  Normally so forgettable,

  Mundane and uneventful

  Would stay with me

  For quite some time

  August 23, 2012

  Bar Harbor, Maine

  The shower in room 17 of the Days Inn in Bar Harbor is certainly not lacking in water pressure. No, siree.

  Whoopie Pie

  Whoopie pie

  Like a sandwich

  Or a burger

  But made of cake and cream

  Tastes like a dream

  But when I'm done

  Wow, way too filling

  August 25, 2012

  Portland, Maine

  Driving down the coast of Maine today from Mount Desert Island to Portland, we stopped for lunch at Moody’s in Waldoboro, Maine. Stuffed from our food, I got a whoopie pie to go and had it after dinner. It was really good.

  Toast Ghost

  I thought I pulled the loaf

  From the fridge

  I remember setting the oven

  To preheat

  I knew I got the grape jelly

  And a knife

  But as I look around

  I realize I had done these things

  In my head

  And nowhere else

  I'm hungry

  So I start the process again

  August 25, 2012

  Portland, Maine

  Sometimes we spend so much time thinking and planning, we forget the actual doing.

  That Is Enough

  The light from the lamp

  Shining onto the hotel desk chair

  Is perfect and exquisite

  But the subject

  Is boring and uninteresting

  And I can't be bothered

  To take a picture as

  No one will ever look at

  I appreciate it here, in the moment

  And that is enough

  August 25, 2012

  Portland, Maine

  At the Embassy Suites and the very cool, modern, comfortable desk chair looked amazing in the light of the desk lamp - so much so that I almost took a picture…and then I couldn’t really be bothered.

  Sleep Please Take

  Sleep please take

  And overtake me

  And make me

  Fall asleep

  August 26, 2012

  Portland, Maine

  I was asleep and woke up in the middle of the night with these lines on my mind. I don’t know why since I never have a problem falling asleep. Anyway, I wrote it down and then conked out again.

  Wading Through The Nonsense

  Sitting by her side

  Holding her hand

  Hoping for lucidity

  Waiting patiently

  Wading through the nonsense

  Hanging on for a coherent thought

  Something to show she still knows

  Anything; a look, smile, or a glance

  Nothing

  Visiting hours over

  Leaving for the night

  Remembering the love she gave

  Returning tomorrow to try again

  August 27, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  My wife’s grandmother is in a nearby nursing home with Alzheimer’s.

  Flip The Switch Of Autumn

  One

  Two

  Nights in a row

  Cold

  Colder

  Temperatures

  It makes me wonder

  Can two nights

  In the forties

  Flip the switch of Autumn

  Override the hold of Summer

  Give it a pushing nudge

  To tell

  To move

  To convince it

  To move along?

  The fading greens

  The spreading yellows

  The fringing oranges

  Chorus up and say yes

  August 27, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  Last week we had a couple of cold nights and I wondered if it was enough to start autumn. Even though scientifically, I’m probably wrong to think this way, I’m going to go ahead and say yes.

  The Unkind Of Person

  There is the unkind of person

  Who will think nothing of

  Blocking someone's driveway

  And say that if they need to, they'll just move it.

  Then, there is the kind of person

  Who has the foresight and common courtesy

  To park further down the street

  And not inconvenience others to begin with.

  The latter of us are in a dwindling majority

  August 27, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  We had a yard sale a few weeks ago and it was amazing how many people would just block the driveway…so many that we had to put up a sign.

  Defined By The Decade

  Like a hamster in it’s cage

  Running on its wheel

  Stuck in an infinite loop

  Time spins on by

  But nothing will change

  Same goes for musicians

  For the time period

  They had their hit or two

  It doesn’t matter what they do

  New songs, new material

  It doesn’t matter

  A jury of their fans

  Has pounded the gavel

  And declared them

  Guilty by association

  And be sentenced

  To be forevermore

  Defined by the decade

  August 31, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  I got to thinking about how, with a few notable exceptions, most every band is permanently defined by the decade they were first known in. It’s unfortunate since almost all of them have been making music all along, but they’re classified as a “90s band” (for example).

  Watched A Windy Gust

  Walking the dogs in the backyard

  On a beautiful late summer day

  When a breeze whipped on by

  And I watched a windy gust

  Threading through a nearby tree

  Weari
ng ninety percent green

  And the remainder in yellow

  The pilfery puff excited them all

  But only those who had turned

  Heeded the enticing call,

  Detached from their source of life,

  Bounded into the cool air,

  Waived goodbye to the others,

  And let themselves be carried

  Out and off their forever home

  Tumbling along joyful

  And carefree from the tree

  Dancing, spinning, laughing,

  Loving their final burst of glory

  Skimming along the grass

  And into the neighbor’s yard

  Out of sight

  But not

  Out of mind

  August 31, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  This was pretty cool. The very few yellow leaves in this one small tree seemed to jump ship, twist through the air, land, and run away in a rambunctious line.

  SEPTEMBER

  Enlightenment

  The other day, while getting in the shower

  It came to me and I realized with perfect clarity

  How everything fits together

  When I say clarity, I mean periphery

  As the answer is too big to envision all at once

  It is both equally

  Complex beyond measure

  And infinitesimally simple

  Could I explain it to you?

  I’m sorry, but no

  It’s just something that needs to click

  And when it does, you’ll feel it too.

  It was an odd moment

  A peculiar time

  And a strange place

  To achieve enlightenment

  But these things aren’t planned

  Something about stepping over the tub wall

  Seemed to trigger the understanding

  And life’s meaning became apparent

  With the universe making perfect sense

  And I knew my purpose and place

  Amidst the whole of everything

  September 1, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  This happened last week and it gives me goosebumps, and a full-body chill, every time I think about it.

  Cool, Green, And Blue

  Late summer day

  Cool, green, and blue.

  The trees haven't changed much

  (Yet)

  And they’re still green

  But have definitely

  Lost their luster.  

  Maybe they're just tired of the summer.

  I don’t know if I am or not

  Probably because it passed by

  Like a laugh at a carnival

  Free, easy, and plentiful

  And gone much too soon.

  September 1, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  I seem to remember the leaves already having started their colorific change by now, but almost everything is still green. Who knows? (Not I.)

  Polarized

  One party made of loudmouth bullies

  One party made of pushover wimps

  Both spending hundreds of millions

  To influence your way of thinking.

  The only thing they both agree on

  Is to never compromise

  On anything ever.

  They’re deadlocked

  More than unlocked

  And they’re too blinded by

  Their causes du jour,

  Their spinned half-truths,

  And the corporate money

  Lining their coffers

  To see they’re not doing their jobs

  To see they’re hurting America

  And are responsible

  For it’s rapid decline

  Since they’re so polarized

  I would like to suggest

  That each and every one of them

  Be rounded up, put on a ship,

  And sent up to the Arctic.

  Let them balance on

  A melting piece of ice

  And not let them off

  Until they’ve solved

  All of our problems.

  I am willing to wager

  To save their own skins

  They will settle their issues

  Fast and quick

  So maybe, we can get

  This country moving again

  September 2, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  Seriously. Both sides spend so much time pointing their fingers at each other and doing whatever they can to thwart and block the other, nothing ever gets done. They should all be fired and the citizens of this country can vote anything that needs to be voted on. We have the technology to vote this way, so why not eliminate the corrupt middlemen and let us vote directly on our country’s matters. As a side note, thank God I don’t have cable, otherwise I’d be inundated with political crap 24/7.

  Jump In A Lake

  Spring and fall

  Are wonderful

  So is the first half of winter

  Summer, however,

  Can jump in a lake

  September 3, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  I love, love, love spring and fall. They are amazing. I also like the first half of winter when the snow is starting and everything seems so wintery fresh. The second half of winter is just too bitter cold. Summer…I’ve never cared for it. Too hot, too many bugs, and there’s rarely a normally nice day to be found.

  I hereby approve of 2.5 seasons.

  Who We Are

  Who we are

  What we are worth

  And how we measure up

  Is all too often defined

  By the twin measures of modern lives:

  Our geographical location and

  Our primary occupation.

  With those in hand

  The asker applies it

  To their personally-established biases

  And judges you accordingly.

  September 4, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  Pulled Into Infinity

  “She was a nutcase,

  I had to work with her every day,”

  Said the nutcase

  I have to work with every day.

  It’s like the meta monster

  Looked too deeply

  Into the salonist’s

  Mirror-facing-mirror

  And was pulled into infinity.

  September 7, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  Doodles And The Everworse

  A local stray cat always runs away

  Whenever someone approaches

  I think the deep-seated reason

  Is that a neighbor named her

  “Doodles.”

  Call me crazy

  But I understand the cat’s position

  And I would run away too

  From nutty people naming me

  Lest I be re-named something everworse

  September 7, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  True story.

  Our Emotional Selves

  First time in a while

  And the separation

  Has given me pause

  Has given me perspective

  And now I know why

  Bottles are tipped to fill

  Glasses open and awaiting.

  It’s not so much the escaping

  But rather the deep-seated wanting

  To feel

  Emotion

  To experience

  Freedom

  To liberate

  Yourself

  From the clamps

  From the labels

  From the oppressions

  That society dictates

  We wear over

  To cover and tamp down

  Our emotional selves

  September 7, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  Kari said we needed room in the fridge, so I needed to finish this half-full bottle of wine w
e got on our trip to Maine two weeks ago. While working on her project, I finally figured out the allure of it all.

  Meaning Beyond The Mundane

  Recently I became aware of

  The grand futility of

  The bulk of humanity's preoccupations.

  The kinds of things that everyone does

  But never really matters.

  Well, sure they do

  In the moment

  And what is life,

  But a series of moments

  Strung together

  But in the end

  When faced with the life-altering nothing

  All of that time

  All of those moments

  All of those things you did

  That felt important

  That felt necessary

  Were nothing more than

  Delayers and time wasters.

  You have a limited number of seconds

  Each one that blips by

  Is one you’ll never experience again

  So, my God, use them

  Each and every one

  LIVE your life

  Like it has

  Meaning beyond the mundane

  LIVE your life

  And do something

  That makes you happy

  That uses your creativity

  And makes you, YOU

  September 7, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  A few weeks ago I was in the shower (where I do my best thinking) and the line, “The grand futility of the bulk of humanity’s preoccupations,” came to me. I loved it (despite it being an awkward mouthful), and finally did something with it tonight.

  Rural Ballet

  Looked across the street

  To the town library

  That’s only open six hours a week

  And saw poetry in motion

  As a father-son team

  Tamed that lawn

  And Deere’d it down

  With matching ride-ons

  When the son turned a corner

  The father trimmed it closer

  And round and round they went

  Dancing in progressively smaller circles

  Turning tighter in tandem until the two

  Had finished their weekly chore

  And mowed their way home

  September 7, 2012

  Benson, Vermont

  True stories abound tonight. It was neat to see two green ride-on lawn mowers turning and moving in tandem until it was mowed. The interesting thing about this area is that I see more 4-wheelers and ride-on lawn mowers on the road than cars. The title isn’t meant to be confused with the Whately Ballet, which was the euphemism in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts for the strip club in Whately, MA.

 

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