Acceptance
It’s light. Wake up.
A nightmare nam
Robs you of joy.
Why live in pain?
Mephisto’s toy.
No work, no shame.
Not up to par.
Did no one tell?
Nothing you are.
So, be excused.
Do as you wish.
Anger defused.
Hemingway
The FBI could not care less
The IRS ignored you
I want to know your reason
Would much prefer to understand
It wasn’t you, was it?
My friend.
Emily
Emily ain’t a Labrador
Nor a Rhodesian Ridgeback
Wish I could tell a little more
But, frankly, I don’t give a heck.
You look just fine to me, my friend.
So why would I describe you.
You do not have a pedigree.
That’s, maybe, why I like you.
End of Summer
This summer on the mountains
Deluded all of us.
We drink from different fountains.
It’s best the way it was.
Alert
What did you see
I did not see?
Was there one deer,
Or were there three?
You heard,
Did you?
I didn’t hear.
Your ears were up.
A fledgling flew?
What did you smell,
I did not smell?
I’d better learn.
My brain has words,
But does not sense
The wordless way.
Your way.
Uncertainty
If I can hack it, little pal,
We will be out and up again.
My back still hurts
A spinal pain.
It’s hard to tell
What happens next.
A secret text
In hidden nerves.
For future reference.
I’ll do my best.
Blind Faith
Nerve complaints,
Unsteady hands,
Are unworthy of the saints.
Nothing happens here per chance.
Brooding
Escaping deer.
Give we did,
Give more,
Then give.
After this: no giving.
Such the way we have to live.
Life reduced, but living.
Escaping deer:
Watch the coyotes.
Hamlet
The politics of action
Isa profound idea.
But I have lost my sight.
An ‘I owe you’ I cannot be,
A paid performer neither.
The give and take across the fence
Is difficult to straddle.
I’m shipwrecked on a coral reef.
It’s war or peace.
This I must leave to others.
I cannot wear a stranger’s mask.
The peacock has its feathers..
Deception
Madame, you are the greatest.
Really! So flexible.
Your record highly rated.
You are not hard to sell.
Tomorrow you will call me?
Oh no, this will not do.
Be patient, dear, and tell me,
If you like China too.
The merchandise we sell here,
You’ll find much to your taste.
Good-bye, my dear, it’s break time,
I have no time to waste.
Call me next week or later.
Good luck to you for now.
Nice meeting you, and thank you.
Culinary Delight
Potatoes feed us twice a day,
Like when we were in Holland.
A meal so rich in people food
Is magic for my stomach.
A little margerine and salt
To satisfy the taste buds.
No lobster, crab or veal to start.
Humble repeat.
Crumbly potatoes à la carte.
Fresh coffee stirs the weakened will.
Our breakfast makes me think of joy.
Poet be still.
Real riches flow your way.
On course you are.
Potatoes we eat twice a day.
The Don
Alive and well,
Let’s drink some wine.
We want to waltz
When feeling fine.
An invitation to the dance.
No longer I am rabbit.
The ancient warrior has a lance.
Who needs to kick the habit?
Games
The trail is mine.
But will they let this hiker be?
I spoke too much of fear and pain.
A ragged tale.
It’s hard to play
A daily game.
“How do you do?”
“I’m fine. Feel great.”
A role like that does not sound true.
Sometimes there’s love, sometimes it’s hate.
An optimist on brighter days,
When there’s no trouble at the gate.
The ups and downs.
The different ways,
The smiles, the frowns
Of integrated living.
Peeled Orange
Paltry sweepers,
Bled anemic.
So much servitude.
Shoulders stooped.
Conditioned eyes.
Medusa queens.
Royal accents.
Lies.
Clipped birds of prey.
Such tragedy.
Such grey.
Genes
Searching for genesis
Stuff I haven’t seen
Double helixes,
Giving secrets away.
What is this DNA?
I read the words,
A chemical language.
It’s easy to forget,
To talk about genetic pools,
And not to understand.
I am two fools,
Equal in ignorance,
Smarter than a grunyon.
Slowness sweems swift
Too many directions
Wayward I drift
I’m not so keen
Can someone tell me?
What’s a gene.
Singing in the rain
My voice is good enough
To be myself.
It’s just that I hold back
And don’t remember arias.
I risked my neck
For people’s sake.
Why not a song?
Stay with the pace
Of climbing feet.
Or hold my tongue.
None of those ugly words.
Setback
Why this sensation?
It was not worth
So much elation
Cover with love
Your indignation.
Danger
Beefy fata morgana.
Coloratura of terror.
Pretentions falsetto.
Breaking the mirror.
Stiff starch.
Kill will.
Then charge.
You’re ill.
Luctor et emergo
Unwritten pages.
Luck in the end.
Open the cages.
Stretch out your hands.
Friend
Emily has no problems.
My dog is a genius.
She knows my every blasted move.
I cannot fool this wonder.
When I am torn to sea by ebb,
Or float in tidal pools.
When I fall victim to my moods,
Or sink in stagnant waters,
She always wants to pull me through.
Her joy enough for both of us.
She cares. That’s why she is alert.
She does not cause a lot of fuss.
When I am lying in the dirt,
She pulls me up,
Looks at my face
She does not want me in a daze.
She knows so much.
Night
I understand this mystery.
The day a Mozart Gloria.
I know this when I walk the night.
The mountain’s statue in the dark.
There’s more to sun than warmth and light.
The other side of day.
Dark purple velvet.
Starry sky.
Relief from filtered gold.
A new creation,
When sun has set.
Night’s story told
Under the Milky Way.
Pirouette
A pirouette is not for me.
The doctor would forbid it.
But all this action throws me free,
And Emily jumps with it.
A swaying sun above my head,
The west wind playing in the treas.
I so much like to pirouette.
And Emily gives me a lick
When you are healthy you forget.
No longer sick.
Athena
Accept your fortune, my dear friend..
There is no reason to feel sore.
A little cash flow, when well-spent,
Will also benefit the poor.
Just don’t be snotty,
Or a bore.
Wish I could take you on tour
To my beloved mountain.
Clipped
No explaining on my part.
There’s no need for all this fuss.
Frazzled nerves and shaking.
Charlatan and wimp and such.
Honesty, not faking.
Nobility
Lord Palmgrove is our favorite knight.
We serve him chicken with delight.
He changes everybody’s mood,
Because we think he’s jolly good.
We cut our lawns when Palmie comes.
Since hummingbirds do need their hums,
We leave the bottle brush intact.
It won’t produce a cataract.
His monocle, I hope, won’t drop,
As long as Palm is satisfied,
We burn the wood and light the light.
And for his fans the time will stop.
Dream
Something good will happen soon.
I was told in last night’s dreams.
Wish I knew what all this means.
Want to play a different tune.
Choice
When I converse with Emily,
My son says I’m a weirdo.
A man who’s talking to his dog
Is sure to raise an eyebrow.
But when I speak she looks content,
As if she understands me.
Of course I’m wrong,
Yet I feel
She’s gratefull for my voice.
There is no steel.
She has a choice.
Her eyes, her eyes, they answer.
Vincent
Vincent, glad to have you back.
Three months is too long to fight.
When we fought we did not cate.
At my moving hands I stare.
See if words reveal the truth.
I don’t know. It’s all up there.
In the cosmos or the heart.
THE END
Departure: The Poetry of Theodorus J. van Joolen Page 4