Morning Views; a collection, Vol. 1

during the summer I kept self-described poetic journal, which many, many of you readers responded to. I have put it all together for the first time in preparation for the second installment of MV.

July 15, 2013

1. 

 

The song birds sing to me,

One by one taking the lead from my guitar strings

Or maybe they are all just screaming angrily

After all, I did just take some forest away yesterday

But it was only the weeds,

One would think it’d be the snakes

And especially the ‘hoppers dismayed

Either way,

The taste of this coffee,

the smells of nature rising,

 and the rhythm of my guitar strings

as they kiss a westbound breeze,

-they each and all tell me

That though this place and I disagree,

In this moment is right where I need to be

And when this moment ends,

I think Ill just go back to sleep. 

 

 

 

 

2. 

 

I wonder what it would have looked like, had anyone found me this morning…

Still dressed in all but my dignity, curled up around my laptop, a pen, a few other odds and ends, and of course, the bottle by my bed

-all of us glorified by my overworked, sweating, courageous writing light.

 

 

July 16, 2013

 

1.

 

Sunlight streaming through the trees,

Last nights rain drips and dissipates

As if searching for the long lost sea

-just like me

And though im saddened the sky no longer sings

I think Ill take a walk upon the rays today

 

2.

 

I reach my hand across the bed

Feel the familiar emptiness-

No soft curves or sleepy eyes,

No springtime locks to entangle me.

I pull the pillows closer in

But they haven’t held much warmth in years.

Tell myself its no use remembering

And beg the streaming light to let me sleep again.

 

 

3.

 

Im staring from here to there

Wondering how to cross these sands

To the shores I see in my dreams,

Where she might be waiting patiently..

 

17, July 2013

 

 

1.

Last night was the first night in so many, many nights that I did not dream a dream.

No long lost silent screens of my long lost one time queen,

No golden coasts I could not reach. 

Thank god for prescription ‘Z’. 

 

2.

Unexpected guests have a way of changing an entire morning,

Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse.

Today, I don’t think I minded in the least.

 

 

18 July, 2013 

 

1. 

“you really wrote all of these about me?”

She asked, gently rubbing at my face

I nodded, careful not to lose her touch.

“all of these three hundred some, are you to me”

The ship began to shake, rattle, and break

“Ill never leave again, I didn’t know; but I have baggage, see? 

Taking her hand, together we swam into the breach. 

 

2.

What I would give for thoughtless slumbers

Ones void of visitors, disregard intentions;

So many are the devils haunting this chapel

 

3.

The birds do not sing to me today

But there’s still beauty in these trees

The way the sunlight strikes and then retreats

Beaten back by so many leaves

Those of us beneath are left in peace.

4.

So this is what they talk about, when they talk about life; Hemingway or Hunter, and harsh realities that is.Long, drunken nights spent trying to beat back the effects of life, of age, and of countless mistakes; and then finally acceptance, perhaps swallowed with another drink. 

 

19 July, 2013

 

1.

I woke to a sharp pain in my chest

And an outline of my body written in cold sweat

Ive heard of that; of people dreaming themselves to death

She had heard that too, at least last night , that’s what she said

“you’re making yourself miserable babe.”

“no, I already made myself miserable;

Nearly three years ago now, remember?

Now, I just relive it.”

 

2.

 

As I sit with waking, rusted eyes,

staring up the path the sun makes

from the floor to the windowpane,

I wonder if Ill pull the shades back at all today?

Or if that would just be a mistake? 

 

3.

The News rolls across my screen;

Fires nationwide,

Bombers dressed like Jim Morrison,

Your typical

Murders,

Rapes,

 And Plunders;

And just a case of corruption

And invading socialists or two

I think its back to bed I go,

Before they wake the dead

Or implode-

this zoo.

     

 

 

22 July, 2013

 

 

1.

This day is definitely starting off two sizes too small

Having planned to write of dreams,

Angst,

and nature, without interruption

I woke in a sweat at four in the morning

Never mind the term rest,

Or dreaming at its worst;

And its been nothing but tasks of the home

That I’d rather burn down instead-

 ever since

 

2.

“but it would be going backwards, isn’t that what you said?”

“I was wrong, Its not going backwards- It’s picking up where we left off.”

“I just don’t know why, why did we let this happen?”

“I don’t know either, but it wont ever happen again.”

“I’ll come over..”

She’s never come home, but oh,

How I wait, both living, and dreaming. 

 

3.

She wanted to say something to me,

I could see it in her eyes the other night when we crossed each others’ path

But she couldn’t- wouldn’t, we both know the reasons why

Then from behind me a voice I know all too well

“Do you want this?”

I braced myself and turned, facing an angel, a demon cherished

It took me a minute to find the drink she held up

So focused was I on the beauty standing before me

My world, what should have been my only.

“I have to go.. do you want this..?”

She said, with a light mist in her eyes…

I took the drink, and drank it all in.

 

 

 

 

 

23 July, 2013

 

1.

I keep waking, hoping that I might feel Her climbing into bed,

But she’s in a different bed, somewhere in another land

Perhaps with another man.. though I dare not reach past my sheets

To find out whether or not.. for I don’t trust my self.

 

2.

 

The moon is my sail,

The Sea my shimmering path

The Tide- fate leading forward

And you, you are the vessel

That carries me to the stars-

To the Heavens where we first met

You are the Hope, the love

That keeps me afloat,

Until I, awakened, drown

Beneath your wake..

 

3.

Last night I watched some foreign film about an heir to a throne and his Royal elephants

I cant recollect the exact story line, but I remember the color of the sky

Red- it was, filled with the blood of the gods, as they wept and bled in the heroes plight

He was to rescue a princess, a goddess to him, her face the only thing familiar to he. 

Perhaps tonight, we’ll see how this ends.

 

24 July, 2013

 

“Something else is hurting you - that’s why you need pot or whiskey, or whips and rubber suits, or screaming music turned so f*****g loud you can’t think.”

                    -Charles Bukowski

 

 

1.

Bitten

Those streaks written across your face tell me that you’ve been bitten

-the sadness that draws out the light from your eyes tells a deeper story

But we are not speaking of the kind of vampires from romantic novels

We’re speaking only of the pain I have caused you.

Either by neglect or ignorance or collaboration of the two

I did not know how to treat you, nor what to do until I completely lost you

And now I collapse, riddled with this burden nearly every day

I know the right thing to do is to just move on but I haven’t found a route out

Theres only one direction I desire and that is what I once called “Backwards”

But now I would call Upwards Straight Into the Stars

I see you in my dreams each and every single night, sometimes dressed for love

Sometimes screaming accusations standing ready for a fight

Though now we both now the shouts were wrong of both of us

I’ll take the blame regardless, but I feel as though the cost may drag me into ruin

Then again who am I kidding " I’m already there…

Through the shouting and the romance both..

though you’re ever here when I dream,

you're never seen when I wake to the real world. 

 

 

2.

A storm passed through last night

It left just before the dawn

But it didn’t leave without a fight

The flood trails and broken limbs

Tell a violent story

Through which I was busy dreaming

I cant help but picture Ben

And his electric Kite- and laugh

 

26 July, 2013

 

1.

I love the sound the world makes when its drowning

Outside these hallowed halls

And it’s the first thing in the morning

But the sun light doesn’t dare

Penetrate here where we prefer grey to

All those happier things

And we want only to be serenaded back to sleep

By the riddles of the rain coming down out there

 

2.

I sit and

I read

all of

these words

that tumble down

and then

i suddenly

know,

each of us all

is broken

somehow

we're

all

alone.

or

at least

lost.

And wandering

 

 

 

3.

To lie with bitterness

As a bedfellow

Is not the best way 

To go about things

But I’ve never been one

To fake a pleasant smile

Or anything aside from

That time I let you walk out screaming

As if I didn’t care at all

And as a consequence

I’ve slept with the same

Image throughout my dreams

Every single night since

-Haunted in that I can never reach

Your face across the sheets again

 

 

27 July, 2013

 

1.

So we part again, devils of the night and I-

I wish I could say parting was such sweet sorrow

 But, I find I don’t know if I like it or not

So accustomed am I, to the life of the haunted;

That I’ve begun to feel transparent- lifeless.

 

2.

Morning brings views of bikinis and beaches

Of Parrots that fly, and parrots that swim,

Of treasures unclaimed, both golden and natural,

And of magnificent vessels caressing the oceans

I keep looking for myself, amongst the smiling faces

Only to look away and find this old septic prison

 

3.

I find I’m not as bitter as the man I laid to rest last night

I didn’t dream of tragedy and broken things

For the entirety of my slumber -as I’ve come to know it

And although I am not nor will ever truly be free,

I think I’ve come to find that keeping a wolf in the throne room

Makes good company when you’re kicking and screaming,

-Or when you’re reaching for warmth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[Astrid]

They're all very nice. Though there is a confusing mix of lines beginning with both capital letter and non-capitalized letters with no apparent pattern.

Query, do you care about punctuation in poetry? (I only ask because some on here genuinely do not and I'd rather not try and help you find the corrections only to get bitched out later, which has happened).

[A.J.]

Hi! Sorry I have not responded; I've been away from my desk, so to speak. To answer your question, it all depends. in most instances in this collection I do not pay much attention, to a fault I suppose, because it's very stream-of-conscious. I made it a point to not edit this particular work as it would be tainted. Though, often with words that have simultaneous meaning for me such as Faith, I will capitalize them on purpose. thank you for stopping by!

[closed]

one of the most compelling things I've come across
You are within my literary compass.


-Dream

[A.J.]

wow, thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy it.

[Sami Khalil]

A wonderful and mesmerizing lines to enjoy and appreciate in your worded gatherings. Excellent, sir...:).....

[A.J.]

thank you for the read. I typically write short stories and poetic prose, but I got a lot of feedback from this semi-journal when I first did it. I never expected anyone to actually enjoy such short simplicity, but I got the most feedback out of Morning Views than out of my other works on here.

[Sami Khalil]

Yep. You are welcome...:)......