Never Stop Dreaming

mostly retired grandfather

waters the damned azaleas

for the second time in one day.

 

he fidgets with the sprayer,

trying to get it just right,

 

feels the warm sunlight

slide across his wrinkled cheek;

feels a warm epiphany

slide across his restless soul.

 

boom! his universe giggles,

cinders of his mind glow brighter;

the old majestic fire resurfaces.

this pure moment grows dragon wings,

and soars to higher, newer dreams.

 

he knows he could’ve been more than this;

he could’ve been more dangerous.

more Charles Bronson;

less Woody Allen.

he should’ve shunned marriage and convention,

and taken Existence by the ears

when he still had the grip to do so.

 

as the sinking sun lends her

color and beauty

to every ragged cloud in the sky,

a mischievous smirk replaces

that stoic pink line he's worn

into the middle of his face

and

he wonders,

is 73 too old to become a bank robber?

Reviews

[freelancejouster]

i looooved the way this piece started. "damned azaleas" is the perfect wording. the epiphany is brilliantly placed and i'm not sure if the word "giggles" is exquisite or awful. i can visualize almost every piece of this, the specified "dragon wings" is well chosen. the snap ending "is 73 too old to become a bank robber?" is a magnificent laugh but feels oddly placed as there's no hint of bank robbing before hand. i don't know. it's probably my own problem.

regardless, i want to keep this in my pocket to wave in narrow people's faces.

[AK]

Beautiful! I love your way of expression. Have to read it slowly to totally understand it but that's the style. Great job!

[Victoria PoetryBunny]

Interesting story in this, nice ending line. This is certainty unique to my eyes.

I like these parts:
"feels the warm sunlight
slide across his wrinkled cheek;"

"this pure moment grows dragon wings,
and soars to higher, newer dreams."

[Matthew Webb]

This poem is amazing :)

[Jasmine]

ok, best poem I've read in a long, long time on here.
Bloomin' heck! The detail in this stunner hits me smack in the face, harder than those rays of sunlight. I can FEEL the dregs of spray from that hosepipe, I can see the exact pink of those "ragged" clouds.

EXCELLENT last line.

I cannot praise this enough. I traipse (figuratively) this site to find poems like this. Get's an 100/100 from me. And I never do that. Ever.

[.]

Oh Gosh..jealous? Oh yes!! This was wonderful...the picture you paint is vivid and relatable. So of the most orginal descriptive verse I have had the pleasure to read in a long time. The third stanza sets the scene for the rest of the poem as you break out of convention and take us on a delightful carpet ride..and all to bring us to the comic ending..which I might add, youre never to old. :)

[Brad]

hells, no, 73?? they'll never see it comin!

[WhiteWillow]

Totally unexpected! I read this more than once, and you DID set us up for the end; we just didn't realize it (at least, I didn't realize it the first time through). Such a cool piece, loved it!

[Thomas Fitzgerald]

I almost feel that you want to hammer the prose into submission, a great read.

[Larry Dyson]

what if bonnie and clyde were in their 80's...would someone have murdered them like they were.?

[The Silver Chord]

We all know old men like this. I swear my father is going to be like this when he finally gets old. Thoroughly enjoy this. Keep it up with the epicness.