GOOD PEOPLE

Good people,
the ones you want to be around,
the ones who are better than you,
think clearer, know the stuff you need
to grow into their shadow,
are always complicated
in surprising ways.
They get the jokes ahead of time,
then catch your eye,
and wink.

The politicians rattle on
with lungs more wasted than
Eliot's land, so good people
shake their heads and point
right at the drowned Phoenician
sailor lying rag doll in the corner
of their words and make you wish
you were that quick.

They paint, or build things,
race cars, or know where all
the secret hot springs lie hidden
in the rocks out west.
They've been there, done that,
while you stayed around
the house, wishing you
could scuba dive, or fly fish.

My best friend was a cowboy
until he died, built saddles,
chased wild cattle deep
in the sere mesquite.
He wrote songs and played
his old Gibson with a
Texas twang.

One day, from down the hall, came
floating some angelic blues,
I looked and he was framed in the
doorway, head moving in time
to a song inside, earning his ticket
to ride.

Author's Note

Dedicated to Terry Brewer... now a Rider in the Sky

Reviews

[Oliver Covington]

i very much enjoyed the imagery and the emotion of this piece. the only thing that sort of broke the spell for me was the dropped endings of the lines onto the next lines. in my opinion which of course means nothing, it would work better if you finished the sentence on one line, but over all it was very enjoyable.

[Vol]

Thanks, Oliver. I did a few adjustments... Much of my writing is designed for reading aloud, and sometimes my line breaks are for the surprise of the next word, sometimes just for the shock of anenjambment I enjoy. Your comment is weel taken, and I made a few adjustments...
Vol

[Amanda Reynolds]

Wow, this is beautiful! I love the tone shift in the last two stanzas and the enjambment in several lines, also and most importunately, I love how you offset your friend as one of the "good people" and gave him such a beautiful ending and a new beginning in the last stanza...

[Lorry]

You ever notice how good people never know they are good people?
Another thought occurred to me reading this too Vol, that I am a dumb a*s! When I got to the bit about fly fish, my eyes nearly popped out, before I realised you were talking about fishing and not some mythical adventure where you could pop yourself onto a dolphin and take to the skies! 😊
I think I'll just put that thought down to it not even being 5 ayem here and not tell my doc about it in case he gives me that look again like he's measuring me for a wraparound coat for the room with bouncy wallpaper! 😊

[Bhuyanshi Talukdar]

Emphasizing the admiration for good people and their ability to bring joy and inspiration to others.