stop signs, red

deep thoughts on all types of abstractions

when journeys stumble and the

pieces fall, the sojourn sticks until the

other features stall.

all disengaged salt pillars, looking for

a badly written wife,

a life, at times, so badly riddled into

plans with holes inside

and no solution crashing through.

all the steadfast stop signs are now

blindly blinking red,

ahead is no danger but no time for

safely standing still;

the stars will play their games now,

crying ‘twinkle, twinkle’

any inkling of the times when all

disasters grew

into the scourge of all your

semi-secret screams, all now coming true,

all painful remedies are working now,

or so it would seem.

so when will the pain drop down into

the place inside my head,

when the lights, now steady red

can never leap back into when

it was all precise, a bloody tire tread?

where all the innocence was troubled,

a page filled with all the silent dread

that finds its voice and recites all of the

books that turned to

bloody loaves of bread

to be consumed by the hungered masses

that were never counted as those who were

so well read, now a memory

and glad to know it’s at an end.

 

dan (C) 2015

 

Author's Note

Reviews

[Dani The Unreviewed]

Heh. I couldn't help but chuckle, as a sentence from a video game appeared(amongst other things) after reading.
"Warning! Vital signs critical!" lol. Why it came up? idk. Anyway, sometimes we all need a step back, and take another good look at the bridge up ahead. Will it really support our weight, and the tons of errors, and wrong we carry with ourselves? Or will we fall to the unknown, dark depths, unless we get rid of some weight. ie: take care of some major problems. get over some pain which is still overshadowing the present, reaching its ghostly arms from the black past .. Sometimes, you jus gotta stop, and think, then decide what to do, how to proceed. Sometimes we run into major roadblocks, and need to find another root... and imma stop essay writing, before I bore everyone to death. lol.
full rating, as always :)

[dan]

I wrote this flush into a torturous manic episode, a very dark place. All of your interpretations listed above would not have helped me one bit had I read them while in this dark place. They now seem very wise indeed...like I've said, you are wise beyond your years. Thanks for the kind words and your wisely intuitive advice. You're a good man, Danny. take care...dan

[Dani The Unreviewed]

It's my pleasure to read your art :)

[Amber Lily]

Very interesting. To me this seems like all the bad is building up to the point where you just have to stop. Stop and take a look at the life your living, and think about how to fix it before it gets worse. Thought provoking as ever Dan, good work :)

[dan]

When the worst thoughts are tangled to the point of being motionless, the color of alarm (red) becomes prominent in all corners of the mind. And one starts to pray for blue or yellow...or flesh tones. This was a quasi-philosophical exploration of a time when thinking is rendered useless, an abstraction related to one thinking TOO deeply. I may have to change some of this one, I'm not real crazy about it. Thanks so much for the read/review. take care...dan

[Ruth]

Quite apocalyptic in some ways...an unravelling that demands anticipation :)

[dan]

Just wreckage produced in a horrific dreamscape. It may see delusional but who ever suggested that dreams are lucid and normal? Thanks again for the read/review.
I am accepting your friend request but I ask that you send me read requests; i have a hard time keeping up with friends' writes. I answer all RR's though. Thanks again. take care...dan

[Ruth]

Ah, dreams...yes, I hear ya :) And thank you Dan, shall send an RR your way or two...I keep up easier with RR's also, so feel free to do the same, blessings...

[dan]

BTW, I went to YouTube and listened to the song of yours "Lake of Milk." Very interesting style of music, unconventional but catchy. Not something I listen to in the car but very well done. Now I know a rock star! Nice to "meet you," Poppy. take care...dan

[Ruth]

Ah, bless you Dan! I really appreciate that :) Thank you!

[JayceeC]

Sometimes we are distracted by all of the noise of the things around us, and the world stabs us with daggers while our backs are turned, only to pour in salt and alcohol to disinfect. But all wounds do heal, some just take longer.

[dan]

This was actually meant as a dream sequence gone horribly bad, nightmare wreckage that stains various landmarks a macabre red tint. Noise and chaotic happenings lead the wakeful mind into angry dreamscapes. But like you say, even in nightmares does the pain ebb and flow.
Thank you for your thoughtful review. take care...dan

[Nisreen]

I feel these are past memories
creeping into your present
causing a sense of fear and anguish
only you ride through it all
being the strong person you are

I love it

[dan]

Nisreen, Now I REALLY like your interpretation of the piece! The way you explain your thoughts falls together like a well-made jigsaw puzzle. Thanks as always for your astute read/review. take care...dan

[AaronFreitas]

All I can say is amazing write Dan!

[dan]

Aaron, Thank once again for your thoughtful read/review. Your time and effort is always appreciated. take care...dan

[.]

Hmm. A profound piece of writing, Dan.

I'm having multiple theories on the meaning of this one. Pain from the past, the existence of it within our memory, our need to grasp for it as poets to enthuse our writing.
I'm also thinking about the stop sign analogy and its relation to life and our journey. We are safe on a stop sign, yet know that at green we need to keep moving forward.

Another well written piece of writing, that evokes much thought in myself as its reader.
Well Done Dan. And take it easy.

[dan]

I really like your interpretation of the piece's message. A green usually DOES follow a long red trail. And what poet plies his/her craft in a painless place? Pain is a large part of the mechanism, often THE driving force to keep the poem's wheels chugging along, clickety-clack. Thanks so much for the review. take care...dan

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i feel it is how we write the book of our own life with our poetry...and there are those who try to close the book on love, but it is probably better to leave that last chapter and write new chapters with new people...but there is always that silent dread that we will not be happy with the endings.

[dan]

Very well phrased, and thanks as always for your take on my writings. All of those who review me do me a great service, but some moreso than others. take care...dan

[ANTO]

To me this is a celebration of literature and reading and its precious role in one persons life. From nursery days of 'Twinkle Twinkle', to days of deep meditation with the Good Book. To taking up the pen and struggling with writing block.
Thanks for the RR Dan. :)

[dan]

ANTO, Thanks so much for the read/review. I like your take on this write and its various accessories. I always welcome and am glad to receive your input. I've learned a lot from the fine poets on WC like yourself, still learning and turning, still anxious for more examples from which to learn. Thanks always, my friend. take care...dan