May 29, 2011 “little gods”
“little gods”
_____
the liars and criers
cross their fingers
as they weep the currency
of carefully counted tears
into the tin cups
of broke down beggars
or brokenhearted lovers
just the same
it’s all a game
of who’s to blame
as the moment nears
when the truth appears
_____
condescenders and pretenders
patronizing from their ivory towers
hidden in bowers
of plenitudes, attitudes
and platitudes
self-congratulations and adulations
irreproachable and unapproachable
why?…
because they say so
who am I to question the unquestionable
_____
the self-appointed gods of piety
and pompous propriety
who surround themselves with themselves
in other clothes
offering themselves on the altar of repose
with no room on their garments
to pin another rose
_____
all the while
hearts and men lie bleeding
as lives and loves die needing
to be
seen
by unseeing eyes
heard
by unhearing ears
washed
by uncounted tears
of little gods
created from their own conceit
while brokenhearted beggars
worship and dine at their feet
they exasperate and pontificate
over which wine is best served with the meat
©tlh 5/29/11
November 24, 2010 “Thanksgiving Day”
“Thanksgiving Day”
*
Be thankful
that’s what it’s all about, we try to attain
the state of mind , we seek to obtain
on this Thanksgiving Day
Thank you
is easily said or thought at the least
as we stand at the head of a bounteous feast
on this Thanksgiving Day
Thankfulness
in a land of plenty is well understood
but it slips our minds more often than it should
on this Thanksgiving Day
To know true Thankfulness
is to find the peace to lift empty hands
at the head of a barren table in a desolate land
and say…Thank You
on this Thanksgiving Day
©tlh 11/24/10
To each of my friends across this small world,
whether you’re American or not,
I wish the happiest and most blessed
Thanksgiving Day
Sincerely, Tracy Harris
October 29, 2010 “only one and one only”
“only one and one only”
****
no substitute for air
to give me breath
*
no proxy for water
to quench my thirst
*
no surrogate for sunshine
to light my day
*
no alternate for blood
to quicken my heart
*
no locum tenens
no succedaneum
*
simply nothing
to replace
you
***
©tlh 10/29/10
October 14, 2010 “storms of a lesser god”
“storms of a lesser god”
an inescapable deluge
of chaotic heartache and pain
ascending from the deep
on crashing waves
heaving up black water
of long lost ships
and longer lost souls
the flotsam and jetsam
of broken wills
and battered hearts
scattered and driven
by stinging winds of storms
of some lesser god’s making
dashing her floundering bark
upon the craggy, knife-edged rocks
of sad reality and realization
fear of drowning and death
in the struggle
for life
to regain her breath
determined to swim
to that distant shore
with dignity and self
nothing more
letting the storm have
ships, souls, wills, and pain
to drag to the deep
and grind to sand…
silently she walks across the sandy shore
of a new life
her back to the raging storms
her face to the rising sun
©tlh 10/14/10
Listen to this here:
October 13, 2010 “The Pearl”
My beautiful daughter: The Pearl
“the pearl”
see into my soul
my eyes will tell you who I am
if you catch the fleeting glimpse
see them watching
they will know you
look through you
they will undo you
my eyes reflect my heart
my eyes will tell you who I am
I am youth
I am strength
I am beauty
I am pure
I am the pearl…
what will your eyes reveal?
©tlh 10/13/10
Listen to this here:
(Photo by tlh)
September 16, 2010 “morning, love”
(My first Etheree)
“morning, love”
come and walk with me in the morning sun
bathe with me in the golden glowing
sparkling dewy droplets flowing
from pretty morning flowers
sleeping petals winking
in sunlight blinking
sweetly drinking
all the love
as we
do
©tlh 9/16/2010
(Image courtesy of artist)
Thank you, Red
The Perfect Poet Award
The Perfect Poet Awards
I am honored to accept the Perfect Poet award from JINGLE for weeks 26,27,and 28
and nominate dcwright02 
Thanks Ji, for all you do in the community, without you we cannot be here, and I want you to know that I really appreciate all you do.
I also want to thank each and every one of you who has honored me with an award.
I have been very busy lately and have not posted all of them but know that I truly
appreciate all the warmth and love received from you. Your support and
love means more than words can say. Thank you to every one of you.
September 15, 2010 “side by side”
This is for One Shot Wednesday
I shot the photo, and liked it, so I challenged myself to write with it as my theme.
I encourage others to join me if they would like.
Just link or tag or whatever it is back to me so I can read them.
“side by side”
they met in the market
making small talk
neither thought
neither dreamed
but as it turned out
things were not
as they seemed
inconsequential
for little did they know
as they parted
they were fate’s
neither knew
they were meant to be
together
one from two
indivisible
but he had caught her eye
her heart followed
he was hers
they were one
forever mated
for all time
not alone
uninterrupted
his touch comforted her
she calmed his mind
as time passed
love their tide
they traveled the world
hand in hand
side by side
©tlh 9/15/2010
Listen to this here:
(Photo by tlh)
Poetry Awards
I am remiss. I had forgotten to post these awards that I was so graciously given, so let me do that now, and say…”Thank You!” to each of you, and in particular to Jingle, who, as we all know…ROCKS!
The Perfect Poet Award
The Perfect Poet Award Week 25
September 12, 2010 “A Mountain Memory”
for Poetry Potluck
“A Mountain Memory”
Do you remember holding my hand
down by the lake
in the fall of the year
under the willow,
where often we would go and stand?;
just down a ways from the cabin there
on the mountain,
where we would spend our days
in lover’s embrace…
soft september grass in your hair.
All wrapped up in yellow, gold, and red,
the two of us,
infinitely in love
under the willow
on Mother Nature’s Autumn bed.
©tlh 9/12/2010
Listen to this here:
August 29, 2010 “Interplanetary Consolation”
“Interplanetary Consolation”
I spoke to an old friend today
from time to time we chew the fat
we understand each other
him and me
we talked about beer
we know a good brew
about dead-end jobs
and motorcycles too
about old times
and good times
and sometimes
a time or two
we talked about fishin
and how to hunt deer
about too much wishin
and we talked about beer
we understand beer
beer is good
and beer always leads to women
we don’t understand women
we talked about two
the one to which he belongs
and the other I belong to
he’s belonged for nearly thirty years
I’ve belonged for a few months
he’s gone through troubles and tears
I still get lost over the little bumps
I said…then she said
then we said
I should have stayed in bed
then he said
you both need a knot in your head…
we belong to them
we don’t understand them
we say one thing
they hear something else
we hear them
but we don’t hear what they say
my friend says we’re from Mars
they’re from Venus
I said according to her
I’m from somewhere closer to Uranus
he loves his
and she loves him
I love mine
and she loves…
well, I’m kinda out there for now
next to Uranus…but
beer is good
©tlh 8/29/2010
(Image courtesy of artist)
August 21, 2010 “a better day”
“a better day”
we say we understand
but we don’t, we can’t
it means we’re trying
Love is what’s tying
all the disconnects
together
Love is the go-between
it connects scene to scene
when you’re tossed at sea
facing stormy weather
and I’m on the shore
I can do nothing more
but stand
I cannot steer your ship
I cannot know your fear
but I can shine a light of Love
to let you know I’m here
to be your guide
to connect these two
stranded souls
from so far away
and bring you home
to a better day
©tlh 8/21/2010
Listen to this here:
(Image courtesy of artist)
Thanks, Red
August 20, 2010 “because” My 200th Post :)
“because”
because she breathes
I sigh
because she speaks
I hear
because she smiles
I laugh
because she sees
I appear
because she cries
I feel
because she flies
I will
because she lives
I love
because she loves
I live
because she is
I am
©tlh 8/20/2010
Listen to this here:
For you, Babe
August 13, 2010 “Perfect Poet”
I don’t know about perfect, but…Thank You for this award among such a fine and respected group of peers. I’m proud to post it here.
The Perfect Poet Award
Thanks Jingle, YOU ROCK!
Tracy H
July 28, 2010
“Pappaw”
first puff of a cigarette
first draw from a pipe
how to thump a watermelon
to make sure it was ripe
first taste of whiskey
first sip of beer
Rye and rock candy
if my cold wouldn’t clear
first drink of milk
fresh from a cow
fondest of memories
as I look back on them now
first taste of chicken
killed in the yard
first chew of tobacco
man, that one was hard
Grandfather
as some folks would say
Pappaw to me
he liked it that way
sometimes in the summer
when school was all through
I’d go up to Pappaw’s
and stay for a few
days as his shadow
rising with the sun
“working” along side him
until “our” work was all done
early morning breakfasts
are my first memories it seems
me coming to him at the table
still lost in my dreams
we’d have fried eggs and bacon
and some good pone bread
he’d let me drink coffee
as he patted my head
to many firsts and breakfasts
to be recalled here
I’ve remembered so often
that my memories aren’t clear
the first time I saw him he was old
he was still old the last time we spoke
sun browned skin and dark gray hair
sharp blue eyes in a haze of cigarette smoke
He was 94 on the day he died…
I miss him sometimes.
©tlh 7/28/2010
July 27, 2010 “Safe” for One Shot Wednesday
“Safe”
She gave her heart to me.
The one she kept locked safe.
The heart few have seen
in the light of day,
in the dark of night,
hid out of sight…
she gave to me.
With a glance,
almost by chance, but divine,
she gave her heart.
Placed it with gentle care
into these shaking hands of mine;
a tear stained,
fear pained,
love drained
heart,
into these trembling hands of mine.
I wanted it
in my hands.
Her heart safe in my hands,
most precious to me,
means life to me.
I have but one heart…
hers.
For I gave her my heart;
the one I kept locked safe
out of sight,
daylight and night,
my tear stained,
fear pained,
love drained,
heart
into her gentle, trembling hands…
safe.
Listen to this here:
©tlh 7/27/2010
Linked @ One Shot Wednesday
July 26, 2010 “Thank You”
Today I take a moment to thank the following poet/bloggers. Each of you has been coming often to my blog, taking time to read my meager offerings, and even make wonderfully kind comments (which I try to reply to, but I often miss one here and there). In doing these things you both lend me a piece of your lives, and give me incredible encouragement to keep practicing this art. I would have never thought I would write so much poetry until I got involved with all of you. In particular… Thanks to Jingle for maintaining this community where I met each of you fine folks and many more.
A very special thanks to Amanda, a dear, dear friend, who gently nudged me into this fine group of poets and writers in the first place.
The following list is a wonderful group of talented poets and bloggers that everyone should visit.
Sincerely,
Tracy H
Thank you all!
Just Say’n
July 25, 2010 “Sunday 160″
beautiful day…?
(!)
It’s a beautiful day
we often say
Have a beautiful morning
needs a warning
Don’t include Jesus, Muhammad, or Hubbard
or you might find a bomb in your cupboard!
tlh 7/25/2010
_________________________________________
(EXPLICIT LYRICS)
July 23, 2010 “Elements”
“Elements”
She:
is a capricious breeze that whistles through
upsetting papers and knocking off the dust
making all feel fresh and new
He:
is the trade winds; constant and steady
carrying precious cargo through the doldrums
gentle, but strong and ever ready
She:
is a mountain stream; always rushing past
tumbling effortlessly over every stone
washing away all that isn’t anchored fast
He:
is a mighty river; big, dark, murky, and slow
but continuous, wide, meandering along
deep and powerful in his flooding flow
She:
is a mountain range; sharp peaks reaching for the sky
forbidding, stark, and beautiful, difficult to navigate
but worth every step for one willing to try
He:
is rolling foothills; gently rising to meet the sun
robed in peaceful verdant forest, an easy trek
hidden valleys, cool breezes when the day is done
She:
is a flame; that drives away the chill, a small flickering fire
suddenly raging across a plain consuming any in it’s path
an inferno or a tea light whatever her heart’s desire
He:
is burning embers; smoldering, under gray and black
ready to flame into the darkness at the slightest breath
and rekindle flames to bring the warming fire back
They:
are elements; wind, water, earth, and fire
together in perfect balance… In Love
tlh 7/23/10
(Photo owned by artist)
Thanks Red
July 20, 2010 “The Minivan”
“The Minivan”
I wish I had a photo. I should have taken a picture; my camera was in the seat next to me, but I didn’t. It would have helped you grasp so much better the story I’m about to unfold for you.
As is too often the case, this evening found me on lunch break at my tedious and less than fulfilling (but it almost pays the bills) job again, sitting in my car in line at Micky D’s.
Yes, this is another Drive-Thru Diatribe!
I pull up behind a fellow in a nice pearl-white Cadillac Escalade. In front of the Cadi was a Minivan pulling up to the order menu thing to talk into. I’m thinking, “This is good, I’ll be through here in a jiff.” What was I thinking? It’s a blanking minivan!…and what is the main cargo of minivans…many minipeople! Minipeople are great…I even had one once for a while, but we rode in a little black coupe.
The problem with minivans is, other than the minuscule cargo, they are piloted by, albeit well meaning and responsible, yet cluelessly undaunted, mommies and daddies. Don’t get me wrong, these are professional pilots…they have to be dedicated pros, (though, again, cluelessly undaunted ones), to attempt such a labor as packing a passel of petite peoplings in a modern powered perambulator. This is an undertaking to be entered into with the soberness of a judge, the patience of Job, two ibuprofen, and a valium. I proclaim that, even though he slew the Lernaean Hydra, obtained the Girdle of the Amazon Queen (not really too difficult, heck, I think I have one or two girdles from Amazon Queens here somewhere), and cleaned the Augean Stables, Hercules himself would have failed at the Twelve Labours had one of them been to ferry half a dozen minipeople through the McDonald’s Drive-Thru…in a minivan!
I digress. My story is not about the myriad munchkins in the minivan, but about the witless woman piloting said van. She pulls up to the menu order thing to talk into at 7:06 PM, her left arm hanging out the drivers window, gesturing as she gets the orders from the other occupants of the van. Of course there was no discussion pertaining to what the hungry little humans in the back might want prior to the van stopping at the menu thing, none at all, never is, in my experience…her head is turned to the rear view mirror as the orders from the back are relayed forward…discussions ensue…decisions are tentatively made. She turns to face the menu order talk thing. No, she doesn’t turn her head…she turns her entire body and leans out of the window on her elbows as if she is leaning onto a counter. Both long-fingered hands are gesturing wildly, but I can tell she is ordering 1 of this, 1 of that, 3 of these, and two of those…no, make that 3 of those…the fingers of both hands flare out wide and wave from side to side with palms out to say, Whoa, wait a second! as she turns across her LEFT shoulder to receive an order update from the adult stationed immediately behind her…she returns to the “counter” and continues..4 of those, and 1 of these…make that one a small
(her thumb and forefinger held slightly apart to show the eyeless screen she means “small”), and something else which was a mysterious gesture, maybe a fly landed on her elongated hand, or the valium is wearing off. At this gesture she turns to her LEFT again, this time to give the guy in the Escalade and me a good once-over, as if we are causing HER some kind of problem! 7:10 PM, she gets her fill of Cadillac guy and me, and turns her attention back to the screen, orders are placed and modified a number of times until finally it’s correct, and then one more read through of the order, which has to look like a short story written on the screen, …tic…toc…tic…toc, 7:11 PM…
The driver of the Escalade is having some kind of fit in his plush leather seat, and I could spit darts of pure vitriol in my ravenous rage…the woman swings back around to her proper position and pulls away to pay at 7:12 PM…oblivious to how close she was to becoming a headline in tomorrows news paper…the Escalade guy might have made her a physical resident of that tiny screen had it not been for the debilitating fit he was having.
As I pulled away from the Bag-O-Fat window with my precious Sweet Tea, I passed by the minivan as it was parked for the distribution of the goodies to all of the….THREE…ONLY THREE (two minis, and one full size) people in the back!…ahead of me the Escalade was weaving recklessly all over the parking lot as the gyrating driver counted the heads in the van too.
Just Say’n
June 12, 2010 “Honestly folks…”
June 12, 2010 “Honestly folks…”
Everyone wants honesty.
We all want others to be honest with us, or so we say. “Honesty is the best policy” has been preached to us from the time we were children. There was George Washington who could not tell a lie, and Honest Abe Lincoln for role models; even Opie Taylor and “Beaver” Cleaver were icons of honesty.
Being honest is the high road, and, at one point or another, in one way or another, the kudos always come to the one that takes that path. The person that tells the truth is considered to be the good guy.
This all works great in a purely academic manner for the mundane interpersonal relationships of daily public life. People should be honest. They shouldn’t cheat others, or lie to them.
We all know this, and I’m sure that all five or six readers of this tiny blog are as honest as the day is long, and live an exemplary lifestyle of honesty and integrity.
Personal relationships, on the other hand, have an entirely different set of rules added onto the general rules of honesty…herein lies the rub.
We all want honesty from our significant other, our spouse, or our lover, whichever the case may be. We have all, at one time or another, been struck in the face with dishonesty in one form or another. Most of us have, at some point in our life, been the source of dishonesty: I’ve done it all in my life, been the good guy and the bad one. I’ve been honest most of the time, but I have been as dishonest as any at other times.
We all say we long for that honesty in our relationships, but what we really want, most of the time, is loyalty, or fidelity; if they’re loyal to us then they are honest with us…right? Fidelity can be kept without honesty. Fidelity is one person’s decision to be faithful or loyal to another; it’s that simple. This discussion isn’t about fidelity. For my purpose here, fidelity is a given.
Honesty, however, between two people in a committed relationship is a different story. It’s a two way street if there ever was one. Being truthful to your lover is a big deal, one should always be honest about every aspect of your relationship; we all know this. Being honest and telling the truth is the easy part. The one simply does his best to tell the other the truth; the truth about how you feel, about what’s bothering you, about…well, about anything and everything for heaven’s sake. Don’t be afraid to say anything. Don’t be stupid either, think about it first, and determine the best way to say it, but by all means be honest and say it! You’ll find that saying the truth that’s in your heart or mind is the easy part.
The hard part is hearing the truth. The one that hears the truth has to deal with it, and sometimes the truth isn’t pretty on the surface. The one that is confronted with the ugly little truth has to either ignore it or deal with it. People that ignore the truth are making a huge mistake. When someone, your Love, is truthful with you in a sincere way… no matter how ugly or seemingly insignificant it is, choose to deal with it. It might seem to be an impossible task, but deal with these truths OBJECTIVELY. Accept and believe that the other person is saying this truth to you in an honest manner.
We can all read anything we want into anything. I have learned to try to do my best to look at my world objectively, and mostly, I’m successful. But, sometimes I really mess up royally and get my feelings hurt in a big way. I pout. I pine. I feel as if the weight of the world is pressing on my chest, and I can’t breathe; all because of something that was said or done in, what I know in the very core of my being as nothing other than, innocence. Yet, I get all bent out of shape and down in the dumps. Then the other party inevitably asks what’s wrong, and I have to be honest and tell the other person why I’m so down and why I feel like I do, even though I know it’s a completely silly and selfish reason. Then, she, yes, she has to deal with the ugly little truth of some petty jealousy or insecurity that I have concocted…it may be a concoction all together, but it became a real issue the second I acknowledged it in my mind. She can ignore it, and pretend it doesn’t matter, but that does me a disservice, and in the long run, her too. She can choose to hear me in Love, and objectively see the issue, not be offended by it, or angry, or condescending about it, but lovingly hear me out. Ultimately, because she chose to trust me to be honest with her, and she chose to honestly listen to me, the bond between us is strengthened, another avenue of trust is formed, and doors of opportunity are propped open so that, in the future, we will have complete access to all the possibilities and joys of an honest relationship.
Honestly, honesty isn’t easy, but if we can learn to be honest and honestly accept honesty…our relationships will last a lifetime.
Just Say’n
What folks think…