Tuesday, February 26, 2008

The Dark Ages

In the beginning, there was light
Quest for knowledge
Ticket dearly bought
Young gun, pistol cocked
Experienced wide and far
But ganja had to be shed
The magic carpet put to bed
Beer was his only friend the nights
The music died
~
The music had already turned
Before the Johns departed
His life turned with the music
Punk and New Age, Rap and Grunge
As the world turned cold
The “Chill” spread throughout
The decade of darkness
The bong was tossed along with
His heart, which
Existed only within the shadows
~
The wine and beer though, flowed
New friends were made in the wake
Of lost shipmates
The girl was there where he left her
Still not knowing her own mind
Slowly stealing what ebb was left
The seas got rocky as beer and gambling
Took over as the favored sins
He was so freaking smart
It was a shame he didn’t have a clue
~
Darkness fell when she got married
Continued when she came running
As she always did
Others were seen along the way
And they saw the troubled son
Adrift within the hallowed halls
Of wisdom
They all took what they came after
And lived for another day
~
Love came running, knocking
At the door, midnight hour
Hope rekindled
Then stolen by the re-gifter
The drifter in the night
Made one last deal with the Devil
As the beat went on and on
Twisting in rainbow colors
Dancing to the tune about
The road to Hades
Laughing in the night
We will never get this right
And so the band played on
~
Somewhere along the way
Hope and joy were lost
Dreams faded into the night
Wisdom was not held
In a plaque upon the wall
Love and dreams failed to ignite
Shadows crept into the soul
A cold, bitter frost settled on the heart
A fire hydrant jumped out and bit him
On a drunken Monday night
The clang of the bars a broken tune
For a broken man
Lost in a broken world
Of his own making
~
And then, with the party over
The music long since died
The angel flown and gone
The book of dreams lying on the floor
Lost and lonely, cast away
Set adrift from population
Walls of darkness hiding
The emptiness within
Until a chance encounter
With a barmaid silk and sassy
Who sang a different tune
And in the end…
Light again
And songs to fill the air
~
Mjcarson
9-21-2007

Friday, February 22, 2008

Multiplied

i don’t own anyone
but i owe a few…here and there
i wish i owed more
for the love given
and received in kind
but my account is all paid up
nothing from nothing…
~
i look forward each and every day
for the future
that i’m headed for
but all those factors…
people that
don’t know who i am…
i can’t understand the one i know
~
i’d never buy a soul
the one i’ve got
is worth so much…
if i could ever see it
put one and one together…
but it always equals zero
~
i’d never throw you away, babe
all i’ve got is me
and what you have to add
can make me whole…
i don’t own anyone
not even myself
but i’d like to add
you to me
and make it equal one
~
m.j.carson
7-23-1984

Monday, February 18, 2008

Virginia Carson Jefferson

I saw it rather clearly on that day
The tears flowing down
From eyes that had seen
99 years of life and death
As I held the same hand that
Held Molly McBride’s over seventy
Years before…seven years before Dad
Was born…you were thirty-four
When he came into your world
27 when Molly went out
And a young 65 when I came in
~
I can see…I can feel…
The girl inside, born in 1893
To the good Doctor P.K. and his Mary…
Did he deliver his own?
Of course he did…
He delivered the whole county
Your brothers Estell and Thurman, who died so young
Sharon and your beloved Sam and Minnie
So very long ago…
I can feel…see the little girl
At seven, waiting on the turn
Of the century
The one you almost made it all
The way through
~
You felt so fragile on that day
As I held you up
And led you over
To see what you never imagined
You would live to see
Your brother’s son lying there
So peaceful and serene
You tell me…in all your darkest hours…
This one you didn’t want to outlive
You tell me…
You can see both of them in me
I tell you…
I can only be me…I hope it is enough
You hold my daughter
And seem to know
They are all here in us
And I see tears of joy
As it was your way
~
This will be
One of the few memories
I will keep from one of the
Worst days of my life
The tears rolling down
Your ninety-nine year old face
Extreme sadness, extreme joy
Life, that’s what you taught me
That’s how you live
To be 102…
Staying young inside
Thank you, great teacher
Great Aunt Virgie
I will sing of you
For all my days
Perhaps I am, after all,
only half-way there

Mike Carson
2-18-2008

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Rebel Without A Pen

In the days before the poet was born
I was everywhere but not within
My switchblade hiding in my boots so worn
My mind was hellish bent on mortal sin
~
I was everywhere but not within
Running with the wolves seemed the thing to do
My mind was hellish bent on mortal sin
Youngish rebels with fertile fields to sow
~
Running with the wolves seemed the thing to do
In all the endless summer nights we raved
Youngish rebels with fertile fields to sow
I sought but never found the thing I craved
~
In all the endless summer nights we raved
My switchblade hiding in the boots so worn
I sought but never found the thing I craved
In the days before the poet was born
~
Mike Carson
2-16-2008

Friday, February 15, 2008

Vibes




Mt. Fuji rises
Above the clouds
The sun will soon
Rise again
This much is very clear
One cannot stand
On this ledge
Of time
And not see the future
Traveling back to a day
In 1978
Wounded ship on crutches
Sits in drydock on wobbly legs
Hastily provided
To keep her afloat
Above the murky waters
Of Tokyo Bay
From the deck one can see
The snow-covered peak
Far above the tree-line
Turn…and one can also see
Tokyo skyline
Bustle…hustle
They are busy
In the east
Ready to rise once more
Feel the shudder throughout the keel
Will she ever float again?
~
Mike Carson
2-15-2008

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Belinda Gail (Sunrise)



Before you, there was
Formless void, vast emptiness
Life yet to happen

We were bound for each other
Waiting for the sun to rise

Mike Carson
2-14-2008

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Hidden Away

IN THE WEE HOURS
OF THE NIGHT
I STILL DREAM
OF A GIRL I MET
YEARS AGO
OF THINGS LONG PAST
OF THE DYING EMBER
DEEP WITHIN
WHY WASN'T I TOLD
OF A WORLD WHERE
DREAMS AND THINGS
ARE ALLOWED TO FADE
AND PEOPLE CRUMBLE
LONG BEFORE THEY DIE
~
I KNOW ABOUT BEING DOWN
AND I'VE BEEN UP A
TIME OR TWO
BUT NOW IT'S TIME
TO SEE HOW FAR
THIS BAREFOOT BOY CAN GO
GET OUTTA MY WAY
I'M HEADED FOR THE TOP
JUST ME AND MY
DREAMS AND THINGS
FOREVERMORE, GLORY BOUND
~
IN THE WEE HOURS
I SEE
A WORLD THAT I DESPISE
FULL OF HATE AND THE HATERS
THEY AREN'T CONTENT
TO LET IT BE - THEY MUST
SPREAD IT EVERYWHERE
AND PEOPLE CRUMBLE
LONG BEFORE THEY DIE
~
I COULD TELL YOU
ALL ABOUT HATRED
IT BURNS THE SOUL
AND FRIES THE VERY HEART OF MAN
I LEFT IT BEHIND
YEARS AGO
'CAUSE I'VE SEEN THEM
THEY STAND
RIGHT OVER THE RIDGE AND WAIT
FOR YOU TO LEAVE AND THEN,
AND THEN...
WHEN THERE'S NO ONE AROUND
THEY HIDE THEM AWAY
WHERE WE CAN'T SEE THEM
FOREVERMORE,
GLORY BOUND
~
IN THE WEE HOURS
I SOMETIMES THINK I'LL
LIVE FOREVER AND A DAY
... BUT SOMETIMES I WONDER WHY
I WOULD WANT TO
THERE'S NO FUTURE IN THE PAST
JUST THINGS TO AVOID
LIKE FIRE HYDRANTS OR
BLUE-EYED GIRLS WITH GOLDEN LOCKS
~
NEVER HAVE FELT LIKE
A WINNER
ONE WHO HAS GOT IT MADE
ALWAYS HAD TO MAKE IT
ON MY OWN
NO ONE TO REALLY COUNT ON
JUST ANOTHER LONELY POET
IS THERE ANY OTHER KIND?
~
THOUGHTS
THAT COME TO BEING
IN THE WEE HOURS
HAVE NO TRUE FORM
JUST A SAD AND LONELY MAN
ALONE WITH THE PAST AND
BOB DYLAN AND THE BAND
ANOTHER TALL BOY - LESS FILLING, OF COURSE
AND THOUGHTS - GOD DAMN THESE THOUGHTS
~
GERRY AND JERRY LEFT
CLIFFORD ALONE WITH HIS THOUGHTS
AND NOW CLIFFORD'S HIDDEN AWAY
FOREVERMORE,
GLORY BOUND
I WEEP FOR THEM ALL
I CRY A TEAR FOR
MY HUMAN RACE
I SURE HOPE THERE IS A FUTURE
WITH A LOT LESS HATE
TODAY I TURN MY HEAD AND SIGH
AND DREAM
IN THE WEE
HOURS OF THE NIGHT
M.J.CARSON
9-17-87