deviant art

Deviant Login
Buy Art Buy adCast Buy Premium Membership
Shop		  Join deviantART for FREE Take the Tour
×
In the heart
In the heart, doubts

In the doubts, a small room

In the small room, a table

On the table, a map being soaked by rain

On the table

In the small room

In the doubts

In the heart
The fine line - PollockThe tracks of the railroad screech
and I go flying out the window -
bones splinter,
skin tears,
muscles shred,
and tendons rip.

And I am thinking
in the middle of the death roll
of imploding black holes,
and exploding stars -
how one stroke of imperfection
allowed for this all.

And I am thinking
of Jackson Pollock
having his half-calculated dance 'round
an oversized canvas with his wand
and paint -
drawing that fine line between chaos
and order.
A metaphor for this fecundating
universe -
for this violent human race.

And I am thinking
about all of those who
wondered
why
someone so close
to making a simple
Friday's BluesWhen I woke up on Thursday,
I had Friday's blues.
It was twenty-four hours
before they were due!

I said to the blues,
"You don't belong here today.
Get your stuff together
and be on your way."

But the blues was upset
and unsure what to do.
I said, "Listen to me,
I will take care of you."

I said, "Put on this coat
and put on this hat.
Wear these dark glasses
and follow this map.

"The route there is perfect,
don't you stray from that line."
So the blues left me then
and my day was so fine.

And I wondered, I wondered
if the blues could swim -
my map led to the river
and then it led in.

I woke up on Friday
and there on
Burning
What is this fire
within me now?
Is it contained,
will it break out?
How can I sleep
when I must keep
burning?

Gift of the night,
play of the light.
What will not burn,
that I will learn.
Morning will come
when I am done
burning.

What will this fire
be in the day?                        
Out of the night,
something will stay.
I will show,
you may know
burning.  
Fall
Something fell. How could a sound so loud
have been a dream? Yet how could a sound
so loud have left a silence thick as this?
There is so little sound you might be deaf.

You say, "hello," softly, to the dark.
You hear your voice clearly through the air.
The lighted clock says four A.M.
Did something fall? It could have been a dream.

It may have been the picture in the hall.
Why did you hang it with a single nail?
Or was it something not so near as that,
whose size and mass you cannot say?

Was it here in the city, a block away,
a mile? There would be sirens, surely.
Or was it something both near and far -
did a world slip dow
Pursued BluesThe speed limit here is fifty,
but I'm doing a hundred and ten.
If my luck holds out till morning,
I might make it home again.

I've been moving since October
and they haven't got me yet.
I keep my eyes wide open
for every trap they set.

Sometimes I say a prayer to heaven
for the damage all around.
There is justice high above us,
but who can call it down?

The speed limit here is fifty,
but I'm doing a hundred and ten.
If my luck holds out till morning,
I might make it home again.

If I do get home tomorrow,
I will not be there long.
I'll put my arms around my people,
and then I will be gone.

But it's not so much the staying,
Browse More Like This

More from *RichardLeach

Featured in Groups

:iconso-often-bled: :iconhighqualityart: :iconhumanconditions: :iconword-smiths:
×


Barbed Wire Ballad

:iconrichardleach:

Bring more barbed wire. Bring the heavy rolls
of twisted steel and metal thorns. Wear
heavy gloves, unspool the wire from the roll,
make loops atop the wall. Bring more.

Bring more barbed wire. Here are metal stakes
on which it may be hung. Go on and on.
Here is a wire cutter for when we are done,
but that will not be soon. Bring more.

Bring more barbed wire. Here are people
to keep out, there are people to confine,
here a place to make secure, here we are
on our side, thank God. Bring more.

Here are people, there are people,
here a border, here a barrier,           
here are places, here are people,
here a wall and here the wire. Bring more.

580

32 38 10
:iconrichardleach:

Barbed Wire Balladby *RichardLeach

DescriptionDetailsShare
Download HTML download, 895 bytes
Inspired by blue and a wall by Hanan, :iconpartiallyhere:

The image above the poem is hers and used by her kind permission.
©2011-2013 *RichardLeach
Category: Literature / Poetry / Sociopolitical / Free Verse

Details

Stats

Submitted on
April 4, 2011
File Size
895 bytes
Views
580
Favourites
32 (who?)
Comments
38
Downloads
10
URL
Thumb
Only verified accounts can report policy violations. Please check your email and click on the verification link.
* Required field
Add a Comment:
 
Preview   Add Comment
love 0 0 joy 1 1 wow 0 0 mad 0 0 sad 0 0 fear 0 0 neutral 0 0
:iconebbing-gale:
~ebbing-gale Jan 15, 2013  Hobbyist General Artist
This one hurts or should I say the truth in it does.
Reply
:iconrichardleach:
*RichardLeach Jan 15, 2013  Professional Traditional Artist
Yes, and thanks very much. One of those poems with an angle of vision that sees all the way through.
Reply
:iconbeyondjen:
*BeyondJen Dec 13, 2011  Hobbyist Writer
This is fantastic.
Great imagery and capture of...gosh, so much.
Reply
:iconrichardleach:
*RichardLeach Dec 13, 2011  Professional Traditional Artist
Hi Jen, thank you very much indeed.
Reply
:iconbeyondjen:
*BeyondJen Dec 13, 2011  Hobbyist Writer
Hi Richard. It was very much my pleasure. (:
Reply
:iconjimfleming:
*jimfleming Dec 8, 2011
Love this! Ghettoizing, gated community constructing, border fabricating,
artificially separating, prison building barbed wire..... No doubt, they will bring more...
Reply
:iconrichardleach:
*RichardLeach Dec 8, 2011  Professional Traditional Artist
Thank you, Jim. It's a far truer poem than I wish it were!
Reply
:iconjimfleming:
*jimfleming Dec 8, 2011
Yes...but artists are wire cutters brother :heart:
Reply
:iconrichardleach:
*RichardLeach Dec 8, 2011  Professional Traditional Artist
Man - thanks. What a great comment :hug:
Reply
:iconjimfleming:
*jimfleming Dec 9, 2011
:)
Reply
Add a Comment:
 
Preview   Add Comment
©2013 deviantART. All rights reserved
About Us | Contact Us | Developers | Careers | Site Tour | Help & FAQ Advertise | Premium Membership Etiquette | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Copyright Policy