Separate me, tear me into threes and just leave me be
The damage you have wrought can be repaired,
Once your memory finally fades
Clock Work Orange
Ah, the clock yet continues to tock
Do you see the charm, do you see the light
which still shines through, but its a dark light indeed.
Blue Balls of a Gentleman
Never was a pain so great
as to leave a man almost
doubled over as he walked.
Such a foul wretch of a woman
she was; to taunt and to flaunt
her wares so, to sidle up alongside me,
yet hold back her ultimate
charms.
Never to help me find release
from the tension that she had
caused to exist far below.
True, I could have taken matters into my
own hands like any chaste man should have;
evacuate the cause of all my pent up
pressure and damn her back to the nine hells
where she surely belonged.
But I be not a man to take the easy course;
for I wished her to capitulate in the war
she had waged right outside my castle gate.
Cease this siege woman!
Acquiesce to the desires that I see burning
in your eyes and overcome your coolness
buried deep in your cold keep of a heart.
Grab hold of what you desperately
wish to conquer and I shall relinquish
myself to you with a flood of gratitude.
Perhaps dear lady you will grow
accustomed to my sweet taste.
By Philip Wardlow 2012
Cruel Master
I have no opinions of which you would care to hear;
for the heart is a cruel master which binds you tight.
Cry out and you will only get more of the same I’m sure;
another beating to send you back into the corner whimpering.
So I slink around the edges of your eyes and live
in the shadows of the moods you cast.
And hope that you never see I am slowly
poisoning the master you have come to
love.
So one day you will be free.
by Philip Wardlow 2013
AT THE MARATHON (GAS STATION)
AT THE MARATHON .
CHEWING BUBBLE GUM
MY FORTUNE SAYS I’LL BE ENVIED
BY EVERYONE.
AT THE MARATHON
CHEWING BUBBLEGUM
SITTING AT THE MARATHON
WAITING FOR A FRIEND TO COME
AT THE MARATHON.
WHO’D ENVY ME?
THE ONE WHO OWNS A BROKEN CAR.
AT THE MARATHON
WHO’D ENVY ME
THE ONE WITH A BROKEN HEART
AT THE MARATHON
THE NIGHT IS GETTING COLDER
AS THE CARS DRIVE BY.
AS I CHEW MY BUBBLEGUM.
WHO’D ENVY ME?
AT THE MARATHON.
By Philip Wardlow 1989
(PS. And yes I sadly had just broken up with long term girlfriend at the time n my teenage years)
************************************************************************
A Brother Far Away
Stomp Clomp Stomp Clomp
Marched the Family of elephants
As they trod the dusty distance
To the watering hole.
A brother far away
Hears the tink chink tink chink of steel against steel
to announce the arrival of the Big Top to town
A tenderly nudge of a mother’s
Trunk gently directs her curious baby back on
Course.
Brother feels the pokes and prods of the steel
Tipped hook as it lashes out at him when he makes a
Misstep.
The chuckling of the hyenas and the
roaring of the lions nearby incite
The lead elephant to bellow a warning
to keep away.
Brother hears the hoots and hollers of the crowd
Behind the dark circus tent as the lion’s cage lumbers by
with the great beast still asleep inside.
A west wind blows pushing through the plains , flowing over
The feather dusted clouds encasing the moon which hangs like a
Fluorescent white pearl over the watering hole.
Brother dips his trunk into the bucket and
Comes up with the last drink to be offered that night as he
Strains at the shackles to get a glimpse at the moon.
By Philip Wardlow 1995
Nothing & Something?
Nothing
That’s what I feel like sometimes
Nothing
Nothing, nowhere, no how.
When I see sunsets casting purple hues and
pinkish wisps set in a bowl of vibrant golden orange,
It always reminds me that I’m nothing
And something
A nighttime sky, filled to bursting with a voluminous moon
And a menagerie of stars and planets spinning and coalescing in a
Constant rhythm we can’t begin to see. That’s when I feel like
Nothing
And something
A single stolen kiss in the dark with a girl who didn’t know I existed until
today, soft yet firm, gentle yet wanting. Nothing exists, not even
me.
And yet something…
Clues and misdirection, blind alleys and thorough fares, leads me by a
Leash to nowhere
Yet somewhere will be the end when the journey’s through
I am humbled at times but at others
I am petulant.
I am tired of feeling like nothing
Something sounds good
By Philip Wardlow 1996
A while back I made a list of certain words that had meant something to me personally throughout my life. With this list of words I decided to apply my own definition to them in a poetic sense to really convey what the word means to me in a more concrete but at times abstract way.
These new definitions would not be what you would normally find, say when you are flipping through a reference book such as Webster’s English Dictionary or some such book of extensive boring knowledge that you have to begun learning from the very start of Kindergarten all the way to college.
Of course it doesn’t end there, one day when your the Father of energy zapping kids and your relaxing back in bed with a hefty book in your hands you may have to keep one of those stupid dictionaries next to you on the nightstand at your bedside because some pompous arrogrant ass of an author had to pick a word no normal person (or abnormal) would ever use in their own mind let alone in casual conversation. At times I revel in the English language and at other times I hate it simply because I believe words shouldn’t get in the way of what you are trying to convey to the reader, especially on a contstant basis as some writers like to do.
So here is brief list of the not-so definitions of words:
1. Apathy – A smile in your direction which never quite reaches the eyes with a sharp snap of the head away.
2. Dreams – Dim images of lost desire, a quest for innerpeace that travels on a slow runaway train
3. Friends – Pillars with which to hold onto in a raging storm where some are stronger than others.
4. Enemies – The unseen predator which lurks along the edge of life waiting to pounce.
5. Life – An endless array of patchwork on the soles of feet worn down and dirty.
6. Time – A number measured by emotions and circumstances of the day.
7. Envy – A spark which turns into a flame soon to engulf the entire forest.
8. Justice – A rock thrown back at an unseen hand whose only intent was grief.
9. Poems – A collection of organized to disorganized words which have no meaning unless you say they do.
10. Woman – A mystery behind a locked door where a thief must apply all his talents to get through.
***I am a word/idea collector so do YOU have any definitions for ME. I would love to hear them….:)***
Ivory Towers
A thousand ivory towers sit clumped
tight together.
They fill up the valley below and
spread over the plains of grass as
the river cuts through.
The tops reach higher than the birds
can fly,
Deep into the clouds they pierce
until they scrape the moon as it slowly
passes by each night.
Standing next to a tower
I look up from far below.
Alone.
With a hesitant hand I reach out
And touch the ivory wall.
So smooth and slick like glass as
my fingers run up its length.
Not a crack, not a crevasse
To reach a finger into.
This wall cannot be climbed.
Who dwells in such a high place?
Do they converse across the way,
or do they ignore each other as much
as they do me every day?
Such a lonely place to call home.
These towers seem to me more
like an escape from the life below.
Where I stand.
If they only understood.
Fortune favors the fool.
by Philip Wardlow 2013
A scream escapes me as my body goes to the nether
Disintegrating into grains of dust to fall up into the desolate and
be carried away down a flowing river of no direction.
My mind, my soul, and my will follow into the oblivion after;
each seperate from one another to divide themselves
into a thousand times a thousand
pieces…
My will holds tight to once piece of each as I flow
for I will not let them go
their seperate ways
I will not lose me.
For I am me.
I am me
forever.
by Philip Wardlow 2012
Haikus of Life Encountered
A Puzzle
Puzzle pieces laid
Thousand images form you.
But still a puzzle.
For My Pleasure
Give me your favor
Dance to any tune I play
Perhaps it will do.
Your Colors
Colors beget you
Dark to bright in all the hues
I embrace them all.
Sweet smells, soft skin glows
Your lips beckon to be kissed
Give me a reason
Warrior’s Quilt
My fortune has forsaken me for I am stranded in this cold wasteland
next to a flickering flame about to die.
All I have are my fears, a quilt to keep me warm and the labored breath of life.
The thick heavy fabric enfolds me in warmth from my head to my feet.
It is a comfort as I try to calm my restless mind and fall
to sleep.
I feel warmer yet still as I pull it closer to me in the night.
This warmth seems to come from a different place as I hold
the quilt to me tight.
Like a close friend it is a barrier against the bitter cold that wants
to suck the life from my chest with every stolen breath.
I began to reflect in my minds wanderings
Does this quilt have a story, a past to explore?
I picture strong delicate hands, patient hands, cutting and sewing in
endless hours to reach an end.
A quiet anticipation to see the job done with the reward of creating
a piece of art as a gift for a friend.
Did her mind wander while she worked? Did she daydream and get lost
in a world of mystery of her own design while her fingers danced from
seam to seam with the passage of time?
From mind to hand, to hand to cloth, did these wanderings, these dreams seep
into the fabric?
Is that why I feel as I lay on this cold hard ground like I could float up to the
dark heavens above me and touch the stars that twinkle down.
Is this quilt that I’m wrapped in imbued with a magic that I cannot see for it seems to
be reaching inside me and guiding me to a place where I can be free.
I dream of a woman and see her smile. Is she the one who has sewn this quilt for me?
Am I now part of her wanderings and fancies?
Is that why my heart is so light?
Is that her embrace I feel as the quilt consoles me in the night.
My mind is not restless , my body is at peace.
I lay wrapped in my quilt next to a fire long
gone out and forever asleep.
by
Philip Wardlow
undone in spectacle
she writes
A Wheel of Time Community
Mind • Body • Life
Dating, Poetry, and More
Ignorance is bliss / truth is necessary / rust in the soul
Where writers gather
Realise your innate perfection
poetry, fiction, and musings
Poetry
Erotic Fantasies
Let Your Eyes Do The Talking...
A Place to share My Love for Painting, Design, and Pottery
Hiking with snark in the beautiful Pacific Northwest 2011 - 2013
Reviews, raves, and rants. It's all about the books we read
weird alien 👽
undone in spectacle
she writes
A Wheel of Time Community
Mind • Body • Life
Dating, Poetry, and More
Ignorance is bliss / truth is necessary / rust in the soul
Where writers gather
Realise your innate perfection
poetry, fiction, and musings
Poetry
Erotic Fantasies
Let Your Eyes Do The Talking...
A Place to share My Love for Painting, Design, and Pottery
Hiking with snark in the beautiful Pacific Northwest 2011 - 2013
Reviews, raves, and rants. It's all about the books we read
weird alien 👽
Ain't no rest for the Wicked - Philip Wardlow - The real and the sensual sides to life in all its facets.. 