iambic pentameter...well sort of...well not really

I was challenged to write a 14-line rhyming poem in iambic pentameter. What I learned: I hate structure! But here it is:

wholly incomplete, dusty and battered

ripped twice with weak hands, today thrown away

yet the only thing that really mattered

without it his life was in disarray

he once had given to it tender care

but now it lay completely neglected

an untidy heap on the rocking chair

not a hope or prayer of being resurrected

til he had faded for so many sad years

and remembered what he had lost and found

wisdom often comes with much grief and tears

hoping for life the other way around

but still the color of blue stains the wood

while soft breezes offer silent retreat

a little buk

your life is your life.

don’t let it be clubbed into dank

submission.

be on the watch.

there are ways out.

there is light somewhere

it may not be much light but

it beats the darkness

be on the watch.

the gods will offer you

chances.

know them, take them.

you can’t beat death but

you can beat death in life,

sometimes.

and the more often you learn to do it,

the more light there will be

your life is your life.

know it while you have it.

you are marvelous.

the gods wait to delight

in you

by Charles Bukowski

take it with me when I go

When I die, my dear,

please play Leonard Cohen on the stereo,

scatter rose petals on the carpet,

light patchouli candles in every room.

There will be no funerals or services.

Let me be a fading memory,

as soon as I am gone.

Remember what you will

and allow the rest to remain unspoken.

In your quiet conversations

may gentle laughter be your solace.

This joy I bequeath to you

is the joy that will take me on.

Saturday afternoon's dream

In a flurry of activity and a cacophony of chatter

all of the family congregated in the kitchen for a reunion,

the aunts and uncles and cousins

and even the distant relatives that you only see every few years.

Everyone was there except me.

I sat in my room across town looking for my shoe.

My mother finally came to help me and admonished me

for losing my clothes and keeping

the clan waiting for so long.

Finally her frustration at me reached a breaking point

and she began to place boards over my windows and

doors, nailing them to the walls.

When she finished we sat and looked at each other

and came to the realization that we were captives together.

feast

licking glass on hands and knees

savoring the moment

savoring life

while watching the drizzling raindrops

trickling down the windowpane

tracing an ‘x’ on the glass

tasting the metallic flavor on my tongue

tonight I will conquer my demons

devour the bitter fare set before me

in tortured gulps and swallows

only then will I be resurrected

only then will I find salvation

only then…