Funky Purple Train Ride

Don't ask...

"Funky Purple Train Ride"

Sweetness on the mind
Funky in the ear
I am lost in time
In the dirt I disappear
Prayers forgot me yesterday
Too busy in their tears to play
Leave me with visions of we
Together under stone and weed
But I am lost in time
In the sand you disappear
Forgive me if I lie
But maybe we could make some time
Funk and groove
Produce the seed
Wait for solar beams to feed
Sweetness of the mind
Funky in the rear
View of history;
She was a sinner
But he didn't care
So why should I
With my nappy hair
Sweetness on my mind
Elixir in my ear
Prayers reminded yesterday
I'm never as aware as I think
With funky drum solo
High-pitched squeal
Harmonic Ecstasy
Sexy slammin rhyme
Filthy
Dirty
Funky
Getting lost in the dirt and seed
Too busy in these tears to play
Together...
©2009clarencecbess

To Tony

I am so thankful I was informed as a child. And now, the search begins...

“To Tony”

Last night I dreamed.
Unfamiliar faces swam
In pools of unfamiliar sounds
Echoes of things
I don’t know to be true
But might very well be.

I dreamt of you
And I was happy
Because I saw you there
Where two roads met
Saw you discover the path
Hidden in between
Revealed by the chance opportunity
I am so jealous of
The opportunity that dwells
In the back of my thoughts
Each time my questions come
And there are no answers,
Just the eternal white
Of possibilities.

Last night I dreamed
Myself unrecognizable
Running through arms
That would welcome me
Hold me tight
Bringing peace
To the restlessness
That came upon seeing you
Further down
The path unknown
And the world that sprang to life
In a spring renewal
Decades in the making
Amongst the winter veil
Unsought but known
Placed over your eyes
Because who isn’t grateful
For the chance of life
And the experiences that come along
In the design
Never perfect
But valued;
I dreamed
And woke as always
But feeling different this time
Because you
Closer than anyone I’ve ever known
Has tasted the elusive
And now I too
More than in the past
Feel I am ready
To quench the thirst
Rich and deep
To live the dreams
Beyond my sleep…
©2009clarencecbess

Stay That Way

It's always good to realize a moment of perfection...

“Stay That Way”

Stay that way
Just the way you are
Exposed
Not just of body
But of soul
Here with me now
In the cold
Till the spring
Back to fall

Stay that way
Your eyes to mine
And the smirk that reads
Sees
Dissecting me
Till you are another phrase
Caught
On the tip of my tongue
And I am but to pen
What my heart cannot say
What my lips cannot feel
But what my dreams will become
In the moment soon
As I am off to sleep
And somehow
You are next to me

Stay that way…
©2009clarencecbess

Free Association

I was going through some old pieces and ran across this one... Another snapshot in the moments that are the sum of myself. Enjoy.

"Free Association"

Anything that comes to mind
Sweet smells
The lotion she rubs on her hands
Cracked like mine
Splintered mahogany
My head it aches
Softly
Quietly
As I think of all
As I think of nothing
My phone's ringing
Better pick it up
Or get fired
Like I need to
Because that's when the fire's there
Under my ass
Gotta get it done
Finally I can focus

I'm hungry
For food
There goes the phone
Again
But I like writing
My only escape
What comes to me best
"Goooood morning Breakaway..."
I say it as dry as possible
With no life
I'd say I do this to pay my bills
But I can barely do that
Less than ten an hour
Almost thirty
Suicide
Too bad I believe in an afterlife
On the river Styx I ride
It looks so nice out
A nice roller-coaster riding day
I really liked Sheikra
Hope El Toro's worth the wait
This loud motherfucker
If I want Eddie Murphy
I'll go to the movies
Hip-hop
Sports
The lightning lost last night
Phone's ringing
Your account name or number please
Just a second while I "work"
Seems like I've been doing that
Forever
Will I?
Should I?
Give up

Almost thirty
And Mom's birthday is next week
I wish I could buy her that house
I use to promise her as a child
"Good morning breakaway...
One moment please..."
I'm typing bitch
You're interrupting the flow
"What Nicole?"
I like Nicole
Till I knew she was "family"
I thought she liked me
Too fuckin funny
I need to laugh
Want to see my friends
They're gonna be pissed
When I go away
Then again
That’s the whole point of the test
Just to see
If I can do it on my own
If I can actually survive
But aren't I doing that now?

She rubs more lotion
Sweet smells return
I need chap stick
I need love
I want love
Brian
And that is the truth
At least I've had love
And that is the truth
Shawn
And that is the truth
I'm hungry
Too early for lunch
Free association
What a great way to write..
©2006clarencecbess

My Nigga Art

People in this country never cease to amaze me...

“My Nigga Art”

Staring
Rapid shots
My nigga art
Pass me by
And I am caught
Under rug
Under dirt
My nigga art
Conveniently forgot
Pass me by
Eyes divert
Attempt to scribe
Reactions curt
But rapid shots
Reminders queer
My nigga art
Clears the park;
On to stage
The world remade
Tourist spot
Rapid shots
City forgot
Digital Cyclops
To my nigga art
A chance to relive
Remind
Injustice don’t stop
As paths increase
Ever wider from me
Eyes averting
A nigga
And his history
Swept again
Until the rug is moved
And nigga art
Stampedes the room
Staring at passers-by
Forcing them to remember
A world they want forgot…
©2009clarencecbess

Liberated

Sometimes I get ahead of myself. Possibility is a helluva drug...

“Liberated”

Getting lost in your burn
Wondering if you yearn
Wick to flame
Like my concerns
Blackens slowly
Misshapen holy
As shadows leap about
Liberated of the past

Dissolve to view of my heart
Moisturized
No longer parched
Dessert sand to blizzard peak
Solid as I am
Awakened from sleep
Looking solely
Needing wholly
For release within the wanting
Liberated of the past

Loose
Though the world defines
Timeless
Even so in the digital divine
Angel to me from the impish crowds
Ingest the flowing
Accept the knowing
As I am cleansed a bitter fate
Liberated of the past

Getting lost in your burn
I leap ahead
Like flames that yearn
For one to stare within their dance
To float away on romance
Burn them fully
Singe the flesh
If only for a moment
Liberated of the past.
©2009clarencecbess

Morning Resistance

Morning. 630. I don't want to move. And this is why...

“Morning Resistance”

Intertwined
The radiator hisses to life
Another morning
With things to get done
But I’d rather pull you close
Closer
To the heart of me
As warm as us in nature
Together beneath blanket and sheet
As fatal leaves fall
And those dying seek to hold on
This crisp morning
With things to get done
Places to go
Requiring too many coats
And tissues to spare
I’d rather be with you here
The radiator hissing
Windows cracked to allow
The slightest breeze
Intertwined as mother to nature
Possibility to dreams…
©2008clarencecbess

Little Boy

Working in education as afforded me the insight into children I most-likely never would have gained. I took today off and in my travels decided to sit a bit in a little park. Strangely, with all the noise, it was actually rather peaceful...that is until this little kid started up...

“Little Boy”

Little boy
Why are you crying?
What have you to worry about?
Is it the cold
Sweeping around you
Interrupting your play?
Are you missing your mother
And annoyed by the man
Who attempts to help your mastering
Of the fine art of riding a bicycle?
The numerous vehicles
In their constant auto argument
Blaring their horns
Spewing their toxins to blacken your lungs
Bringing you one step closer
To the finality that is death?

I wonder.
Because I remember crying as a child.
And everyday
More cries I hear
The silencing always the same.
What, with the procurement of a snack
A toy
Or something completely unearned
I rue the fact that you will eventually become
An adult version
Of the tear sputtering fool I see before me
Demanding that everyone listen to you
Bow to your wishes
Because that is the way it has always been;
And why should you change?

Little boy
Why are you crying?
I’m hoping you figure this out soon…
©2009clarencecbess

Lament de Mike

The older I get...

“Lament de Mike”

Dawn entices me to play
In dew-covered grass
And faint shadows
That hide future paths of adventure
Discovery
Paths I’ve walked before
Following the progress of the sun
Till it sat low dying
It’s daily death
Giving me the stars and the moon
To guide me through
The murk of existence
That dawn itself eventually becomes
Because that is the cycle of things;
Is it wrong
To let the shine kiss me?
The new feel me?
When twilight shades
Have never graced the face
That speaks of innocent longing
Yet troublesome resolve
Because that is the cycle of things
As I lament at becoming the sage
When I myself
Still have so much to learn
On the paths that I travel
Through the day
Into the night…
©2007clarencecbess

Salvia Officinalis

This is a rare one for me... let's see if you can figure out why. Comments are always appreciated... enjoy!

“Salvia Officinalis”

What will your verse be
In the great cry that is life?
A ballad
As crisp as roses in bloom
Against a springtime melody?
Or a requiem
Billowing and gray
As thunderheads filled
With the sorrow
So often misplaced
As your own?
What will be sung
As you are lowered
Or scattered?
Cerulean notes
Off rhythm
Sublime?
Or cherry compositions
Kind
Ready to burst
Solutions
To the enigma
That is you
Beyond those who would know?

Think not of your tune
But your tone
For it’s never the song memorized
But the cyclic harmony
That plays in the mind
Resounding verse upon verse
To make sweet the memory
Of the stanza lived
To make long the memory
Of the verse that lives…
©2009clarencecbess

Please Do Not Feed The Pigeons

There are too many pigeons in this country...

"Please Do Not Feed The Pigeons"

Please do not feed the pigeons
Those vermin of the sky
For they become a little too dependent
Upon the hand of you and I;
And what's our reward
For a little heart and bread?
But to have toxic splats of shit
All over our benches, cars, and heads;
perching on in splendor
They sing their wicked coo
Some of us listening with dread
As they multiply like rabbits
To overtake the land
With laws created
To keep their species far from dead
I wonder what
And if they dream at night
High above our heads;
'These petty beings
Arrogant and wasteful'
In their song I hear it said...
Makes me wonder
At this very moment
Who is taking aim
Above my little head...
©2008clarencecbess

Two Moments Of Death

Great.
Now I feel like shit.
Not just about the past
But the present
And the rapidly diminishing
Possibility of a future
With you;
And for what?
Nothing but honesty
In the fact that
As much as you frustrate me
You excite me
Surprise me
Just when I've all but given in
To the voice
That's been here before
Seductively whispering to move on
Because there has to be
Someone
Out there
Receptive
As ready and willing
Perfectly imperfect
Looking for the balance that comes
(Or so I think)
With love.
I've actually written two poems for you now.
Does that mean we have to end twice?
As I close my eyes
Envisioning you reading
What was just placed in your hands
What I swore I would not do
Because this is the result
Me sitting on the train
A knot in my stomach
With a mind thrashing about
Coming up with all kinds of scenarios
None of them worse
Than seeing you crumple my words
My heart
Only to toss them aside
Read but unheard
Because you are not ready
'Cause you feel I am not
Ready
'Cause
You've decided to block me off
leaving me only with wishes
Longing
And two poems
I probably never should have written
Because as always
They are the death
of we...
©2009clarencecbess