What Hides behind the Minute?
What hides behind the minute?
It seems, no one really knows;
How many times will we wakeup,
To count the minutes gone?
The rose was dead when I arrived;
The sword, was rusty and dull;
The window curtain was open,
And there was music in the hall.
Oh lovely minute, where art thou?
One, is not like the other-:
Whirling in an earthly orbit,
As the boundless world discovers.
#675 5/18/05 [at the bookstore caf?; Roseville, MN USA]
12) Vietnam: Shrapnel
Here under the ball of blood
In Vietnam, the moon rises
The battlefield reeks with flies-
I swear I'll come out in one piece,
Or die?
The air-is melting Hot!
The heavens vomit shrapnel out.
A towering inferno-
My helmet, ashes and stones
Shrapnel rips by my face
The ground shakes.
You know you're all alone
With the blast and heap of metal.
One dies today, trapped?
In the middle of the blast;
Two wounded!...
#671
The Monkey Man of Lima
[Miraflores]
Advance: He is the last of his breed, I do believe; the Monkey Man of Miraflores, Lima, Peru. Who winds his wooden music-box up, while the monkey dances, pulls out a slip with your fortune on it, from its drawer, and hands it to you; he is seventy-four years old, small framed and I confess, whenever I go to Lima, about once or twice a year, I look forward in visiting him; which he is normally in the park seven days a week, from about 2:30 to 9:00 PM. He vacations about three times a year for about two weeks each time.
I used him as a character in one of my previous books, "The Mumbler," and gave him a copy, as one of the artists did a water color painting for the cover of the book, of him, and his monkey, and his music-box. His son read the book to him, since it was in English, and not Spanish. He thought it quite the item.
I know he is getting up in age, and his back will not hold out forever, carrying that big wooden box on his back ((a belt tied around him and the box))this man of five-foot three, 110-pounds) with his monkey in it-which he has carried for 60-years-but until it does, until he retires, he is worth seeing, if one takes a trip that way, that is. Permit me to echo an almost lost tradition in the poem that follows, one I saw when I was a kid for a short time in Minnesota, and one that lives on in Lima, Peru, today, but may not tomorrow. #661; 5/14/05.
-I get a-thinking!
Thinking of the 'ol Monkey Man
In Miraflores Park-;
As he carries his heavy load:
A music-box and Monkey-
Down the road
On his aging, solid back;
Looking for his special spot!
Once found-he cares and feeds
His long-tailed monkey?
Then settles down.
-I get thinking!
Thinking how he waits for the curious
To entertain them;
For a solid-metal coin!...
Once given, he winds the music box
As the monkey dances about
And gives a slip out;
Always of good fortune.
A music-box and a Monkey-
Down the road he goes
Goes home at 9:00 PM
With his monkey, and friend.
Dennis Siluk, Poet and Author, his website is: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com
"All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling."--Oscar WildePeople write poetry... Read More
Man UnbowedUnbowed by sin, the world of man, stands Upon... Read More
No one should have to beg or crawl before humanity.... Read More
(The city by the bay of Northern California, near which... Read More
Take some time to stop and look at nature. Pick... Read More
Charlotte Bronte (1816 ?1855) Novelist and Poet.Charlotte was the daughter... Read More
What Hides behind the Minute?What hides behind the minute? It... Read More
McLean, VA - "The Healing Conscious" tells the story of... Read More
In the quiet of the arctic night- In its deep... Read More
One of the most important poets of the post-war period,... Read More
The Poet's Corner [Three poem/ see review of poetry under... Read More
Lord Byron's opening couplet to "She Walks In Beauty" is... Read More
When I am climbing up, you are stepping down. When... Read More
Ironically, the passion that can neutralize the repulsion for difficulties... Read More
Isn't that what they say?But what does that mean?There's no... Read More
Thank youDedicated to soldiers and their loved onesFor those who... Read More
Ole Bulky JeepsThrough late summer's heat These bulky shaped jeeps... Read More
Amy King's first full-length collection, Antidotes for an Alibi, insists... Read More
In this modern age of technology, busy lifestyles, and obsession... Read More
[Episode Five]Arizona Blue-GunfighterThe Wolves Nest-in the North[Episode Five]Northern Minnesota Area?Winter... Read More
The Torrents of HellHell's furnace- Likened to a chimney Vomits... Read More
My eyes opened. I am still alive; Living on... Read More
You cannot make someone love you. All you can do... Read More
Two Poems and an Analysis ['Witness,' & 'An Old Love']WitnessMy... Read More
I cannot bear to think of when you will be... Read More
Have you ever sat there staring at the paper, ready... Read More
I am among those who know that one never recovers... Read More
One of the most important poets of the post-war period,... Read More
Poems have different cores, or so I believe, and can... Read More
Tale of the Brick Maker, Of San Jer?nimo, Peru... Read More
Frog SummerSummer grows hot, for the New-blooded frogs; The bugs... Read More
Grandpa's House [The ole Real House]The house needed painting Sun-blistered... Read More
Key Largo:The fans turn lazily in front of the doorThey... Read More
Truth is stranger than fiction according to many people who... Read More
You make me smile like I've seldom done before You... Read More
Man UnbowedUnbowed by sin, the world of man, stands Upon... Read More
English VersionThe Merchant of Copan [480 AD]Advance: The ballgame at... Read More
McLean, VA - "The Healing Conscious" tells the story of... Read More
We were exiled from the Garden of Eden. Its... Read More
Amy King's first full-length collection, Antidotes for an Alibi, insists... Read More
"Beautiful Dreamer" was written by Stephen Foster just before his... Read More
You speak simple, completley understandable justifications I respect them, respect... Read More
Old skin, once held tight Against her skeleton- Rose no... Read More
I want to get closeI am afraid.Afraid of what... Read More
Sometimes we feel hard-pressed, Our backs against the wall;... Read More
The funeral rite concluded With the pastor shaking hands, Offering... Read More
Storm Rising along the Lima Coast [Summer of 2002]?wind was... Read More
Part One Midget HistoryI am thirty-six inches tall, that is... Read More
Atahualpa's Game [Peruvian]Sometimes, it's not wise To share your wisdom... Read More
1.Night in Jamaica [Peruvianism: 1810]It was a rainy night... Read More
Poetry |