Current Thoughts

           Open your mouth, let words
   bypass lips. Converse consciously
   to brethren or bystanders.
       Reach out to
   close friends gone amiss.
       Be not afraid, not now, of
   articulating current thoughts and
   accomplishments of which
   you are proud, and even your sins
   (for we have all owned a few)
        might seem far less tragic
         from an altered point of view.
               Give fresh voice
   to insecurities and anxieties hidden
   within your self, speak highly of
      those dusty dreams
            languishing on a shelf.
   Past sullen moments cast a
   lengthy shadow, short-term
   expectations tend to dull down
   long-term possibilities.
      Talk freely around all you want,
   or hope, or desire to be.
      Each intention will resonate
      with those who wholly believe.
   Understanding takes effort.

© 2024 j.g. lewis

April 18th is Poem in Your Pocket Day
a day to celebrate poetry by selecting a poem,
carrying it in your pocket, and sharing with the
friends and strangers who cross your path.
Share a poem wherever the day takes you, as you
would share a smile, a gesture, or your kindness.
Sharing is caring.

April is Poetry Month
take a poem to lunch

        Our paths shift, circumstance and
              attitude shaping our trajectory.
   The company we keep alters both
       our outlook and destination.
           We are where we are
        mainly because of who we are 
                          and whom we are with.

04/16/2024                                                                              j.g.l.

A wish for words more delicate and 
refined will only lead to
an unnecessary edit, constrained curiosity,
and a smudge of indifference.
Emotions scoured from the page,
its patina reflective now of a chaotic mind, 
you are no longer (or never have been) 
satisfied with what is there.
Speaking freely, nowhere near the truth, 
a humane reaction may not be soothed.
Not always. No matter what.
No longer plain and simple. Perhaps
it never was?
You question the questions.
The flaws in your self can only add up
to a greater expression of your being.

04/15/2024                                                                                       j.g.l.

April is Poetry Month
flaws and all

Hypothetically, yet ironically, 
intellectually constructing a poem or 
patch of prose should be far easier 
than it seems.
Even those known to craft delicious, 
heartwarming verse have surely faced 
the dreaded fear of an unscathed page.
Yet, those bards who have risen to the 
challenge, or occasion, with steely
mind, fortitude, and passionate
persuasion have found the strength.
So many any of us struggle with 
ambient thought, perpetual notions, 
recycled emotions barely blatantly 
disguised by foolish promotions 
ending up with feeble attempts at 
stanza, scansion, muted meter 
metronomically fashioning words 
far from adequate. 
Still, we try daily to find even a 
slight modicum of a successful poem, 
whatever that might well be. Each 
line an effort, every day an opportunity 
for more than we bargain for.
 
04/14/2024                                                                         j.g.l.

April is Poetry Month

little things all add up

takeaway coffee

then another cup

later in the day when

you finally find time

between

obligations and imperatives

always there

drop in the bucket

give and take

back and forth

here and where

the cost of living

truth or dare

04/12/2024                                                                                    j.g.l.

08/09/2023                                                                                       j.g.l.