Two poems that clearly show the plight of matrimony in the United States where a man is expected to earn the bread and the woman is expected to raise the children and make her husband's bed. Unfortunately, the spark that makes that marriage doesn't stay lit and most marriages stagnating to drudgery for both parties. There has to be a better way, but that will take some social engineering that God-fearing people would be afraid to venture into. Too bad.
"Money can't buy back
your youth when you're old,
a friend when you're lonely,
or a love that's grown cold." 🦋
Porter Wagoner (A Satisfied Mind)
🧙🏻♂️ Roger:
These are two of the poems I had previously removed.
On the surface they are both about sexual frustration and dissatisfaction with marriage in general.
But when I examine them more closely, I find that they are more about the dissatisfaction that comes from growing older,
about feelings that only come when we look at things in retrospect and recognize what we've lost.
It's difficult to accept losing the things we enjoy.
🤡 Bozo:
Then again, maybe all of that is just goldfish poop.
I still feel the love but the pleasure is gone.
I tell myself it's the love that's most important
but there's a part of me that remains unconvinced.
The battle between the id and the ego rages on.
Il cuore vuole!
"But little do they know
that it's so hard to find
one rich man in ten
with a satisfied mind."
Porter Wagoner (A Satisfied Mind)
The Rest Of The Story:
I have transformed this page into a new art form.
It could be called an "expanded poem", a "song cycle", or a "poetry concept album",
and it's kind of like hearing a lead single and then listening to the entire album.
On the suface, this page contains two short, rather dark poems that tell a simple story.
But, you may notice that every line on the page contains a link.
If you follow all of the links in sequence, you'll find a series of poems, etc.
that expand upon the story and add a lot of detail.
You can learn a lot by asking yourself the question,
"Why does this particular line link to that particular poem?"
But beware! The full story is complex, and it contains many twists and turns.
So you might get the wrong impression if you stop reading along the way.
(Some of the things I say in my poems contradict things I say in other poems,
because they're written from a different personal or temporal perspective.)
To get it all you have to read it all, follow all of the links
(many of my poems contain links to other poems and music videos),
watch the videos, and read my commentaries in the review sections.
The best way to navigate my poetry pages:
1. Notice the photo at the top.
2. Read the poem itself.
3. Watch the video at the bottom.
4. Read my commentary in the review section.
5. Follow the links to find additional information.
🤡 Crucifiction:
(I originally wrote this for a YouTube Community post, but then deleted it because
it was too candid. I post it here knowing it is unlikely that anyone will ever read it.)
The truth is: I am not very happily married to someone I am very much in love with.
I fell in love with her when we were very young, and I have never loved anyone else.
Unfortunately, I find it impossible to talk to her; to tell her how I feel.
I have explained it all in the things I've written but she's never read any of it.
(She's one more person who has never been interested in the things I write.)
I don't believe she has an inkling of how disappointed, lonely, and miserable I've been.
She seems to think it is perfectly natural for people our age to not have a love life.
She also seems to think that I am somehow satisfied: though all of my dreams are dead,
knowing that I'll never do many of the things I had wanted to do, rarely going anywhere,
having little contact with anyone beyond our immediate family and her circle of friends
who think I'm a weirdo, having no one to talk to about how I'm feeling or things I am
interested in, and spending the end of my life sitting alone in my basement, watching
TV and waiting to die, just like her father did.
Years ago, she had relationships with a couple of men whose wives had lost interest in
them. She felt sorry for them and wanted to make it up to them. She doesn't recognize
the irony of it: the fact that I am now in the same position they were (except I don't
have an attractive younger woman who cares about me).
🧙🏻♂️ Resurrection:
And yet, though all of this is true, I love her. And I know that she loves me.
We are two imperfect human beings who love each other.
Two people, dealing with the changes that come from growing older.
Don't let Bozo fool you! (I could be talking to myself here.)
Roger was right when he suggested before that my real problem is: Growing Older.
There is a reason why the first thing you see when you select Poetry from my front
page is "The One Dream That Matters". My most important messages are there.
"The heart wants what it wants, but I know what I have. I know I'd rather be with her."
"La mejor parte de ser es estar contigo." (The best part of being is being with you.)
"L'amour est le seul rêve qui compte." (Love is the only dream that matters.)
🤡 Which one of us is truly being realistic?
And which of us is believing what we wish to be true?
🧙🏻 Which one of us sees everything through the lens of desire?
And which of us is fixated on things of the past?
🎵 Why Is The Night Sad?
"It's at night that you feel all alone,
. and the past begins to reclaim you.
. What you've lost makes itself known."
💀 Requiem:
"And here is to love.
. To all the love
. falling out of our lives.
. Hopes and dreams are gone.
. The end of every song.
. And it all stops.
. We were always sure that we would never change.
. And it all stops.
. We were always sure that we would stay the same.
. But it all stops.
. And we close our eyes to sleep.
. To dream a boy and girl
. who dream the world is nothing but a dream.
. Where did it go?
. Where did it go?"
The Cure (Alone)
A Complete Unknown
When I was a child
I wrote songs and poems.
I wanted to be John Lennon.
I wanted to be Bob Dylan.
(When I Was A Child)
Life is all about
learning to settle
for less than what we want.
(Learning To Settle)
My dreams are like pearls.
I gave up all for one of great value.
The one I could not live without.
The one I almost lost.
(Pearl Of Great Price)
He gives up all of his hopes and dreams
for an ordinary job
to support his wife and his children.
(This Is America)
But none o' my dreams e'er come true
an' there was nothin' e'er that I could do
but learn to be happy wi' what I have,
cover my tears with a cynical laugh.
(Resignation)
But no one seemed to understand.
I was just an old man.
Just another lonely old man.
(When I Was A Child)
and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear;
nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary.
(Henry David Thoreau)
How does it feel?
How does it feel?
This is a patchwork quilt, consisting of snippets from songs and poems
I've written, and a quotation from Thoreau.
I was inspired to write it after seeing the movie "A Complete Unknown".
I had tears in my eyes during most of it,
and that quotation from Thoreau came to mind.
Perhaps, late in life, I am missing roads I never got to travel.
L'Homme Solitaire
I feel like I am all alone.
And the end of America has come.
And there ain't nothin' I can do about it.
Apathy seems to be the only answer.
But it's so hard for me to be apathetic.
"Sometimes I feel like I can't even sing.
I'm very scared for this world. I'm very scared for me."
R.E.M. (You Are The Everything)
Η επιδίωξη της απάθεια:
Accipere res ut sunt. 🧙♂️
L'amour est le seul rêve qui compte.
From the author of Jupiter Remembered and Until It’s Time: Embracing Life In Our Later Years comes Petals of Love: Poetry of a Woman’s Soul – a heartfelt collection spanning more than thirty-five years. Through tender reflections, these poems offer g
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Ron
your youth when you're old,
a friend when you're lonely,
or a love that's grown cold." 🦋
Porter Wagoner (A Satisfied Mind)
🧙🏻♂️ Roger:
These are two of the poems I had previously removed.
On the surface they are both about sexual frustration and dissatisfaction with marriage in general.
But when I examine them more closely, I find that they are more about the dissatisfaction that comes from growing older,
about feelings that only come when we look at things in retrospect and recognize what we've lost.
It's difficult to accept losing the things we enjoy.
🤡 Bozo:
Then again, maybe all of that is just goldfish poop.
I still feel the love but the pleasure is gone.
I tell myself it's the love that's most important
but there's a part of me that remains unconvinced.
The battle between the id and the ego rages on.
Il cuore vuole!
"But little do they know
that it's so hard to find
one rich man in ten
with a satisfied mind."
Porter Wagoner (A Satisfied Mind)
The Rest Of The Story:
I have transformed this page into a new art form.
It could be called an "expanded poem", a "song cycle", or a "poetry concept album",
and it's kind of like hearing a lead single and then listening to the entire album.
On the suface, this page contains two short, rather dark poems that tell a simple story.
But, you may notice that every line on the page contains a link.
If you follow all of the links in sequence, you'll find a series of poems, etc.
that expand upon the story and add a lot of detail.
You can learn a lot by asking yourself the question,
"Why does this particular line link to that particular poem?"
But beware! The full story is complex, and it contains many twists and turns.
So you might get the wrong impression if you stop reading along the way.
(Some of the things I say in my poems contradict things I say in other poems,
because they're written from a different personal or temporal perspective.)
To get it all you have to read it all, follow all of the links
(many of my poems contain links to other poems and music videos),
watch the videos, and read my commentaries in the review sections.
The best way to navigate my poetry pages:
1. Notice the photo at the top.
2. Read the poem itself.
3. Watch the video at the bottom.
4. Read my commentary in the review section.
5. Follow the links to find additional information.
🤡 Crucifiction:
(I originally wrote this for a YouTube Community post, but then deleted it because
it was too candid. I post it here knowing it is unlikely that anyone will ever read it.)
The truth is: I am not very happily married to someone I am very much in love with.
I fell in love with her when we were very young, and I have never loved anyone else.
Unfortunately, I find it impossible to talk to her; to tell her how I feel.
I have explained it all in the things I've written but she's never read any of it.
(She's one more person who has never been interested in the things I write.)
I don't believe she has an inkling of how disappointed, lonely, and miserable I've been.
She seems to think it is perfectly natural for people our age to not have a love life.
She also seems to think that I am somehow satisfied: though all of my dreams are dead,
knowing that I'll never do many of the things I had wanted to do, rarely going anywhere,
having little contact with anyone beyond our immediate family and her circle of friends
who think I'm a weirdo, having no one to talk to about how I'm feeling or things I am
interested in, and spending the end of my life sitting alone in my basement, watching
TV and waiting to die, just like her father did.
Years ago, she had relationships with a couple of men whose wives had lost interest in
them. She felt sorry for them and wanted to make it up to them. She doesn't recognize
the irony of it: the fact that I am now in the same position they were (except I don't
have an attractive younger woman who cares about me).
🧙🏻♂️ Resurrection:
And yet, though all of this is true, I love her. And I know that she loves me.
We are two imperfect human beings who love each other.
Two people, dealing with the changes that come from growing older.
Don't let Bozo fool you! (I could be talking to myself here.)
Roger was right when he suggested before that my real problem is: Growing Older.
There is a reason why the first thing you see when you select Poetry from my front
page is "The One Dream That Matters". My most important messages are there.
"The heart wants what it wants, but I know what I have. I know I'd rather be with her."
"La mejor parte de ser es estar contigo." (The best part of being is being with you.)
"L'amour est le seul rêve qui compte." (Love is the only dream that matters.)
🤡 Which one of us is truly being realistic?
And which of us is believing what we wish to be true?
🧙🏻 Which one of us sees everything through the lens of desire?
And which of us is fixated on things of the past?
🎵 Why Is The Night Sad?
"It's at night that you feel all alone,
. and the past begins to reclaim you.
. What you've lost makes itself known."
💀 Requiem:
"And here is to love.
. To all the love
. falling out of our lives.
. Hopes and dreams are gone.
. The end of every song.
. And it all stops.
. We were always sure that we would never change.
. And it all stops.
. We were always sure that we would stay the same.
. But it all stops.
. And we close our eyes to sleep.
. To dream a boy and girl
. who dream the world is nothing but a dream.
. Where did it go?
. Where did it go?"
The Cure (Alone)
A Complete Unknown
When I was a child
I wrote songs and poems.
I wanted to be John Lennon.
I wanted to be Bob Dylan.
(When I Was A Child)
Life is all about
learning to settle
for less than what we want.
(Learning To Settle)
My dreams are like pearls.
I gave up all for one of great value.
The one I could not live without.
The one I almost lost.
(Pearl Of Great Price)
He gives up all of his hopes and dreams
for an ordinary job
to support his wife and his children.
(This Is America)
But none o' my dreams e'er come true
an' there was nothin' e'er that I could do
but learn to be happy wi' what I have,
cover my tears with a cynical laugh.
(Resignation)
But no one seemed to understand.
I was just an old man.
Just another lonely old man.
(When I Was A Child)
and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear;
nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary.
(Henry David Thoreau)
How does it feel?
How does it feel?
This is a patchwork quilt, consisting of snippets from songs and poems
I've written, and a quotation from Thoreau.
I was inspired to write it after seeing the movie "A Complete Unknown".
I had tears in my eyes during most of it,
and that quotation from Thoreau came to mind.
Perhaps, late in life, I am missing roads I never got to travel.
L'Homme Solitaire
I feel like I am all alone.
And the end of America has come.
And there ain't nothin' I can do about it.
Apathy seems to be the only answer.
But it's so hard for me to be apathetic.
"Sometimes I feel like I can't even sing.
I'm very scared for this world. I'm very scared for me."
R.E.M. (You Are The Everything)
Η επιδίωξη της απάθεια:
Accipere res ut sunt. 🧙♂️
L'amour est le seul rêve qui compte.