EVERYBODY/NOBODY SAYS

Everybody says the prompt codes
are driving them crazy.
Everybody says that the wait
for April's results is too long.
Everybody says that they the prompts
bring out the best of them.
Nobody says it would be easy.
Robert, keep on keeping on!
Patience is a virtue,
and since I lost mine long ago,
I can wait.

nobody says "nuts" anymore

never had the
foresight to ask
where that nickname
came from.
just thought it
would always be
there, just like you.
and brother,
the one thing
I can't explain,
is why this hole
doesn't heal.

Nobody Says It Quite Like Yogi Berra


As for malapropic wit,
(Is that a word? It SOUNDS legit.)
No one beats this Hall of Famer.
Even Dubya’s slips are tamer. ;)

Everybody says
they won’t do that again
they all say, they won’t do that thing again
I know it’s true
but I forget it now and then
Nobody says
I’m telling you a lie
they never say, they’re telling big fat lies
Can’t tell the truth
and they don’t even try
Some people take
and some just give away
Some people take all that you give away
You got my love
And you just took that on away
Everybody says
they won’t do that again
they all say, they won’t do that thing again
I know it’s true
but I forget it now and then

B__
(thanking Hannah for the Mississippi John Hurt)

Amen, Walt!

Mark of The Beast

Everybody Says the world is turning at an
alarming rate, jobs are disappearing, things
will never be the same. Gone are the days.

Everybody Says the wallets are tightening.
People don’t eat out like they used to, no
One is hiring extra help, even for holidays.

Everybody is saying we pay more for less.
Work harder for less, fewer days off, no
benefit package, Zoloft, not talk therapy.

Nobody Says dinner at home can be comfy.
Reading a book is fun, relationships with
the kids one now has time for, builds Love.

Everybody knows the old adage: survival of
the fittest, it’s not the kindest, not the most
involved. The danmnable nature of sin is

clearly: missing the mark.

Everybody Says "Heaven", Nobody Says "Let Me Die"

No dark without light.
No seasons without changes.
No hope without peace.

Everybody Says I will Be Okay

Everybody says early detection
is the key, and had I not
acted on my crazy whim to
get a boob job, the doctor
might not have found the
omnipotent,
evil,
lump
that
has
turned
my world
upside-down.
Everybody says I will
be okay, that having the
lumpectomy will be a piece
of cake compared to a
monstrous mastectomy,
and at least I’ll
get the boob job
eventually.
What’s so great
about boobs anyway?
Right now I just
want to
cut
them
off.


Nobody Says Anything

Nobody says
anything anymore.
It’s as if
my life has
become a
roller-coaster,
and I am
riding alone.
Up and down,
then all around,
my emotions
pull me
to the ground;
and I need to
get off
before it’s too late
because
the thrill,
the uncertainty,
the rush
is too great.

laurie k.

Everybody says it's so easy

Listening to everyone talk
you'd think they're all recovering
You should eat right
You should exercise more
Everybody says it's so easy

But I look at every-body
and realize
that if it's so easy
why do their bodies look like they do?
Everybody thinks it's so easy
But is it?

Everyone Says I Look 30-Something

I accept this compliment with a smile, but wonder
how no one notices the brown spots speckling
my skin, reminding me I haven’t seen
30 in decades. When people are confronted
with the news that I have a grown daughter, they ask,
“Were you a teenage mom?”

This question always finds my Gemini rising arguing
with itself, questioning whether I should slap
these fools numb for suggesting
I was a young slut or just be grateful
my face belies the way my body feels as she creaks
and wonders how the years could have flown
by so quickly, because I’m not at all sure I was having fun.

Everybody/Nobody


Everybody says...
education is key
Nobody says..
the key
fits
Pandora's box

Very Astute, Pearl! Nice observation.

"Pearls" of wisdom! :)

Nobody says Hello Anymore

Ever notice
you can walk by someone
in a crowd
or in a room
or walking down the street
nobody says hello anymore.

Relegated to
untrusting glances
from beneath our brows
perhaps a nod
but not a word spoken
nobody says hello anymore

Answering the phone
seems a chore for some
a hurried "Yeah?" or "'lo?"
Never a heart felt hello anymore
but ever ready to say goodbye.

I see Walt and I were jostling in cyberspace, each trying to comment on Pearl's post.

Everybody says yoga is relaxing

but what if you are no good at it? What if you struggle to hold the plank position for even 10 seconds? What if after a class filled with asanas that go in and out of Downward Facing Dog you find it difficult to lift your head because your shoulders have seized up? What if you can’t really concentrate on the movement or the breath because you are so worried about whether or not you are about to tip over or whether or not your bra is showing because loose clothing equals an un-tucked shirt? You wanted to enjoy it, to develop a yoga practice because it sounded almost spiritual. You could say to people – I do yoga – and they’d be impressed because that wasn’t something they do, like writing poetry. Now you wish you’d never mentioned the yoga or the poetry to anyone because they stop you and ask – So how is the practice going? Referring to either or both. Just fine, you say, no one would say - I can’t hold my body in a V for more than a few seconds before my pathetic core muscles make me shake like I’m lying on one of those magic finger beds. No one would admit – I’m about to give up poetry because I thought, somehow, I’d finally be the one person to make some money at it if I just stretched my similes a certain way that everyone would say – Now that’s something I can read.

I'm not really at Rembrandt's, but I am waiting for news of my Dad's test results. Weighing on my mind this morning...

Everybody says it’s too bad

Dad’s cancer may be back.
I sit at Rembrandt’s and sip strong coffee with cream
and taste the bitter possibilities with the sweet memories.
Not everybody knows he’s having a PET scan right now,
that he’ll call Mom, then me, with whatever news.

The CT last week showed a spot.
Dad speaks like the doctor he is,
facts, statistics, probabilities, potential treatments,
what Mom will do if she’s left alone in
a couple of years.

I see from my table by the window
the gray morning
the beauty of the antebellum Hunter Museum
against a stark sky
and I wait.

Everybody will be where I am one day,
waiting to lose a parent.
I have treasured him this since the diagnosis,
treasured Mom since her life-threatening stroke,
all in the same year.
They seem too vital, even at their age, to die.

Everybody feels his own mortality,
her own struggle to survive,
in seeing that we die each day.
Best to savor life on earth
but be prepared for Heaven.

Excellent, Jessie. And don't give up on either.
Karen, you have many hearts and prayers with you.

ANNA (GO TO HIM)
(Everybody Says You've Been Cheating)

Misguided truths about greener grass,
being the solution for your failures.
Your edifice is stoic and stony,
and your bony elbows can poke someone
else from what I'm hearing, so I'm
tearing myself away from the rouse,
and emotional abuse, and tending
my own yard for a while. Love is
a two way street, everybody says,
but it seems we ended up with
two one way streets. I'll take
my share of the blame, but all the same,
I was the one that was always there
for you, while he was always over there.
You made a choice, exercised your voice,
and that's how it goes. Silence is golden.
And I'm feeling like Midas right about now.

Thanks for the jostle. Was it Good for you too?

Karen, poignant piece. My folks both took a turn around the holidays (both at Christmas) so, I have a heart full of compassion and prayers for what you're going through. Remember your friends here (and we are) are behind you with support or an ear (eyes) if you should need. God bless your family.

Everyone Says I Look Like My Mother

But what they don't see
Is that there's a great deal of
Dad in me also.

Nobody Says I Resemble Dad

He gave me my love
Of words written and spoken
Though not his blue eyes.

Everybody Says:

how poor the economy,
the quality of life,
children don’t respect their elders,
government is too big,
taxes too high,
crime is rampant,
Congress and the White House
doesn’t relate to the common person,
the weather is too hot
or too cold.

Need I go on?

I have said each of these things too.

I am trying to say:
My country’s standard of living
is the highest in the world;
our quality of life
better than most folks I know;
our children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren respect us;
honesty begins at home and crime
is only as bad as WE allow it to be;
our government is out of touch with the people,
wringing our hands will change nothing,
our votes will;
the weather remains too hot or too cold
in many places around the globe.



Nobody Says:

You are not free!
You cannot own land,
build a home, work hard,
have a family, have pets,
say what you think, read what you wish,
enjoy mountains, plains, valleys,
wildlife, flora and fauna,
dance, sing, recreate, enjoy friends,
and most important to me, pray.

Everybody Says It’s The Teacher’s Fault

Kids today
They can’t count
Those intriguing little puzzles
About trains leaving stations
And travelling at sixty miles an hour
They can’t tell us
When it will arrive in Edinburgh
Calculators do it all
At the push of a button

Kids today
They can’t read
Book without pictures
Newspapers without
Almost naked ladies
Posed provocatively
Similes are smiles
And Charles Dickens
Was a bad Prime Minister

Kids today
They have no manners
The elderly stand on busses
While the young gaze out of windows
The middle finger
Speaks silently but often
Ps and Qs
Please and Thank You are
Nothing but a lost language

Kids today
What are they learning in school?
Nothing
Apparently

“Everybody Says “fine”

How are you, oh I’m fine
Do you like my hair, my dress?

Looks “fine” to me, what a let down
Mediocre, cold, non-committal, aloof

How you doin, How’s life treating you?
Just doin fine, okay would be my guess

Not good , closed communication
Occupied in our own stupe

Come on, we can do better, how are you today?
Let me share, the greatest day ever?

Sweet!

Ninacarole
11/24/09

Nobody Says Anything

I hate that I am sitting here
Waiting for the phone to ring
Or the doorbell to chime
You know that I am home now
But you don’t visit
I’ve cleared the ironing
From the chair just for you
The kettle has boiled
And tea bags wait in empty cups
But you don’t come
You never met Mike, did you?
I was with him in the hospice
Watching the light in his eyes go out
I spoke at his funeral
You don’t know what to say
So you stay away and hope
That I will understand why
You leave me sitting alone with
Nothing but an opened box of tissues

Everybody Says I’m Looking Younger


It startles me how everybody says
I’m looking better lately.
“You’re looking great,” they say.
“You’ve lost so much weight
and you look so much younger.”
It strikes me that I must have looked
pretty bad before, a somewhat fat guy
and everybody must have thought so.
I didn’t notice or plan the transformation
from the before me, to the present me.
Perhaps my wife did, her retirement,
our gradual change to vegetarianism
the wholesome meals that followed,
our long, cheerful walks on the trails,
premeditated to make me young and lovely.
Or perhaps it was the recent trimming
of my wild and wooly beard, and brows.
But I guess it doesn’t matter why, or how,
since I somehow always like myself
enough to sing aloud and whistle,
and not worry much about how I look

EVERYBODY SAYS SHE COULDN’T

get very far. Old lady with a gimpy leg,
heart problems. She was just
going down to the mailbox. Maybe
she’d pick some red and yellow fallen leaves
for a Thanksgiving centerpiece.
They expected her back in twenty minutes,
she still had the pies to bake, and
odds and ends before the kids arrived.
Who’d guess she’d be five miles
the other side of the ridge, resting
under a big old oak; looking off into
the distance, the river winding
behind a steeple way down in valley haze.
She said “isn’t that the most beautiful?”

* * *

NOBODY SAYS THE COMMON MAN

has a voice in such lofty affairs of state.
What does the tile-maker of Toulouse
or the lace-maker of Nottingham understand

of treaties and incursions, armaments
and righteous reasons for war? They only know
war means more taxes to pay for more

weapons to kill more of their sons
conscripted as soldiers. Blacksmith yourself,
Elihu, you know how to speak

to these common men and women. And here,
you have a letter to deliver
from the people of Norwich, England,

to the people of Nimes, France. Brotherly
greetings across the Channel that’s seen so many
wars. Words of assurance that the common

man of England wants Peace, not war –
no matter what the Press and Government
may say. Another letter from Bristol

to Brest, Sheffield to Strasbourg, Liverpool
to Marseilles – the latter signed
by 25,000 citizens. Birmingham’s letter

will be answered by 1,700 citizens
of Bordeaux. What voice has the common man
in the high and arcane affairs of state?

[for Elihu Burritt]

EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO BE MY BABY
(Nobody Says Why)

Filled up to the brim,
A personal bandwagon,
nobody says why.

Horse drawn and covered,
Alas, I've been discovered,
nobody says why.

A humble poet,
you gals and guys all know it,
nobody says why.

Writing from the heart
is always a real good start,
nobody say why.

Head full of humor,
funny man, that's the rumor,
nobody says why.

Avoiding the bumps,
if you want off, you must jump,
nobody says why.

I've plenty of fans,
this personal bandwagon,
nobody says why.

At least I don't understand why.
But thanks for that anyway.

Everybody's Included

No one was excluded!
If they were,
I must have been deluded!
If you shout,
About,
It . . .
I'll simply be muted!

From yesterday,
Here is what you had to say!

Oh, the Joys of Poetic Noise:
Thanks for Sharing!

Theresa, Chev, Patricia PM27, Lorraine and me,
So clearly love the word “Cacophony”.
Shelly came in with silent tea,
LK Harris-Kolp used to be.

Pam Bailey was into Christmas shopping,
Barbara Mayer, Giulietta Spudich, Patricia W. J. and Iain,
Were into mouse, cat and bird hopping!
While Kumari de Silva was focused on the horse.
Sharing all their noises, of course.

Pamela Gordon and Debra Elliot just screamed,
Whereas Rachel Green,
Patricia PM27, Nancy Posey and RJ Clarkson,
Were creatively white noise themed.

Patricia Frolander missed the noise,
Jane Beal walked right into it.
Carol L Stephens was hearing the quiet,
PSC spoke of the absence of noise,
Guests of the Garden of Eden,
Beautiful space, just what we're needin'.
To Melanie Kerr, silence is just a word,
Cara Holman didn’t hear any sound, or so I heard.

Ellen Black, Maureen Blake and Amanda Fall,
Clamored at the everyday or they didn’t clamor at all.
Marie Elena, Patricia Hawkenson and Taylor Graham,
Noticed what is quiet is often the loudest,
Aren’t you glad to know that . . . I am!

Carla Cherry, Sammy and Barbara Y,
Had car noises, truck sounds and trains,
On their brains,
But I don’t know why!

Super stars, symphonies, music shows and sounds in a movie,
Had Robert M. Atwater, LM T. Richardson, Daniel Ari,
Katherine Hauswirth, J. Hugh McDonald and Carole K.
Caring what they had to say,
JA Jensen found where to belong,
With the comment about a damn song!

Maryann Younger, Kathleen C. Mickelson,
Jeanne and Connie L. Peters,
Put it down.
They like mornings, especially Sunday morning,
Or night ghosts and whispers or,
Noises related to a clown.

Linda Volt revolts with a beach tape in Iowa,
Just not the norm!
With Joseph Parker’s tornado,
And Penny Henderson’s last night storm.

To make things worse,
In a single verse,
Salvatore B. spoke of war!
Michelle H. looked at victory or death as a score.
Sara McNulty and Walt,
Looked at when 911 or life,
Comes to a halt!

Cybele worked with a free range brain
Wanda Grey spent the day on the range,
Was it in the rain?

Distraction of life’s sound,
From sidewalks to classrooms to the home was found,
Tim Snodgrass, Karen H. Phillips, Victoria Rivas,
And Sally Jadlow,
Expressed times we all know.
Raymond Alberts and Mary Kling,
Wanted us to remember everything!

Pamela Gordon shared the sound of a tear,
Sheila Deeth described the sound of a child so dear.
Megan and Jenny Doughty wrote about a baby
Growing or when it speaks so near,
Such tender words might not come again, I fear!

Daniel P., Taylor Graham, Laura Hohlwein and Hannah,
Along with the poet, Banana!
Spoke of peace,
At the holidays, Paris or spring,
But that mouse with the perfect chalkboard,
I’d like to hear sing!

Human sounds like loud breathing,
Or annoying neighbors or oneself with a cough!
Would put one off,
I see!
So did RJ Clarkson, Patti Williams, Kate,
And Jessie C.

Mary R. spoke of noise while waiting,
Chev Shire wrote of thinking in noise.
No one had a morning of skating,
Not with Walt with his coffee making!

Near the end
Buddha M. was into noise therapy,
Amf spoke again of cacophony.
David C. Johnson and Tanja Citia,
Wrote of noisy noise,
I wonder why no one mentioned toys?
Maril Crabtree thought maybe time doesn't exist,
Maybe not . . . so why resist?
Rose Marie Streeter had time for tic talk,
And if I don’t get some sleep,
I may go into shock.

Finally . . .
For Laura, there was bouncing around,
For Willy, a free love sound.
Jane Eamon enjoyed the beating noise.
And Pearle shared her flowing joys,
Of pulling together the words,
Of early poets,
And we all love to see that . . .

I just know it! :)

Janet, that was good to the last drop. To coin a phrase.

ORANGE STARFISH

I saw an orange starfish in the tidepool
moving her limbs like an unborn baby in the womb,
and I felt an impossible joy
knowing that my soul was alive
and my soul was pregnant with the future.

Jane Beal
sanctuarypoet.net

(from my novel)

Everybody Says It Takes Someone Special

“What’s wrong?” Adam asked me,
while I tried to blink away the tears.
I shook my head. “The kids. All so happy,
yet some of them severely deformed.
It made me cry to look at them yet
they were so beautiful at the same time.”

“We watch too many beautiful people on TV.
We think stars are the standard.
Perfect hair. Perfect teeth. Perfect weight.
Yet how many people really look like that?
They themselves don’t even look like that.
They have professional make-up artists.”

“We sell ourselves so short
by taking on that mentality.
We don’t appreciate people
for who they are. Most of these kids
are taken down a peg in the world’s eyes
because of their looks and their low IQs.
But I never saw such beautiful people.”

The tears were flowing freely now.
Adam’s son Caleb came up with big eyes.
“What’s wrong, Jenna?”
“Nothings wrong. My heart was touched by love
for the kids and sometimes that kind of love
comes out in tears.”
“Oh,” he said. “Dad, can I have a snack?”

Everybody says
it takes someone special
to work with someone
with special needs.
But what they don’t know
is that above all they require
smiles of acceptance.
Everyone can do that.

Janet, I'm clamoring for more of your poem. ;) Love it!

Nobody Says 'Give the Girl Some Money'

A week, a month, a year passes –
she fires off another e-mail to her publisher
'Hey! Remember me?
You still owe me a grand for the novel
and four hundred in royalties
from six months ago.
Any chance of payment?'

A reply comes back
'Oh no! We'll look into it
and ignore you for another month.
Hey! We know it's a breach of contract
just like the publicity we didn't do
and the review copies we didn't send out
but what are you going to do?
At least your book's in print.

And besides,
we all got out bonuses.
Did no-one ever tell you
Writers don't get rich?'

Everyone says dreams are fiction

cobbled from meaningless fragments
of days past, a memory, a wish.

Why, then, do muscles ache
as if night had become marathon,
running without end, from or to
destination unknown?

Why, then, do I sometimes wake
on edge of understanding,
so close to nirvana if only
I could remember?

I drift through waking dreams,
fragments just out of reach:

a memory, a wish.
 

EVERYBODY SAYS
THINGS WILL GET BETTER


The rain can’t always fall.
You gotta believe
God has up his sleeve
Some sun to bless us all.

They say things will improve.
The bad of today
Will soon melt away.
We’ll get back in the groove.

Just as day follows night,
Be ready to cheer,
Get rid of your fear.
We’ll move from wrong to right.

Have faith in our nation.
We’ve gone through the blues
Bad time’s nothing new.
We need a little patience.

They say we should cope,
That just as we speak
We’ll head back to the peak,
But for now hold on to the rope.

#

Following the Pack

Everyone says the emperor’s clothes are hot.
Nobody says his clothes are naught.

But if everyone says the emperor’s clothes are cool
then nobody has the guts to say he’s a fool.

FLYING
(Everybody Says It Couldn't Be Done)

Lightness of being,
a free bird, free as a bird,
releasing convention and
holding firm to the belief
the love conquers all.
They speak of the impossible
nature of the ability to "fly".
But, inside your heart, there
starts a flutter, a spark
that ignites your emotion,
stokes your devotion and
brings your soul into the wind,
where you can begin to
speed blindly down the runway
of love and compassion,
allowing you to fashion
wings to let the two of you,
achieve weightlessness;
that lightness, where your
pilots license is a license
to love. Skies are clear
and you're ready for take off.
Thank you for flying the
friendly skies!

Everybody says they grow up too fast

She remembers being small
Not knowing how to stand and crawling helpless down the hall
Remembers pulling table-legs to lift herself and once
Remembers table-cloths and tea-set, hot tea scalds and cold plates fall.

She remembers climbing stairs
Each step a mountain there in front each hand-hold an adventure
She remembers falling but restructures it, thinks she can fly
And knows the way the ceiling feels to hands in passing by.

She remembers there’s a mirror
In a page of life that’s closed
She doesn’t like the image that it shows.
And children growing up declare
It takes too long to get from here to there
But this she knows
They always grow too fast and she
Remembers being small.

Janet - All I can say is wow!

Everybody Says...

Time
heals
all wounds.
Tell that to
Kelly, a classmate
of my son's, who only today
followed her Mom's casket into and out of our church
and then to the cemetery.
How much time will heal
searing wounds
like hers?
How
much?

Nobody says how long the nights will seem when he's away.

Nobody knows
The nighttime dream
The hand against the curtain opens wide
Says come inside.
It seems so certain then
Nothing will change
And strangers lead the way.

Nobody knows
The days or times
For clocks and calendars are broken then
The watch-face smashed
And crashing surf could be the whir
As blades of help or hindrance play
At fighting to ascend.

Nobody knows
And worrying can’t mend
What isn’t broken yet
But nighttime seems
Unspoken cruel fate
And sorrow still can hold the face
That watches, clock-face, rock-face, shock-face dreams
Until tomorrow drinks its fill.

Nobody Says Nothin' No More

I don't have no idea
what's happenin' to
the English language
these days.

You can't even get no respect
when you try your darndest
to talk like an eddicated person
and all around you
are folks who talk like they
don't know nothin' 'bout nothin'.

I remember them teachers
goin' on and on
about somethin' they called
a double negative.
Never did make no sense to me nohow.
Cain't tell you what one negative is
let alone a double whammy.

Guess I'll jest keep tryin'
to git folks to see
the right way o' doin' things
leastways with their way of talkin'.

And if you got anythin' to say about it
I don't wanna hear nothin' no more.
Git it?

Everybody says...

Everybody says poetry won't sell
but that just encourages me.
I love a challenge more than most
and I'm filled with curiosity.
So I'm going to give it my very best shot
and we'll see what we shall see.


Banana's Xmas Pillow Book is now available as completely free download on http://www.smashwords.com/view/books/6337

9 festive poems and a yule themed short story.

Barbara, your welcome!

Marie, thanks for the comment yesterday. :)

Karen my prayers go your way, bless you.

Janet, thank you for the love, much appreciated. :)

Jane Beal, wow, I love your starfish piece.

I'm coming back to read more! :)

Ce la Vie

Everybody says “I’ll be right back,”
“Talk to you later,” and “I’m fine.”
Nobody says, “I’m yakkin’ smack,
If my lips are open I’m lyin’. . . .”

Everybody acts like the Devil loves
what the Devil does, as if he don’t
do a full day at the office. Overtime
too. He can’t move what won’t rove
on it’s own lolling rumble. True, He
shoves loose mangled ends, making
more mess than originally intended.

His cloven hooves need re-shoeing,
pitchfork is getting blunt, two weeks
in Bermuda is not far enough to escape
the daily grime. But God sold him
on tropic “Paradise” sent him all
expenses paid. By Christmas he’ll
be rejuvenated, if not quite resurrect.

Choices: Day 24: Two for Tuesday—Everybody Says ___________

Everybody says, “Charlie Brown, you blockhead!”

Don’t you know Lucy is not
going to hold the football for you,
no matter how earnestly she
promises. Every year she says this time
it will be different. You’ll get to kick
the football. Really. Truly. She promises.
And every year, you back far far away.
You take the deepest breath your body
can hold and then run, run as fast and as
hard as you can and get right up to the
ball and swing your leg and kick with
all your might and just when you bring your
right leg forward with all the strength you can
muster, you see her lift the ball, move it to
one side and sometimes, she smiles at
nothing in particular.

Everybody wonders what you’re thinking
when you lie there on the grass, again, wind
knocked out of you, again. Everybody
wonders when you’ll finally wise up, stop
believing, stop making a fool of yourself,
stop letting her do that to you, again.

Nobody hears you swallow a sob.
Nobody says “Good job, Charlie Brown.”

What does everybody say about you?
No reason that you should ever wonder.
With a keen divination though voodoo,
you can turn someone into your mirror.
Step one: light seven black candles. Step two:

turn Dvorak on low. Three: face your partner.
Four: stare eye to eye. Think of what you wish
to know. Soon, your sight will begin to clear.
Here you must be awake to the calm wash
of seeing. Breathe in the truth. Don’t exclude

the answer you’re seeking. Don’t relinquish
your quest in a moment of temptation.
When the ninth symphony ends, you will catch,
easy as the flu, the world’s opinion
of you. Bearing the view can be harder,

so glimpse all you like, then move yourself on.
Of course, there’s really no need to question.


DA

The family politely gathers,
Eating the Thanksgiving feast
Orchestrated to a very
Controlled agenda.
Despite the perfect preparations
Conversation lags as
Nobody says what they’re
Really thinking.

Instead pleasantries are
Exchanged over a
Dry overcooked,
Overstuffed, ostentatious bird
While the elephant dutifully
Pulls up a chair.

Everybody says it’s best to
Ignore him but personally
I think he’s fascinating so I
Move my chair closer
Just in case he decides to share.
I have a feeling he’s the most
Fascinating fellow in the room
And I don’t want to miss a thing.

"EVERYBODY SAYS IT'S EASIER SAID THAN DONE"

Easier to say you
forgive than to
actually mean it
in the deep hidden
parts of your heart.
It's much simpler
to say your sorry than
to feel what it means
to really be repentant.
Easier to explain you've
changed than to literally,
physically change the short-
comings in your character.
It's tempting to portray
peace and tranquility than
to harbor it in the depths
of your being. Easier to say
you love than to show through
your actions that you are a
witness of living compassion.

Excellent Patti, very truthful.

nobody
says the rain
lily is love's true
child, but after the ringing
hammer of summer storm, I scour
the prairie to find the poorest scrap of
ground, where trumpet vine and sage grows
wild and green stalks of rain lilies can found, just
to kneel again, and watch the clamor of
white throats lifted high to adore the
arch of prairie blue, heedless of
the rage that same sky had
heartlessly sent down
scarcely an hour
before.

Nobody says they believe
everything that Everybody says…

Except for me,
I believe everything
that everyone says, but
not out of my own naivety
or foolishness of immaturity,

when you speak in honesty and truth
and your eyes answer my questionings
I believe them…

when there is possibility of an uncertainty
your words unease me with, I believe they
wish not to falsify or injure…

and when I discern the slightest deception
I believe that your words are manipulative
and premeditating futilely…

I believe the full intention of every chosen
word, but question the motives choosing…

"NOBODY SAYS NOTHING WHEN IT COMES TO SOMETHING"

Most everybody
has an opinion
when it comes to
something. A body
will surely speak up
when it concerns
them or their loved
ones. Most assuredly
even in the face of
death we'd stand up
for what we believe
in and protect our
people. Just ask
Ester, she'll tell
you that it's true.

Excuse my typo that is " Esther," don't ask "Ester," she wont answer. Smiles!

Mary R, beautiful description, poignant image.

B.C. Strickland, this one is very intuitive, makes me think.

Day 24

Everybody say they are sorry for my loss
Do they have any idea how empty those
Words sound to one so young
The funeral came and went so fast
And at the end of the service
I sat alone by the gravesite
To say my silent good byes
The preacher came and took my hand
“I’m sorry for your loss” he said.
He patted the back of my hand
Like I had seen him do countless times
Before at other people’s funerals
And I may have even said the same empty words myself
“I’m sorry for your loss,”
If you are so sorry bring my mother back.

That night, naked in the shower
Scalding hot water drips down my face
Hiding my burning tears
As I rail against God in heaven
I raise my fist in defiance
“Why?” I scream
“Why did my mom have to die?”
My body weakend from grief
I slide down the cold tile wall
The water and tears intermingled
Pool at my feet
And I say aloud one last time
I’m so sorry mom, that I wasn’t with you
I’m sorry I wasn’t the daughter you needed me to be
I’m sorry for all your losses that I am just beginning to understand
I hear your words echoing inside my aching head
“Sorry is just a word,” mom told me
“Everyone says they are sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, do something”

Day 24 – Everybody Says…Nobody Says

Everybody says
That we’re crazy
Everybody says
We’re lost our minds
Everybody says
Just walk away

Everybody says
You can’t afford it
Everybody says
It will trap you
Everybody says
What were you thinking?

Everybody says
There are other fish in the sea
Everybody says
Walk away

But nobody says
You love it
Nobody says
You can make it work
Nobody says
Go for your dream
Nobody says
We’re behind you 100%

Hopefully be back to read and comment more! :)

From what I've seen, another winning literary day!

NOBODY SAYS IT’LL HAPPEN

[There are thousands and tens of thousands of prudent, far-seeing persons, standing with their backs to the future, and warning the friends of Peace that time is not with them.
- Elihu Burritt, “The Time and Temple of Peace”]

Imagine, Elihu, you hoped the very next Peace Congress
would bring agreement: “mutual disarmament,
and reciprocal confidence and amity” among nations.

The Great Exhibition in the Crystal Palace,
1851, was just a precursor, a “place of congregation
and social fellowship” around the globe.

But Elihu, nearly 160 years have passed.
Where’s the mutual disarmament, the trust and amity?
We still have war.

Ladd and Cobden died in the faith that Peace
would come. And you. A visionary doesn’t need
to see it in his lifetime, to believe.

Theresa--your poem "Everybody says..." was startling to me--last Saturday, my son went with his friends from university to the funeral for the Mom of one his classmates. Change the name to LM and, sadly, the poem could be written for her.

Janet--WOW! Thanks for mentioning all of us!

Pearl--so true--I am going remember those words of wisdom.


Day 24--Everybody says...Nobody says

Hockey hopefuls...

Everybody says that
The Toronto Maple Leafs
Will win the Stanley Cup
Some day.

Nobody says
Which year
That event will occur.

Patricia PM27 (married to a Montreal Canadiens fan)

Ha, Patti, I think that elephant might be present at some of my upcoming holiday gatherings! I really enjoyed your poem.

Nobody says...

Nobody says flooble dooble dandy deedle dee
or jooky pooky gangy hoo
or tweetle froodle flea
or subga sanga sotching mutch
or fydle didel ploo;
And frankly you'd just get locked up
if you ever started to.

Misbegotten Guidance

Everyone says a closed mouth gathers no foot
which is good advice
but
no one really gets it
because
either
your mouth is closed
in which case the words
cannot
effectively get out
or
your foot is in it,
making such counsel
sound like
osmowgahnahfoo.

Or Somewhere in Between

Everybody says it
It must be A or C
Go right, go left
Just pick a side
There is no other way

But I look in to the sky so blue
And watch the clouds drift by
Not bound are they to compass points
Where letters mark the way
But drift they slowly cross the sky
To where the wind may lead

You say I must chose A or C
But what if I choose B
And mark the footsteps of my life
Upon some other way
To shun the left
And shun the right
To walk that middle way

Rivers flow in long curved lines
They flow to where they may
With sweeping currents
fast and slow
Their course they do abide

Your trapped upon your pendulum
that swings from A to C
And never find contentment
When will you learn to be
And B is where I'll walk my path
Or somewhere in between

Everybody Says

Everybody says just wait and see,
don't worry until you have something
to worry about, everything is going
to be okay.

Everybody says they will say prayers.
I will pray too. But, damn, it is hard to
wait for the results, to know what
I must pray for.

Everybody says one day at a time,
and I try to think that way. I try to
be optimistic, but I cannot lose
the fear. Help me.

Everybody means well, that I know,
everybody wants it to be okay,
no cancer, nothing serious, that
I do know. Me too.

Nobody knows what another needs.
Oftentimes a person doesn't
know herself. Perhaps
to listen is enough.

Nobody knows my prayers to God.
Do you hear them, God?
I implore you, God, to make
everything right one more time?

Exercise, Shmexercise!

Everyone says a sound mind lives in a sound body
but what if the sound is a fart?
The logic, therefore, would seem to be shoddy.
Ergo: nobody says that advice is too smart.

Law of Gravity

Everyone says the apple
doesn’t fall far from the tree.
I agree.
Knowing my mother
and my daughter as I do
I would say that is true.

ev'rybody says
same words about the same things
glazed looks confront me


nobody says what
they mean; words drop as fall leaves -
nuances and hints

W

Consensus
(Everybody says now.)

Everyone says
‘He’s no good for you
get out fast
while you can
cut your losses, start again
catch a cloud and fly.’



Contention
(Nobody says how.)

No one tells
her how to dissect
half her soul
save a piece
to grow a whole new heart, or
soar with severed wings.

"Everybody Says that You Love Me"

I love you like the rain
loves the earth and free
falls into her like a
slow and slender kiss.

They point to the roses
red, perfect, twelve
you gave me before you
went out to poker night.

They point to the fire
to warm me as I wrote
you built it and
went upstairs to read.

He keeps you warm, they say.
He buys you roses.
But when I look in his
eyes, I do not see
the flame of his heart.

I enjoyed reading all the poems for this prompt. Here are some of my favorites.
Good ones Laurie
R J Clarken --misbegotten guidance--funny!
Banana the poet, also funny.
Patti, one of my favorites of yours.
Melanie Kerr, I really like Nobody Says Anything. That happens a lot. Good poem.

Everybody Says You Got To Love It

What is there not to love, you say?
I haven’t found a reason. I haven’t a clue.
Best friends titter together and say, “Watch this.”
An observer says, “you gotta love it.”
Someone’s hurt, strangers cry, families are shattered.
Others sit back and laugh, “they got theirs.”
What’s the point? I do not have to love it.

Nobody Says “Love you!”

Crying on the phone, pacing in a parking lot,
I sit in the heat and watch her soul melt. He tells her
he no longer cares, I tell her I do, he matters more.
There is no reason for insanity at this moment, I hug and cry
and refrain from breaking apart. “I love you.” I say, walking
away from the shattered expression. “Love you,”
She hugs while tears dampen my shoulder. “Love you, too

Theorem

Everybody says
the grass is greener
the air, cleaner
on the other side of the street.

But what would happen
if you mowed
and sowed
what’s under your own feet?

Everybody Says You Can't Go Back...Nobody Says Forget the Past

Everybody says you can't go back,
can't erase the pain...
can't undo the hurt.

Everybody says you can't go back,
can't erase the past...
can't undo what's done.

Nobody says forget the past,
what's done is done...
tomorrow never was.

Nobody says forget the past,
today is...
tomorrow will be.

© Debra Ann Elliott 2009

EVERYBODY SAYS, BE STILL, AND I AM STILL
(Cassandra)

but i am restless:

sometimes i think that i am an insect with kaleidoscope eyes
seeing out of all the mirrors at once,
and such things i can see from my angle!
time is a shallow bowl, parabolic satellite dish
taking in all the signals, the iterations of the future and the past
and setting them to a ponderous sway
over the folds of my brain

i quake with the destruction of temples and tossed cigarettes
scattering on the road, for there are patterns in the ashes
defining the afterlife for us all
and they walk by me invisibly, she who spits on the sidewalk,
she who isn't, who is an absence of significance

there is foam flecking the corners of my mouth
when i tell them how i died, how you were born, how they
are given to terrible terrible function

and sometimes i find myself in warm places where i
can remember what it feels like to be a princess,
where they say, tell us who you are, do you have any family?
only my tears, tears, as numerous as the days
since they left me for dead and i passed into immortality
condemned to be an illusion, a name carried and abused
without a thought for the one who bore it
branded upon her chest

i find my way out again
slippery as a snake's tongue in your ear, and they are glad
to be rid of me

in a few days i will dream that i have discovered
glorious highways by brown dry lakes, trash-strewn basin
of femininity forgotten, i will dream that i remember
where the offramps go: outside of time
onward into the eternity of memory and possibility,
i will have spoken these wonderful news to they who
crowed and cackled and tossed me
nickels last night

to they who are saying step back, please, mind the gap
(which is the length of my hollow void of a life, a
mountain range long) and they did say to keep still
as we bury you again,

...

NOBODY SAYS THE RIGHT ANSWER
(The Sphinx)

In the old days, they had it easy:
four legs in the morning and all that rubbish,
anyone with a brain could figure it out.
They made magic squares and cryptograms,
graven strings of letters whose secrets no one
could recall, riddles about life's trivialities.

But from the conclusions of riddles spring
more riddle; and history is a function
of time, the most complicating question of all.
So they delved into more universal secrets,
the questing beasts of science and mathematics
whose limbs unfurled like the most beautiful fractals.

(Sharpness of unbalanced equations for teeth.
Mandelbrot set caught in the mane.
Voice in the nagging corners of consciousness.)

And now there are more topical matters,
the calculus of ethics, psychotropic psychologies,
how will they fix the disasters they've wrought?
Genocides and extinctions, citywide brain-death,
the lashes of prejudice and xenophobia
crossing borders like squall lines.

They talk their way through a problem the size
of a planet; they search for desperate solutions
as the bodies pile up for a feast.

Everyone Says It's Darkest Before the Dawn

Isn't it usually darkest
in the middle of the night?

Politesse

Nobody says...
...what a dreadful haircut!
or
...that is one ugly tie, dude!
or
...gained a few pounds, eh?

Instead,
everyone says
the polar opposite
of what’s really on
his or her
mind.

Just something
to think about
the next time
someone says
something complimentary
to you.

"Everybody Says Good-bye"

Let loose like a string
untied, caught by a cold
draft, you're up and aloft,
snatched away from us, gone--
but before all that, you listen,
while everybody says good-bye,
and hold on just a little longer.

Everybody and Nobody
© Richard Atwater Nov 24, 2009

Everybody says that time is running out,
We are obviously close to the end of the world.
Nobody says there’s time enough to do everything,
But you can learn a lot, if you are “Minnie Pearled”!

So keep “a sense of humor” when you sing a country song,
And check “the price tag” on everything that’s For Sale,
It’s better to share “the Grand Ole Opry Stage” in fun,
Than to spend your time in the Cookeville county jail!

They say you can convince everybody “some of the time”,
If so, what will you convince them of, my friend?
But can you convince nobody “all of the time”?
If so, what for; to convince them how to wend—

Their way down “the road” of time and circumstance,
All the way to the very “bitter end” of this old world,
Perhaps you would be far better off to do it right,
And just convince yourself to “be happy”, and be “Merled”.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Poets Note:
Remember Minnie Pearl’s “Price Tags” before “inflation”?
And the music of Merl Haggard? I served as a Christian Mormon
Missionary 1970-72. Shortly after returning to college in Utah, I hitch-hiked with my brother all the way home to Maine for summer vacation.
In Cookeville,Tennessee we were thrown in jail for hitch-hiking on the freeway. I wrote a “country song” about the experience for the Grand Old Opry, as a returned missionary. Fortunately the “experience” didn’t prevent me from later getting a Top Secret security clearance as a career American Defense Intelligence Officer. The main objective of life is to “be happy”, under all circumstances right up to the end! Enjoy the music.

Patricia PM27 - I am sad for your son's classmate and family just as I was for my son's today. This holiday season is so difficult for those who lose loved ones at this time of year in particular. We can only keep them in prayer. It helped a bit to write about it today.

Janet: Good "follow-on" to last April's "The Color of Poetry" with name inclusions. Just don't ask for "permissions", it will resurrect "Custer's Last Stand". Just a small correction, my younger brothers name is: Robert J. Atwater. You got his middle initial wrong. As to the poet referred to, he is me: Richard M. Atwater. I don't think my younger brother writes poetry.I was named after a wooden doll that my mother had as a kid. Robert was named after a life-size paper doll she had way back then! RMA
KUDOS, GOOD work! LOts of good poems all the way down the line from everyone.

Everybody Said the Water is Fine

You quickly jump in
right off the dock,
knees to chest,
cannonballing a wave
that makes me turn
my face away
from your splash.

My chest protected,
my feet soft-stepping
through body lines
I dare to cross.

Inching slowly up me
shocking my breath,
air inhaled so fast,
I swim.

I want it slow
as my shoulders
feel the weight,
my body jumping
beneath your chest.

I have a sinking feeling.

Everybody Says

Everybody says getting old
is the pits, like falling in a deep
hole and never getting out
to see the sun, the end of fun.

But I think aging is a blessing.
You can take a nap, read a book,
and not feel guilty. People just
smile if you forget their name

or what you came to do, they give
you discounts at stores and movies,
help tocarry out your groceries,
even give you their seat on the bus.

But the best thing of all is looking
at the young and knowing those scary,
hectic, troubling times are over.
No more worrying about latest styles

or the right shade of makeup or
how I look in a bathing suit. Now
I wear anything that’s comfortable,
don’t care about spots and wrinkles,

just glad to be alive and navigating!

Everybody says I’m a mild one
A sweet one
One who would never do wrong

Nobody says she’s angry
Or violent
Ready to blow her stack

Everybody trusts me
When I don’t even
Trust myself

Everybody says don’t jump

Don’t jump, don’t hang
out over unforgiving space –
see there, those rocks below,
the waves that crash the cliffs,
the icy sea that chills you to the bone,
the sharks that swim offshore.

I see the sea shine in the sun,
feel the warm embrace of the air,
the breeze that buoys me up
as I step off the edge,
never once looking down,
and soar beautifully away.

Jenny Doughty

Variation


Everybody says
Don’t do it again
Don’t fall in love
Don’t jump in with both feet this time
Don’t get hurt
Don’t trust
Don’t feel
Don’t try
Just let it lie.

But truth:
she hands over her heart
anyway.
Doesn’t even bother to shine it up
just pulls it from pocket
throws some duct tape over the cracks
and offers it with trembling hand.
Kindness comes
accepts softly
traces the scars
examines the wears and tears
and broken places
the restless corners and shattered center
hears the fractured beat
and declares it
Beautiful.

Nobody says it better.

ALL THINGS MUST PASS

In the passing of life
from one phase
to the next,
the choices
that are presented
dictate the course
we follow.
In the end,
everything falls
in line with
our precepts,
rising and falling with
every breath we take.
Nobody said it
would be easy,
but everybody said
it would be worth it.

Everybody Says Don’t Knock It

Everybody says don’t knock it if you
haven’t tried it, but I watch them
parachute out of a plane, and pull
the cord which, by some miracle I am
not acquainted with, nor can I believe
in, the red parachute opens against
the heavens, and a smiling person sails
down to the ground in a seamless landing.

I’m not knocking it, the choice they have made,
but please do not expect me to try it.


Nobody Says They Are Perfect

Nobody says
“I am perfect,” yet
anyone who
constantly
corrects your grammar,
and defies
each spoken
sentence you utter,
by shaking
their head, while
their eyes roll upwards
in disbelief
at your lack
of knowledge, thinks they
are perfect.

If you accuse them of pompous
behavior, they will say, again,
“You don’t know what you are saying.”

Nobody Says

Nobody says what they say in commercials.
Nobody asks if you feeling not so fresh.
Nobody asks if they are healthy enough for sex.
Nobody asks if this pizza is delivery.
Nobody sings while shopping for clothes.
Nobody dances when they drink a soda.
Nobody can read that disclaimer small print.
And somebody please tell me who in the heck
Sits in a bathtub on the beach?

EVERYBODY SAYS

“How are you?”
when they really don’t want to know.

“Fine,” is the reply,
even when nothing really is.

Perhaps we should ask
with an ear to listen
for the answers that are hard to hear.

Everybody Says Puppies Are Cute

Well what is so cute about puppies?
All they do is sleep, eat and
excrete waste.
And they are very small and clumsy.
Look at me,
I’m sleek, very streamlined
for swimming and I blend
in really well with my surroundings.
I have big eyes,
I’m a lovely shade of green,
and you can get a great workout
while I chase you around the lake.
Oh, the best part…
I hardly make any noise.
Nobody says Alligator’s are cute.

J.A. . . . or even two bathtubs on a beach???
I'll have to read all you all's good stuff later. Been a long day.
Happy Thanksgiving, all.

Everybody says your doing well.

Everybody says you’re doing very well,
Writing a poem a day
Enter know it all, casting dismal spell

You should spend a lot more time?
Need quality, not quantity
The great ones wisdom line

Not totally in disagreement
In what wise one says
But then give me time management

Do not mind getting advice
When intention is right
Other wise mind yours using own advice

Everybody says, "We should get together."

Well. Yes. We should get together.
A little miracle it is that each moon
passes over your head passes over my head
(not so far apart - your self, my self)
but still we say, we should get together
each pushing the leaves off our path
and shoveling into the snow of the neighbor next door
not making a path quite long enough,
not on purpose stepping up to the door and knocking
"Hello!" - we say so rarely, but still we are surprised to see,
when we finally meet somewhere by accident,
that the other is aged, just a bit.
Time has passed. When did that happen?
That shouldn't happen. We should catch that
before it happens.
We should get together.
Soon.

But because we don't. We get old.
Without each others' laughter in our ears.

So we don't, don't get old.
We should get together.


••••••

Nobody says, "How was it? Take your time. Tell me how it was."

No. Compress your life into little anecdotes, please.
That don't take too long.
That soon will bore me.
How safe you are in the telling.
Nothing ever has happened to you and it shows.
Oh this, this is funny, kinda.
Oh this, yeah.
Heard it.
How safe you are in the telling.
Nobody says, "Tell me everything, every possible detail you can remember.
Grade school. Walking home. To what? What kind of day? Tell me how you felt, that day, what day and when, knowing (how?) you had to leave your childhood behind, if not then, soon. Where is that person now?"

Thank you all for the birthday greeting. At my age, I think I should have "unbirthdays" that go backward instead of forward.
Paticia H., hope your day and your year will be a blessing.
G'night, all.

Everybody Says They Knew You When

When you were a better person and
Gave stuff to that homeless guy
Remember that guy? He had no coat
And that one year when you were manic
You ran down the street in your nightgown
The sub-zero temperatures freezing your bare
Feet and ears, your dirty hair sticking out
Like branches off your head – you ran
With your father’s cashmere coat
Held in front of you like the most precious
Of gifts and when you got to that old guy
He was shivering so hard, he couldn’t move
Or he would have run away from you
He ran away from everybody and you, you
Looked as crazy as a coot, probably because
You were; but you just wrapped that coat
That beautiful coat, around the old guy
And with fingers that must have been brittle
It was that cold – you did up all the buttons
And pulled the collar up around his neck
Then patted his head and split for home

You caught pneumonia that time and were
Sick for a really long time – you went to the
Hospital, but not the loony bin, the real one
Did your Dad ever find out that you gave his
Coat away? Or did he think he lost it, or what?
Everybody says they knew you when you were
That nice crazy person before you were committed
And now no-one hardly remembers you at all.

and,

Nobody Says Boo

See, this here is where mama waits for him
Every night and he never comes home ‘til late

She sits on the stoop hoping to keep him from
Coming in especially if he’s been drinking much

This is after she’s fed the whole family and done
Up all the dishes, started the laundry and helped us

Every one start on their homework, she just sits
Knowing that whether he’s drunk or sober, he will

Undoubtedly start an argument over nothing
And it will get nasty in a hurry, no matter what

Even if she just stays quiet and says nothing
He will make it her fault and he will hit her

Every night, he comes up those stairs, with fire
In his eyes and no money in his pockets

And the minute he sees mama, it’s as if
A match is struck and he can’t help himself

But he’s a man so he should just quit it
He should not be hitting our mama, we know

Still, every night, she keeps him from coming in
And he gets to beat on her, and nobody says boo.

Janet Rice Carnahan - That was an amazing tribute piece. Incredible work.

Nobody Heard You Say That

Grandma says
that sun makes me sneeze
as particles rise
in the heat.

My head turns to the sound
that I thought I heard,
that wisp of a word
in the air.

Grandma said
that I should let it go
as words can never
hurt me.

Your eyes look to the dust
that floats in the light
as it settles
on me.

I am dirty
again
as you have brushed me
off.

Nobody Says “Eat More Pastrami”

Nobody says
eat more pastrami
because it makes
you happy
despite the saturated fat.

Everybody says
to eat more salads
even though it’s not
satisfying and makes
a misery of mealtime.

Nobody says
giving away
all your possessions
is the first step toward
liberating holiness.

Everyone says
there is pride of ownership
and God wants me to have this
and the Joneses better
keep up with me.

Nobody says
“You’re so talented
that we’re going
to collect all your writings
and archive them
for the benefit of
future generations”

which is why
I’m doing it
myself.

For the record, I hated this damned prompt.

Michelle H - Nice work, made me smile, I kept thinking of how people say babies are cute, though just between us I've seen some ugly ones.
Walt - That last piece was very thought provoking.
De Jackson - Several beautiful offerings. Your on fire today.
Laura - Powerful piece.
Ann malaspina - Nice Piece, very poignant.
RJ - You don't know the people I do. lol
Joseph Harker - Loved the imagery in "EVERYBODY SAYS, BE STILL, AND I AM STILL"
Debra Elliott - So true great lesson in now.
Sammy - Touching.
Mary Kling - Very powerful.
Hannah Gosselin - "EVERYBODY SAYS IT'S EASIER SAID THAN DONE"
Very true, and worth thinking about. Nice job!

Everybody Says Nobody Says


Everybody says Nobody says that
Any more.
But what Nobody says is that everybody says
The same thing over and over again
Because a Somebody won’t admits he’s a Nobody
And a Nobody thinks he’s Somebody.
Somebody says that’s right.
Nobody says it’s wrong.
Somebody says it’s wrong.
Nobody says it’s right.
Whom shall we believe?
Somebody says Nobody thinks so.
Nobody says Somebody thinks so.
But that that is, is.
You cannot change that whether
You are a Somebody or a Nobody.

Everybody Says It Must Be True

End is coming,
Distant drumming,
Speaks of impending doom!
Nostradamus,
Declared,
As modern historians,
Have shared,
His future predictions,
Ancient depictions,
Show changes,
Will come soon!

Does this mean?
Total collapse?
Partial time lapse?
Flash forward,
Beyond measure
Or space?

Nobody says,
Maybe . . .
It means
Something else.

Could it be?
Mankind
Is on the brink,
Of a new way,
To think?

Perhaps,
True open hearted,
Compassion,
Is just a step away?
Igniting a collective passion,
Start . . . of a new day!

Everyone says,
Fear must be true,
Nobody says,
Faith in us all,
Will do!

MP3

everybody says he's bad news
I saw he likes Pink Floyd

sits on red soil with me
even though I got the car stuck
in deep sand halfway through
the wash before we got to the
canyon, he said he didn't mind.

everybody says he's stealing
from me, so what if he used
my ATM card to download music
from amazon using my number,
his name, he likes pandas.

Even though he only texts me
when he wants to be picked up
at the corner of Lupine and
Country Flower, he reads Jung
and Rimbaud when he's here,

I could take him instead of
the desert, fill him up with
cactus jelly on rye bread
and he won't complain if it's
it's laundry soap aroma free.

everybody tells me to not let
him take me for a ride, but

I say he tastes like music
when he sings along with me.

Tim Snodgrass

You honor the poem with such sincere and moving words! Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I appreciate it so very much. It reflected my gratitude that we are in this poetic creation together. Thanks, Tim.


Amanda Fall, Theresa C., Hannah, Walt and Patricia PM27
Your comments gave me a wink, smile, chuckle and genuine appreciation for the time you took to read the poem and share your thoughts. Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed it. :)


Richard-Merlin Atwater
Please apologize to your brother for my error in getting his middle initial incorrect. I didn't mean to offend him in that way.:) I do sincerely apologize to you, however, for not spelling out Richard correctly . . . instead of Robert. I appreciate the gentle way you brought it to my attention. I enjoyed the story about your mother, by the way. Thank you for your comments . . . RICHARD!!

Everybody Says I Know

Everybody says, I know
when we really don't.
It's said like a doorstop
of conversation while
thoughts are already
far down the hall on
our inner voices tracks,
clickety-clack, back to that
open door only for chance
to speak again.

The Journey: Day Twenty-four: everybody says (blank), nobody says (blank):


Everybody Says It’s Only Money

Easy to say when you have some,
hard to believe when you don’t have any.
The oldest sister of three, she was caretaker,
trailblazer, the one who moved away, solid,
secure, put herself through two years of college.
Now 24, she’s in debt, scrambles, refinances,
borrows with payday loans and cash advances.
A visitor notices bare cupboards, but she loves
to eat out, has a busy job, keeps up with friends.

Nobody says it’s only money when they don’t have any.
Her descent on lines of credit sped to a grip of anxiety,
shame, embarrassment.
She hid behind a well-dressed façade,
covered her spiraling arc of madness
with chatty phone calls and funny stories about work.
Her last statement spoke plain: paid in full, her debt forgiven
when she put a bullet to her brain.

21 EVERYBODY SAYS

Everybody says:
Hello, how are ya?
(but, don’t make it a long story)
Gotta run

Everybody says:
Have a nice day
(Do they mean it?)
Can’t spend it with you though
Gotta run

Everybody says:
See ya later
(Is six months later?)
Gotta run

Everybody says:
Life’s too short
Things change too fast
Progress is slow
Less stress is best
But then, they say:
Gotta run!

“Everybody says cyanide is poisonous”

Everybody says cyanide is poisonous.
But hey, there’s only one way to check
This out for myself…………aah
Damn!.......

Everybody says it so fast

When you’re
not of this tongue
the words
shower like
mortar fire
You want to
cover your head
especially when
the idioms come
with their
sharp
ridiculous
assault

Death by nonsense

Especially bad
when the tone is
inquisitive--
what is wanted
of you?
Were you handed
an insult
or encouragement?

Your tongue
does not
curl and trill
as it should

Do they know
you were eloquent
back home?

Everyone Says Nothing Lasts Forever

All things must pass. All
things? The days are
measured out by pills in

little plastic bottles. The
lids are childproof, but you
strain to open them. Even

these are incapable of
purging the pain. Incapable of
snatching it clean. Oh,

the cries in the night! All
things must whorl around and
round again. A spiral of

choke and vomit. Tubes
flow from you like
jewelry of the future.

Bracelets, bangles and
torcs of flexible plastic.
All things meant to

save you can't make
you fly. All things? What
are words when you

start to unravel? Delicate
thread unwinding, dis-
engaging, letting go.

Somebody said don’t go to Covent Garden

not much to see
and it’s all overpriced,
and we nearly didn’t
but somebody else said
you must go, and look out
for the dog-box-man.
We got there early on Sunday
sat on the kerb to watch
the first busker of the day try
drum up a crowd, juggling
heckling passers-by, sword
swallowing, & (drum-roll) the bed of nails
for the price of a coin dropped
into a hat.
Then wandered on
to see the rubix cube up a ladder
against the clock guy.
On the way to the tube
rushing, late to meet my brother
we glimpsed the dog-box-man
setting up, a symbol of
all the things we didn’t see.
In York we bought juggling balls
the kids dreamed one day
of being street performers.

Well, ya'll, I need more time to read! Time keeps getting gobbled up. Ha! "Gobbled." Works for this time of year.

Anyway, I caught just enough to say:

AMEN, Patricia Frolander.
RJ, you continue to absolutely crack me up. LOVE your stuff.
Connie Peters, greatness as always.
Theresa: Oh my. I just said a prayer for Kelly and the family. One prayer may not be much, but God knows how many pray-ers have been put in motion to lift her up, or how often He will bring her to mind.
WOW, Janet! :) Thanks for the time, thought, and energy you put into this!
Walt, my man, you are one amazing writer and thinker.

I'm sorry I don't have time for more. :( Write on, all!

I haven't time to read most of the entries, but I'm sure this has been a popular theme (outdated expressions):


Nobody Says Broken Record Anymore

My 13-year-old’s mission in life
is to make me feel old.
Today he repeated a request
for the third time, and I said,
“You sound like a broken record.”
He looked at me like I had just
sprouted an extra head.
I explained vinyl LP records,
of which he was vaguely aware,
and how, when they are scratched
or cracked, they play the same phrase
over and over. “Oh,” he said, and then,
“Nobody says that anymore, Dad.”
Well, run my buggy off the road.
I seem to be stuck with a bagful
of archaic expressions, courtesy
of modern technology. I still
talk of dialing a phone number,
rewinding a tape, and, yes, sometimes
I even call CD’s “records”.
But I might as well be saying
“23 skiddoo” or “copacetic”.
When my son looks askance
at my obsolete idioms, I say,
just wait till you have kids, and they
mock you for your strange vernacular
like “as easy as an mp3”.

Aftermath

Everybody says, Count on me.
I’ll be there. I’m just
a phone call away.

Nobody says, Move on.
Crying won’t change
a thing.

Everybody says, Maybe
it’s for the best. At least
he isn’t suffering.

Nobody says, I’d be
angry too, even when
I didn’t know where
to channel my anger.

Everybody says, You’re
so strong.

Nobody says, Go ahead.
You have a right
to fall apart.

Everybody’s thinking,
What else can I say?
My words fall so far
short of what you need.

Everybody’s thinking,
Thank God it’s you,
not me.

Nobody says, Please
call someone else
next time. Your grief
has made me tired.

Everybody says,
Please let me know
anything I can do.

Only a few
just

oops: lost the last two lines. Here's the rest of the stanza:

Only a few
just
do
it.

Everyone says, how are you today

or have a nice day
or other things that sound like rote,
long lost of meaning or true warmth.
They don’t really care how you are,
truly do not want
that laundry list of woes
but the phrase pops out,
more automatic
than a simple hello, good-by.
Still, these are civilized words,
usually said with a smile,
and in our busy lives
such a sweet shorthand
feels welcome.

Everybody says the Weasel's the finest of fellows


Bartholomew Foggerty, the brilliant weasel
Was in high demand at his easel
His landscapes had sold ever so well
And everyone thought that they were swell
And now that he was back in fashion
Bart retuned to his old passion
The depiction of personal traits
In the painting of lifelike portraits
The world and his daughter wanted to sit
And the weasel was frankly loving it
Not only was he in great demand
The price had gone up to over a grand
But the people were more than happy to pay
“I’ve got a Foggerty!” they liked to say
Grand folk came from far and wide
To make a bee-line to Bartholomew’s side
He was feted at balls and toasted in clubs
The cabbies talked about him outside the pubs
Some even said it was a shame
The he had never before found the fame
But all agreed that it was deserved
Although he himself remained reserved
He kept his decorum and didn’t swagger
Even when he painted Mick Jagger
Who had left his tour to make a dash
To Bart’s door and paid in cash
This was of course the preferred form
And soon was accepted as the norm
No longer did the weasel go hungry
Nor was the bank manager angry
Au contraire was the case
That chap had a smile on his face
Whenever Bart entered the branch
He’d offer to buy the artist lunch
Bart never refused as a courtesy
Whoever said that lunch aint free?
The galleries competed to buy his works
And the telephone’s ringing drove him beserk
People often formed a queue
In his hallway lined up in twos
Til there came a day when Bart was worn out
He opened the window and started to shout
Come back next month, I need a rest
And then he did what he does best
(Apart from painting and drinking of course)
He took to his bed and slept like a horse
All in all he slept for a week
And when he got up he took a peek
Out the door and down the road
No-one was there except a toad
He claimed to be a messenger
And had been left and made to swear
That as soon as Bart showed his face
He’d hop off to the phone at his best pace
Brace yourself, weasel the hopper cried
You’re about to be re-supplied
With clients as far as the eye can see
Lords and Ladies and even me
For everyone says without a doubt
That Bart is the best painter about
The fellow most talented with the easel
Is Bartholomew Foggerty the brilliant weasel.


Iain

Thanks Tim S and Janet C

All great words yesterday!
DAE

Everybody Says It's Hard To Go Home

Everybody says
It's hard to go home,
to return to the
place of your childhood.
I watch reactions,
their awkward glances-
so familiar yet
not comfortable.
Perhaps the place they
left has become home?

EVERYBODY SAYS WE'RE HARMLESS

They smile as they watch us
watching them,
snapping their photos
clicking their tongues
like idiot mimes.

They can't see
the cavern yawning deep below,
bristling with stalactite teeth
as our furry-tailed hordes
swarm across your land.

"Aw, cuuute little squirrel.
Here you go."

Yes, give us another peanut
and another
to add to our vast
mountain beneath, shoring up
against the day
when we rule the world.

Everyone Says So

Nobody knows what everyone says,
But everyone says that they do.
It’s a common believe that everyone says it,
But no one can prove that it’s true.
If somebody says that everyone says
The same thing they just said to you.
You’ll just bolster their case that everyone says it
If you go around saying it too.
So think your own thoughts about what you hear;
Give every idea its due.
Don’t just repeat what everyone says;
Develop your own point of view.

EVERYBODY SAYS “SHIT”

In their own way,
in their own time,
everybody says “shit.”

That may not be their particular word of choice ---
some may say “crap”
while others say “poop.”

No matter what they’ve stepped in,
fallen in,
rubbed against,
or what room they’ve just passed through, (i.e., the bathroom)
everybody says “shit,”
even if it’s only in their minds.


NOBODY SAYS “I’M TOO FULL FOR DESSERT!”

Once the holiday meal is finished,
and all the bellies are full,
Grandma will bring out the dessert trays,
loaded down with cakes, pies, cookies, and hot cocoa.

Is anyone going to tell her
they aren’t hungry
after she’s spent days
preparing this frosty wonderland
of sugary delights?

Not on your life –
and it would cost you your life
if you said “no” to Grandma.

Grab just a cookie or two,
or take a thin slice of pie
to appease Grandma,
but don’t let her hear anybody say,
“I’m too full for dessert!”

Everybody Says Hello


It’s a happy little valley
where everybody says hello
and perfection is the standard
everyone lives and everyone sees.
People spend all day thinking
and talking of ways to be
more perfect, and so
everyone in Happy Valley
always says hello.

This is a cleave poem. Read the left side as one poem, the right as another and together as a 3rd. Couldn't get it to center but I saw someone else's who did this and the underlines are ugly but it makes easier to read the poem.

EVERYBODY SAYS

_____everybody says - she’s a whore
________nobody says - nothing good
_________who cares - she’s f**king
__________all gossip - having her way
just people who want - sex want
___to be doing things - all the boys do
_____everybody says - too much too often

A Generalization

Everybody says,
honesty is the best policy,
but face to face speak euphemistically
and behind your back, brutally.

Nobody says why
we are so cowardly
about our cruelty.

Everybody says let him go

they don't understand
my love is forevermore
such clueless beings

November 24th, 2009
(prompt-fill in blank use as title...Everybody says_____________)

(c) Rose Marie Streeter

Nobody

Nobody says her name any more
It’s been four years and perhaps they
Think I’ve gotten over it. Or they might
Believe that talking about her would bring
Up all the painful memories and I would
Just feel worse. Or maybe they just don’t
Remember. Everyone has sorrows of
Their own.

The people I can talk to are the ones I
Meet at the cemetery, decorating the
Graves, or checking things out. Some
Of them I know and when we talk, we
Always find something to smile about.
Not all memories are sad. As the months
Turn into years, the happy days come
Stealing back. I like sitting in the
Cemetery, there is shade where we
Are, my husband and daughter. And
My name and date of birth and an empty
Space. It doesn’t feel weird at all. It’s
Comforting to know your body will be
Close to loved ones, that the young
People will arrange flowers from the
Dollar store every now and then and
There are people who will remember you.

Nobody says take time

love will shine again
first accept, embrace your pain
allow wounds to heal

November 24th, 2009
(prompt-fill in blank use as title.....Nobody says_________)
(c) Rose Marie Streeter

Everybody Says it Was Lightning

But I think it was the hand
of God that fried his brain,
his straight hair turned curly
when he came in wide-eyed
and arm-waving from the field.

He sat in the corner for three days
muttering that a burning tree split open
and told him to go to the city and preach.
He refused food, saying that until all people
are fed, he’d live on air and shoe leather.

We didn’t know what else to do,
so we filled a suitcase with shoes
and put him on the train to L.A..
We figured he wouldn’t die of frostbite
there if he had to live in the street.

Last we heard, a group of devotees
took him in and built him a church.
They run a soup kitchen open to everyone.
His hair’s gone straight again, but his
wild eyes still flash with righteous fire.

Who Knew I Would Miss It?

I miss hot yoga. I joined an all woman’s gym cause I didn’t have to sign up for a plan and they offered a lunch time yoga class. The girl who is teaching doesn’t really seem to know yoga, or she knows enough to make most of these women think she knows yoga. She doesn’t use any of the Indian names but instead sticks to the animal names, I don’t have a problem with this but she only seems to know a handful of poses so she just keeps alternating them before she just started an extensive ab work out. Cop out. I think I miss the pretentious yoga pants and om T-shirts. At least they cared what they were doing.

Janet,
Thanks so much for that excellent tribute. I can't imagine the work behind that.

i also must say that this was not a favorite prompt for me.

Janet Rice Carnahan Wow that was a lot of work!
Tim Snodgrass Thanks
Richard, just another Thank you for all the fun

Everybody says it's harder...

My mom died when I was young
I was devastated to the depth of my soul
Broken, alone; I learned to
Trust the God of heaven even when His ways
Are well past understanding

My two children died when I was just forty
I was comforted beyond
Measure-my treasures are in heaven; tell it!
Shine the light to the nations
of His glory in this upside down world where
He comforts the childless who
Trust His timing, and gives joy in spite of grief!

When everybody says
It’s harder when parents survive their children.

It Is What It Is
(and You Don’t Get Upset)


Everybody says
you can age
gracefully.

Nobody says
it’s easy.

Everybody Say’s It’s Their Own Fault

Everybody says it’s their own fault
They can get a job somewhere
They brought their own lives to a halt
They prefer to be on the street, they like it there

This could not be farther from the truth
No one wants to live in those conditions
One does not need to be a detective nor a sleuth
to see, a live of poverty was not their life’s ambitions

What has happened to each of us
is that we have become complacent and apathetic
Way too easily we have found safety and trust
In a time when we should be sympathetic

There are so many more these days
who are less fortunate then us
So many more ways
that ones life can go bust

Then, each of us, might just be
that person living out of garbage cans
maybe then we might just see
the horrors that we had failed to understand

No one chooses a life of pain
no plans to live without
There is no way anyone wants to live in the rain
of this we can have no doubt

But, this is a problem we can do something about
flood our local politicians
force them to use their clout
to spend our tax dollars at home, instead of on military missions
so that moneys are used to help those who are forced to without. . .

©Ralph J. Fitcher, November 26, 2009, Everybody says poem.

Everyone says “How tragic” when they hear about my plight,
a pre-teen stroke cut me down to the shape of my wheelchair
bound body. It never reduced me or shut down my mind, or
silenced my words, cut off my life. Nobody says, “How tragic”
when a tree gets cut down too early in its life in order to be
shaped into a house, a barn, a fire. No one says, “How tragic”
when a drop of water evaporates into vapor, destined to fall
upon their head one day. My evolution occurred in an instant.

Everybody says Look Before You Leap

but maybe i like surprise of not knowing where I’ll land
does a frog study every rock in the pond before he jumps?
or is there a deeper knowing that one will be there?
maybe an eagle will carry him off for dinner
as he is in mid air, how can we know for sure?
That is a chance you take
look before you leap
where is the fun in that?
oh how wonderful it can be to be practical, logical, dependable!
but i’m a girl who likes excitement, and maybe I’ll crash and burn
splatter my heart and insides on the ground
when i land
when i leap without looking
would i have gone to the edge of the cliff with you and taken that chance?
Never.
had i looked down.
but i don’t look before i leap
i could give a damn what everybody says.

Nobody Says

“says” any more,
everybody says “goes”,
or they did for a while until
everybody said “like”
plus “to be”,
so when the poetry guy goes
“Use this prompt”,
I’m like “Dude,
you got it.”

OK. Thanksgiving dishes are done, the guests have all gone home, and I am days behind on my prompts -- to say nothing of any reading & commenting! Having a hard time coming up with anything for these last few days that “meshes” with my theme(s), and I don’t want to fall any further behind, so I’m just going to drop back and punt!


Everybody Says “If I Knew Then …”


If I knew then what I know now
I could have made it work
somehow

My life would not be such a mess
I would have got it right
I guess

No mistakes and no hijinks
(or that’s what everybody
thinks)

At least, that’s what you hear them say
But what do they know
anyway?

:Everybody says the same thing, only different:

The tongue is a rake, they say. One
we use to sweep the branches back
like waves. Yet when the rock whistles
through the ashes, draws lines like slits,
they call for tears, call for them to break
like snapping willow branches. They say
we are quilted souls, drawn from the narrow
blue arch of sky, shaded like pebbles,
and when we weep we are mauve,
like some feathers. When we sail
they say we will sink. They are the ones
who tell us it is only the tame blossom
that knows its way back down to earth.

:Nobody says anything untrue, only inventive:

This is the lie: that some speech will scrape
clear the undergrowth, reveal the signs.
That the child on the swing will rust and screech
all the way home, and that you will find cinders
in the incision of the earth that will wrench you
from the ruptured sky, throw you beneath the willow
roots, down into the sapphire hollow. That it is the shadows
of stones that howl in the night, and all the strewn out
amethyst plumes will glide as they descend,
leaving all the docile blooms behind.

Everybody Says:
Everybody says better safe
than sorry. But how can you
take risks being safe, and
how can you live without
taking some risks?


Nobody Says:
Nobody says what they really think,
opting instead to always be polite.
What would the world be like,
I wonder, if everyone were as
honest as Simon Cowell all the time?

Nobody Says All Hope is Lost
Better Than a Bad Dream

Kneeling beside an empty swing
a man lets go of a wedding ring

What hope for a freed bird
when it has already stopped singing

Miraculous birth comes first
but from breath must come suckling

The black piano’s keys remain covered
in their coffin of polished ebony

Baptism’s new bible prays daily
for its hallowed spine’s first creaking

Rainfall lost into the sea
is a thirsty man watching, weeping

A root planted backwards
must push harder to reach Spring

The man, the bird, the root, the birth,
just your nightmare dreaming

Flowering bulbs of awakened hope
you planted yesterday are still thriving

Everybody says they're fine


Friends and acquaintances,
brothers and aunt,
Grandpa and Sam down the block
all fare just fine.
So they say striding by
with purposeful
flair, tossing back their hair,
leaving rubbish in their wake:
divorces,
jailed children, and
buried buddies, piles of
laundry. The maid
will do it-like they live
in a four star
resort establishment.
Excess poundage,
stretched thin moral fiber,
both indicate they lie.
Masks firmly tied
over ravaged faces,
they forge ahead.



Nobody says goodbye


They just disappear.
Quit calling.
Blend into
another group.
Leave you wondering
what you did.

Everybody says democracy is good
By: Meena Rose

Democracy is good;
Our number one export;
Instead of food.

Democracy is good;
Our ideology enforced upon the world;
We will make sure everyone could.

Democracy is good;
Equated
… With civility;
… With upward mobility;
… With social agility.

The sad fact remains;
Our democracy is exported
Quite undemocratically.

The sad fact remains;
Our democracy is enforced
Quite undemocratically.

Democracy is good;
That’s what everyone says.



Nobody says die for me
By: Meena Rose

Die for me;
Enlist in my Army.

Die for me;
Go fight the war and let me be.

Die for me;
That I may live life and be free.

Die for me;
Soon it will be my victory.

Die for me;
That’s what nobody says.

Everybody Says I Love You

Everybody says I love you.
But there's not that much love in the world.
Is there love enough to go round;
is love concentrated in the wrong places,
just like money and wealth,
unjust like money and wealth?

Nobody says I hate you
But the evidence shows that hate is in abundance
There is plenty to go round;
is hate just the reciprocal of love?
If we don't love enough is that hate.
If we don't spread love who do we hate.

Everybody Knows, Nobody Tells

Everybody says you get through the grief so dense you can’t breathe
But nobody gives you a clue how. What they say, how they say
They found their way rarely makes sense to me.

Everybody says you find joy again, real purpose in your life
But nobody tells you how long and what the process extracts
From your being each day as you find your way.

Everybody wants you to be well, be happy, don’t bleed on them
But nobody tells you how you staunch the flow just for them
How you can be a friend again when you are dying one tiny
Sliver at a time.

Everybody Knows, Nobody Tells

Everybody says you get through the grief so dense you can’t breathe
But nobody gives you a clue how. What they say, how they say
They found their way rarely makes sense to me.

Everybody says you find joy again, real purpose in your life
But nobody tells you how long and what the process extracts
From your being each day as you find your way.

Everybody wants you to be well, be happy, don’t bleed on them
But nobody tells you how you staunch the flow just for them
How you can be a friend again when you are dying one tiny
Sliver at a time.

Nobody Says Bullies are Easy

At playground recess on that first day
the bully strafes a social bullet your way
thankfully just grazing your still-innocent foray
into school play so much tougher than my day

Crushed by that first grade interloper ~
existing outside the playtime envelope
now ripped open, rules and looked-for hope
in shredded pieces littering the blacktop ~

your newly-formed skin in its new bruising
clashing with the frilly pink dress, this abusing
an unexpected test ~ a classmate allowed to use
cheat notes ~ while your smooth hands zoom

in on what’s left of the envelope’s paper carcass
to learn the lesson of the day, what this play class
excuses, or uses as first aid, or its suggested glasses
for fuzzy lines on the playground, and of the morass

of bullies, all ages and sizes, creeping the black
paths of everyone’s days, how you must fight back

Day 24 Everybody Says what Nobody Says


Everybody says I’m good at this
I spin, I weave,
truthsayer, words bound
by forces beyond ken
a vortex of alpha and omega
animus and anima
light and shadow
a polymorph
romantic pragmatist
bean-counter and poet.

Nobody says stop,
nor reaches out to end
the flow of dream
that floats upon a sea
of superheated thought
then burns to embers
at the edge of the universe
this spiralled spark,
this birthing poem.


Carol A. Stephen
November 24th, 2009
PAD Challenge poem

Everybody Says They Love

Everybody says they love
This actor or that singer
Everybody says they love
Some boor or new series on TV
Everybody says they love
The flavor of the month or a recipe
But nobody says they love me.

Everybody Says…

Everybody says,
If you love someone, set them free
I do not agree with this philosophy
If I were to let him go
My love for him, he’d never know

EVERYBODY SAYS HAVE A NICE DAY
(LAMENT OF A GROUCH)

Everybody says, "Have a nice day!"
To the contrary, I simply must say:
If laughter's contagious,
to spread it's outrageous
and against curmudgeonly way!

(Limerick-ish, I hope, lol)

Interrogatory Prayer
There is a type of Buddhist walking meditaion
Where the mind quiets itself through the rhythm of
Walking and the simple need
To keep moving. Of course
The breath is still there, the walker
Still attentive to the steady in and out
Of otherwise standing oxygen drawn in
By the inevitable force of their own
Inertia. Where is not important
(I would like to run away, but I stay
Inside) When is not a concern as I
(watch the clock and wish for the hands to
Clap and disappear)How is hardly a question
(velocity chases me to the door where
Acceleration promptly falls asleep) only
The steadiness of my (who) heart my
Feet spread toe by toe into the floor before
Pushing off again and floating right up to the point
Of the next jerk
What else is there?

Interrogatory Prayer
There is a type of Buddhist walking meditation
Where the mind quiets itself through the rhythm of
Walking and the simple need
To keep moving. Of course
The breath is still there, the walker
Still attentive to the steady in and out
Of otherwise standing oxygen drawn in
By the inevitable force of their own
Inertia. Where is not important
(I would like to run away, but I stay
Inside) When is not a concern as I
(watch the clock and wish for the hands to
Clap and disappear)How is hardly a question
(velocity chases me to the door where
Acceleration promptly falls asleep) only
The steadiness of my (who) heart my
Feet spread toe by toe into the floor before
Pushing off again and floating right up to the point
Of the next jerk
What else is there?

Everybody says we are irresponsible
Because we refuse to have a fixed address.
But everybody secretly envies us our freedom.
Everybody says, “Why don’t you settle down?
How can you not have a house and yard?”
While wishing they had the courage to do as we do.
And I tell everybody
We have all they have and more.
We have a home of which we are proud
And yard space galore.
Our home has wheels
And a yard of the whole outdoors.
Our home is on the plains or in the mountains
It is in the arid desert or beside the rolling sea.
We have chosen to call home all of America.
For legal purposes we must claim a home state
So we are Texans by choice
But we are Americans by birth.
Like the Native Americans before us
We enjoy our relationship with the land
And call the wildlife our brothers and sisters.
We are free to follow the sun and moon
And meet people from all parts of the country
While learning their styles of life
And encompassing what we like,
We are free to disregard what we don’t.
This lifestyle allows and teaches us to be independent.
It is not irresponsibility but self-determination
When we choose a nomadic life.
Our travels endow us with deep love
Of our great country and countrymen
Everybody says they love but we truly do

Nobody says "feesh"

Nobody says "feesh" for "fish"
except my mom

Nobody says "earl" for "oil"
except my mom

Not many say "crick" for "creek"
except my mom

Not many say "miller" for "moth"
except my mom

Nobody says "warsh" for "wash"
except my mom, my sisters,
my brother and me

Everybody says

The chinese have a four character phrase for all occasions. Everybody quotes them for advice or commentary. The one below is as near a transliteration as I can get.

Ping Bu Qing Yun

Beyond the train window
the countryside flooded
with lakes of yellow rapeseed
flows past.
In the husbanded fields
the comforting repetition
of sowing and reaping is
happening.

Across from me sits
Mei's son, planted
in the same hopeful way.
He is still reed thin and green
coming up out of the soil.
"Keep walking toward the clouds,"
we all say as he plants and harvests
making his own way
in the falling and rising world.

Nobody Says That Everybody Says It’s Fine

We get lost in the rhetoric
The politically correctness
Of diplomacy that is less
Than effective in solving
The problems of a tiny,
Forgotten country where
The sun bakes the land
As gentle, smiling souls
Sustain themselves on
Morsels of hope dropped
From above like manna
In the wilderness.

Nobody Says I'm Sorry Anymore

Nobody says I'm sorry anymore;
they can't admit when they're wrong.
They continue to hurt
the ones they love
while still loving the ones they hurt.

Everybody says
I should get a job
Because my husband
Is out of work.

When I say I am
building a career
centered around writing,
they stop talking.

Nobody says
“That’s a great goal”
like they do when
people go back to school.

Everybody says
I should go back to school
So that I could learn
how to do who I am.

When they read
What I have written,
They all agree it’s good,
And nothing more.

Nobody says
“You can do it!”
except the people
who know my God.