Quatrain Poems (303)

The pain is now subsiding,
As wine has done its thing.
A gentle fog has settled in,
This sweet relief to bring.

A delicate balance is sought,
Too much brings morning woes.
Not enough means no sleep at all,
Restraint I must impose.

The grape has brought relief again,
My steady, trusted friend.
A temporary, brief solution,
Until my joints can mend.

I'm working on more permanence,
A cure rather than just,
Relief of symptoms, dirty quick.
I feel this is a must.

But until full revovery,
Surcease is what is best.
To get me through another night,
So I can get some rest.

She calls her band Rasputina,
Melora Kreiger's the one.
Dressed in Victorian underwear,
Her shows are a lot of fun.

Electric rock cello she plays,
Pushing through Marshalls and loud.
Her lyrics are edgy and cool,
Knows how to work up a crowd.

Plays in New York now and then,
Touring costs too much these days.
Caught her show in St Louis once,
Man, does she rock when she plays!

So check her out if you've time,
Listen online if you would.
Her music is best listened loud,
Telling you, it's really good.

The pops and creaks and grunts and groans,
Are caused by my condition.
Arthritis, not old age, you see,
Puts me in this position.

Still young of heart and mind I am.
With wild imagination.
Just aching joints spread here and there,
That cause me irritation.

I try hard not to let it show,
This awful aching pain.
But if perhaps you catch a wince,
Arthritis once again.

I do some carpentry at times,
Some painting and some plumbing.
Each take their toll, my body pays,
Just wishing for some numbing.

But work I must, so off I go,
Into the breech once more.
Just take it slow and carefully,
As I go out the door.

There's some folks seem to understand,
And some who never can.
They think my pain a weakness so,
Think me a lesser man.

I hope one day they find a cure,
To end this woeful mess.
But until then, I'm what you see,
In pain and under stress.

Don't get me wrong, I can't complain,
There's others facing more.
I wish them well, a healing wish,
Their wholeness to restore.

Their names were Butch, Huck and Max,
The best three dogs I've known.
Butch I knew at four years old
The other two when grown.

Butch was pitbull boxer mix,
As smart as he was strong.
Could say "I love you," plainly
I heard him, can't be wrong.

Our yard full of dogs one night,
I let him out to scare,
Down the steps flew like the wind,
Dogs flying ev'rywhere.

Disappeared one rainy night,
We figured for the ring.
I'm sure he was a winner cause,
Dog fighting was his thing.

Huck, another pitbull mix,
I think part kangaroo.
Could jump so high, almost fly,
And loyal through and through.

Had to give him up one day,
Apartment we did move.
Not an onside dog, not Huck,
He quickly showed to prove.

Gave him to a farmer friend,
He lived for many years.
Blind and deaf, by car was hit,
I did not hide my tears.

Max was German Shepherd mix,
And smartest of them all.
Saved grandaughter harm twice,
He answered ev'ry call.

Then he turned a biter at,
The ripe old age of ten.
Had to give him back to pound,
Hard tears I shed back then.

These noble beasts, loved them well,
Such treasured memories.
Who could not feel fortunate,
With best friends such as these.

Wherever you go and whatever you do
In mind and spirit I'm at your side.
Each minute and day that you go through,
I'm with you for that ride.

You're in my arms, safe, secure.
And I'm forging out the way
To be with you forever more
As we start and end each day.

I've left with you a part of me
That links you to my whole
Lifting you to fly so free,
A wondrous cosmic soul.

All that's mine is yours, as well
My world I give to you.
And for your sake, I'd wade through hell
And cleave it's gates in two.

I'd batter down the strongest wall
Or cross a raging sea.
I'd climb a peak however tall
With you I'll always be.

You'll never have to be alone.
I'm with you day and night.
My love for you is carved in stone.
You're always in my sight.

I'm open now, here is my heart.
Do with it what you will.
I'm laying all out on the line,
I'm yours to save or kill.

You have my life, nothing held back,
There's no more I can give.
My life's on hold til we are one,
I need your love to live.

So take me please, I'm yours to have,
Here is my heart to hold.
I trust in you, in kindness to,
Our oneness to enfold.

I bet you think it's quite a risk,
To say the very least,
To offer self without reserve,
And chance the howling beast.

I know your tender heart is pure,
And your intentions kind,
My heart can safely open up,
I've seen inside your mind.

Oh Swift he did, with satire bold,
Tell a famished Irish nation,
Serve the children up for supper and,
Put an end to their starvation.

Well what I propose is quite something else,
Although nowhere near as filling.
All you need is some time alone,
With a partner who is willing.

While you're there in bed, turn yourself around,
For a feast so fair and fine.
Just give in to the hunger of the loin,
And upon each other dine.

Though it doesn't nourish very much,
Still it doesn't cost a cent.
It really does quite satisfy,
When you've both your juices spent.

So don't give a thought to modesty,
Let your passions rule the day.
It'll do you good, with the give and take,
Sixty-nine your blues away.

Pearls of wisdom are all about
But is there truth behind it?
How, you ask, do you know love?
"You'll know it when you find it".

Is that the truth, the simple core?
The heart of wisdom in this vein?
Or specious words of wisdom void
And utterly inane?

To recognize what you've not known
Because, it's said you will,
Is hard to grasp or comprehend.
Think of that what you will.

And so you've met that special one.
So different from the rest.
You want to pull a litmus strip
And put it to the test.

But you're hanging out there on your own
No litmus strips to use.
Uncertainty besets you
With the thought that you might lose.

You have to know, you tell yourself.
You must this time be sure.
For one more heartbreak is too great.
A blow you can't endure.

But maybe it can't be defined
With clarity of thought,
But only as this love is all
That other loves were not.

Perhaps "not love" is all we need
To know and judge aright.
As darkness best can be defined
as absence of the light.

When all it is is all you want
And nothing in short measure
You'll know it's love; all doubt dispelled
And you have found your treasure.

You just reach out for trouble.
Cause you think it makes you cool.
I hate to burst your bubble,
But you really are a fool.

You do stir up emotion,
When you monger war and hate.
You'll never find devotion,
Hell, or even just a date.

Your agenda is quite clear.
It's attention that you seek.
True emotion's what you fear,
So obvious when you speak.

Further comments won't be made,
Cause you just aren't worth my time.
In your swill may you be laid,
For your "poetry"'s a crime.

So just take it elswhere man,
I can get manure for free.
And whatever is your plan,
Bark it up another tree.

You're not set, your will is free,
You can be who you wish to be,
Because the future is, you see,
A cloud of possibility.

Each fork come to in the road,
Might change your methods or your mode,
And forks just like genetic code,
Have branches with their leaves abode.

Left or right, fair maid, cat,
These cusps to make decisions at,
Crooked lines, this way and that,
Determines where we'll hang our hat.

Hang your hat up in the air,
And rise to meet it hanging there,
Float around in this headwear,
Let it take you anywhere.

When you tire of floatin' 'round,
Just come back where your home is found,
Plant your feet on solid ground,
And tell us all the things you've found.