Thoughts On Turning One Year Older--A New Poem

Upon turning one year older,
I am entertaining mortal thoughts,
Which is slightly preferable
To harboring
Suicidal tendencies;
I am thinking of things
I've not yet accomplished;
Of women I have not loved...
Or ever will love;
Of women I've loved and lost;
Of friends no longer here;

I am still comforted
By the thought of being
One of my mama's three sons
And being my daughter's father;
Of the God-ordained ability to
Fuse a few words together
Into something
Resembling beauty,
Resembling truth;

I don't know how many more years
I have before me of turning older,
But I hope
They are filled with
A mama's love,
A daughter's growing adoration,
The continued camaderie
Of a few friends,
The abundant support of family,
Maybe a woman's
Tender and graceful touch,
More poetry
Than I can put to paper,
More beauty,
More truth.

© 2012 Joseph Powell

I Dreamt Of Picasso-New Poem

In my mind's eye,
I envisioned myself
talking to ol' Pablo--
talking about art,
talking about women,
talking about life;
at one point,
he told me
that he dreamt of me, too,
to which I laughed.

'No, no', he said,
'I dreamt of you,
that you are destined
for great things;
you're an artist,
and such is
the fate of all artists.'
And then he smiled;
and then, I knew,
in spite of myself,
he was right.

And as I awoke,
I sat down to write this poem,
thinking of him,
staring down at me,
with that knowing smile,
knowing that he was right.

© 2012 Joseph Powell

Golden--A New Poem (for Gabby Douglas)

They're going to try
to steal your moment;
They're going to say
you're not good enough,
or pretty enough;
They're going to call you names
or talk about your hair;
that you don't deserve
the accolades,
or your place in the sun,
your place in history;

I would say,
your response should be--
to stand your ground,
with the already sure footing
you've shown,
smile that megawatt smile of yours,
as bright as any sunshine,
and simply say,

'I'm golden.
How are you?'


© 2012 Joseph Powell