Author: Jerry Brotherton

I am The Backyard Poet and I warn you that, not only will I ramble on about nothing but, I have been known to stand upon my soapbox and rant about things I care nothing about just to hear the sound of my own voice. I will try to force my opinion upon anyone willing to pay the slightest attention.

Regrets

On By Jerry BrothertonIn Free Verse, Poetry25 Comments

I am so sorry mother

I was consumed by my youth

Maybe I did not love you

Quite as much as you deserved

My life devoured my thoughts

Tomorrow was far away

I didn’t understand how much

I would miss not seeing you

In the End

On By Jerry BrothertonIn Free Verse, Poetry14 Comments

What will my final years bring I wonder
Will I set here and stare at the blank walls
Reliving days of my youthful glory
While waiting for my final curtain call
Or rush to the fray with all my fury
To fight for every breath and take it all
Chisel my own epitaph on my stone
“A life well lived, he did not die alone”

to arrive early is a virtue—but to get there late is just bad manners.”

On By Jerry BrothertonIn Monoku, Poetry13 Comments

We Are All Just Children

On By Jerry BrothertonIn Poetry, Rhyming9 Comments

When I was a child, I knew how to fly

But I chose for myself a safer road

I trudged on through the tedium of life

With feet firm on the ground I bore life’s load

 

I let money and possessions rule me

Now where is the boy who knew how to live

Too afraid of what other people see

So frightened that I have nothing to give

 

Perhaps that is what is wrong with the world

Too afraid of what other people think

To be what we are, in the eyes of God

Innocent children playing on the brink

 

I will not slip into oblivion.

But kick and scratch to get every drop

Hold on to youthful ways and try to fly

Maybe I’ll fail, but I will never stop

Old Soldier

On By Jerry BrothertonIn Free Verse, Poetry16 Comments

I can see it in your face;

How proud you are that you stood for freedom

I can see it in your tears;

As you watch the world call us the enemy

I can see it tear at your heart;

When selfish people refuse to stand

I can see how your stomach churns;

Every time the flag is burned

I can see it eating away at your emotions;

When black hates white or white hates black

I can see your anger rise;

When the world spits on America

I can see your blood boil

When we cower in the corner too afraid to offend

I can see it in your hatred;

When you load the gun

I can see it in your smile;

After you have talked to God