The stone is set
My die has been cast
What the future brings
Will slide into the past
No amount of want
Will ever make it stay
It will fade to memories
Of yesterday
Tag: writing
Being an Artist
At what point do I give up on my dreams
When do I know that my innovations
My poems or novels will not it seems
Live outside of my imagination
When should I realize that my brilliance
Is overblown desire; not artistry
They say I am showing my resilience
Not settling for my mediocrity
When will I understand that I’m lying
Thinking that there is someone who might care
When will it be alright to stop trying
Never! As long as you are there to share
Things I learned in My Youth
Maple trees are easiest to climb
Oak trees offer the grandest view
Willow trees are better to hide behind
If someone is looking for you
Love thy neighbor is always right
But lust is usually a sin
In a fight between a fist and a nose
The fist will always win
Don’t raise your hand just to impress a girl
If you don’t know the answer
Don’t take her to a hockey game
If you’re trying to romance her
We’ll keep in touch means it’s the end
Despite your good intentions
Because out of sight means out of mind
Due to inattention
The Past
A loving place where I did once dwell
But will never be allowed to return
You are the spring that feeds the stories I tell
The keeper of the things that I have learned
Each step I take is filled with memories
From a life that I once knew
Every smell from flower and tree
Pulls my thoughts back to you
There in those backyards of my memories
I recall my pledge from so long ago
That I will remain open and free
And cling to youth and never let go
Reflection
I look into the mirror and
Wonder who it is that I see
Those once youthful eyes now frosted
Staring back with maturity
There was a time I composed my
Own songs and sang them so proudly
I gave little care if I showed
The world the foolish side of me
My battle scars displayed smugly
From my war on conformity
Questioning every verdict and
Accepting nothing as issued
Loving strong and crying deeply
With all the appetites of youth
Those passions gained, sorrows and pain
I chewed them all with brandish tooth
Then spit them out into the world;
My words of honesty and truth
Perhaps I had the whole thing wrong
Or somewhere I just stop trying
I traded away my talents
For music easier to sing
I bartered my soul for comfort
Trying to ease life’s bitter sting
I look upon this furrowed face
Of adversity and trial
It’s not the ending but the chase
That has given this man his smile
So please do not lament for me
For I am happy with my plight
I look upon my history
And know that I have chosen right
Jerry Brotherton 