Submissions by Atehequa
POEMS AND SHORT STORIES
Poet Introduction
Old backwoodsman, poet, artist and storyteller
Motor Lodge Shangri-La
A sunny day to begin with
Then dark clouds rushed in from the south
Thunder, bright flashes of summer lightning
Torrential rain pounding upon our one window
The four of us a bit too high, but not that dry
Having sought shelter from the elements again
Inside a double occupancy room at the Afton Inn
Liquor flowed and in the pipe smoldered Panama Red
A rainy evening to begin with
Tapering off at dusk when the fog arrived
Door open, seeing nothing within this cloud
Mountain top merriment, far away from it all
Hiking, camping and our usual...
Then dark clouds rushed in from the south
Thunder, bright flashes of summer lightning
Torrential rain pounding upon our one window
The four of us a bit too high, but not that dry
Having sought shelter from the elements again
Inside a double occupancy room at the Afton Inn
Liquor flowed and in the pipe smoldered Panama Red
A rainy evening to begin with
Tapering off at dusk when the fog arrived
Door open, seeing nothing within this cloud
Mountain top merriment, far away from it all
Hiking, camping and our usual...
723 reads
2 Comments
Lost in the Past
Two years and one month
Since we parted company for good
A friendship strangely spanning decades
I thought about today while in the wood
Where the stream forks and cascades
Down into the dark unknown
Seven or so years ago
Once again you had hit it big
A year went by without seeing each other
That lump sum paid turned you into a pig
My old friend and blood brother
Living large,lots of cocaine
Shitting in high cotton
It almost did you in that time
Freebasing with that skinny coke whore
Two souls turned into...
Since we parted company for good
A friendship strangely spanning decades
I thought about today while in the wood
Where the stream forks and cascades
Down into the dark unknown
Seven or so years ago
Once again you had hit it big
A year went by without seeing each other
That lump sum paid turned you into a pig
My old friend and blood brother
Living large,lots of cocaine
Shitting in high cotton
It almost did you in that time
Freebasing with that skinny coke whore
Two souls turned into...
836 reads
3 Comments
Tossed down at Empire
Having long seen such scheming intentions unraveled
One can clearly see through your lies
Never once setting foot on the paths we have traveled
Seemingly far, yet near as the crow flies
An acrid stench, the cauldron fires smolder
Poison smoke, Upas ladles, tinged ingredients unknown
Uncomfortably near, but much more colder
White marble temples, those bloodstained altars of stone
From these dark wooded hills, this carefully tossed curse
Paleolithic sorcery you cannot understand
Not even when written in your language and put into verse...
One can clearly see through your lies
Never once setting foot on the paths we have traveled
Seemingly far, yet near as the crow flies
An acrid stench, the cauldron fires smolder
Poison smoke, Upas ladles, tinged ingredients unknown
Uncomfortably near, but much more colder
White marble temples, those bloodstained altars of stone
From these dark wooded hills, this carefully tossed curse
Paleolithic sorcery you cannot understand
Not even when written in your language and put into verse...
747 reads
2 Comments
Cedar Creek Muse
Yesterday evening before it turned dark
The songs of a wood thrush and meadowlark
Music welcoming in the coming night
While a sphinx moth awakens on my porch light
Soon to flutter within it's glow
Betwixt the dark boles of tall pines
Outside of this domicile's furnished confines
A barred owl flies without a sound
Over a goldsmith beetle crawling on the ground
The gold bug of Edgar Allan Poe
Moon rising in summer's night sky
A leopard frog and toad sitting eye to eye
Each too large for the other to eat
They both hop away from my...
The songs of a wood thrush and meadowlark
Music welcoming in the coming night
While a sphinx moth awakens on my porch light
Soon to flutter within it's glow
Betwixt the dark boles of tall pines
Outside of this domicile's furnished confines
A barred owl flies without a sound
Over a goldsmith beetle crawling on the ground
The gold bug of Edgar Allan Poe
Moon rising in summer's night sky
A leopard frog and toad sitting eye to eye
Each too large for the other to eat
They both hop away from my...
#summer
#night
#nature
#MyInspiration
#animals
573 reads
1 Comment
Death on a Backdrop of Piss Yellow
Again the truth deemed as negativity
Standard riposte of cult leaders and zealots
Old symptoms of an even older sickness
Stolen hearts, captured minds and souls
With greed as a shovel, they dig their own holes
Food for the worms later eaten by moles
Infectious infiltration, spreading disease
Made ignorant by a false sense of hope
The great lie disguised as uplifting messages
Temple foundations of past horrific acts
Ornate white marble columns and thick walls
Sacred chambers, business offices and halls
Scented decorative urinals and toilet...
Standard riposte of cult leaders and zealots
Old symptoms of an even older sickness
Stolen hearts, captured minds and souls
With greed as a shovel, they dig their own holes
Food for the worms later eaten by moles
Infectious infiltration, spreading disease
Made ignorant by a false sense of hope
The great lie disguised as uplifting messages
Temple foundations of past horrific acts
Ornate white marble columns and thick walls
Sacred chambers, business offices and halls
Scented decorative urinals and toilet...
740 reads
0 Comments
Scratched Markings
Having never been welcomed
Some of us are at best tolerated
Greeted by mute contempt upon entry
Down the noses of rulers and gentry
Linger not in these public squares
Leave only scratched markings
Never to be assimilated
That should be acknowledged by now
Yet they conspire to lure, bridal and tame
Dangling prizes, they preside over the game
Forever moving and never seeking favor
Roving outlander bards should beware
As with so many before
Another vagabond decides to depart
Certain premonitions not to be mistaken
Markings...
Some of us are at best tolerated
Greeted by mute contempt upon entry
Down the noses of rulers and gentry
Linger not in these public squares
Leave only scratched markings
Never to be assimilated
That should be acknowledged by now
Yet they conspire to lure, bridal and tame
Dangling prizes, they preside over the game
Forever moving and never seeking favor
Roving outlander bards should beware
As with so many before
Another vagabond decides to depart
Certain premonitions not to be mistaken
Markings...
732 reads
2 Comments
Mist Maiden
Thick fog shrouded the Blue Ridge Parkway
Straining our eyes, barely able to see
The last two winding miles we traveled
Were rather frightening to some degree
Lucky enough not to have run off the road
Southward on our way to Otter Creek
The next exit we took, carefully descending
A natural setback in plans this vacation week
Down from those foggy mountains we came
The best of these conditions we would make
Driving down into a familiar misty vale
Tonight we would camp at Sherando Lake
Tents pitched, settled in, we made our fire...
Straining our eyes, barely able to see
The last two winding miles we traveled
Were rather frightening to some degree
Lucky enough not to have run off the road
Southward on our way to Otter Creek
The next exit we took, carefully descending
A natural setback in plans this vacation week
Down from those foggy mountains we came
The best of these conditions we would make
Driving down into a familiar misty vale
Tonight we would camp at Sherando Lake
Tents pitched, settled in, we made our fire...
659 reads
1 Comment
Amethyst Sky
Gazing up at dawn’s amethyst sky
In time it will turn into a pale grey
Before the rising sun’s golden glow
And another day I will come to know
Before it fades into evening’s dusky gloom
Many winding miles away from it all
My strength and clarity slowly returning
Allowing me to make it through the day
Strange how it returns when I am away
A sign in itself to be well heeded
Sitting in a small shadowy glade
The serenity is like a lover’s embrace
Gazing up at dawn’s amethyst sky
Ever soothingly pleasant to the eye
The best part of...
In time it will turn into a pale grey
Before the rising sun’s golden glow
And another day I will come to know
Before it fades into evening’s dusky gloom
Many winding miles away from it all
My strength and clarity slowly returning
Allowing me to make it through the day
Strange how it returns when I am away
A sign in itself to be well heeded
Sitting in a small shadowy glade
The serenity is like a lover’s embrace
Gazing up at dawn’s amethyst sky
Ever soothingly pleasant to the eye
The best part of...
747 reads
1 Comment
An Ode to the Ancient Ones
Suddenly spring is upon me
Forest and meadows awash in green
Leafy boughs, shade, sleeping deer
Alone in the wilds, yet not unseen
By the many chirping songbirds I hear
Spring has arrived early this year
Ospreys fishing and building nests
Sharing the creek with herons and egrets
An eagle perched high in a dead pine
While orb weavers spin sticky silvery nets
Blooming dogwoods, a definite sign
Spring has arrived ahead of time
Blue tail skink gobbling up black ants
Upon the grey bark of an old oak tree
Paying no mind to the...
Forest and meadows awash in green
Leafy boughs, shade, sleeping deer
Alone in the wilds, yet not unseen
By the many chirping songbirds I hear
Spring has arrived early this year
Ospreys fishing and building nests
Sharing the creek with herons and egrets
An eagle perched high in a dead pine
While orb weavers spin sticky silvery nets
Blooming dogwoods, a definite sign
Spring has arrived ahead of time
Blue tail skink gobbling up black ants
Upon the grey bark of an old oak tree
Paying no mind to the...
709 reads
0 Comments
Red Eft
Dawn has passed and the fog drifts in
All days are not so clear and bright
Of the many places I have been
None can thwart the coming of night
Mother Nature is and always will be
Our only one true sensible reality
Felt, heard and in the range of sight
A water strider dancing atop the stream
While blue jays scold a mockingbird
The tendrils of mist seem like a dream
Old spirits to be felt, seen and heard
My knowing exactly just how I feel
Forever believing what is truly real
Here long before man’s written word
Desiring to make...
All days are not so clear and bright
Of the many places I have been
None can thwart the coming of night
Mother Nature is and always will be
Our only one true sensible reality
Felt, heard and in the range of sight
A water strider dancing atop the stream
While blue jays scold a mockingbird
The tendrils of mist seem like a dream
Old spirits to be felt, seen and heard
My knowing exactly just how I feel
Forever believing what is truly real
Here long before man’s written word
Desiring to make...
792 reads
3 Comments
Smoke Break
The best
The biggest
The bucks
Resplendent gated community
All the splendid social events
Luxury cruises to gated resorts
The boasting
The bragging
The bullshit
Living with your mother in law
No monthly mortgage and rent free
Always at the mercy of your wife
The bias
The bigotry
The bravado
Spare me your blathering about the good life
As I am neither impressed or even interested
I'm just another coworker taking a smoke break
Not your brother, friend, confidant, or kind
Save your tales of...
The biggest
The bucks
Resplendent gated community
All the splendid social events
Luxury cruises to gated resorts
The boasting
The bragging
The bullshit
Living with your mother in law
No monthly mortgage and rent free
Always at the mercy of your wife
The bias
The bigotry
The bravado
Spare me your blathering about the good life
As I am neither impressed or even interested
I'm just another coworker taking a smoke break
Not your brother, friend, confidant, or kind
Save your tales of...
593 reads
0 Comments
Plastic Shamans and Rainbow Chiefs
Cultural Genocide
Christian missions and newer troubles
Steadily stealing away our sense of being
Conquered, contained and forced to convert
Some of us still cling to what we have left
Surviving cruel priests and maniacal ministers
Churches of Spain, France, England and America
Old Adversaries
Founding fathers cloaked in Christianity
New Age purveyors, seemingly in the church's shadow
Turning their attention upon our ancient homelands
Seeing us as obstacles as do now their descendants
Having us either killed or methodically assimilated...
Christian missions and newer troubles
Steadily stealing away our sense of being
Conquered, contained and forced to convert
Some of us still cling to what we have left
Surviving cruel priests and maniacal ministers
Churches of Spain, France, England and America
Old Adversaries
Founding fathers cloaked in Christianity
New Age purveyors, seemingly in the church's shadow
Turning their attention upon our ancient homelands
Seeing us as obstacles as do now their descendants
Having us either killed or methodically assimilated...
781 reads
0 Comments
DU Poetry : Submissions by Atehequa