What happened to poetry? If you want to laugh, dance, define the feelings in your heart, be a soldier marching in time, see anger put eloquently, or feel life from a rare angle this collection of poems is for you.

The Song That I Sing

Poetry with the rhythm of lifeBy D. Skowera

Lulu.com

Copyright © 2009Dianna Skowera
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-578-01338-1

Contents

Black And White..............................................4Amazing Grace................................................4Remember Them................................................5The Road Without Me..........................................6The Road Without You.........................................7Iron Man.....................................................8I'm Still Here...............................................9The Song That I Sing.........................................10What You've Done To Beauty...................................11A Prayer For The Widow.......................................13Someday......................................................14The Nuts And Bolts Of It All.................................15We Two.......................................................16Reckoning....................................................17Dancing......................................................18Traces Of You................................................19A Thing That Can't Be Named..................................20Wasted Talent................................................22My Super Power Request.......................................23Until Were You...............................................24Let The Lady Go..............................................25The Story Of My Inexistence..................................27Grandma's Dream..............................................28Denial.......................................................30Cadence......................................................32Assurances Of The Tramp......................................33The Pain Is In The Season....................................33Flaws Of The Composer........................................34A Heart Without A Plan.......................................35Hypocrisy....................................................36The Destination Of Gratitude.................................37I Dreamt I Was A Blanket.....................................38A Girl From The Country......................................39Where Your Name Fits.........................................40There........................................................41There Was Always Someone.....................................42Coincidence..................................................43On Alexander Pope's "Eloise and Abelard".....................44My Biggest Fear..............................................44A note from the author.......................................45Upcoming works...............................................47

Chapter One

Black And White

I keep them black and white. I keep them still in time. Their smiles never fade. Their feet never tire. This glass is strong.

I keep them in wood- I keep it black. I keep them all the same. Their joy is well-protected. Their moment is forever.

I keep them all together. I keep them as close as I can. I keep them high on the white wall. Their feet will never dirty. Their pain will never reach them.

I say my prayers in black and white And hang them on the wall. I keep them close to heaven. I keep them close to me. I keep them as I remember them. I keep them as they should be.

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace, How sweet the sound, That saved its best for me.

I paid the cost, Until I drown. Now, I'm broke, But finally free.

Remember Them

He has no first name And never gets to see His supposed atrocities Broadcast on t.v.

He has no first name And can't remember the feel Of blue jeans or a woman's skin Only BDUs and steel

She has no first name And I don't think she'd care What the new trend is this month Or what you think of her hair

He has no bed of his own And I bet he'd love a beer Or to see how much his son has grown And changed within a year

She has no shoes to dance in No dress to twirl around No child to bounce upon her knee Only boots to hit the ground

Remember them in front of the college Or when you watch the morning news While you drink coffee that tastes like coffee And debate each other's views

Remember them when you go home And you can't even tell Just how much your son has grown Because you know him so well

Remember them even though You just may never see How much freedom that they have given To someone's sons across the sea

The Road Without Me

You're on a road without me- In a car with an empty seat. You're sleeping in a bed Too big for just two feet.

Your arms must feel empty Without me there to hold. Are you missing any pieces, Of the stories that I've told?

When you hear my name spoken, Does it make you think of me? Or is it just a word, Passing through the scenery?

The girl with long, brown hair- Does she make you second-look? Is there a gape upon your shelf, Where there's that nagging, missing book?

Do you hear a song playing, That brings back a memory? Do the words mean something different, When you think of me?

The Road Without You

I'm on a road without you, In a bed that's much too small; Have your number and a phone, But I just can't make the call.

Every decent man I meet Seems to, also, have your name. Every smile that they give me Just can't make me feel the same.

The thousand things I'm learning, And the beauties that I see, Seldom bring me enjoyment Because you're not here with me.

Keep your picture on the wall, So that I'll never forget What the face of love looked like, And the remnants of its debt.

I'm on a road without you, In a world without you near. I swear I just don't exist; It's no life without you here.

Iron Man

You raised this child in reverse, With stone heart, but loving verse.

With iron fist and hurtful prank, I couldn't swim, but never sank.

You made a man out of a little girl, But gave each color you had in the world.

When first I saw you cry, I knew: That even iron men melt too.

And your little man's a woman now; Her iron man has a fading brow.

But it's the iron man that I have to thank, When each stone that hits me, crumbles to the bank.

For these bones of mine-they came from you; Which means that I'm half iron too.

So, Dad, you can rest easy now, Even though, your little man's a girl. Nothing in life will ever hurt her, Because you brought her into this world.

I'm Still Here

Alone, there stands the Iron Man, Who gazes out across the land, That caused each line in calloused hand.

He stands atop all that remains: Of what he built and weathered grains, All paid with loving, labored pains.

A twisted pole hangs down to sigh, Where, again, he raised the flag to fly. Surviving, together, they defy.

From crumbled stairs is not a tear. From weathered flag there is no fear. They stare in silence, I'm still here.

* My father, after surviving a tornado that destroyed our home.

The Song That I Sing

There is a road that can't be traveled. There is a dream in a dream. I...