Five Poems

Poems have different cores, or so I believe, and can only be structured well for certain figurative language-heart beats; like all counselors are not made for all clients, so all poems are not made for the same person, or purpose; when we read we all have our likes and dislikes; I do not necessarily know what poetry is per se, but I do know what the greatness of poetry has, and great poetry is close to an illusion?it carries an echo I do believe-figurative yes, at best, and questionable yes, by far. Here are five poems I've recently wrote, all with a different core, focus and style.

1) The Beehive [Poetic cut-ups]

[Paper] "USA Today," 75 cents, March 18, 20, 2005: '?it was acceptable in the l980's?as a cup of coffee?what I will not do is participate...to be clear, I have never taken illegal drugs?In my 19 years in the big league?Around the World in 8, days?.McGuire said repeatedly?recent spat of vehicle accidents in Iraq?Rice Reaches Out?Quest for Fame?Jules Verne 100th anniversary?Peterson to San Quentin?Jackson's young guests?Stun guns?'

[Sound] In the background of the café-bookstore, I hear the music of Nat King Cole: '?we are not too young to know?' Now I hear trousers hitting legs?Dishes in the dishwasher [café] ?a laugh, I think its Erica behind the café counter?squealing of galoshes?a cough in the background? .

[Sight] Three girls went to the counter?lady beside me writing?Michelle came up to my table, talking about her boyfriend?Mark waved goodbye for the day, just left his music area?lady in the front of me whispering?large woman with a thin sport jacket on at the front ordering food, talking to the servers (some food to go I think)? .

[Dreams] Voices that let you roam at your will, but to receive the voices one must stop all the echoes, shadows, aggravations-find silence. The subconscious can hear ever operation going on. I am like all warm blooded mammals: we all dream: bats, bears and beasts-like humankind. Dreams are the keys to keeping the heart beat, beating; stop the dreaming, you stop everything. Last night I dreamed of writing this poem.

[Epilogue] The mind, the mind, the mind: papers, sounds, sights and dreams-come in and out from all sides of me: day and night, and night and night and day, every which way. From all sides of me, like a movie; computer, filing, filing them all away, "?for what you say?"

2) Old Charlie Edwards

Old Charlie Edwards had an office About one and a half miles from town Most cars that came by you'd know why He owned all the real estate In town He never smoked cigarettes Nor drank alcohol He never gambled with his money From what, most folks can recall, during his formative years And until his High School Prom He'd play Monopoly year round And whip everyone Fine, as you may foretell He made his money just that way It was like playing chess, he'd say And he'd never rest, play all day And owned half the town Well, Old Charlie Edwards' Office Was always in the white Until the town's committee Voted to build an interstate Just to spite Old Charlie and his ways Yes, Charlie had to move From that old spot As you may have guessed And thereafter, Charlie sold all His real estate After that, all the towns folks Ran to his office to look around As if he may have left some treasure Laying about But Old Charlie Edwards Simply moved out of town Laughing and Giggling Buying more real estate in St. Paul!?

3)

The Last Second

Angels come (sometimes) within arms reach but dare not touch the heart's beat; beyond its sacred melody? for your sake!...

4)

Sid M. [l966]

Long forgotten is my friend Forty-year ago this spring- He died when he was twenty, And I was but nineteen.

I see us in our High School Halls, With boyish hopes and dreams; His face was always high-brow But he never looked down on me.

To him who died so very young, And now, so very long ago? In memory, unsought, I say: I have never forgotten you!

5)

The Scent of Paris

Calm as a Paris?river's afternoon Warm in the month of June And filled with spirits, crimson people, Pervaded with a scent that could lead One's illusional dreams-to be!

A ghoul's cologne haunts my hands As I glimpse the bridges: land to land As I touch the hidden flutes of memory The scent of Paris-comes back to me.

About the author: Mr. Siluk is a world traveler, a lover of the mysteries around the world, and has visit many World Heritage Sites, his most recent being Easter Island, the Galapagos and Mesa Verde. His books can be seen on/at Barns and Noble.com, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, Abe.com Alibis, Boarders and several other sites and book stores. Many of his books can be purchased through the English Bookdealers. He spends his time between Lima, Peru and St. Paul, Minnesota, and has just finished working on two new books: "The Macabre Poems," and "Perhaps it's Love," and continues to work on "Curse of the Abyss Worm," a suspenseful mystery, and "Cold Kindness," a tragic love affair.

---

Poetry and Popular Culture

Is poetry too complicated for the average reader? Is it too cryptic, scholarly? If you ask a large group of average people what they like or don't... Read More

Ode To Quetzalcoatal [Now in Spanish and English]

Ode to QuetzalcóatlQuetzalcóatl the GreatNo one knew his true name, so they Called him Quetzalcóatl-feather Serpent He and his crew of nineteen: faces Strange faces, images of... Read More

Contract of Death [Now: in SPANISH and English]

Contract of DeathI heard today, the preacher say: "Daniel has warned us long ago, Of the trials and tribulations we Are now facing, with our foes?"He says... Read More

Testimony to the Night [In English and Spanish]

In the quiet of the arctic night- In its deep northern skies, Dim are the lights, in its coldEvening frost?! Even the stars of the arctic Seem... Read More

Biography of Charlotte Bronte

Charlotte Bronte (1816 ?1855) Novelist and Poet.Charlotte was the daughter of the Rev. Patrick Bronte,with her sisters Emily and Anne, Charlotte was brought up in a small... Read More

Two Poems and a Short Story

1)dying in the bar [sluggishly]yet, I would crawl too upto the bar, it was everything, the dampness the carved wood the zoned-out-ness in my head dreaming; it... Read More

How to Write Bad Poetry

"All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling."--Oscar WildePeople write poetry for a plethora of reasons, but this article has a sharpened arrowhead aimed directly at the fingertips... Read More

For My Mother

I cannot bear to think of when you will be gone.I do not understand how I will get along.Your love has been my resting place, the place... Read More

THe Monster Mash, A Graveyard SMASH (short story I wrote when I was 11)

The Monster Mash The Graveyard SmashHave you heard of the Monster Mash? I suppose you know the story of how it came to be, right? Well, I'm... Read More

Three Poems (While in Transition/English and Spanish)

Here are three more poems by the author, Dennis Siluk, while traveling througout Central and South America.Three Poems While in Transition (In Spanish and English)Poem... Read More

Daybreak at Pikes Creek [a Poem]

Daybreak at Pikes Creek [Summer of 2005]Daybreak by Lake Superior Rising out of the woods like: A swamp mist I'm waiting for breakfast(at the B&B) I pace... Read More

Wars, Air of Ambiguity [for: Lt. Laura Walker] in SPANISH and English

Wars, air of AmbiguityDedicated to 1st. Lt. Laura Walker (From an old soldier/Vietnam Veteran)[Advance] We fight in foreign lands not because we necessarily love its culture or... Read More

I Saw the Universe

I can see the cerulean blue of the skiesOr the indigo of the nightI can see the stars wink, the grin of the moonDuring the changes of... Read More

My Final Defeat - Fixed Competition

She probably can't remember and I know I can never forget...the first time I saw her like that I was only nine years-oldnot naive by any stretchhaving... Read More

Review Of Stephen B. Wileys First Book Of Poetry: HERO ISLAND

Poet Stephen B. Wiley's first book of poetry, Hero Island, reflects tender snapshots and reminiscent overviews of various stages of his life as a youngster working on... Read More

Thank You To Our Soldiers And A Tribute To Old Glory And A Prayer For Peace

Thank youDedicated to soldiers and their loved onesFor those who have laid in fox holes,carried guns,marched for hours.For those who have had cold sleepless nights,endless days of... Read More

Antidotes for an Alibi

Amy King's first full-length collection, Antidotes for an Alibi, insists that we examine the deceptive clarity of our actions and the goals that motivate us. How does... Read More

San Francisco [Almost a Sonnet]

(The city by the bay of Northern California, near which the Pacific Ocean resides; the year is 1967)Mid October seemed like some spring day,When through the poised... Read More

Footprints to Mantaro Valley (a poem in Spanish and English)

Footprints to Mantaro Valley (English version)In what retreat art hid?-Where falling mountains groan In shadow and amongThe rapids of the Rio? Is not your name Mantaro Valley?Beyond... Read More

Africa - Wheres The Profit?

A poetic comment that just welled up inside my head ? why cant we just do something ? before many more are dead?How pious those politicians are,... Read More

Lifes Too Short

Time goes by to quickly to hold your feelings inside Especially when their so strong even if they don't abide...By all the accepted rules most people live... Read More

Breathing-in, Minnesota [a poem: now in Spanish and English]

In early fall, in Minnesota, the rain falls, falls, In buckets, buckets and more buckets-: drops Likened to music from its many streams-land Of ten-thousand lakes; moistened... Read More

Here And There

My eyes opened. I am still alive; Living on planet earth. Though unconscious for many hours; Unaware of existence, Unknowing of life, Incognizant of humanity Living... Read More

Hindu Poet - Kamalakanta

Kamalakanta was born in Burdwan India in the late 18th Century. From an early age he expressed an interest in spirituality and later in life Kamalakanta received... Read More

Ambiguity and Abstraction in Bob Dylan?s Lyrics

To many people contemporary poetry is a turn-off. The reason for this is that the majority of these poems are boring. They are so because they fail... Read More

Lord Byrons She Walks in Beauty

Lord Byron's opening couplet to "She Walks In Beauty" is among the most memorable and most quoted lines in romantic poetry. The opening lines are effortless, graceful,... Read More