tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41615237392380573332024-03-13T21:05:39.832-06:00daily poetrycommitted to creating and posting one poem per day.adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.comBlogger1655125truetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-73026648538628817102014-07-12T12:38:00.001-06:002014-07-12T12:38:27.672-06:00#1640 a good dayfresh sheets and new socks<br />
a newly made bed and a new day<br />
your favourite place and a good book<br />
great friends and great food<br />
a fire-lighting conversation and inspiring ideas<br />
adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-51469740235895155482014-07-12T12:34:00.003-06:002014-07-12T12:34:47.186-06:00#1639 leadershipit is the speeches, and the silent nods<br />
in the clothes, and in the naked moments<br />
it is in the dreams, and the reality<br />
in the voice, and in the whispers<br />
it is in front of the crowd, and alone at night<br />
it is all of the yesterdays, all of today, and all about tomorrow<br />
adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-53184164924830327442014-07-12T12:28:00.001-06:002014-07-12T12:28:49.050-06:00#1638 getting the shothe calls himself a photographer<br />
an artist<br />
but he loathes todays<br />
making brats smile<br />
panicking about running out of memory space at the cake-cutting<br />
an intruder in someone else's day<br />
adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-11438455704840370192014-07-12T12:25:00.003-06:002014-07-12T12:25:50.004-06:00#1637 letting goa mother holds her son in a funeral home<br />
or maybe the son holds the mother<br />
the embrace is tight<br />
the release is delayed<br />
but there is always a time for letting goadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-8388939176444771512014-07-08T21:47:00.000-06:002014-07-08T21:47:47.647-06:001636 hot dayon the hottest day of the hottest day of my life<br />
at the moment when the telephone poles showed no asphalt shadows<br />
she walked in front of me<br />
she was the only one in the county at that moment (barring the air-conditioned) who was smiling<br />
and she made my heart, my being, my soul smile too<br />
she had no cliché ice cream, but for a moment, my body forgot the record temperature<br />
i just stayed suspended in am altered state of time<br />
still<br />
she haunts meadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-21852112624569890112014-07-07T22:00:00.003-06:002014-07-07T22:00:38.408-06:00#1635 all about youthe grass doesn't grow much when there's nothing but sunshine<br />
and neither do we<br />
like Natalie and Jo and Tootie and Blair<br />
we take the good; we take the bad<br />
not because we want to but because that's the way things work<br />
that's the facts of life<br />
<br />
too much rain can kill the grass too<br />
but the balance<br />
the balance<br />
sun-rain<br />
rain-sun<br />
keeps the lawnmower busy<br />
adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-21779013905248353452014-07-07T21:51:00.001-06:002014-07-07T21:51:49.558-06:00#1634 pseudo-democracywe call it thunder and lightning<br />
though we know we have it backwards<br />
we do this because everyone does this<br />
and we follow along<br />
never questioningadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-78901276834442830682014-07-04T23:49:00.001-06:002014-07-04T23:49:26.189-06:00#1633 quality screen timefrom inside he front porch she spies on her boy<br />
playing in the sandbox<br />
his arm is a crane<br />
the plastic shovel in his hand fills the plastic pail in his lap<br />
his lips make what his mind decides are machine noises<br />
he stops, turns, perhaps sensing his mother's stare<br />
his eyes stop on hers and his mouth spreads into a crooked grin <br />
full of happiness and short of teeth<br />
<br />
adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-83359392659140116592014-07-04T23:43:00.001-06:002014-07-04T23:43:52.924-06:00#1632 4 in Paul is seawe call it July 4th<br />
as if the date itself <br />
was named after our celebration<br />
after our country<br />
fireworks, alcohol, and unquestioned pride<br />
national pillars<br />
we stare at the sky<br />
explosives telling us there is something bigger than ourselves<br />
if only we stared at the sky the other 364 nights<br />
we'd know there's something bigger than our explosives too<br />
adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-80327093805150532352014-07-04T23:37:00.001-06:002014-07-04T23:37:24.459-06:00#1631 early Julynothing blooms like a lilac<br />
but the gardeners fail to mention <br />
how short the bloom lasts<br />
how plain the shrub is before bloom<br />
how brown and ugly the flower is after bloom<br />
the girl at the party who everyone knows should go home and changeadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-17425028983657528732014-07-02T21:24:00.002-06:002014-07-02T21:24:33.789-06:00#1630 habanero lovermy habanero lover she moves like no other<br />
my habanero lover get under my covers<br />
<br />
my habanero lover even her absence is hot<br />
my habanero lover let's see what you got<br />
<br />
my habanero lover she moves like no other<br />
my habanero lover get under my covers<br />
<br />
my habanero lover she sets me on fire<br />
my habanero lover are you for hire<br />
<br />
my habanero lover she moves like no other<br />
my habanero lover get under my covers<br />
<br />
adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-88088912300521949462014-07-02T21:18:00.000-06:002014-07-02T21:18:40.752-06:00#1629 the same song playsthe same song plays<br />
for the same audience of two<br />
but the audience doesn't dance anymore<br />
they used to know who led and who followed<br />
now love lies in the stomach, swallowed<br />
<br />
the same song plays<br />
the same notes and lyrics<br />
but the meaning ain't the same no more<br />
they used to love the silence between the notes<br />
now they make excuses to grab their coatsadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-6923601205576842692014-06-22T23:01:00.000-06:002014-07-04T23:44:17.765-06:00#1628 the tie that bindsI got the blues from what I read 'cause all they care about is green<br />
They made this here picket line grey, though their intentions be black and white<br />
The time is now, stand together, fight this fight<br />
So grab a lawn-chair, play some crib<br />
Make like Jonny Cash <br />
and walk the line<br />
The time is now, stand together, fight this fight<br />
<br />
We're playing a game with children's welfare<br />
Our opponents make up the rules, kicking teachers out of schools<br />
Picking the people's pockets, so they can fill their own<br />
So grab a lawn-chair, play some crib<br />
Make like Jonny Cash <br />
and walk the line<br />
The time is now, stand together, fight this fight<br />
<br />
On our ballot slips we replaced democracy with bureaucracy<br />
Now we fill files with paper, but something ain't right here<br />
Some of us believe these streets is still the people's<br />
So grab a lawn chair, play some crib<br />
Make like Jonny Cash <br />
and walk the line<br />
The time is now, stand together, fight this fight<br />
<br />
We got the blues 'cause from what we read all they care about is green<br />
They made our picket line grey, though their intentions be black and white<br />
The time is now, stand together, fight this fight<br />
So grab a lawnchair, play some crib<br />
Make like Jonny Cash <br />
and walk the line<br />
The time is now, stand together, fight this fightadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-6330368534327243372014-06-14T22:53:00.002-06:002014-06-14T22:53:50.715-06:00#1627 to the girl wearing too much lipstick drinking alone at the bar say Hi and suture this heart<br />
just well enough to last until the sun's next visit<br />
and I know the needle will hurt<br />
but the bleeding will stop<br />
or at least slow<br />
<br />
this ER is full of clowns and wannabees<br />
let's understand them together<br />
between faded sheets<br />
let us understand<br />
between you and me<br />
<br />
it's OK to listen to our bodies' needs<br />
let's give in to them together<br />
until night fades to dawn<br />
let us give in<br />
give again and again and again<br />
just once<br />
adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-56647267794441771312014-06-14T22:09:00.000-06:002014-06-14T22:09:04.184-06:00#1626 boil and simmerthere's a poem brewing in the pot of my soul<br />
soon be spilling sizzling all over the stovetop<br />
stand back<br />
protect yourself<br />
this is how houses burn down<br />
down to the ground<br />
memories covered in black soggy messes of ash<br />
<br />
there's a poem brewing in the pot of my soul<br />
the element is glowing orange and sparkling black<br />
stand back<br />
protect you child<br />
this is how families live on<br />
on through the dawn<br />
memories as ancestral relay baton<br />
<br />
there's a poem brewing in the pot of my soul<br />
life is white and black<br />
so stand back<br />
protect clarity<br />
this is how we feign our sanity<br />
through the crack beneath the door<br />
sanity is a silly three-eyed beast<br />
<br />
adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-9814551949058157412014-06-05T22:31:00.001-06:002014-06-05T22:31:09.870-06:00#1625 and the man in the moonyou think I'm an entitled prick<br />
unappreciative of all my parents gave me<br />
but like the new swimmer in the pool's deep end,<br />
we do violent, primal things when we can't breathe<br />
and breathing is hard<br />
with a silver spoon in your mouth<br />
<br />
adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-41038584839976434682014-05-25T21:03:00.001-06:002014-05-25T21:03:59.000-06:00#1624 moving and moving onthe new borns and the newly weds have fled the fridge-front<br />
the stove was pulled out and ancient dust bunnies removed<br />
personal pictures are stacked temporary in boxes<br />
as we pretend this wasn't our home for years<br />
wait for strangers to walk in and feel this house could be there home<br />
that they could hang their own pictures<br />
arrange their own furniture<br />
laugh at their own jokes<br />
<br />
I hope it's a family<br />
someone who will honour the walls and fill them with happy memories<br />
if some suit comes and gets workboots to knock her down<br />
in the name of progress and profit<br />
then I should not like to drive by in the future<br />
I would take the long way aroundadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-42530086508340642802014-05-23T22:59:00.000-06:002014-05-24T09:57:30.633-06:00#1623 unhingedI had problems with doors<br />
the sound of the metal strike-plate<br />
the sound of commitment<br />
a commitment to the future<br />
unable to look back<br />
I had problems with doors<br />
they slam<br />
they squeak<br />
they close off<br />
they interrupt<br />
I had problems with doors<br />
with having to close and lock them each night<br />
with forgetting keys<br />
with cracking weatherstrips<br />
then she came along<br />
opening a door I didn't know I hadadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-28243908228979068582014-05-17T10:03:00.001-06:002014-05-17T10:03:17.989-06:00#1622 committeethey are experts in their field<br />
leaders<br />
their combined knowledge is overwhelming<br />
their theory and experience un paralleled<br />
and they still laugh when one fartsadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-22623215593026550902014-05-14T21:44:00.002-06:002014-05-14T21:44:58.688-06:00#1621 beatsolitary notes on a solitary piano massage my solitary cerebellum<br />
is that a baby crying or a screen door opening<br />
a voice soaking the air in truth<br />
we need to breathe this air<br />
to breathe in the truth<br />
guns and kick-drums sound alike<br />
but one ends life, and the other gives it<br />
<br />
should you ever lose or find yourself underwater<br />
kick<br />
kick hard and fast<br />
now is not the time to breathe<br />
<br />
heavy distortion represents heavy distortion<br />
in the music<br />
in the musician<br />
in the message<br />
in the audience<br />
<br />
once in a while <br />
on your kick-drum<br />
make the sound of an object falling down stairs<br />
break the monotony of rhythm<br />
then go back to it<br />
anything that many centuries old<br />
has wisdom<br />
adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-68187199214360396802014-05-14T19:21:00.002-06:002014-05-14T19:21:53.998-06:00#1620 3:30pmthe backseat of the schoolbus<br />
coveted vinyl for may<br />
but not for me<br />
I was not a goody-two-shoes<br />
or a tattletale<br />
which is what I would suppose those people to say<br />
but I was a pleaser<br />
I was at times a scaredy-cat<br />
I did not like being around trouble<br />
it made my body tighten<br />
not the breaking of the rules<br />
just the being around when the rules were broken<br />
I understood the passengers' need to rebel<br />
after sitting from 9 until 3 <br />
and I understood the driver's need to enforce the rules<br />
I faulted neither<br />
but the conflict stole years from the unseen end of my life<br />
and so I learned to pretend not to careadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-39902032788545300412014-05-13T20:48:00.001-06:002014-05-13T20:48:26.142-06:00#1619 yesterday today and tomorrowwe are our memories<br />
the longer we live, the more true the words<br />
childhood and adolescence and adulthood<br />
squish together to form our selves<br />
memory trumps truth<br />
as our memories shape us and we shape our memories<br />
what is the present but an end to the past<br />
and a beginning to the future<br />
but the past never leaves<br />
she stays here now<br />
she carries us into the future<br />
as we carry her tooadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-2780413687834757482014-05-12T21:37:00.001-06:002014-05-12T21:37:04.796-06:00#1618 a calendar vandalized in inki cannot hold this pace<br />
the adrenaline, once welcome<br />
is reaching poison levels<br />
<br />
we are all too busy, i get that<br />
but I'm not good at busy<br />
i am a natural uni-tasker<br />
<br />
i build extra time into my day<br />
to be open to life's treasures<br />
and now i keep missing those treasures<br />
<br />
today i met a good friend on the sidewalk<br />
i was only 45% in the conversation<br />
55% in my next meeting- a sin<br />
<br />
forgive me while i practice<br />
something i need to practice<br />
to protect the important parts of me<br />
<br />
no<br />
no<br />
no<br />
<br />
<br />
adam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-40250117182658170602014-05-11T22:55:00.002-06:002014-05-11T22:55:33.597-06:00#1617 monday morningspring tire tracks scrawled on the high school soccer field<br />
everyone's asking who<br />
rumours about mud on the underbody of so-and-so's truck<br />
and what's-his-name's car<br />
but no one seems to know<br />
a rarity in a town this size<br />
<br />
the assumption is there<br />
a young person, probably two or three of them<br />
male<br />
likely grade 11 or 12<br />
perhaps a recent grad<br />
or drop-out<br />
<br />
the principal made an attempt at an authoritative announcement<br />
desperation<br />
the "good" kids are anxious and curious<br />
the "bad" kids are amused and curious<br />
the "adults" are pissed and curious<br />
parents are curious... and nervous<br />
<br />
not all questions get answered<br />
not mysteries are solver<br />
not all wrongs are righted<br />
legends are borne<br />
rumors jump generations<br />
and we're left<br />
wonderingadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4161523739238057333.post-11384453370305576772014-05-08T19:35:00.001-06:002014-05-08T19:35:42.090-06:00#1616 lesson not yet learnedwe run and run<br />
and run and run<br />
and run and run<br />
to keep up with those ahead of us<br />
who are keeping up with those ahead of them<br />
better-paying job<br />
bigger house<br />
newer car<br />
and in the end<br />
all that really matters <br />
is time<br />
and happinessadam macdonald freelance@fernie.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14885157759391960273noreply@blogger.com0