people

family follies

/ kate58 / Leave a comment

o the joys of family dysfunction!
sibling rivalry & riotous rambunction
a perfect house with manicured yard
a simple life that’s often hard
well hidden by a white picket fence
behind which nothing makes much sense
the daddy laughs, the mommy cries
& all the kiddies cover their eyes
with care the daddy’s head is bent
in his daily struggle to pay the rent
the mommy juggles many woes
to keep her kids in food & clothes
for the youngest child all life’s a game
the oldest child carries all the blame
& the middle child has no outlook
being often overlooked
voices raised in a fighting song
over who is right & who is wrong
the son is taught he’s free to choose
the daughters believe they’re doomed to lose
love & hate, cruel or kind
they’re family & forever intertwined

copyright © 2014 KPM

familyfollies pic

happens to all of us

/ kate58 / 3 Comments

almost over night
tiny wrinkles appear
the TV volume gets increased
cause it’s harder now to hear

twinges in your back
when you try to touch your toes
endlessly searchin’ for your keys
as the short term memory goes

all your favorite foods
now give you awful gas
you can scarce go out in public
lest people think you crass

finger joints are swollen
knees begin to creak
walkin’ to the store an’ back
leaves you bedridden for a week

hair starts goin’ gray
or worse, it starts recedin’
medicine cabinet overflows
with all the pills you’re now needin’

varifocals are now required
for numbers on a measuring cup
an’ you can’t sit on the floor
cause it’s too hard to get back up

gone are the days when I was
a sleek an’ sexy mademoiselle
why did no one ever tell me
the agin’ process would be hell!

copyright © 2014 KPM

happenstoallofus pic

background music

/ kate58 / Leave a comment

birthday songs & buzzin’ bees
poppin’ sound of my aging knees
a neighbour callin’ to his wife
the background music to my life

theme songs when my fave films end
non-stop laughter of my best friend
microwave’s obnoxious bell
the background music I know so well

rain on my window late at night
drunken lovers havin’ a fight
soft voice that whispers in my ear
the background music I love to hear

techno, jazz, hip-hop or rock
obscenely loud ticking of my kitchen clock
don’t care about the sound or the cost
without background music I’d be lost

copyright © 2014 KPM

background music pic

hotel dreams

/ kate58 / Leave a comment

‘s a bedraggled building
made of sandstone
where everyone lives
in a room of their own

its occupants have ceased
to hope for anything good
they’ve resigned themselves to dwelling
in this unsound neighborhood

there are car lots an’ pawn shops
gun shops an’ seedy bars
haunts of a sad-faced populace
who failed to grasp the stars

the hotel lobby reeks
of words left unspoken
an’ the porter’s like the elevator
eternally broken

the carpet’s seen better days
the stairwell walls are peeling
a once grand décor
that leaves you cold an’ unfeeling

here no one ever speaks
when they’re passing on the stairs
swamped by separate sorrows
they’ve no thought for other’s cares

the man who lost his fortune
shuns the woman bemoaning her youth
an’ the dragon-chasin’ couple
have invented their own truth

yet visitors are frequent
at the humble hotel dreams
here they find acceptance
in the sound of each other’s screams

copyright © 2014 KPM

hotel dreams pic

meltwater blues

/ kate58 / Leave a comment

‘s bad enough I gotta clean ya
but I gotta defrost ya, too
‘s bad enough I gotta clean ya
but I gotta defrost ya, too
this is not a job I like
it makes me cranky, makes me blue

so I fill a pan with water
turn the front burner on high
start unloadin’ the freezer
with many a curse & sigh
soon the countertops are covered
there’s ice trays in the sink
I can’t stand this disarray
is it too early for a drink?

‘s bad enough I gotta clean ya
but I gotta defrost ya, too
‘s bad enough I gotta clean ya
but I gotta defrost ya, too
this is not a job I like
I’ll be so happy when I’m through

got my steel spatula
to knock off the chunks of ice
cold water splashes down my leg
damn, that don’t feel nice!
use some wadded paper towels
to get the puddles off the floor
how I wish I had a maid
don’t wanna do this any more!

‘s bad enough I gotta clean ya
but I gotta defrost ya, too
‘s bad enough I gotta clean ya
but I hafta defrost ya, too
once I win the lottery
I’ll buy a frost-free fridge ‘n replace you!

copyright © 2014 KPM

meltwater blues pic

does everyone stare?

/ kate58 / Leave a comment

big & brown
never are they cast down
they stare at me
but what’s to see?

blue & bleary
the wind makes them teary
they stare at me
what do they see?

summer leaf green
some kind, some mean
staring at me
what is it they see?

gray & grim
a small army of them
always starin’ at me
what in hell do they see?

bold & black
their gaze like an attack
just starin’ at me
wish I knew what they see

copyright © 2014 KPM

does everyone stare pic

an accidental touch from a lonely man

/ kate58 / Leave a comment

there’s not much light
in the tiny, dusty store
illumination comes
through the propped-open door
but the location’s convenient –
it’s on her way
so she pops in
most every day

the man behind the counter
has a face of dusky stone
every day he’s there
every day he’s all alone
she often idly wonders
what he opens up for
seems like she’s the only one
to ever frequent his store

he follows her round the shop
this might fill her with unease
were it not so obvious
that he’s only trying to please
yet whenever she comes in
be it morning or end of day
he rewards her with a smile
in place of words he’s scared to say

“would you like a paper?
a small cake for after tea?
today crisps are on special –
two bags for 50p”
he smiles as he bags her purchases
a paper & chopped pineapple in a can
his callused fingers brushing
across the back of her hand

she’s startled by the contact
was it deliberate, that touch?
“get a grip,” she tells herself
“sometimes you think too much”
yet that hand feels warm all day
affecting her attention span
that accidental touch
from an old ‘n lonely man

copyright © 2014 KPM

lonelyoldman pic