When I was a
young lad,
I used to hate
walking anywhere.
If I couldn't get
a ride
or take a bus
I simply,
didn't go.
I was a scared
little white boy
frightened by all the
different colors of the world
although,
I still don't believe
any of that
was my fault.
Now that I'm older
and wiser,
and get lethargic without
enough exercise,
I walk absolutely
everywhere,
all hours of
the day -
and night.
And so, I walk
the meanest and darkest
of streets
with no more than $2 in
my wallet,
just enough to purchase
some water,
should I feel I'm
starting
to dehydrate.
My blood no longer
pumps
hard when strange cars
approach
from up ahead
or behind.
The world may indeed
be
a sick and twisted
place,
but I'm a 38-year-old
white male,
packing a few
extra pounds,
a day's labor
short
of being completely
broke,
and I haven't had sexual
contact
with anyone
in well over
a year.
I have a better
chance
of being mugged and
pillaged
by some stray cat with
dementia
in some secluded
alleyway
than by another
human being
no matter what
drugs
he's on.
I'm too old
to fear men
that way.
When I stop at the local
Wal*Mart for
that water,
I always make it a point
to smile
at the sweaty boy
pushing carriages
as if it all
has meaning,
with that box-cutter
tucked
in his cheeks.
ANTHEMS
I should have
never brought the portable
with me
to the shelter
and all those CD's
I burned
when we were
still together.
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
skip
Hard Habit to Break
skip
If You Leave Me Now
skip
November Rain
skip
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
skip
Take it to the Limit
skip
My Heart Will Go On
skip
skip
skip
skip
skip
skip.
So much for shit
that runs -
on batteries.
Bryon D. Howell is a poet currently residing in New Haven, Connecticut. He has been writing poetry for a great number of years. Recently, his poetry has appeared in poeticdiversity, Red River Review, The Quirk, The Cerebral Catalyst, The Greasy Spoon Saloon, and The Lost Beat. Bryon is also the Editor-in-Chief of three online poetry 'zines: The Persistent Mirage, Bringing Sonnets Back, and The Brave Little Poem Daily.
I should have
never brought the portable
with me
to the shelter
and all those CD's
I burned
when we were
still together.
I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
skip
Hard Habit to Break
skip
If You Leave Me Now
skip
November Rain
skip
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
skip
Take it to the Limit
skip
My Heart Will Go On
skip
skip
skip
skip
skip
skip.
So much for shit
that runs -
on batteries.
Bryon D. Howell is a poet currently residing in New Haven, Connecticut. He has been writing poetry for a great number of years. Recently, his poetry has appeared in poeticdiversity, Red River Review, The Quirk, The Cerebral Catalyst, The Greasy Spoon Saloon, and The Lost Beat. Bryon is also the Editor-in-Chief of three online poetry 'zines: The Persistent Mirage, Bringing Sonnets Back, and The Brave Little Poem Daily.
