Winter by Klaus J. Gerken (2013) Winter I have seen the frosted window panes In the winter of a frosted rain; I have marveled where the marvel sheds It's marvel where the sky has bled; I have come an old and ragged man To the end where sirens drag a man: 'This not so you say, it cannot be But it is, my friend, for you and me! I have seen the years of garden roses, Bloom, wither, die and bloom again; So much of what has passed is roses, Roses that survived the frosted rain. And I have fallen by the wayside, Gathered dust and brushed the dust away again. 'Tis not so you say, it cannot be But it is, my friend, for you and me. Of all the Springs and Summer seasons A journey on explosive wings Gathers wind into our billowed sails And guides us forward in the mist of things; Have you seen yourself in the blacked-out mirror, Have you rubbed your eyes and stared in wonder? 'Tis not so you say, it cannot be But it is, my friend, for you and me! Now the Autumn wisely takes our senses - Lear is old and hiding, apprehensive; What has once been a polished shining crown Is now but a wind of dust in a wand'rer's gown. Looking back you hardly see the sun of youth In the candle diminished in your empty room. 'Tis not so you say, it cannot be But it is, my friend, for you and me! KJG 1:48 AM Tuesday 29 January 2013 * Song performed in a dream on stage with Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf at the Palladium. Carl Perkins sang the coda from the back ground in shadow fading in and out. Ron Wood, Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf did the solo. Wish I could have taped it. It was glorious! Midnight Blues When the train stops at midnight, you got to get off When the train stops at midnight, you got to get off There won't be nobody waitin', but it's no time to scoff When you're walkin' down the street man and there ain't no one around When you're walkin' down the street man and there ain't no one around Think about your woman and the whiskey you have downed (Fade in) Well its one for the money two for the show time to get ready go cat go (Fade out) When the train howls at midnight and the road is long and hard When the train howls at midnight and the road is long and hard When you finally get to your back door do some thinking hard When you open up that back door the house is dark and mean When you open up that back door the house is dark and mean Your baby ain't at home man and your house ain't very clean Instrumental (Fade in) Well its one for the money two for the show time to get ready go cat go (Fade out) When the train stops at midnight, you got to get off When the train stops at midnight, you got to get off There won't be nobody waitin', but it's no time to scoff When you're walkin down the street man and there ain't no one around When you're walkin down the street man and there ain't no one around Think about your woman and the whiskey you have downed Written in a dream 11pm wrote down 1122 pm 29 Jan 2013 KJG 11pm 29 Jan 2013 * Pupil asks master: When? Master answers: Now! Then points to the door. Pupil asks: Why? Master growls: You have to ask? 30 Jan 2012 * My Love Is My love is like an angel with mended broken wings Follows me to midnight till the mourning dove sings I dance under Arctarius and follow every star I cannot give her credit though she followed me this far There's a trophy hanging somewhere that no one wants to have But she holds it her bosom and she'll take it to her grave There's an old familiar saying, "I commit to what life is" Sometime's loves a failure and sometimes it's a kiss So if you follow me to midnight, I'll follow you to dawn Both of us together won't raise a false alarm In the morning when we wake up, the mending will begin You will fly away like an angel into a new dawning. KJG 907pm 30 January 2013 * Master asks young pupil: Whatcha want? Pupil blurts out: Enlightenment! Master smiles: See my age? KJG 550am 31 Jan 2013 * follow one more time i can't decline what makes a purpose doesn't always make a rhyme lounging here on the stair swing babe swing it's the walk that is the thing there's a room and there's a lair it isn't always fair the beggar digs a trench and the old man cops a bench i'm all for tender moments or oracles and omens like shooting at the stars with shotguns in a bar don't worry there's a fraction of a pulverized reaction to noodles in hot soup when the winter comes recoup one more time i can't decline what makes a purpose doesn't always make a dime kjg 1239pm 31 jan 2013 * Return I bid you farewell, may you have a safe journey; The way is long, and the path is daunting. There are many unknowns, and I fear for your safety. If you stay I can offer you sanctuary. My garden has plenty and my house is warm; The soldiers will never raise an alarm. "I thank you my friend, but I must return home; My people require a head for their throne." KJG 144pm 31 Jan 2013 * Flash between the shadow and the sun where reality comes undone there's a momentary flash that blinds one like a match lit up in the dark recesses of mind where the ghostly images park and linger so unkind at first one sees nothing then slowly in the dark reality comes sharp and then like a lost dream the meaning slips away the mind is not revealing and everything is mud and then the match burns out. KJG 908am 2 Feb 2013 * hemlock i have no more passion all my passion has deserted me the broken vines and withering laurels attest to a terrible winter of malcontent the oracle is mute and the harbour is empty frozen with the ice of centuries i encourage no removal i enjoy the emptiness passion without feeling feeling without passion i seek a cave without an echo that leads into a darkness and forgets about the past there is no lighthouse where i am going there is no need for light at all what is given is not taken and what is taken is not given drunks and children know it they see who rapes the mind poets plow the field sometimes only dust but poets plow who will sow the seeds? kjg 1009 2 feb 2013 * All poems copyright (c) 2013 Klaus J. Gerken Published by Ygdrasil Press 2013