POETRY
Some of the material on this page is included in my upcoming book: Love & Disdain.  
Some love the title, others disdain the title. But is that title dissimilar to the realities of our lives?  Enjoy.

                                    "Inspiration knows not how to tell time. She comes when she wants."


Disdain -

I don’t listen to love songs
It’s blues I prefer.

Tales of endless passion
proclaimed in love songs 
last only moments 
before love goes wrong

Blues sooth the soul
for within these songs
emotions absorb sorrow
when love has gone wrong

Blues reflect truthheartache and pain
knives in my chest
they define my disdain

Inside the blues 
harsh words define
betrayal and lies
love destroyed over time

I reject love’s promise
blues say it right
no proclaimed glory
blues tell me no lies

I don’t listen to love songs
It’s blues I prefer.

        ________
The Essence of Being

You opened your 
being
You let me look in.

You exposed your 
feelings,
You led me to think,

Your beauty is
deeper
than eyes will ever see.

Our knowledge of 
being
shall set us all free.

I opened my
being
I let you see in.

I expressed my 
feelings
You started to drink.
         _________
Romance in Isolation -

Romance in isolation.
Kept hidden away.
The ideal way
to grow relationships
according to those 
who practice this.

Eliminate the risk
of reporting
romantic failures
to friends and family,
to the President,
to Chairman Mao,
to the press.

Nobody will ever know
It was there.

The Romance that is.....
        _________
Insane -

You said:
"I think I’m going insane."

I said:
"If this is insane 
take me with you."

You smiled.

​Tonight

The moon is bright
The sky has light
The weather is right

For a midnight stroll
Through a graveyard tonight.

We cannot see our eyes,
yet with our eyes
we see everything.

We cannot touch our brain,
yet with our brain 
we touch everything
​       _______
______
_______
Hole in my soul -

Your eyes burned into my soul,
not all the way through,
just a tiny little hole.

Was it continuation
of days gone by,
or a new hole
just to satisfy?

Was it as deep 
as the first hole had been?
Or only as deep
as the tip of a pin?

Matters not 
the size the hole.
Matters that 
You burned into my soul.
     _________

Boredom -

We suffer from the same malady 
my friend
We suffer greatly from a disease
invisible to most
Only those properly trained can see it
after they’re told what it is

We suffer from the great disease
therapists call depression
prescribing little pills
giving 
the depressed
a smile

Fuck the clinical diagnosis.
You and me
my friend 
we suffer greatly from something
much more simple
much less elegant,

Boredom.
  
​      _________
Death by Boredom -

Should you find me
dead in bed
one fine morning
write on my epithet
Death by Boredom

I despise the gray skies
that turn
  My Drive
  My Creativity
  My Desire
to mush
like the gray atmosphere
within which
we continue to exist. 

It comforts me
to lay in bed 
under the warmth
of a thick comforter
trying to understand
matters of importance
whatever they may be

Should I get up?
Should I stay put?
Should I have coffee or
A glass of water?
Should I drop acid?
Maybe a morning joint?

Thoughts of importance 
at this point of my life.
But why?

Should those thoughts
have importance
take pity on me
for I have died
that pitiful 
and unceremonious death

Death by Boredom
​       ________
Winds of Desire -

I am a traveler
on a lonesome road
seeking the mother
of my children
still unborn 
waiting
for the 
winds of desire
abandoned long ago
to blow again
​       ________
Dreams

There are messages
In our dreams
Take heed
of what we see
it forecasts
what could be happening
They give directives 
to things 
that change.
We never know
what’s to come,
but pay attention
to the dreams
they may tell us 
the future;
they may warn us
of terror
that may be 
lurking ahead;
they may advise us
of things 
we left behind
that aren’t dead.
There are messages
of importance
There are movies
for fun
Pay attention
to your dreams
unless you have none
if that problem
can't be undone
stop taking 
ambien.
When you wake
before you rise
there’s one matter
of importance:
Play the movies
in your head.
Nightmares 
won’t be there,
they happen
during the day..
​      _________
Dawn reclaims day

As dawn reclaims the day
from night
the sky brings us
new light
​      ________
Property Rights

You gave me your keys
I gave you my sperm

You took back your keys
I asked for my sperm  

I complied
You refused

You said it was yours
Told me I’d had my fun
return in six months
visit our son.
​      _________
I chased love
Love chased me
Occasionally we
caught each other
who cares
who chased who.
         ________
Time to move on

I am unpleasantly calm
Coffee and jellied toast

Reading miserable poetry
written long ago
by the stranger
who was me

I am restless in my calm
is it time to move on?

it is time to move on.
​        _________
Sky orange red 

The ground trembled
a deafening roar
Sky orange red.
Walls and trees tumbled
hot winds blew
across the land
without restraint
in all directions
radiating outward
delivering destruction
to all matter in their way.
Barren landscape
forever changed
because a man-child
is so deranged.
High in the sky
a red cloud appeared
radiating outward
like a mushroom it grows
attached to earth 
by its hideous tail.
The orchestra plays.
Citizens cheer.
Soldiers at attention
gaze at their leader
high above them all
applauding and smiling
knowing the end will come
if not from within
from forces outside.
Kim Jung-un won’t tell them
there is no place to hide 
from the radiation 
from the bombs that will fall.
He’s not leaving alone.
He’s taking them all.
         _________
Nothing is Clear

It’s four in the morning
It’s late in the year
Our souls come together
Yet nothing is clear

Not looking for lovers
That’s not it my dear
A good friend to help me
see what is not clear.

My body is callused
My mind so unclear
I reach out to touch
Yet it’s touch that I fear.

I reach now for guidance
As I try to steer
Through murky gray matter
Where nothing is clear.

It’s five in the morning
Still nothing seems clear
The chill of your body
Means daylight is near.
           ________
Tribute to Leonard Cohen

We’ve grown old together Leonard.
Forty-six years have passed 
since being acquainted. 

We were young.
We had energy.
We were vibrant.

You were older,
but age mattered not.
Time propelled us forward.

Your books, 
your mysterious lyrics,
survive all the years.

You’re still older,
much older than I.
How much matters not. 

Your music
united us.
Created a lasting bond.

You do not know me.
Yet, I do know you
from poems, books and songs.

We stand united.
Two artists,
slaves to our craft.

Leonard, we’ve grown old together
               __________



Copyright © 2007 - 2020 Raymond Cannefax. All right reserved.
And though
we live forever
It's only
for a moment.
        _________
Eternal Love

"My love for you is eternal"
I said
deliriously eyeing
the butt-cheeks
of the waitress
walking away
from our table.
         _________
Change

We must change
every day
to prevent
being swept away.
       __________
Midnight Stroll

The waning moon
reflects off
the blanket of snow
covering  rooftops
and streets
make the time ideal
for a
midnight stroll
            _________
Life or Death

I get hyperactive
run in circles
Don't know what to do 
how to resolve issues 
can't deal with  problems.

It's no different
than when lost
in a forest.

Those who survive
become hyperactive
run in circles
look for a way out
out of the forest.

Those not hyperactive
those who can't do that
lay down
and die.

Hyperactivity
ADD
HDAD
whatever it's called
is a necessity 
for survival
and life to carry on.
         ___________

It is a long trail
we've come down
It is a long way to go
on that long trail
to our new home
we're looking to find
Nothing for us now
but desert and time.
It is a long trail
we travel down.
            ____________
            ___________
Jill 

Lavender the fragrance 
  you bring to the room.
Turquoise sweater 
  your figure defines.
White pearls emphasize 
  your neck so soft smooth.
Translucent blue eyes  
  you open to draw me in.  
Soft supple lips with which 
  you speak and mesmerize.
Golden the glow 
  your skin radiates into the Universe.

- Original version -

Lavender your fragrance,
Turquoise sweater
White pearls
Translucent blue eyes
Radiant golden glow.
             ___________

Siblings

I have no siblings
There once were two
Such things happen
When it’s me they screw

Kinship and blood
Matter not much
When to siblings
It’s dollars they touch

Death of a parent
Begins the dance
Dollars like sugar
Eaten by sibling ants

I have no siblings
Once there were two
Their memories erased
When it’s me they screw.
​          __________

It Calls

When I was young
the sea called to me
sailboats and surf boards.

Now the desert calls
offering sand and sun
and similar risks.
          __________