POETRY
Some of the material on this page is from in my upcoming book: LOVE & HATEPoetry & Short Stories.  
Some Love the title; others Hate the title because of the word, HATE, but realistically, thE title is in line with the realities of our lives? 
Anticipated release, SEPTEMBER 2024 .
​. 
      "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 those songs
emotions absorb sorrow
when love's gone wrong.

Blues reflect truth
heartache and pain
knives in the chest
hemorrhaging brain

Inside the blues
harsh words define
betrayal and lies
assures love is a crime.

It's love I reject
blues tell 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 soul
You let me look in.
You showed your emotions
You led me to think,
Your beauty is deeper
than people can see.

I opened my soul
I let you look in.
I showed my emotions
You started to drink.
       _________

Two Souls -   *

Two souls unite
For reasons unknown
Not for the physical
The spirit has control
The physical may come
If allowed by the soul.
Two souls unite
For reasons unknown.
       ____________
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 the Media,
to Chairman Mao.

Nobody will ever know
It existed,
Romance that is.....
        _________
Insane -

You said:
"I think I’ve gone insane."

I said:
"If this is insane 
let me on your train"

You smiled.
​          ___________
​Tonight

Moon shines bright
Sky filled with light
Weather is right
For a midnight stroll
Through a graveyard tonight

        ___________

Drunk -

At times he pondered
all the money
he gave a drunk
as she drank herself
into oblivion.

Were she to be asked
she would have no clue
of the time that passed 
or where the money went.
Why bother asking?
Let it stand.

Been broke before.
Broke is not broken.
The problem now fixed,
the first step is done,
the drunk is now gone.
     _________

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 
one fine morning in bed
Write on my epithet
Death by Boredom

I despise the gray skies
that turn my
  Drive
  Creativity
  Desire
to mush
like the gray inversion
within which we exist. 

It comforts me
to lay in bed 
under the warmth
of down feathers
striving to understand
matters of importance
whatever those may be.

Should I get up?
Should I stay put?
Should I have coffee or
O.J. to drink?
Should I drop acid?
Eat a banana instead?

Thoughts of importance 
I question why?
those thoughts have
importance
as the dark turns to light.

Pity me not
for I may have died
that unceremonious death
known to many.

Death by Boredom
​       ________
Legs Spread  -     *
Hey babe,
Only one thing left to say.
Spread your legs for the rich man
Until his money goes away.
Spread your legs for his friends
after his money's gone astray.
Engulf them with your lips
drain their fluids so they'll stay.
Search for more rich men
give them pleasures each day.
It's all about their money
for your trinkets they must pay.
Keep your legs spread open
so you're not sent away.
Dispute this you can not.
Nothing left to say!
​           ____________
Dreams

There are messages
In your dreams
Take heed of what you see
They forecasts what could be 
They often give directives 
of things that may change.
We never know what’s to come,

Pay attention to your dreams
They often come to warn you
of terror lurking ahead
Perhaps sent to remind you
that were not yet 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
eliminate your ambiens.
When you wake and before you rise:
Play the movies in your head.
Nightmares won’t be there,
those take place during the day.
​      _________

Journeys 

Marvelous the journeys
the minds take us on
allowing an escape from reality
by transporting us
to elusive spaces
within that mysterious void
between wake & sleep,
places never imagined,
places bizarre, 
places wonderful,
places bittersweet,
all strange. 

Dawn reclaims day

As dawn reclaims the day
From the darkness of night
The sky will bring to us
Blue skies and dawn's light
​      ________
Property Rights

You gave me your keys
I gave you my sperm

You asked for your keys
I asked for my sperm  

I complied
You refused

You said it was yours
Claimed I'd had 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 years 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 
brought by bombs that will fall.
He’s not leaving alone.
He’s taking them all along.
         _________
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,
Forty-some years  
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 remained older,
much older than I.
but time matters not. 

Your evoking music
still sooths my soul.
and will never grow old.

You know me not.
Yet, you I know well
from your songs and books.

We stand united.
Artists who remain,
slaves to our craft.

Leonard, 
we have grown old 
as time passed us by.
               __________



Copyright © 2007 - 2024 Raymond Cannefax. All right reserved.
Flash . . .

And though
we live forever
we exists for 
a brief moment
a millisecond in time.
        _________
Eternal Love

"My love is eternal"
he declared to his wife
as he desirously eyed
the butt-cheeks
of the waitress
walking away
from their table.
         _________
Misfits

I prefer misfits
over status-quo

God bless
the renegades.
       __________
Midnight Stroll

The waning moon
reflects off
the blankets of snow
covering  rooftops
and streets
make the time ideal
for a casual stroll
through the asylum
where blankets .
            _________
Life or Death

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

It's no different than 
being lost in the forest.

Survivors become hyperactive,
running in circles
seeking a way out
a way out of the forest.

Those not hyperactive
unable to run in circles,
lay down and die.

Hyperactivity, ADD, ADHD
whatever you call it
A necessity for survival
For life to carry on
if lost in the forest
don't wait to be found
never stop moving
find your way out.
         ___________

I  Loved You My Way

I loved you my way
that quickly got old.

Lost your affection
held onto my soul.

We've had our struggles.
Enough we've been told.

Let's not get bitter
let's break that mold.

What lies ahead
is yet to unfold.

Let us be friends
through years yet untold
          ____________

Pain & Pleasure -    *

Had he not savored
the pleasures of  love.

He would not have felt
the pain of rejection.

The resultant disdain
related to pain
would not have existed
had love not been able
to join in the game.
    _________________

Guiding Light . . .

Thank you for taking me
to the door of the Universe.
I would have never reached
on my own.
It takes the proper guide
to introduce the light.
A transference from far away.
It takes the proper guide
to help a lost soul steer
toward the light that is so near.
I have finally found that guide.
Thank you, my dear.
      ___________________








Colors . . .

You critique the color 
of the undershirts I wear.
Black, not blue or green.
Impeccable your colors always
uncommon on the avenue.
Bright hues accentuate you
defining your presence
like a colorful fly teasing a trout.
From the end of your fly-rod line
I am teased by the colors
of your brilliant wardrobe,
the colors of your soul,
your complex bright being.
At your attracting colors I do leap
to catch your dancing bait,
to ingest your many-hued fly
allowing you to reel me to shore
cook me and ingest me
assuring we two become one.
​         ____________

Forgiveness . . .

I'd never asked forgiveness
for wrongs that I had done
I only ask forgiveness
From one I have wronged.

I never thought myself
as God's special son
Confession and communion
have helped me none.

But there is a special one
I beg for forgiveness from
so it may ease her pain
from wrongs I have done.

No, it won't come easy
It may not come at all.
and should that be the case,
I will take that fall.

If I am not forgiven
for wrongs that I have done
I pray that time allows 
those wrongs to be undone.
    ______________​

Siblings

He has no siblings
Once there were two
Such things do happen
When people get screwed

Kinship and blood
Matter not much
When siblings he had
His dollars they touched

Death of a parent
Begins the new dance
Dollars like sugar
Carried off by sibling ants

He has no siblings
Once there were two
Their memories erased
When him they screwed.
​          __________

It Calls

When I was young
the sea called to me
sailboats and surf boards.
keeping me sane.
Now as I've aged
deserts call my name
red bluffs and sun
keeping me sane.
          __________

Winds of Desire . . .

I am a lonely voyager
on a lonesome road
seeking the mother
of my children
still unborn
as I await
the winds 
of desire
abandoned
long ago
to blow
again.
    _______________

Courage . . .

Courage
One Word
Navalny
     _______________

Forgiving fear . . .

To those in whom
I instilled fear
I ask forgiveness
for my actions 
that inflicted pain

More than forgiveness
I ask for the love
that once was there
to be cleansed
of that awful stain
that horrid stain of pain.
     _____________

Dawn . . .

There is a peace
A unique calm
That begets the dawn
As the moon sets to the west
A peaceful stillness 
Begins the new day.
     _____________
Storms did roar -

You opened the door,
soothing breezes bathe me.

I stepped through the door,
warm winds began to blow.

We took the hinges of the door,
desert storms for us roared.
     ______________

Once Red now Gray -

Once she was red
Now she is gray
Providing a reason
For me to stay.

Though no longer young
She still loves to play
Inside and out
Together we stay.

Reliving our youth
Unable to do
Active we remain
We're into that groove.
     _________________

Would You . . .

If you knew those you love
would leave
would you continue to love?

If you knew those you leave
would die
would you continue to leave?

If you knew those who left
would return
would you continue to wait?
       ________________
I Met A Woman . . .

I met a woman 
One fine Spring Day,
A woman so gorgeous
My breath she took away,
I know she does not know, 
Knows not what she has done,
She moved me from my doldrums
Into the warming sun,
I dare not let her know,
Her impact upon me,
Or tell her that her guidance 
Allowed for me to see.
Things that needed change, 
Things which needed to improve,
She stands here now beside me, 
She's come to helps me see,
My life I must make better
For me to remain free. 
     ______________________






AMEN!
Legs Spread… 

Hey there babe, 
Only one thing left to say:

Spread your legs for the rich man, 
until his money goes away.

Spread your legs for his friends,
after the money’s gone astray.

Engulf them with your lips,
ingest them so they will stay.

Search for more rich men, 
give them pleasure every day.

It’s all about their money,
for your trinkets they must pay.

Keep your legs open,
so you’ll not be sent away.

Dispute this you cannot,
Nothing left to say!

Independent . . .   

I continue to search
for the love of my life
fearing love I’ll not find
before my demise

I accept this to be 
so I may remain free
independent to roam
this world on my own.
      __________

Love ?

   
Love in needing of
Physical or mental revival,
Lasts only as long 
as the passing of the night. 

Upon dawn’s arrival
Love of this nature  
Sinks with the moon
Into the desolate 
Cold & dark sea
     ___________

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SOME OF THESE POEMS ARE IN LOVE & HATE, MY UPCOMING BOOK OF POETRY AND SHORT STORIES WITH A RELEASE DATE OF SEPTEMBER 2024.