Category: Poetry

The rain beating down on that hotel roof in a city in Germany
on November 9th, 1958, felt to him like the tears of thousands
of jews on Kristallnacht, when homes and business were ransacked and destroyed.

In his mind he could hear all the glass shattering as businesses
and homes were broken into by the Nazi Party’s Sturmabteilung
and Schutzstaffel paramilitary forces. He imagined he could
hear the screams and the cries of confusion as the Nazis did their devil’s work.

He cried tears with the rain in remembrance of his mother, father,
sister and brother who died in the Auschwitz concentration camp not long after that.

Later that day he toured Auschwitz in the rain, lingered there
and shed more tears over the beloved members of his family
gassed to death in the gas chambers. He wiped his eyes,
shook water off his yamaka, and prayed another Holocaust would never happen again.

Bob Boyd

He was hiking in an unfamiliar forest with a friend
named Jeff, and the forest became eerily quiet.
The birds stop singing. The insects stop buzzing.
And there was a feeling of danger in the air.

He turned around to ask Jeff if he feels the danger.
And Jeff is gone, gone in a moment. No sounds.
No cry for help. Nothing.

He hears a slight hum above the trees.
He looks up and sees what appears to be a
V shaped UFO. Then it vanishes and the humming stops.
The forest becomes alive again with the sounds
of the bugs and the birds. And some birds fly out of a tree.

He runs to the Park Ranger’s office and reports Jeff missing.
Before long the forest is full of search and rescue dogs,
trackers, police and volunteers.

He tells the police what happened, but he sees in their eyes
and hears in their words that they think he murdered Jeff.
But although he’s a person of interest, they have nothing.

A year later, he hears a knock on his front door. He opens it
and Jeff is standing there, but he’s not the Jeff he knew.
His eyes are vacant and he’s acting and talking like a robot.
He fears the aliens in the V shaped UFO he saw after Jeff
went missing abducted Jeff, and now they’re after him.

He runs past what used to be Jeff, leaps into his car and speeds away
to a motel in the town next to the town he lives in.

He spends a week hiding out at that motel until he gets up
the courage to return to his apartment. It’s safe. Jeff is gone
and he never sees Jeff again. He reported the incident to
the police, but they never found Jeff or what was posing
as Jeff, and he never went hiking in a forest again.

Bob Boyd

Since I know some things about transcendence
and spiritual experiences,
I often think I should be beyond the human need
for romantic love.

I should be more about the Oneness, the nonduality,
the eternal bliss consciousness that supposedly
is beyond conditional love and is everlasting.

I should be clearly aware that even if I found
the love of my life at 80, it would only be
temporary when one of us died and left the other unlike
the permanence of eternal bliss consciousness.

Maybe it’s a deficiency in me that sometimes makes
romantic feelings arise and hope that those who don’t find
their true loves in this life find them in the afterlife.

Maybe I’m more a romantic than a mystic
despite my 24/7 spiritual experience.

Maybe I’ll be a romantic mystic when I die
and ride unicorns in crystalline skies in
expanded states of consciousness with
a long awaited soulmate that is heavenly and
perfect in every way for me.

More likely, I’ve been listening to too many old
love songs today, lol.

Bob Boyd

Always liked how the song title
All My Ex’s Live in Texas sounded.

I never had any ex’s in Texas
nary a girlfriend nor a wife.

But I’ve been to Texas,
lived there 3 times:

San Antonio

Basic training in the Air Force,
hated basic training and didn’t
really get to see the city.

Amarillo

More training worse than basic.
Young people in that city hated us,
and I hated them for trying to
beat up airmen who visited the city.

But, in retrospect, I can’t blame them
for hating us back then;
some young servicemen away from
home are drunk and disrespectful
and bring trouble to a city.

Dallas

In my experience, cool city with cool
people.
Driving was crazy, like reckless cowboys,
but after I adapted, I was liking it
as a young man who enjoyed the thrills
back then.

Wasn’t there long enough for an ex or a
permanent girlfriend or a wife. It
would have been a cool western love
affair if I had with some romantic
country music song as our song,
like “It’s Your Love” by
Tim McGraw & Faith Hill.

But I wouldn’t have wanted a love
that turned into an ex love there by my
choice or hers.

And I wish people never had
ex’s in Texas and all over the world,
and that true love could always be true.

Bob Boyd

pay exorbitant costs for cable tv

watch Netflix after it hosted the movie cuties

travel 8,000 miles for love again

drive thousands of miles

work out with heavy weights anymore

seek a woman on a dating site

or misuse the sanctity of church by going to one just to try to meet a woman
though maybe one day I could get so intolerably lonely I’d sacrifice my principles on the alter of love, lol

be a joiner of anything

be controlled by anyone

be a fan of any celebrities

think of myself as better than anyone

stop believing in our country often you get the justice you can afford

be okay with politicians who get rich as public servants and seem more like opportunists than patriots

try to be better than others at anything

feel the need to try to get my poems published

have a fear of dying

believe that a religion or spiritual path is the only way

believe a loving God would ever send anyone to hell or be okay with eternal damnation

take testosterone replacement therapy
though I wouldn’t mind having the extra T

watch sports any more that are violent
though I used to be an avid fan of combat sports

go to a senior center
senior centers just don’t work for me

stop working out and giving up on fitness

get overweight

stop eating ice cream, chocolate and occasionally pastries
can’t see being too spartan when it comes to
sweets

stop drinking coffee

stop taking 48 grams of protein powder daily and vitamins and supplements

hang out with guys and shoot the breeze
don’t feel the need for male comradery
and small talk daily bores me

except with a woman I love with whom
small talk forever would be enchanting

give up on living and feel like killing myself

drink alcohol or get high on drugs

insult people in person or on the Internet

lose my temper in an auto accident or a close call

stop writing poems as long as still I’m able to keep writing them

Bob Boyd

a man is singing on youtube
about how he might be falling in love

it occurs to me i have forgotten
that most euphoric feeling

and haven’t falling in love for over
15 years

and that i listen to romantic songs,
my favorites, way too much

right now i’m listening to an old romantic
song by the babys

every time i think of you

and oh how it moves my heart
and i am almost able to imagine

the feelings, the needs, the wants
in those loving words

speaking of thinking
sometimes i think to myself
maybe i shouldn’t listen to those
songs that harken back to times
when i knew the ecstasy, the highs, of
falling in love and how good it felt

so i find an ac/dc hard rock song
on youtube, turn up the volume
on my computer,
and blast those sappy feelings
out of my overly sentimental mind

just kidding

i’ve reached an age where hard rock
and raucously loud music no longer
appeal to me

so i stick to mellow soft rock romantic
love songs like the one i’m listening to
now about a guy who wants a second chance

and i’m feeling his sincerity as though i
wronged a woman’s heart and i’m pleading
with her to take me back

i laugh at foolishness of that
my heart out of control for a moment
and i end this poem

bob boyd

last night in a dream
i had a conversation
about war with a man
as bizarre as that
may seem

i said one would think
by now humankind
would be beyond wars

he disagreed and said
war is in our genes
humans are innately
violent and
we’ll always have wars

i said no way, screw you,
and punched him in the face

just kidding

sadly the dream guy may
have been right

but i look for a better
future where humankind
will evolve beyond
the senselessness of wars
and the killing of one another

though it may be just
a dream

bob boyd

i saw in the news that a 47-year-old man
was gored by a bison at
yellowstone national park

he was one lucky 47-year-old
he only had minor injuries
after being gored by an animal
nearly as heavy as a chevy
that can run faster than
one would imagine

he got too close to the bison
within twenty-five yards

according to the news
if you get that close to a
behemoth bison it will defend
its space
a scary thought

i can understand how cool
it would be to pet a bison
and given the obsessions with
selfies nowadays, i can imagine
for some people that
would be uber cool

as for me
if it is big, wild and potentially dangerous
no way am i going to get anywhere near it,
though i’ve gotten within twenty-five yards
of women dangerous to my heart
i don’t risk the fragility of my life

one or two people get too close to bison
(had to check the plural on that)
yearly in yellowstone national park
i can understand the lure
bison are beautiful animals
that can seem docile and approachable
and it would be so cool to be able to pet one
were that safe, i’d like to pet one myself

bob boyd

Alas, the agony
when the dream dies
and the love ends.

Something that seemed
impossible when they first met.

But after the newness
and the excitement wore off,

they got too used to each other
and the newness and the excitement
began to get dull.

Though she was beautiful
and he was handsome,

the looks that initially attracted
them to each other had lost the allure.

Now they’re in a divorce court fighting
over custody of their kids.

Their love has turned to
squabbles and hate
despite how perfect their
love seemed in the beginning.

Sad, love sometimes ends that
way.

Give me the fairy tales where
love never ends badly.
Hearts are never broken.
And love always lasts.

Bob Boyd

In the Philippines cats get no respect,
never pampered unlike in the US.
No cat hospitals, probably no cat vets.
Feral street cats no one there wants;
they leap from roof to roof on one story
Philippines houses, a racket on the roofs,
and scrounge for food wherever they
can find it. Theirs is a hard luck life.

Once as a dumb and foolish experiment,
I hissed at one to see how he’d respond.
Big mistake. Regretted it. Cat took offense.

Every time he saw me after that, his eyes glared,
his teeth bared, and he hissed at me, an enemy.
My conscious guilty, I really felt bad for teasing
that poor cat. I should have been better than that.

I began bringing him food to atone for my offense.
Six meals later, friends at last.

Bob Boyd

Woke up last night, 12 AM, the witching hour,
Haunted with horrible memories of you,
Thinking about how mean you could be
And why you didn’t last a minute with me.
You were so mean to that waiter
When he wouldn’t flirt back with you.
The best restaurant in town
Wasn’t good enough for you.
You complained about everything,
And I regretted being there with you
On a first date done with you last date.
Despite your stunning looks,
Your perfectly shaped body,
I ended up disliking you.

Bob Boyd

Earth seeded by aliens
A cosmic flower pot
Many humans flowering
Some poisonous weeds
Some roses and clover
Extraterrestrial gardeners
Will prevent nukes from raining
Saviors of the Eden Garden

Or clinical observers
Of their grand experiment
Uninvolved in the outcome
Of a species likened to insects
Compared to their vastly higher
Intellects and advanced civilization

Incredibly true or totally false, and
Where would Jesus, Buddha,
And Krishna fit into all of this?

Bob Boyd

Saw a YouTube video where a guy was raving about having a Tpe Doll instead of a real girlfriend or wife.

Maybe it’s me, but it seemed a bit bizarre, though to him having the thermoplastic elastomer doll was perfectly normal, as if he were discussing the weather instead of his fake woman doll.

I had to wonder what he and the doll had in common. Did they talk about current affairs, no pun meant, or movies they’d seen?

I couldn’t believe how he talked about the doll on the video, like having the fake woman was perfectly natural, not the least odd.

On the other hand, he and his Tpe doll must be a couple free of drama, his and hers, and no way was she going to leave him or break his heart – far as I could see.

Nor would she divorce him or drag him through court for some steep alimony, or a custody battle for kids, or wrangle over holes in a prenup.

And at least his love doll hobby wasn’t hurting anyone, and if it made him happy, who am I to ridicule his choice. I’ve probably made worse choices with real women in my romantically tattered life.

After all, there are worse things people do, like real couples who verbally and/or physically hurt each other. Or those you see on crime shows where one murders the other.

My only complaint is to me the Tpe doll was overly voluptuous – not my type.

Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m seeing the benefits, and if you’re an unattached Tpe doll reading this, send me an email on the contact form, and let’s see if we could have a loooove connection.

I’m low maintenance, self sufficient (Don’t need no woman to take care of me), easy going, have many interests, said to still be not bad on the eyes. I’m not controlling — you won’t have to worry about that. And I can be very entertaining.

Bob Boyd

count all the grains of sand in the deserts of the world
count all the drops of water in the seven seas
count all the stars in the billions of galaxies
none of those totals
could ever come close
to all the love
in my heart for you

bob boyd

after my work out
i pick up my car at 2pm today
a new tire and an oil change
and to indulge myself i’ll
drive to harris teeter and
use a harris teeter coupon i
have for a huge savings on a
pint of Ben and Jerry’s
ice cream

on the way back to my car
parked near duck donuts
i’ll stop in duck donuts
and buy two of their
incomparably delicious
plain doughnuts baked
while i wait

ice cream and donuts
a treat for an old man
who doesn’t give a damn
about what some would
consider unhealthy food

and maybe occasionally
eating ice cream and
donuts are my only vices
and good for my soul

there are far worse things
i could be doing
like wasting the rest of
my waning years
whether a few or twenty
mindlessly watching
meaningless tv shows all day
on a mind numbing tv screen

or drinking myself to death
in some musty old bar
babbling about nonsensical things
with other drunken old men
barely able to think or speak
nearly incapacitated from
loneliness and too much alcohol

or being driven crazy
living with the wrong woman
who seemed like the right
woman when we first met when
she was on her best behavior

sometimes being alone is better
than being with someone with whom
you are miserable and lonely with

i end this rambling poem thinking
about the ice cream and the donuts
the way i once thought of meeting
a woman for a date

admittedly a poor comparison
to the wonders and charms
of a woman

but it works for me

bob boyd

she seemed ethereal and angelic
as if she were a goddess come
to the planet

he couldn’t believe his luck in
being with her

and always felt unworthy of a
woman so incredibly nice
and seemingly perfect

his heart was crushed when
at age twenty seven she
died of a fatal cancer

his mind was amazed at how
she was unaffected by her
impending death
smiling and serene all the way
through and to the end
and how she assured him
they would be together again
in a higher world as if it were true

she seemed to have some
healing powers she never
spoke of

after he was with her
for a week
his chronic depression
he had all his life
vanished
he never had anxiety again
and unlike before he met
her he always woke up happy

things he attributed to having
been with her
and that continued after
her death

thirty and also dying from
a cancer now he sees her in
dreams comforting him
and ready to welcome
him into that higher world
she spoke of when living
and he knows it is true

bob boyd

so many alien abduction cases
aliens coming through walls
taking people through walls
as though they have the
ability to change matter

non consensual medical
examinations and probings
some abductees allege to
have seen humans standing
in large tubes for what they
didn’t know

some think 411s are related
but for what they don’t know
animal mutilations believed
done by aliens too

perhaps harvesting organs
for unknown medical
purposes

abducting aliens said to be
small and bigger grays

some other classifications
of aliens are
nordics
reptilians
tall whites
ebens
trantaloids
archquloids
quadaloids
heplaloids

the more you look into
these seemingly implausible
matters

the more you find whether
true or all bunk
the prevailing question is
why have scientists not
identified or even seen
all these aliens

the answer is
if aliens are real
they move in and out
of dimensions and
are mostly invisible

the following are not bunk

ufos have been seen entering
and exiting the sea by
naval personnel

ufos have been seen
hovering nuclear sites
all over the world

it is believed by ufologists
that if the nukes are
unleashed

aliens will stop the nukes
and save the planet
and that is why ufos are
seen around nuclear sites

hard to distinguish fact
from fiction with a lot of
alien lore

but i believe some of it
is undoubtedly true

bob boyd

oh how i hate lip readers
you may be okay with them
but hell no i’m not

more and more i see them
on the news lip reading
people’s private conversations
an invasion of privacy too far

i don’t care about people’s
private conversations
i don’t want to see them
snooped on by annoying
lip readers in that rude way

oh how i hate lip readers
and wish they’d go away

bob boyd

talk about a
day sucking
my car got
a flat tire today
but I’ve got AAA
with single call
help was
right on the way

the tire was shot
need a new one
but the AAA guy
pumped enough
air into the
flat tire
so i could drive
my car to the
repair shop
minutes away

tomorrow a
new tire and
an oil change

got a ride home
from the repair
people

but the best
news was
the AAA guy
and the repair
station employee
that drove me
home
both said
i don’t look
anywhere near
80 years of age

maybe that’s
because i don’t
feel 80

chronologically
i feel 60 and
i’ve always
looked young
for my age

bob boyd

the san pedro haunting
also known as the jackie hernandez case
began when jackie felt a presence
that eventually began to reveal itself
it escalated in strange and varied ways
a cup gliding off a table
a frightening male apparition staring at her son
that looked at her menacingly and vanished
a floating head in the attic
strange whispers up there too
friends and neighbors also experienced these
scary paranormal manifestations

when priests were not effective
and didn’t believe her story
jackie sought more help and called in
professional paranormal investigators
and a parapsychologist named barry taff
who had experience with 3,000 cases
and a photography expert to debunk any fake photos
when they entered the house skeptical of
the things jackie told them about the haunting
the entire team felt an unsettling feeling
and a pressure in their ears
and smelled foul, rotting scents in the house

the photographer went up in the attic
felt a frightening feeling of being watched
before his camera was snatched out of his hand
and broken in two pieces
he screamed and scrambled down from the attic
and knew beyond doubt the house was haunted
by an unseen evil force that could reach
from the dead into this world and cause harm

other strange and frightening things
happened to the entire team in that house
a menacing dark giant shadow that moved about
a strange liquid leaking into the house
that was actually blood plasma from a human male

eventually jackie moved many miles away from the house
to escape the frightening, dark harassments
but the spirit followed to her new home and
began haunting it and resumed frightening her
until it eventually vanished never to return

though many of these alleged haunting stories
are well crafted clever fakes
this one was well documented and
might have been bona fide

bob boyd