W. Mahlon Purdin: Untitled Poems II

Untitled Poems II
(A few selected poems)

Completed 1993

YA GOTTA GO WHERE THINGS HAPPEN

Opportunity knocks
More where there are
Lots of doors.
You need to be among
Equals. Go there.
There you can make a
Difference,
And feel comfortable
While you're at it.
There you can beat
Your enemies,
Help your friends,
And adjust the lineup.
And someday your
Chance will come.

-2263-3

SWIMMING IN THE SHADE

There's a pool in St. Martin
That chlorinates seawater
And then heats it up just right.
Plus, there's an area of this
Saltwater pool that's covered
From the tropical sun
Where it's plenty deep to swim.
So, if you just love to float around
Swim in the shade
And be in saltwater,
You could just have found
The perfect place.

For a person like that,
Today would be a happy
Memory.

-5203-3

A PICTURE IN ST. MAARTEN

She's sitting there
Choosing
Chewing and licking
Food in her mouth
On her mouth
On her fingers holding a hamburger.
Tomatoes, onions, pushed aside
"It's food, I guess," then she
Continued picking at it, not
Devouring it, not relishing it.
"It's very charcoaly," she
Explained. "A good B+,
Maybe a B, a B-."
Would you order another one?
"No, no way."
Outside the blue ocean was placid,
The sky, blue with little white
Clouds far away, the temperature
Was about 83°.
As always.

-5203-3

BARRELISTS

It's a word for the last
Decade of the 90's.
We plan as carefully as we
Can here in the post baby-boom
World. We protect ourselves,
We advance technologically.
We scientifically understand
More than ever.
We really know as much as
We can at this time.
And here it comes.
A moment of truth.
The currents of history are
Stronger than ever.
The cold truth swirls
Around us.
A gentle hand...
Pushes off.

-2173-3

IRONIC INVERSION

Two forces, one greedy,
One not,
Are in our world.

They are trying to destroy
One another.
The greedy side can't
See the opposing view
They only know their's.
The not-greedy side is
Naively possessed of
The idea that the logic of
Events will prove their
Point of view.

"We'll let things run their course,"
They both say like
A barrelist at the crest
Of the falls.

-2173-3

ALL THE TIME

"I had just taken off my gloves
And it was gone. I walked
Up to the can machine..."
In saying this she extended her
Hands as though opening the
Slot and putting in the cans.
She stopped and looked at
Her hands. I noticed a glint
Of gold, then there it was
On her hand like magic or
An answered prayer.

"Now, how did that get there?"

For an hour before this moment
She had been retracing every
Step of the day amid an ever increasing
Sense of dread and loss.

But it was right there,
All the time.

-2153-3

OTHER HAND

"I've lost my wedding ring,"
Joy said. Not the diamond,
Not the triple ring set,
Not the diamond engagement ring.
No, it was the little one with
Gold spiral bevels.
It was all I could afford.
So I really shopped around
To get a good one.
It isn't a real expensive ring
But it's worth a fortune.
Mine. Because if she hadn't
Loved it, who knows?
It turned out it was on her
Other hand.
She was truly upset at losing it
And truly confused by
Finding it there.
Let's face it, Joy
The years are carrying us
Along.

-2153-3

GREY ELEPHANT FROM DENMARK

Choose a number from 1 to 10
Multiply by 9
Add the resulting digits together
Subtract 5
{4}
Think of the alphabetic equivalent of that number
{D}
Think of a country that begins with that letter
{Denmark}
Then think of the second letter of that country
Name an animal who's name begins with that letter
{Elephant}
Think of the color of that animal...
You're thinking of a grey elephant from Denmark.

-2123-3

(Thanks Winston, it was a fun lunch.)

CANTERING ALONG

Celerity, alacrity, legerity
Mean quickness in
Movement or action.
Celerity implies speed in
Accomplishing work;
Alacrity stresses promptness
In response to suggestion or command,
Legerity implies lightness and
Ease as well as swiftness
Of movement
For example: as an employee she is
Celeritious 9 to 5 and
After work a complete slaggard.
He said, "Jump." and she
Demonstrated alacrity by
Suddenly leaping into the air.
He stroked pen to page legeritously
Like a well-bred horse
Cantering along.

-273-3

WENTZ

After a day at the war
I once returned to barracks
And driftin near my bunk
I saw another.
He opened his locker door,
And I saw
A great Hawaiian wave
Sliding surfer ashore
Within the handsome face
Of Whiskey-Echo-November-Tango-Zebra
Who tomorrow
Was dead.

1262

JUST ANOTHER NIGHT

Wandering down an old path
I encountered old friends
And old demons.
The beach was crisp and crusty
The waves were not memorable
But were wonderful in
Their plain-ness.
Two lovers in a car, steaming.
Me and my dog
Walking in moonlight
In a place we both love.

Just another night
At home.

-243-3

4203-6

By mistake, on the previous page,
I wrote something that sort of
Looks like 4203-6, which, if
You know my dating system
Would mean April 20, 2023
And I would be sevety-six years old.
Will I ever write a poem
And properly date it 4203-6?

And what would its topic be?
That's the more interesting
Question.

4203-3

DIGRATH

Wh, sh, ch, th
Two consonants together
That make one sound.
I know we could
All use more of that.

DANCING

I just had the best dance
With a woman that
I've had in the past 20 years.
Maybe longer.
Blythe and I danced to
"We Built This City,"
For its entire 12 minute
Length.

I used to carry her
As we danced.
Tonight, we danced together.

These days I'm dancing with my daughter
And she's listening to my song.

-2193-3

(It's Miller time.)

THE CONFINES OF CONTENTMENT

It happens as you settle back.
A routine that grabs hold
And locks you down.
There you are. Happy.
Content.
With what? Comparisons? Or with
Yourself? This is confinement within
A velvet prison. No visitors.
No challengers allowed.
As the years go ripping by.
There you are. Happy.
In a prison of your own making
Like a spinster in a house
That is corrupting around her.
There you are. Happy.
Then dead.
The confines of contentment.

- 71592