Barry Middleton Poems

I wish that I had written you
when I was young and strong and wise
I knew that I would never die
I'd face the world without disguise
...

both are like the falling leaves
a tale that no one ever believes
a passing season and a lover
...

there are so many things I did not say
I may have hinted once or twice
but that is not enough
...

Big psychotic eyes and vicious beak,
you convey terror to the lesser species.

Feathers askance like a professor's hair,
...

my sole meek wish was
to be naked as the rain
to be eloquent as the rose
...

I cherish early morning,
the lonely time.

To wait and watch the glow,
...

if love is a promise in spring
so love may as surely take wing
for springtime must end
though lovers pretend
...

I save the bits and pieces of the past
the trinkets and the faded photographs

disheveled like the windblown autumn leaves
...

Some are made of arrogance,
and some are made from steel.
Protection is imperative,
so all must raise their shield.
...

I know they retired
my favorite word,
why I never will know.
But I plan an attack
...