Mike Smith Poems

Walked across a pretty flower, thought I'd hold it in my hand
So I knelt down as to grab it, but the flower turned to sand
Tried to carve it as a castle, walls and towers, gates and moat
But the tide washed it away, I had to chase it down by boat
...

The greater pain than the one you feel
Is the one you see in the ones you love
The one you can't make go away
Cannot ease or take on as your own
...

A man once told me 'Son, '
'Listen, God is God is God'
And in response I queried him
'So all of them are fraud? '
...

In the back of the mind
In the front of the thoughts
He is there; Always
To some degree
...

When the sun goes down
In the capital town
Some strange creatures lurk among shadows
One sits and he waits
...

Conflicted thoughts and wearied eyes
They walk amongst the fallen
Their faded dreams have sunk like stones
Their service now forgotten
...

'This is a dream.'
'How is this a dream? '
'Last night I dreamt that I was in a castle looking out at the stars from a tower. Then a prince gave me a magic wand.'
This was somewhat hard to believe even for me. We weren't technically in a castle or a tower, but we were at Castle Rock standing atop a lookout some hundred and fifty feet above the river. The stars (and their reflections off the water) had kept us silent since we had finished climbing the stairs. In those quiet moments I had finished whittling some kind of pointer, maybe ten inches in length. There was nothing at all special about it. I didn't even know it was a wand when I was making it. I was simply keeping my hands busy, maybe trying to mask a bit of nervousness at meeting up with this girl. Once I'd finished I offered it to her. Now I am not nearly a prince. I'm a peasant at best. But in a world where lookouts are towers and parks are castles and sticks are wands... I suppose perhaps I could be confused for one briefly. The story added up.
...

Three days I've been roofing in sun
I've done battle with sunburn- it won
The hue of my skin
Is lobster-akin
...

Very rarely is it indeed
That anyone amongst us learns incredible truths
Opens unseen windows into the essence of their being
Grows into a more remarkable form of their prior self
...

Child soldier with his gun
Blood stained fingers, half my size
Pulls the trigger
Thunder, smoke
...