Smoky Hoss
Smoky Hoss Poems
Come and see the old poet
Laying in his bed of ashes and dust,
His love in ruins
His mentality frozen by restless rust,
...
Don't we all wonder, remotely
- in ways we cannot even fully understand -
'What's this all about? '
Age has invaded our mind
...
Every time, that last year of life,
when I would go visit her in the nursing home
where she spent her days dreaming inside of those
walls that weren't her own,
...
There we sat
Just me and the cat,
Upon a bench overlooking the river Thames,
The cat turned to me
...
- 'There is, after all, something eternal that lies beyond the hand of fate and of all human delusions. And such eternals lie closer to an older person than to a younger one, oscillating between fear and hope.' -Albert Einstein in a letter to the queen of Belgium.
I stand in a receding twilight room
noticing them noticing me.
...
Today on the trail
the temperature high
the humidity heavy
like a beast of burden-
...
Cats and dogs
Chickens and hogs
Lumps in the 'taters
And bumps on a log -
...
- It was November,2020.
I was with my daughter
in southern Utah, deep canyon country,
seeking some temporary solace, far away
...
When I was barely a teen
I heard a rock-n-roll singer sing,
Something about a sweet and fast little thing -
Said she was the finest thing he'd ever seen
...
Where has my little toy train
gone?
The one I got for Christmas long, long
ago.
...
He put the handcuffs on me
behind my back,
threw me in the car
right beside the railroad track;
...
My mind is in the serried, towering clouds
On the long and distant horizon.
Big, beautiful, bouyant, and bright,
full of wild wonder;
...
I stand alone,
feeling the pouring rain,
tilt my old hat
and lean on my crooked cane -
...
If I saw a wood boat afloat
Upon the sea,
Would what I see possibly be
The wood I cut from a tree?
...
Sometimes I wish I was Mother Teresa, sometimes
Jesse James.
But always wondering,
would I be either one, for love or for fame?
...
They show up every morning
for breakfast
just outside of my sliding glass door.
A black and a fox squirrel.
...
In the sand at the lakeshore
I leave a footprint.
So quickly -and easily- a wave comes
stealing the print from the sand,
...
Smoky Hoss Biography
A lack of literary artifice is no sin, So long as the way of the words invite the soul in. 'Poets are used to discovering, years after a poem is written, what it's really about.' -Kathleen Norris (from: 'The Cloister Walk') 'To live is to fly Both low and high.' -Townes Van Zandt 'You don't choose a life, you live it.' -Emilio Estevez 'There ain't no dark Until something shines, I'm bound to leave This dark behind.' -Townes Van Zandt 'There's alot more standing here Than what you see, My back is bending low But my spirit's flyin' free, This ol' bag of bones Ain't really me.' -Guy Clark 'The poet says, Here, let me show you something. That is, let me help you to see something as you have not seen it before.' -N. Scott Momaday 'It is better to die standing up than to live on your knees.' -Emiliano Zapata)
The Best Poem Of Smoky Hoss
Aging Poet
Come and see the old poet
Laying in his bed of ashes and dust,
His love in ruins
His mentality frozen by restless rust,
His hungry heart emptied of it's fertile blood
His souls melodic purpose nearly gone,
The mellifluous music now so silent
The end, of a once wonderful and powerful song.
What happened to this poet
With dread you may ask,
The ancient story ofcourse
The evils of age and wear, and so damned many things out there
Working away at his heart, fulfilling their wretched task.
When poets speak truth and beauty into this old world
Any breath may be their last,
For so many evil spirits will stalk them
With an endless passion to haunt, from the past.
Deep hearts risk
Becoming weary and tossed,
When singing lamantations
Of all that's lost.
Still this old poet wrote
For was his vocation so to do,
Even through the battles with doubt
He held on, ever true.
Words from his heart
He rended to give,
The conundrum being
It cost him his life, to fully live...
So look! Look deep
Here lays the old poet - in state
Having succumbed - like all the living shall
To mankinds unavoidable fate.
May all the aging poets forever
Rest in peace, and ever be blest,
For the words dug with pain from the depths of their souls
Are nothing less than the very best.
(for: Townes Van Zandt)
Smoky Hoss Comments
Smoky's a poet with depth of heart, and an understanding of the human condition. always a good read!
Smoky, your poetry always leaves me wanting more of your insight and abandon. I love your work. Poem Hunter: I am having trouble with reading poems on here of late. When I pull one up it goes before I am finished. Que past?
Smoky, Contact me at boonejim88@yahoo.com. We should do some poetry readings together. Jim
I find your poetry beautiful because of the honest heart-truth in it and how spontaneously you lay out that truth in smooth flowing words. I wish I could learn that art!
Everything I have read of Smokey's is well written and deeply inspirational- and very moving and interesting to read! ! Good work!
What can I say about Smokey, I know he is a great poet whose morals and positive outlook on life always shine through his words. His love for the great American Southwest which I share has endeared him to me. I can see his values and love for God in all his poetry. I just hope someday to be able to walk the Mojave with this poet who is such an inspiration t so many. Until that day pal, keep em flying.
Smoky Hoss Quotes
All dirt washes off, so go, roll in the mud, have a ball!
When all is said and done, we are all just walking each other home. - Ram Dass
When I talk to God, I knew He'd understand; He said, stick by Me, I'll be your guiding hand... but, don't ask Me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want Me to. - Peter Green
'Sometimes there is nothing to do but write your way back into hope.' - Julia B. Levine (poet)
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9/30/2022 3:56:35 AM # 1.0.0.1034
Continuous kindness, class, and deep thinking. That is what I know of Smoky Hoss. His name might convince you he has rough edges: but don't fall for that. He is a splendid writer and I'm glad I've come to know him here at poemhunter. You'll never regret reading his poetry; it will open your eyes to things you never suspected existed, to things you never gave much thought to before..he dreams hope into his messages to the reader, a valuable and lacking commodity in this age.