Alma Mater Vol. 1: The Midwest is a collection of poetry that celebrates the major universities of the Midwest region. It is a project that Kirkus Reviews calls an “Engaging Poetic Tour of the Midwest” with “A variety of delightfully unexpected poetic forms.” And it is available now on Kindle for only 99 cents.
Use My Imagination
From Art of Mind: Philosopoems to the World
Available Now (Link Below)
*Use My Imagination*
You looked a lot better
before I saw All of you…
Please continue this fantasy,
I can wait to come to.
You sounded much better—
Before I heard all your tracks,
Some songs are better unheard,
I wish you had took That One back.
Time stood still,
Frozen in a daze,
But I bolted on out
When you told me your age.
Superstar you Are,
I admire your Charm,
The tabloids don’t hurt You,
It’s My Image they Harm.
No, no — Don’t tell me your past,
I don’t want this Perception
To be My Last.
Some people always ask:
“How did they do that?”
I just applaud the Magic,
And skip the chat.
My vision of you
Is Larger than Life,
Don’t bring me back down
from this Cloudy Height.
The Imagination can roam free of All Boundaries…
All it Takes:
Is just a Few Limits.
Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved
Feel free to share or Reblog with proper credit given.
The Funniest Joke Never Told
From Art of Mind: Philosopoems to the World
Available Now (Link Below)
*The Funniest Joke Never Told*
It Was the Funniest Joke Ever Uttered…
It wasn’t on a TV Screen…
Not on an elevated stage…
There were no hosted seats,
No airway to be played.
The guy was pure genius,
The delivery was sharp and quick,
The funniest part was the content—
Though only his targets were meant to Get It.
It was drop dead hilarious.
I wish you could have
Heard It.
I wish I could have heard it—
Said it…
It Was the Funniest Joke Ever Told.
Only two others heard it…
But they were too busy engaging each other—
To even bother to notice.
The second funniest joke ever told
Was in an intimate clique,
They called it a “Private Party,”
We’ve all been to one like it.
One joke was the funniest of all—
It stayed between those walls —
It was forgotten by sunrise —
Meant only for nightfall.
The third funniest joke ever told
Was at the family table,
The punch line was full of love—
A lot of us wouldn’t get it.
‘Twas one rambunctious time,
With the youngest’s silliest line,
The table Always has laughter,
But none quite like this time.
The fourth funniest joke ever told
Was between a happy couple,
Up long on the phone,
His jokes continued to double.
One was the funniest of all,
It was the funniest
He ever said,
The line must have eavesdropped…
Soon after it had dropped dead.
Def Jam, Circa ’93—
Had the fifth funniest ever told,
Now That One was televised,
But I forgot the episode.
Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved
Feel free to share or Reblog with proper credit given.
The Great Diversion
From Art of Mind: Philosopoems to the World
Available Now (Link Below)
*The Great Diversion*
An Author writes his novel—
Hoping he’ll make it big…
A Musician plays in his Band—
Hoping for a Larger gig .
An Artist paints a canvas—
Hoping to be on display…
Broadcast Majors plan to Announce—
They study Play by Play .
An Athlete Runs Many Miles
To be on
A Walk of Fame…
A Poet develops Verse—
Desperately
Throwing Out
Her Name .
Well-Connected Dreamy Eyes
Think they can save TV,
One Network after another—
They’re brought back to Reality.
Others just want to get by;
They live just for the payout…
Right when there’s time for Love—
They’re right back on their Way Out.
A Mechanic Repairs
A Therapist Cares
An Accountant Counts
While Salesmen Discount
Carpenters Construct
Businessmen Conduct
Fashionistas Design
Architects Align
A Butcher Chops
A Janitor Mops
A Valet Parks
A Detective Narks
A Cabby Drives
A Sailor Dives
Acupuncturists Puncture
Engineers Structure
A Chef Fries
A Pilot Flies
An Agent Spies
A Politician Lies
And Workers Work
And Workers Work
And Work and Work…
They Work and Work and Work,
They Dream, They Sweat, They Chatter,
It’s all a Great Diversion
From the One thing that Really Matters.
Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved
Feel free to share or Reblog with proper credit given.
The Hike
From Art of Mind: Philosopoems to the World
Available Now (Link Below)
*The Hike*
At sunrise, as the sky begins to clear:
So begins The Hike.
With nothing new on the horizon,
I still aim to make the outdoors great.
I’ll settle for making it back intact.
On weekends I may roam unconstrained,
On This day I lug a Backpack —
Intended to forefend fail,
but Useless
on This rigorous trail.
Bitter winds, whipping debris, and stony ground
Renders my body achin’,
True pioneers must stay the course,
And keep walking the path less taken.
My algid chill cannot repress
The labored sweat that drops
as briskly as the sloping temperatures.
Still, I march uphill with poise and tenacious
proficiency.
Every step commands determination,
As the earth stiffens and
the Cold winds
Continue to pick up Steam.
As I stand in place,
Yet blowing against the wind—
I eye the formidable
Mountain.
I Harness.
And I Climb.
In the face of conditions
that would make the ordinary man
fall off the steep end,
or camp out,
I choose to climb.
Amidst any Storm,
Beneath any dark hovering cloud,
You will Never see any rain on this face.
Only a hardened brow
and staid visage.
Amidst the most severe
Climates,
Among the Highest of Mountains,
I smile tirelessly,
and laugh incessantly.
I have seen the bottom,
I have felt the hardest drop…
I may fall by nightfall,
but right now—I’m at the top.
Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved
Feel free to share or Reblog with proper credit given.
The Hike
From Art of Mind: Philosopoems to the World
Available Now (Link Below)
*The Hike*
At sunrise, as the sky begins to clear:
So begins The Hike.
With nothing new on the horizon,
I still aim to make the outdoors great.
I’ll settle for making it back intact.
On weekends I may roam unconstrained,
On This day I lug a Backpack —
Intended to forefend fail,
but Useless
on This rigorous trail.
Bitter winds, whipping debris, and stony ground
Renders my body achin’,
True pioneers must stay the course,
And keep walking the path less taken.
My algid chill cannot repress
The labored sweat that drops
as briskly as the sloping temperatures.
Still, I march uphill with poise and tenacious
proficiency.
Every step commands determination,
As the earth stiffens and
the Cold winds
Continue to pick up Steam.
As I stand in place,
Yet blowing against the wind—
I eye the formidable
Mountain.
I Harness.
And I Climb.
In the face of conditions
that would make the ordinary man
fall off the steep end,
or camp out,
I choose to climb.
Amidst any Storm,
Beneath any dark hovering cloud,
You will Never see any rain on this face.
Only a hardened brow
and staid visage.
Amidst the most severe
Climates,
Among the Highest of Mountains,
I smile tirelessly,
and laugh incessantly.
I have seen the bottom,
I have felt the hardest drop…
I may fall by nightfall,
but right now—I’m at the top.
Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved
Feel free to share or Reblog with proper credit given.
Waving to a Professor
From Art of Mind: Philosopoems to the World
Available Now (Link Below)
*Waving to a Professor*
You pick up my every error.
You are a blood hound for English Gramar.
You can sniff out the smallest mistake…
You remember my ever absence,
Without reviewing my marks…
You sit there without ever flinching,
More stubborn than Rosa Parks.
You could snatch a blowing whisper,
Your alertness doesn’t cease to amaze…
Which is why I find myself wondering:
How could you not have seen my wave?
Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved
Feel free to share or Reblog with proper credit given.
The Strength of a Man
From Art of Mind: Philosopoems to the World
Available Now (Link Below)
*The Strength of a Man*
We are supposed to have
Strength.
The strength to steal hearts
Right from the Owner’s Chest.
The Strength to evoke
The Power of Love.
The strength to
Build roads, towers, and
Scaffolds…
The strength to leave
The elderly, and our women and children
Baffled.
We are supposed to have the
Strength
To mold, shape and create…
The strength to make and provide,
and keep our families safe.
I am just A Man.
If I could be more strong –
I’d build a life for us,
It wouldn’t even take long –
I just need these roadblocks gone.
If I had the strength
to clear all They put in our way,
And leave just me and you,
I wouldn’t have to say:
I am just A Man.
Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved
Feel free to share or Reblog with proper credit given.
Underneath
From Art of Mind: Philosopoems to the World
Available Now (Link Below)
*Underneath*
You know, it ain’t easy standing here naked,
So please find something good to say…
I know you didn’t want to see people naked,
but please find something good to say.
This wacky act of liberation
is really
Courageous Underneath…
I know, right now the last word
that comes to your mind is
“underneath.”
Though I know I’m showing too much,
Would it kill you to give a compliment?
My being crazy enough to be nude
shouldn’t discredit an honest compliment.
My body is really quite nice –
I often work out…
Look at my chest, pecs and biceps…
Can’t you tell that I work out?
My abs are pretty tight,
And I know my package is good…
It is, though, isn’t it?
Please tell me my package is good.
If it’s not, go back to my biceps,
My chest, or my abs.
Which one do you like most?
My biceps, my chest, or my abs?
No, don’t call me those names –
That should not discredit my body…
Ok, fine, you can call me names,
Just as long as you credit my body.
Just Please give me a compliment!
Any compliment will do!
Those like me are standing here naked,
Hell, it’s the least that you can do.
Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved
Feel free to share or Reblog with proper credit given.
Blessed
From Art of Mind: Philosopoems to the World
Available Now (Link Below)
*Blessed*
Lucky Ones
find a Dime on the Street,
and take it home
Without Pay.
They find great fame
in a well of
Empty Talent.
They are born into homes
of Privilege –
With Bills Paid
and Dreams Paved.
They fall into jobs of Nepotism,
While others fall further into Debt.
They welcome going out in
A Blaze of Glory,
but continue to evade death’s bed…
They can ride life’s wheel of fortune,
And never see black or red.
While they are drowning at the turn,
they are saved by a fleeting river.
Their skill is often at the bottom of the pile,
but they land at the top of the deck,
They play the numbers just like the rest,
yet only they hold the giant check.
To be fortunate is to be this lucky,
It’s an envy that most possess…
But to flop on you
&
Win your love –
Is to be truly Blessed.
Copyright 2011. All Rights Reserved
Feel free to share or Reblog with proper credit given.
Original Clyde Aidoo 