All Those Years Ago

I went back to the old home town

to that small cold church

where friends were married

family buried

all those years ago

for one more sad good-bye

remembrances 

how some things never change

and some things can't stay the same.

Our friends were there,

they asked about you.

I couldn't bring myself to tell them

the trouble we've been through.

I let them smile

at the thought of happiness

untrue,

the air was thick with sadness 

enough one day.

...and my mind kept drifting

longing for simpler times

of sunshine and wine

on hot sweaty nights

when things were simple 

and right.

And so it was

as I payed tribute

to all things lost

I realized

how some things never change

some things can't stay the same

and there is no going back

to where we've been

all those years ago.

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   April 2013

There Is.

There is no time like the present.

There is no time.

There is.

.

Ken Owen  Van Niddy Press    Spring 2013
(inspired by the book "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle)

Spring Haikus

Man and dog resting

in centerfield cool grass

no ball game today.

Howling winds command

to know thy place in this world

humble little man.

Take one more chorus

reach deep down and find something

that yearns to be told.

Hot morning, cool shade
thoughts drift lightly on soft winds
time is no concern.

Five, seven, five - the

ancient mental exercise

keeps my mind moving.

Behold the artist
who cut themselves so deeply
to capture magic.


          ***

First vision of you

in presence of true beauty

stolen heart complete.

Does she really know

the power of her one look
that disables me?

You came just in time

to help me brake free to find
peace resting within.

To love too much is

to neglect the self and lose

the path to the dream.

The answers I seek

you can not provide for me

the journey is mine.
     
Sometimes it feels like

we have nothing to show for 

our painful lessons.

Love affair complete,
the only question left is
who gets the lawn chairs ?

         ***

Bearded man on drums
softly strokes the beat and then

bellows the fire!

(for PT of HJ)

And the band played on

I doubt that anyone got

the clever lyrics.

(for CK of HJ)

Sensitive salads

wilting fast in summer heat
butter lettuce cries.
(for J9)

Haikus in morning

like mental floss for writers

loose small bits of thought.

Enough already!

and with that his haiku phase

ended abruptly.

         

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   Spring 2013

I Will Tend Your Garden

I will tend your garden
where friendships flowered
fragrant and strong
sown many yesterdays
but live on
in eternal blossom of memory.

I will tend your garden
in early morning mist
as gentle breezes
rush to greet me
with stories of you.

Your touch
caressed the earth
and gave birth
to your vision of beauty.
Your fingerprints are everywhere.

I will tend your garden.


Ken Owen.  Van Niddy Press,   April 2013

Without

Love
without passion
Emotion
without conviction
Comfort
without intimacy.

Days
without purpose
Nights
without dreams
Time
without meaning.

Journey
without seeing
Feeling
without believing
Life
without living.

To live
without
is just existing.


Ken Owen,   Van Niddy Press,   April 2013

Pay Attention

When he said

"time sure flys when you're not paying attention"

it rang like a bell

and I thought...

That's what artists do:

we are here to pay attention,

to capture the beauty that surrounds us

to sing of our joys and sufferings

and lift the heads and hearts and minds

of those too hurried to notice

all they are missing.

Ken Owen,   Van Niddy Press,   April 2013

She Is Like The Rain

And the rain came
as tapping fingers on window panes
and rhythmic dancing down metal gutters.
With reverent gaze
I let the joy of natures beauty
wash over me and fill me up,
comforting,
soft and lovely.

She is like the rain.