Let's Sing Together

Hey stranger

let's sing together

you and I

Why not!

We are heading the same way

at the same time

so let's sing and smile

because we can

and we should

and when we part ways

our reward of shared happiness

will go with us on a day

when we expected no such gifts.

inspired from a story by Michael Shaffer,

dedicated to the memory of Maya Angelou

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   May 2014

Remembering A Dream, 7:30a.m.

I closed the garden gate

on a quiet early morning

and felt it close

something inside of me,

She stood there
alone on the path
as I looked up and said good-bye

with just a smile,

and as I left I realized 

these things that had consumed me

and blotted out the sun from my days

would hold me down as long as I let them,

so I looked to the horizon

and with just a few small steps 
to face the new day

I knew what I must do,

I would no longer look back

to measure myself

against the growing distance 

from my sufferings,

I would look forward

in days of joyful gratitude

until there was no longer a need

to measure anything. 

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   May 2014

When Thought Takes Wing

At some point

it happens to all of us,

a clever thought which struck us 

like a bolt of mental lightning

gets lost somewhere between 

the kitchen and the bedroom,

and while you may laugh

as your thoughts sprout wings

like uncatchable butterflies

after their metamorphous,

the poet will mourn and wonder 

if that thought might have become 

the one bit of poignant prose 

that made a difference.

Ken Owen  Van Niddy Press  May 2014

Too Much Time in Chinatown

Meet me in the alley near Lei Po's Lounge
we'll wait for action and sit around
in smoke filled rooms far underground
in Chinatown.

The China girls are everywhere
with smiling eyes and raven hair
happy endings can't compare
in Chinatown.

The China men give puzzled stares
and wonder what you're doing there
white devils are not welcome here
in Chinatown.

Hiding out in Buddhas bar
enlightenment in little jars
when the funeral passes I'll be a star
in Chinatown.

The old drunks all seem wise to me
I bet they talk philosophy
and speak of how things used to be
in Chinatown.

Full moon in the midnight air
grandma's swaying silver hair
Tai Chi dancing on the square
in Chinatown.

Ancient secrets gagged and bound
for me there'll be no answers found
the city's mystic heart lives down
in Chinatown.

Chinatown, San Francisco, CA, May 12 & 14, 2014


Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   

Eyes of The Poet

Musings of the past
the world in words
as seen through the eyes
of the poet long dead,
visions and truths
universal and timeless,
I carry them forward
through my eyes now.


Inspired by Walt Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass'


Ken Owen  Van Niddy Press   May 2014

No Need To Speak

Smile at me in Italian
I'll smack your ass in Greek
Glare at me in Russian
There is no need to speak

Tango dance in Spanish
Waltz with Bavarian feet
Gaze at the moon in Mandarin
There is no need to speak

Passion fulfilled in Sanskrit
Drift off in a Mexican sleep
I'll leave in French before you wake
There is no need to speak


Ken Owen  Van Niddy Press   May 2014

The Point of No Return

There was a day not long ago
when I did the math and realized
more of my time has been spent
than I have left

a revelation
in personal lifespan arithmetic
that will cause you to re-evaluate
a great many things
quickly

so I have started asking questions
about everything
so I can understand
what I've missed

because I know the gravity of time
will soon slow me down
to the point where
I no longer ask questions

as I sit back and appreciate
the beauty of the simple things
that took my whole life
to finally see.

written at The Utopia Cafe, Chinatown, San Francisco

Ken Owen  Van Niddy Press  May 2014

Pissed Off in Utopia

She sat at a table by the window

eating lunch in the Utopia Cafe

a lovely young beauty

who was clearly not happy

with the direction of things

and I thought

how unlucky 
to make it to Utopia
and be pissed off

and I hoped her fortune

would soon have her receiving 

good news from afar 

from a welcomed visitor.

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   May 2014

To Dream (That Picture of You)

I dreamed myself

into that picture of you,

it was me

you were looking at,

and those smiling eyes

were telling me 

everything I needed to know

without words.

I dreamed myself

into that forest painting

where light bathed the church of nature

in silent serenity and calm beauty

as I walked in cool waters

and touched everything 
with the hand of God.

I dreamed myself

into the life of the beggar

whose head stays bowed

in the shame of his failings

so I could share his sufferings

and know the distance between us

is not so great.

I dream myself

away from this place

in search of magic and mystery 

amongst the visions

so I may know

comfort from my days

of lonely dreaming.


inspired by Amy Johanna Stenberg

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   May 2014

The River That Sings

Time will make
The grass lay down
Under my feet
As I make my path
To the waters edge
Of the river that sings.

Time will make
The pain lay down
Go fast asleep
On my journey
From the quiet place
To the river that sings.

Time will make
The wind blow down
My troubles and sorrow
Will fall like stones
To the side of the road
Of the river that sings.

Time will make
The trees bow down
And give cool shade
As I listen and fill
My open heart with song
From the river that sings.


inspired by the story of the Yuchie Tribe
of Muscle Shoals, Alabama


Ken Owen  Van Niddy Press  May 2014

The Lovers' Contract

forever joined in equal portion,
as thou hast loved so shall ye suffer,
payment due in full
in the wake of love's passing.


Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   May 2014