My Book of Thoughts

I sat down to

finish 

a book of Japanese poetry

but my mind was 

racing

and kept jumping off the page. 

It felt like I was 

reading

two books at the same time.

Sadly, my book of 

thoughts

was not nearly as elegant.

Ken Owen  Van Niddy Press 

December 2018

She Before Me

(Soft Eggs and Toast)

Photograph by Dianne Woods

The counter seats of most restaurants 

are full of men 

who have no one at home

to cook their soft eggs and toast.

These elderly gents

leave the house wearing their

favorite baseball cap and 

“World's Best Grandpa” sweatshirt

and take their place at the counter

with their friends from the neighborhood 

who have unwillingly joined the

“She Left Before Me” Club

though some 

silently refer to it 

as the 

“I Was Supposed to Go First” Club

and though they boast bravely 

of their willingness to be done with it all

happy once again

when reunited with their love

they do their best 

to hide their fear 

on days when their destiny 

overwhelms them

with news of 

an opening in the club

and a place 

at the counter.

Ken Owen    Van Niddy Press 

October 2018

The Flight Attendant

is beautiful 

but seems

very 

unhappy. 

She has not smiled 

since I’ve boarded the plane 

and I’m not taking that personally.

It looked like she took great exception

to having to parade down the aisle

during the safety demonstration 

as part of her duties

but I enjoyed her parade

very much.

It is 6:00a.m.

so

perhaps expecting anyone to smile now

while teaching the public 

how to use a seat belt

is asking a bit much.

As a young girl

when she realized 

she wanted to travel the globe

seeing all the great cities of the world

I’m guessing she never imagined 

that teaching uninterested passengers 

how to use a floatation device

would be part of the deal.

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press

September 2018

Like You

In a moment of panic

I found myself

desperately searching 

for the book you gave me

I could see it 

clearly

in my mind

a small black book of 

haiku 

by Kenneth Rexroth

and I was sure 

you had written in it

but when I finally 

found it

there was no 

inscription

It must have been in 

the note I didn’t keep

that came with 

your present 

I realized then

I went looking 

for your hand

but it wasn’t there

and this would be 

the first of

many times

this would happen

from now on.

                   ~~~~

          I cherish your gift,

       a little book of haiku 

        filled with art, like you.

-for Marlene 

Ken Owen   October 2018
Van Niddy Press 

Misdirection

(Tonight's Battle with History)

Lately

I have been watching historical 

documentaries about war

and I am fascinated and saddened 

by the long history and incredible 

depths of man’s inhumanity against his brothers 

and though I have watched 

these same films many times 

it seems I do this to remind myself

that the events we are experiencing now

that have everyone so distraught and 

so depressed and hopeless with fear

are nothing more than

Hollywood headlines meant to 

keep us distracted from the reality

that our pockets were picked

while we sat there stupefied

watching America’s Got Talent 

instead of reminding ourselves

that the history of the world

is filled with great battles over 

atrocities that really mattered 

when people stood up and 

changed things forever.

     ~~~~

Each morning 

on my way to 

the kitchen for coffee 

I survey the battlefield where 

the dead bodies of once 

proud beer soldiers lie

and a critically wounded 

Kentucky bourbon general

clings to life 

and through the morning fog

that hangs over this now quiet place

I remind myself 

to send the order for reinforcements 

before we suffer the inevitable 

casualties in tonight’s battle with history.

Ken Owen

Van Niddy Press   September 2018

A New Bear in The Woods

My new

girlfriend

told me

“I truly believe that

the secret to a long marriage

is separate bathrooms.”

I smiled because 

that’s when I knew

this one was different

and when I told her

to get stronger toilet paper

and more air freshener 

for her guest bathroom 

because there was a new 

bear in her woods

she said 

“Safeway’s open until 11:00pm,

good luck with that.”

Be still 

my beating 

heart.

Ken Owen

Van Niddy Press   September 2018

Desperate Rain

A fur trimmed hat

and a crushed red rose

on a Saturday sidewalk

eight stories below.

The village assembled 

with mournful cries

as the flames of hell

opened the sky.

No one spoke of locked doors

and stairways behind bars

until our daughters danced with clouds

and young brides joined the stars.

The chance of a future

with freedom to gain

washed away in the sadness 

of a desperate rain.

Inspired by historical accounts and dedicated to the memory 

of those lost in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire,  March 25, 1911.

Ken Owen

Van Niddy Press    September 2018

On a Lazy Day

Sitting quietly 

resting

on the banks of 

The River of Thought

with absolutely 

no energy or motivation 

to chase any of the ideas 

floating past 

to see where they might lead

though the last one 

was making quite a splash 

and might really have made 

something nice

(it wanted to be something about 

 happy shadows dancing 

 on her bedroom ceiling).

It took every ounce 

of mental strength I had

just to write these lines.

I’m exhausted.

Ken Owen

Van Niddy Press    September 2018

Home of The Brave

(to fight

                       to run)

I.

I believed

they would never

lie

        I believed

        it wasn’t my time

        to die.

I wore the uniform

proud for all

to see

          I shouted for an end

          until they came

          for me.

I left with the possibility 

I may never 

come home again.

          I left with the possibility 

          I may never 

          come home again.

The bravest thing 

I did was 

point their gun

          The bravest thing

          I ever did

          was run.

II.

I did my best 

and prayed each day

to make it home alive

          I watched the news

          and prayed each day

          my country would survive.

Each night I watched

their country 

slip away

          Each night I watched

          my republic

          in decay.

A peace sign

on my helmet

when their lies were known

           A peace sign

           on my jacket

           to bring our brothers home.

III.

When I came back

my country 

had changed

            When I came back

            my fear

            mixed with shame.

I thought that they

would welcome me 

and honor me as their own

            I thought that they

            would understand

            my choice of life or home.

But they hated me

for fighting

          and they hated me

          for running

and we hated

those in power

          as we learned

          their deceitful cunning.

I cursed my country

and cried for 

lost brothers

               I had no answers

               to offer a million 

               mourning mothers.

IV.

The Black Wall

honors the sacrifice 

but my wounds will not heal

               The history of

               my secret life 

               a lifetime to conceal.

Nightly haunting 

memories 

of wrongs they said were right

               Nights of guilty 

               suffering

               for those who would not fight.

The bravest thing

I ever did

was go

               The bravest thing

                I ever said

                was “No.”

~~/ /~~

To know war

before love

To know hate

before peace

Lives change

forever

      When memories 

won’t sleep.

Inspired by the stories of the men and women of the documentary “Vietnam “ by Ken Burns. 

Ken Owen 

September 2018    Van Niddy Press

My Computer Thinks I’m Gay

I have recently been

shopping online

for things like 

medicated shower soaps 

modern day options in 

breathable underwear

hair styling products

and a new shoulder bag 

to hold things like 

my tablet computer

my wallet

a comb

my inhaler 

and sunscreen when I’m 

out running errands

and lately I have been looking 

for a lavender colored shirt

to accent a new vest I wear to gigs 

(It would seem this last bit of shopping 

has made my computer sit up and take notice.)

          ~~~~

Now my computer 

is sending me ads 

for wild patterned shirts and skinny jeans

and for things I never knew existed 

that frighten me when

I figure out their true purpose.

I have been told that

greatly sophisticated 

computer algorithms exist 

that can determine exactly

what a person will shop for next 

based on what they shopped for last

but I am fairly certain I will never require 

jewelry for a piercing in the places 

these ads are alluding too.

          ~~~~

I began to wonder if I were to 

do some searches for things like

sledge hammers and welding masks

if that would bring things back into balance

closer to my personal experience 

(though I’ve never used either) 

or would I be creating a whole new algorithm 

for welders who use shoulder bags

while running errands wearing lavender shirts?

(Where I live, the chances of that algorithm 

already existing is very high.)

          ~~~~

I was going to end this with

Does my computer

know something 

I don’t?

But, on further review

perhaps the question should be:

Can I get a welding mask in lavender paisley?

(I’m pretty sure it would be awesome.)

Ken Owen

Van Niddy Press   August 2018