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

Photograph by Dianne Woods

(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