Point Taken

On a peaceful afternoon . . .

Alone
quiet
still

quietly filling my head
full of poems
and wonder

when suddenly
reason unknown
a sharp pain from deep within

announced its presence
to get my
attention

and then, as quickly as it came
gone
as if to say

“Hey, we in here have had enough
of being completely ignored all these years
so get it together!”

Point taken
under advisement,
I’ll get back to you on that.


Ken Owen     May 2025      Van Niddy Press

American Road Map 2025

Based on our current course,

it seems we may be experiencing

the potential demise of our

Democracy

a system of government

by the whole population

typically through elected representatives

which has always been a thinly-veiled

Oligarchy
government ruled by
a small group of people
based on wealth, power, or social status

and has now become a

Kakistocracy
a government run by
the least qualified
or most unscrupulous people

that is trying to enable a

Theocracy
rule by religious leaders or officials
often based on religious laws

in order to help facilitate a

Kleptocracy
a society or system
ruled by people who use their power
to steal their country's resources

on our way to

Autocracy
a system of government
by one person with absolute power

It is starting to feel

like I got on the wrong bus.

Ken Owen May 2025 Van Niddy Press

Tuesday at 3:15pm

When the neighborhood bar
leaves its door open 
on a sunny blue sky day

all who pass by look quickly inside 
with a sideways glance
to see who from the neighborhood
is allowed to have that much fun
on a Tuesday at 3:15pm

Some patrons will emerge from the darkness
for important calls that prohibit the sounds 
of juke box music and dice cups

while others enjoy a smoke 
and feel the sun on their face 
between innings

and they acknowledge all passers-by 
with a grin and slight nod 
as if proudly displaying their contempt 
for acceptable day time behavior 
like a badge of honor

Once again reassured 
that the world is doing fine without them 
and the strategy for their place in the day is sound
they slip back into the darkness for just one more
and leave the door open behind them

Ken Owen        April 2025        Van Niddy Press

Verse by Verse

 

I never received 

a card of acknowledgment

no thank you

nothing

when I sent you a book of my poems

but now I think

that was for the best

as it makes me practice

imagining glorious scenes

of you in rapture

sitting in your window seat

reading my poems and left speechless

while marveling at the beauty and sadness 

of the world you have been missing

just outside your window

and how I tried 

to captured it for you

verse by verse.

So it is now my wish

that when you are finished 

with my attempts at documenting

the human experience

you will join me in hoping 

that all this leads

to more and better poems

unlike this one.

Ken Owen December 2024 Van Niddy Press