California

Golden rolling hills---

waves of earth frozen in time

soon to move again

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   June 2015

Dreams of You and I

Telling you

            no

was not easy

but it was the right 

thing to do

To touch your glowing 

heart just briefly

is all it would take 

to be lost in another 

slow death of waiting 

for something 

you could not give

Instead, I chose to live

with dreams of you and I 

unrealized 

that end perfectly 

every time

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   June 2015

The Smell of Her Perfume

He woke up in jail 

to the smell of her perfume

He held his head with trembling hands 

pain screaming like a siren in his ears

Cold sweat danced on his forehead

as his stomach mounted the

occasional escape attempt

All this consumed him until he realized 

the private cloud of sweet scent

that calmed his body and mind was

the smell of her perfume 

He tried to piece together what happened

but all he had were scattered images

a bad ending

and the one thing that let him 

escape back into sleep was 

the smell of her perfume

He chased her image 

as it floated between dreams

while a voice deep inside screamed 

“she was here, can't you smell that?"

but he could summon no vision

to satisfy a mind unconvinced

she had left him with anything more 

than the smell of her perfume

Four cold walls

one metal door

one surveillance camera

the glare of one humming fluorescent light

three snoring drunks

no shoelaces, no eye contact

no dignity, no pride

the only thing not surrendered

into a plastic bag of possessions was

the smell of her perfume

He woke up in jail

at the end of one story

and the start of a new one 

and staggered bleary eyed into the hot morning

a long way from home

$7.00 in his wallet

wearing last nights clothes

and the smell of her perfume

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   June 2015

Still Dreaming of You

(1st verse)

At the end of each day I'm so weary

from thinking of you all day through

and when I come home

I spend my nights alone

feeling so lonely and blue

(2nd verse)

The moon stops by every evening

to make sure I’m doing alright

but it's sad to see

you’re still there with me

in my lonely dreams every night

(chorus)

The moon shined bright

through my window tonight

and brought all my sad dreams in view

it started to cry 

when it said good-bye

because I'm still dreaming of you

(3rd verse)

I still dream of the days when you loved me

I still dream of the nights you were here

But when dreams are through 

it's just memories of you

For me, the moon, and our tears

(chorus)

The moon shined bright

through my window tonight

and brought all my sad dreams in view

it started to cry 

when it said good-bye

because I'm still dreaming of you

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   June 2015

Long Road Home

(1st verse)

Hard travels and trials my life has seen,

I've climbed high mountains searching for dreams,

but the view always showed another valley below,

with a path never-ending and a long way to go.

(chorus)

Tired, so tired as I lay down my head,

with comfort in knowing the words that you said,

my soul is fulfilled, I'm never alone,

as I make my journey on the long road home.

(2nd verse)

I traveled so far for a mighty long time,

with love in my heart and peace in my mind,

I kept the faith in doing what's right,

giving thanks for each day and praising you every night.

(repeat chorus)

(3rd verse)

My time here has ended, I bid you farewell,

remember me fondly in the stories you tell,

my searching is done, my struggles are through,

I give thanks for the road that led me to you.

(4th verse)

Give me to the wind, give me to the sea,

give me to the mountains that watch over thee,

I'll be always with you wherever you roam,

as you make your journey on the long road home.

(final chorus)

Tired, so tired as I lay down my head,

with comfort in knowing the words that you said,

my soul is fulfilled, I’m never alone,

I've come to the end of the long road home.

(tag)

Yes I've come to the end

of the long road home.

dedicated to the memory
of Fred "Skip" Okert

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   June 2015

Acceptance

I accept 

  the things I've done,

I accept 

  who I've become.

I accept 

  that change will come,

I accept 

  I am not done.

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   June 2015

The Writer's Curse (Midnight Haiku)

Howling with passion,

"two cats on a midnight fence"--

Get up, write that down.

Ken Owen   Van Niddy Press   June 2015