Reference Points

Understanding comes from translation
Translation comes from a reference point
Without the beginning, or the end,
or even a middle
Information is lost, unusable
If you can't relate, or pull it in
It is because there was no where to begin
To translate that life to yours
Or that word into meaning
There must be a common thread to pull upon
Commonality which breeds understanding
Otherwise a speck of dust floating in a vacuum
Will hang forever in the void

© 2013 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved
http://www.amazon.com/author/deannaoaks

It Belongs To The Day

Where does the time go? Away.
Why can't we keep it? It belongs to the day.
Why can't we speed it up or slow it down?
We are not its master.
It belongs to the day.
Forever fleeting, always retreating.
Never ours to keep.
Years go by, days grow short,
Wrinkles get deep.
We watch it fly by when having fun,
Or fade away with the setting sun.
We ache as clocks tick the hours by,
When something dreadful is nearby.
Going to lunch,
Going to work,
Going to spend the day...
Even though it is never mine to pay.

© 2013 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved
http://www.amazon.com/author/deannaoaks

Gambling

The only reason to gamble
Is a desire to win big
So when we retrace our steps
And try to relive
A gamble made to regain
What we once had in
Feelings, emotions, good times
Once we begin....
We see our gamble losing
Our forces compound
Yet our past rekindled
Cannot be found
A gamble made, lost
A lesson learned
Never eat at a bad place twice
You're bound to get burned

© 2013 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved
http://www.amazon.com/author/deannaoaks

An Idea

The idea that poetry should be written by the educated elite
To be read, criticized, understood ONLY by those elite
Is haunting
To demolish this idea is daunting
Because the greatest weapon is an idea, from it's inception
And this idea has become societal deception
So poems written in an uneducated way
Never see the light of day
(Unless set to music and called a song
Then a million people listen all day long)
This idea, impossible to break
Even though these words a poem does make

© 2013 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved
http://www.amazon.com/author/deannaoaks

THE Truth

Writing, writing, writing
All the time writing
Writing, writing, writing
Stop
Read
See a truth
Writing, writing, writing
Stop
Read
Is the truth still there, embedded,
Or was it somehow beheaded?
Can all readers find it, so hidden
Or do they have to be bitten?
No, I won't think of that
Writing, writing, writing
Stop
Edit
Repeat
Selling, selling, selling
All the time selling
Selling, selling, selling
Stop
Write, because that is what you do
Writing, writing, writing
Doesn't anyone see any of the truth?


© 2013 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved
http://www.amazon.com/author/deannaoaks

Write It Down

Don't apologize
I took it how I take it
Not how you give it
Once you set it out in the world
Let it be
It is no longer yours
You gave it to me

© 2013 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved
http://www.amazon.com/author/deannaoaks

Missing Traffic

Long drive
Becomes longer still
When the cars stop
You prepare for it
Pack the car full
(such a drain on gas)
Before you start
Then you don't stop
You just keep going
There are no accidents
No mad rush for home
Nothing keeping you from the speed limit
Driving, not stopping
Like you were prepared for

Reset everything now
For the next trip
Not planning for the traffic
No extra sandwiches
Leave the cooler at home
Save the gas
Do not pack for the stopped cars
They don't stop

Or do they?
YES - Longer than ever before
Holiday weekend, both trips

which do I plan for next time?


© 2013 Deanna Repose Oaks
All Rights Reserved
http://www.amazon.com/author/deannaoaks