Stage Flight

 Stage Flight

John Clare Stokes

Between the final act of life

(Of what is left of it)

Save for the five-minute smoke break

(At intermission )

Lungs shot to hellacious 

Forgotten chain-sucking Thespian

The lines of the Bard mumbled,

"Nor moody beggars, starving for a

time, of pell-mell havoc and confusion".

The disengaged,sullen orderly wheels

Henry the fourth

off stage to room five b with

The drawn curtains,

(Yellowed-fingers tremble)

Bed bound the encore call cord

beyond reach,

O'er and o'er the lines lipping 

"O the ignominy sleep with thee in

the grave, but not remember'd in

Thy epitaph!"

In thy epitaph!

M&m

M@m

john clare

Sunday 

there were several

empty seats

where Megan and family 

once sat

quietly watching

 while sister went under

 it did sink into her

 for she went to Indiana

baptized by daddy

while one with her perm

i imagine was squirming

in her front row seat

hoping she too

would not have to go

under

wetting her nice do

combed so lovingly

by Megan.

Big Apple

 Just because you're a big apple from the big apple don't make you an artist....

Lawton, Ok

 Wireless ties to the past and present, the title of a  sculpture at the corner of Sheridan and Cache in Lawton, Ok at Ft Sill, owned by Bill Williams, a Native American who has a cell phone store, with my own interpretation with my "beloved" tree as sticks. The girls will know. I call it Chief Sitting by Fire sends heat our way.

Quiet gal

 The quiet girl in the terminal 

Sat across the aisle

Where she talked continual

From Lawton to Dallas.

To be a frog again

 O please rescind 

The kiss

The world

Of being a

Frog

I so miss

Blend in

 Whenever Blind John attends these Canoncon Conventions, during after hours he likes to dress inconspicuously and blend in. Blind John was more than a little thrilled to find just the perfect lamp.

On the last day in 2022

 And on the last day

Today is my ‘last’ day as an automobile photographer. I will probably miss those circle scenes, the backing with the colliding involved, but in these times, three years is long enough. I’d like to thank Ray Carpenter Ray Carpenter who taught me everything I know about AUTO photography, and especially shooting in MANUAL AUTOS. Peace outback in the Chevy field somewhere.

July 30.2022

Last car

 The final vehicle

Three years ago my good friend Ray Carpenter saw me coming out of Baya to get into my vehicle from being fired. He didn’t know they had let me go but offered me a job taking photos of vehicles for the web pages of the dealers. Three years later we find out the photo department locally of Ray, his son and I are being outsourced by a company starting Monday. Well, though I didn’t need to, for the two weeks I kept the log Ray, the boss, asked us to. In other words, I stayed true even though I didn’t have to. 

Only thing I can say is, though I trust I was a good employee, it’s very important who you hire. They can ultimately cause you to be…outsourced. Peace out.

This was 2022. They didn’t get rid of me but made me a driver of cars. Ray and son they let go. I stayed on til my stroke last year. 

The land of Uz

 The land of Uz

John Clare Stokes

When Sabeans maul

When fire falls from heaven

When Chaldeans storm

 When great winds come

When one escapes to tell

When grief is poured

When in dust you dwell

Blessed will be the name

Of the Lord still.

Iston

 Iston 

John Clare Stokes

We who once dwelt in Iston 

Think of it always so

We never see it in its

Completeness 

As those who remain see it

When we approach from

Far Onson and the tower

Is nearing

As we top the hill

We expect to still see

Those familiar scenes

Stretching down Noble

Each time passing

Beneath the Iston

Something is missing

Many places replaced

But mostly empty space

Leaving us to fill in the

Blanks

We do not linger

For we who once dwelt

It's painful

To those who came after us

History is unknown

In need of tearing down

Moving on

And we do

Sadly amid the

Exultant

In a garden

In the garden of Eden

John Clare Stokes 

The iron butterfly soared 

Upon the wind

Down from the red mountain

The chimes of heaven

Tinkling 

Don’t you know I’ll 

Always be true?

Only in a seventeen minute span

Plummet to earth

Cast drunken, a windless tangle

From an

In-a-gadda-da-In the garden of Eden

John Clare Stokes 

The iron butterfly soared 

Upon the wind

Down from the red mountain

The chimes of heaven

Tinkling 

Don’t you know I’ll 

Always be true?

Only in a seventeen minute span

Plummet to earth

Cast drunken, a windless tangle

From an

In-a-gadda-da-vida.

In the year 68 the Iron Butterfly came out with 17 minute song and we drove over to the Subterranean Circus head shop on 10 South Main in Dreamsville, Hogtown or Gainesville to get the vinyl. We got home and put it on the family console, taking off the Perry Como, laid on the carpet and turned the volume way up, for our parents were not home yet. We were no longer rednecks from Williston but hard rockers. Or so we imagined.