Category: Poems

for fifty years she stood by him
loved him through the years
and all the tears
when life dealt them
cloudy days and dark storms

loved him when they had money
and when they had no money
stayed by his side
during all the good times
and more importantly
during all the bad times

made a better man out of him
when he was a lesser man
and he often told her
he didn’t deserve a woman
as good to him as she was
and she said the same
to him for standing by her
for those fifty years
of lasting love when
he had been there for her

bob boyd

treacherous woman

his friends warned him about her
they said she was treacherous.
she was too hot for him to resist
he kiddingly said he liked
to live dangerously
and he could tame her
he had no idea how dangerous
things would become
he only lasted a week in his
dangerous relationship
with the treacherous woman
when he went to the hospital
with a gunshot to his back

bob boyd

When he was a kid it took forever to reach age 21
and be totally legal and totally free.
Then the unexpected happened after that
when he thought he’d be young forever.
The years began speeding up
slowly at first, then faster and faster
and faster and faster and faster!
At age sixty when he wanted the years to slow down,
They went into overdrive and seemed to go 100 miles an hour
until the days seemed to pass like the speed had doubled
just when he wanted to put the brakes on and avoid dying
as long as he possibly and humanly could.
Then one day he woke up and found out he was 80
and dying of cancer. In what seemed like a week
months sped by and in what seemed like seconds, he was dead.

Bob Boyd

when he was a kid
everybody told him
he could sing
as well as the singers
who sang the songs
on the radio
some said he sang
even better than them
so when he
got out of high school
he took the shot
at being a rock star
and he knew
he’s make it big
he sang for
various bands
for thirty odd years
until he had to face
the heart-sinking truth
that he was never
going to make it
his rock star dream
had eluded him
tired of singing in
going nowhere gigs
he resigned himself
to driving a taxi
for a living
and getting drunk
and doing drugs
nearly every night
until he and his
dreams died
on the streets
of an uncaring city
after he became
drug-addicted
and homeless

bob boyd

He always saw women in dreams,
some he knew, some he didn’t.
Some were beautiful, some were sweet.
All were in his dreams once and once only.
Dreams were the closest he ever got to a woman.
In real life he’d never been with one.
It wasn’t he was unattractive or unlikable;
He just had bad luck with women.

Bob Boyd

I saw my beautiful first love 40 years later.
I hadn’t seen her since age 17 when we parted.
I was shocked to see her beauty was erased forever.
Aging had been incredibly cruel to her.
I almost shed a tear remembering how beautiful she was
when we were young and felt as though good looks were forever.
I could see in her sad eyes she was thinking the same about me,
remembering when she said I was so handsome
and was shocked to see what aging had done to me.

Bob Boyd

They felt they had carte blanche on always being right
despite the fact they were on the left.

They’d defend even the craziest notions their lackeys
put forth as undeniable truths.

Even when the notions were indefensible and idiotic,
they lined up like lemmings to support them.

They’d become more like a mindless cult
than critical thinking followers.

One day they controlled an entire country with their insanity
and wrecked it like an out of control wrecking ball.

Until sanity and reason overruled their harmful policies,
and they were exposed and tossed out of power.

Bob Boyd

He yearned for the limelight all his life
until he got it and his life darkened.
He never imagined his life would become
like living in a goldfish bowl with so
many people hounding and pestering him.
He never expected to be misquoted and
portrayed as a villain or an unfeeling fool.
After enough of the everpresent exposure
and the never ending invasions of his privacy,
he said screw it all and dropped out of the limelight
and basked in the freedoms of obscurity.

Bob Boyd

brandon was
a nice guy who
wanted to fit in
with the in crowd
who had the
flashy cars
and the
fancy girls
got his break
when one of the
in crowd invited
him to a party
alcohol and
drugs at the
wild party
brandon didn’t
do drugs and
rarely drank
had a beer
right before
cops busted
the party
everyone arrested
included brandon
guilty by his
association with
the in crowd
wrong place
wrong time
a high cost
for trying
to fit in

bob boyd

sweet, angelic,
reared religiously
attended church
every sunday
weekdays too.

lived by the golden rule
treating others like
she’d like to be treated.

unappreciated by bad boys
some of them
saw her as a prude.

stuck to her values
and religious beliefs
remained a virgin
until she was in college
and fell in love
with a wild boy
masquerading as
a religious one.

lost her virginity
and her young life
and died of AIDs
courtesy of
the wild boy
who died too.

her parents and
church friends
wondered how God
could have allowed
that to happen
to one of their own.

bob boyd

birds fly free,
why can’t we
controlled by governments
police, schools, and jobs
during our lives
some for awhile
like schools
like jobs
some if we drive
too fast or
stray from the law
some all our lives
like governments
but birds pay a price
for their seeming
freedom
predators
govern their
brief lives

bob boyd

three good kids and one bad
in their human litter,
how could three go right
and one go bad?
is it a twisted genetic thing
from a bad one in their
ancient family tree
that resurfaces sometimes
in successive generations?
is it a misfiring in some
mysterious gene?

whatever the cause
we have too many bad ones
in many of
the human litters
Hitler, Stalin, Bundy, et al.

bob boyd

pretty woman seemed
to have a wonderful life
filled with many admirers
who dreamed of being with her,
and all the loving looks
of many men who saw her.
and all the advantages good looks
can bring.

none knew what she’d been through,
men who wanted her just for her looks,
good men too afraid to approach her
for fear of her rejecting them.

the worsening fears of losing her looks
as aging began to rob her
of her lifelong signature beauty,
the costs of cosmetic surgeries
that didn’t save her waning looks,
the sobbing acceptance of
her lost forever looks.

bob boyd

you may be richer than
impoverished us
but you’re no better
in your fancy clothes
grandiose houses
exorbitant cars
high maintenance
privileged spouses
with all the glitter
with all the glitz

we’re all equal
when we die
and all the riches
or lack of them
no longer divides
you from us
and like the biblical
lions lying down with lambs
we all lie down together
separately but equally
under those
indifferent tombstones
under those
indiscriminate grounds

bob boyd

she’s considered part of the masses
by those who think of themselves
as the higher intelligentsia
she’s not lost in lofty thoughts
or delusional self importance
in a world that’s a blink
in the eyes of eternity
she lives a gentle, normal life
works in a factory days
takes care of her family nights
extends kindness to all
does her best to be
a good and decent person
living by the golden rule

bob boyd

reading passages of the Bible
reflecting on the words
becoming infused
with their sacred meanings
feeling Divinely inspired
when a certain sentence
or passage stands out
and remains in your mind

you close your eyes
and contemplate it
if you can connect
even a little
with the Absolute
if you can for a moment
really feel the
sacred images
the words reveal

you unlock
the peace
beyond understanding
the bliss
beyond imagination
and get a glimpse
of The Divine

Bob Boyd

She looked
so beautiful
when started work
at the jewelry store.

I lucked out
and
got a date
with her.

It went to hell
when she
got drunk
and wanted
sex on the
way home.

Sloppy drunk
women
have never
held any
appeal to me.

I declined
the drunken
offer that
for me
would have
been like
having sex
with a corpse.

But I really
didn’t want
to have
sex with her
because it
was so wrong
to use a
drunken woman
no matter
how hot.

Bob Boyd

Leaves turning gold as winter approaches
I wish they could stay that color forever.
They look like something out of a fantasy world
instead of a sign of the approaching winter.
If they have leaves in the afterlife,
I’ll bet they stay gold forever
and never fall off trees.

Bob Boyd

margaret always loved
the hot fudge sundaes
at her small town’s
little ice cream shop
never had better she said
everybody ate there and
echoed what martha said
until a big ice cream shop
part of a national chain
moved into the town

it offered more ice cream flavors
and food than the little ice shop
and with cheaper costs
better advertising too

it stole all the customers
except martha from
the little ice cream shop
and saddened martha
a principled woman
never ate
hot fudge sundaes
or anything at
that big ice cream store

bob boyd

cameras all over the city
spying on the populace
citizens spying too
with their ever ready
cell phone cameras
to catch others
doing stupid or
criminal things
police and employers
snooping on
social media
yet despite all
the surveillance
some people still
do stupid stuff
and get caught
on camera
and on
social media
welcome to 1984
in 2024 and
shout outs to
george orwell

bob boyd