WELCOME TO THE POETRY PODIUM. HERE YOU WILL FIND POEMS FROM FAMOUS POETS AND POEMS FROM ME AS WELL.
My first poem.THOUGHTS -By Roland Cummins - 2007
Sometimes clear as water
Sometimes like onions and each layer brings out tears
Sometimes hard as a stone
Sometimes as funny as a clown
Sometimes I have no thoughts
SPIRIT - By Roland Cummins -2007
When you stripe it all down
When your feet and your
under cover touch the ground
You're nothing but spirit
When you come in from the crowds
When you stop being so loud
You're nothing but spirit
When you remove yourself from your name
and your ego, you restrain
You'll soon relize that everybody is the same
You're nothing but spirit
Spirit, Spirit, Spirit
You'll find it in silence
Spirit, Spirit, Spirit
You're nothing but cosmic connection
take the time out and tune your reception
You're just here
To be clear
To be near
to others just like you who are dear
Look around and be astound
Were all standing on the same ground.
You're nothing but spirit.
MELT DOWN -Roland Cummins- 2007
Sometimes I lose control in the warming rushing waters of your hole
Your whole, your whole being.
But I can swim in the force of a mighty lava river reach the summit and make your moutain quiver.
Melt down.
This is when and where our bodies our bound
like two candles dripping in a pool our wicks still flickerin.
The flames are hot third degree levels and we wont stop
just another movement as our bodies flop.
In a pool of sweat like two molds set.
Scorching hotter than hell we will drop because the winds in our sails have to die.
MILES HIGH, MILES DEEP
this poem is dedicated to one of my favorite jazz trumpeters Miles Davis
Miles high, miles deep through the depths of your spirit I creep
Like a whisper I've blown in the wind is when the voodoo from the bitches brew begins.
My brass, my closed lips, let it slip into your unwaken cold soul and warm you like a internal flame.
Miles high and miles deep is where you must go to experience me.
I'm an explorer and you will soon be a soarer cause my twisted metal will levitate you. - Roland Cummins -2007
This next poem was inspired by a conversation and a sermon. Plus one day while in Whistler B.C. I was watching my son play with these leaves near this rushing creek. Each leaf landed on the water and took off like a speeding boat until they were out of sight.
LET THE LEAF FLOW DOWN THE STREAM - By Roland Cummins - 2007
YOU NEVER ARRIVED BEFORE YOU HAD TO LEAVE
THROUGH DAYS OF TEARS IT WAS HARD TO BELIEVE
I'M JUST WAITING FOR THE WIND
TO BLOW THE DUST AWAY SO I CAN SEE.
I GOT LET THE LEAF FLOW DOWN THE STREAM
I GOT TO LET GO IT SEEMS
ALTHOUGH MY HANDS ARE OPEN
MY MIND IS CLENCHED LIKE A FIST
I GOT TO LET THE LEAF FLOW DOWN THE STREAM
YOU DID THE BEST YOU KNEW HOW
THROUGH HARD TIMES
THE SUN ALWAYS MANAGED TO SHINE AGAIN
I GOT TO SPIT OUT THE BITTER AND THE SWALLOW THE SWEET
I GOT TO LET THE LEAF FLOW DOWN THE STREAM
I GOT TO LET GO IT SEEMS
ALTHOUGH MY HANDS ARE OPEN
MY MIND IS CLENCHED LIKE A FIST
I GOT TO LET THE LEAF FLOW DOWN THE STREAM
LOVE WAS FRESH GLUE
HEARTS ANEW
WE DID, WHAT WE DID, WHEN WE DID
BUT TIME NEVER SEEMS TO STICK
AND WE HAD TO HEAD WHERE THE COMPASS POINTED
I GO TO LET THE LEAF FLOW DOWN THE STREAM
I GOT TO LET GO IT SEEMS
ALTHOUGH MY HANDS ARE OPEN
MY MIND IS CLENCHED LIKE A FIST
I GOT TO LET THE LEAF FLOW DOWN THE STREAM
I'M ONLY HUMAN
WITH A SKELETON INSIDE OF ME
SOMETIME THE CREAKING OF MY BONES WONT LET ME BE
GOT TO OPEN THAT DOOR AND HAVE THE WIND CLEAN THE FLOOR
SO I CAN SEE
I GOT LET THE LEAF FLOW DOWN THE STREAM
I GOT TO LET GOT IT SEEMS
ALL THOUGH MY HANDS ARE OPEN
MY MIND IS CLENCHED LIKE A FIST
I GOT TO LET THE LEAF FLOW DOWN THE STREAM
IS THAT JAZZ/ STRAIGHT NO CHASER - Roland Cummins - 1/ 2008
Jazz is. Is what jazz is.
If you have to explain or describe Jazz you wont get jazz.
Jazz is a sensation and understanding, a mood, a modification of colors that transform in the dark behind closed eyes lids.
Jazz is the beginning and it is the end,
Science.
Jazz transforms a song like a hurricane transforms a storm, jazz is American History and the mystery of Congo Square.
So straight with no chaser you ask?
If you dilute it , if you mute it, if you subdue it, if you restrain it, if you plan it. Then it aint straight and then it aint Jazz.
Jazz is spirit, devotion and surrender, jazz is redemption never reduction, jazz is miles high and miles deep at the same time, jazz is locked in, jazz is love supreme and bright moments.
So... are you with it?
Can you possibly dig it?
Are you experienced?
If not to all the above just tuck back and tap your feet until you comprehend it.
TRAFFIC - Roland Cummins 1/2008
I was sitting in traffic going to work when this poem came to me
SPEEDOMETERS ARE HOVERING LOW
STEADY AS WE GO IN THE WHITE LINES OF BABYLON
PASSING BY ALL THESE EMPY FACES
STARING AT THE RISING STAR THROUGH BUG SMEARED SHEILDS
WHITE KNUCKLING IT ON THE WHEEL
IDLING IN TO THE ATMOSPHERE
TURN ON THE MUSIC RADIO
PUT IN A C.D.
DROP YOUR CELLULAR VOICES AND SING
SING YOUR FAVORITE SONG
SING WITH YOUR VOICES LONG
SING AND BRING YOUR SHINING SOUL TO THE DAY
OZ -Roland Cummins 1/2008
I've always inmagined as child the man in the projection room being like the man behind the curtain in the Wizard Of Oz
I’M GOING TO TAKE MY BABY DOWN
I’M GOING TO TAKE MY LADY DOWNTOWN
TO SEE THE SHOW
TO SEE THE SHOW
THE TWO OF US ARE GOING DOWN
TO VISIT OZ
TO GET A HEART
TO GET SOME LAUGHTER
THAT WHAT WERE AFTER
TO GET SOME ROMANCE
TO SING AND DANCE
GOING TO SEE OZ BEHIND THE CURTAIN PROJECT ON THE SCREEN
WERE GOING DOWN
WERE GOING DOWN TOWN
WITH A GOLD TICKET IN HAND
STEPPING IN MOVIE LAND
GOING TO SEE SIDNEY PORTIER
GOING TO SEE MERRILL STREEP
GOING TO SEE THE ACTOR FOLKS ON THE BIG SCREEN
THE TWO OF US ARE GOING DOWN
THE SPARROWS AND THE SNOW - Roland Cummins 1/2008
REJOICE, REJOICE,
WHAT DO YOU KNOW OVER NIGHT IT DECIDED TO SNOW.
SNOW BREAST DEEP
WHAT A CHILLING TREAT
CHIRP WITH ME WHITE SHOWERS FROM THE TREESOUR BATHS ARE FROZEN
FEEDERS FILLED WITH DEEP SNOW
DIG YOUR BEAK DOWN AND TO SEE WHAT CAN BE FOUND
CORN KERNALS AND SEEDS PERHAPS DARK OVAL TREATS.
SUET CAKES DONT LATE THE BIG BLACK BIRDS AND THE WOOD PECKERS WILL PECK RIGHT THROUGH IT.
WHEN THE FOOD IS FINISH HERE
TAKE FIGHT FIND ANOTHER YARD THATS NEAR
YESTERDAY THE SONGS SAY THE PROVIDERS FILLED THEIR FEEDERS .
NORTH OF SEATTLE JANUARY 28TH - Roland Cummins 1/2008
THE ARTIC WINDS WHIP THROUGH CANADA
BRINGING IN FLUFFY WHIPPED CLOUDS SOUTH OF B.C.
OVER BELLINGHAM IT BEGAN TO DUMP CRYSTALLINE WATER ICE
SOUTHWARD BOUND WITHOUT A SOUND
RACING THE PLOW TRUCKS ON THE CORRIDOR
OVER THE RURAL AREAS IT POWDERED
OVER THE FORGOTTEN PASTURES OF MARYSVILLE
LANDS FILLED COOKIE CUTTER HOMES
INCHES DEEP
SCHOOL CLOSURE KIDS SEEK
SLEIGH RIDES AND SNOW BALL WARS.
DONT LET NO ONE BRING YOU DOWN - Roland Cummins 1/2008
THE COTTON FIELDS OF YOUR MIND
WILL KEEP YOU DOWN ALL THE TIME
IF DON’T REEXAMINE
YOUR MIND WILL LIVE IN FAMINE
DON’T CALL YOUR SELF BROTHER
IF YOU CAN’T HELP ONE ANOTHER
DON’T LET NO ONE
NO, NO, NO ONE BRING YOU DOWN
IF THEY DO,
IF THEY DO YOU’RE NOT HOLDING YOUR GROUND
PEACE AND FREEDOM LIKE GRAVITY
HAS ALWAYS BEEN HERE
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS STAND TALL
AND DEAL WITH THE PRESSURE.
DON’T LET NO ONE
NO, NO ONE BRING YOU DOWN
IF THEY DO
IF THEY DO YOU’RE NOT HOLDING YOUR GROUND
THE LEADER IS WITHIN YOU
JUST FIND YOUR PLAN
SO YOU UNDER STAND
WHAT TO DO.
IF YOU DON’T LIKE SOMETHING
CHANGE IT
DON’T WAIT FOR SOMEONE TO REARRANGE IT
DONT LET NO ONE
NO, NO, NO ONE BRING YOU DOWN
IF THEY DO
IF THEY DO YOU’RE NOT HOLDING YOUR GROUND
A SPARKLE SPEEDS ACROSS THE VOID
HER EMBODIMENT IS HERE
SHE SPREADS HER LEGS AND GIVES BIRTH TO THE BEGINNING
THOUSANDS OF PLANETS AND STARS APPEAR
MILLIONS OF SEEDS FOR LIFE HAVE BEEN PLANTED
SUCH WONDERMENT DONT TRY TO UNDERSTAND.
SHE IS AWAKEN
I AM AWAKEN
PROPHETS ARE AWAKEN
DIVINE ONES ARE AWAKEN
YOU SHOULD AWAKEN TOO
THE CONNECTION IS ALWAYS CONNECTED
SILENCE YOUR MIND AND FEEL THE SURGE
FOR ALL THOSE NOT FEELING THIS
THAT IS TRULY ADSURD
SHE IS AWAKEN
I AM AWAKEN
PROPHETS ARE AWAKEN
DIVINE ONES ARE AWAKEN
YOU SHOULD AWAKEN TOO.
SHADES OF BLUE AND FIREY REDS
THE BEAUTIFUL SHADES OF ME AND YOU
ALL PART OF HER CREATIVE PLAN
SUCH WONDERMENT DON’T TRY TO UNDERSTAND
SHE IS AWAKEN
I AM AWAKEN
PROPHETS ARE AWAKEN
DIVINE ONES ARE AWAKEN
YOU SHOULD AWAKEN TOO
Every once in a while I like to address social issues. I find sometimes that poetry is the best voice. That's why I had always admired and was inspired by poems of Gil Scott Heron
DADDY’S GUN- Roland Cummins 2/2008
HIS CAP IS ON TIGHT PUSHING HIS HAIR OVER THE WINDOWS TO HIS SOUL
HE DOESN’T BELONG TO NO ONE
HE DOESN’T TALK OR WALK WITH NO ONE
HE’S LOST IN THE BLACKEYE OF HIS INNOCENTS
AND HIS CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER HAS BEEN BOULDERIZED
HE’S GRABING DADDY’S GUN
HE’S GRABBING DADDY’S GUN
AND HE’S GOING TO USE IT
HE’S NO LONGER HAVING FUN
CAUSE HE’S USING DADDY’S GUN
AND FINGER PRINT IS THE CHAMBER .
DARK CLOTHES IS PART OF HE
AND HE’S SCARING ALL OF WE
WHO DIDN’T TAKE TIME TO UNDERSTAND HIM.
WHEN THE SCHOOL BELL SOUNDS LEAD RINGS OUT
YOU’LL FIND OUT WHAT HE’S ABOUT
CAUSE DARKNESS IS LONELY PLACE IN HELL
HE’S GRABING DADDY’S GUN
HE’S GRABBING DADDY’S GUN
AND HE’S GOING TO USE IT
HE’S NO LONGER HAVING FUN
CAUSE HE’S USING DADDY’S GUN
AND FINGER PRINT IS IN THE CHAMBER.
DIEING FOR PEACE - Roland Cummins -2/2008
JESUS DIDN’T DIE FOR OUR SINS
HE WAS KILLED BY ALL MANKIND
HE WAS JUST A DIVINE MAN WITH PEACE AS HIS PLAN
WE JUST NAILED HIM UP AND LEFT HIM FOR DEAD.
WAS IS SO KIND WHEN YOU CAN’T OPEN YOUR MINDS
JUST TURN OFF YOUR LIGHTS AND GO BACK TO BED
WE SHOULD LIVE FOR PEACE
WE SHOULDN’T HAVE TO DIE TO GET PEACE
PEACEFUL LIVING SHOULD COME EASY INSTEAD
THERE WAS KING FROM MONTGOMERY
IN 1963 HE HAD A POWERFUL DREAM
FREEDOM AND PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND
AND IN 1968 A BULLET STRUCK HIM DEAD
MOHATMA WAS A SIMPLE MAN
NON VIOLENCE AGAINST VIOLENCE WAS HIS PLAN
HE PRAYED FOR ALL MANKIND
AND IN 1948 A BULLET STRUCK HIM DEAD
PEACE IS HERE FOR THE TAKING, AND EVERYBODY
WANTS A PIECE OF THAT PIE SOMEDAY
DON’T YELL OUT PEACE IF YOU FAIL TO CEASE
TO TAKE THE GUN OUT YOUR HAND
WAS IS SO KIND WHEN YOU CAN’T OPEN YOUR MINDS
JUST TURN OFF YOUR LIGHTS AND GO BACK TO BED
WE SHOULD LIVE FOR PEACE
WE SHOULDN’T HAVE TO DIE TO GET PEACE
PEACEFUL LIVING SHOULD COME EASY INSTEAD
WAKE UP NOW - Roland F. Cummins 2/2008
I CLOSED MY EYES ONE NIGHT
WITH THE EYE WITNESS NEWS BLUES IN MY SIGHT
THERE WAS WAR IN THE EAST AND HELL IN THE WEST
CHILDREN STARVING AND PARENTS DIEING
BECAUSE OF BIG DESEASE WITH A FOUR LETTER NAME IN THE MOTHER LAND
AND I CANT REST, WHO CAN I TRUST,
SOMEONE IS MONITORING ALL MY EMAIL STUFF.
SO I WOKE UP AND SAW THE SUN
REACHED OVER AND KISSED MY SON
CAUSE NO BOMBS WERE DROPPING ON ME.
I'M GOING TO WAKE UP EVERY MORNING WITH A BRAND NEW ATTITUDE
LIFE IS FRAGILE, LIFE IS SHORT, LIFE IS PEACEFUL IF YOU WANT I TO BE
I'M GOING TO REACH OUT TO ALL THAT I SEE
I DONT CARE IF YOU PRAY TO THE EAST,
OR THINK YOUR PRAYER IS THE BEST
PRAY TO A WALL, OR PRAY TO THE CROSS
IT'S SILLY IT DOESNT REALLY MATTER JUST PRAY
JUST WAKE UP AND THINK IN THE POSITIVE WITH ME.
THERES SO MUCH WE CAN DO
SO SIMPLE BUT TRUE
SAVE THE OCEANS, SAVE THE TREES, SAVE THE AIR THAT WE BREATH, ITS THE LITTLE STEPS IN THE BEGINNING IS ALL WE NEED.
TRAFFIC - Roland F. Cummins 2/2008
AT SUNRISE THAT MAN COMES AROUND HERE
WITH HIS WESTERN TATOOS
UNDER A STARCHED COLLARED SHIRT
HE’S A GOT DEAL FOR YOU.
HEY YOUNG PRETTY SLUM THING
DO YOU WANT TO BE,
ALL YOU CAN BE,
SEE ALL, YOU CAN SEE
HE SAYS
JUST FOLLOW ME.
I ‘LL MAKE YOU A MOVIE STAR
PUT I YOU IN BACKSEAT OF A FANCY CAR
TAKE YOUR LIFE SO FAR
JUST GIVE THIS MONEY TO YOUR KEEP
THEY’LL FIND IT BETTER TO SLEEP.
HEY, HEY, DIRTY SLUM SKIRT
YOU’LL GET USE TO THE PAIN
AFTER YOUR LIFE GOES DOWN THE DRAIN
STREETS OF GOLD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME.
I ‘LL MAKE YOU A MOVIE STAR
PUT I YOU IN BACKSEAT OF A FANCY CAR
TAKE YOUR LIFE SO FAR
JUST GIVE THIS MONEY TO YOUR KEEP
THEY’LL FIND IT BETTER TO SLEEP.
AT SUNSET THAT MAN JUST LEAVES
WITH NO DIRT ON HIS SLEEVES
HE NEVER HAS TO SAY PLEASE
DIRTY MONEY WITH EASE.
WIRE HEAD -Roland F. Cummins
White noise the sounds of the restless earth like a busy ant hill
Always moving, always creating, like a bad song that wont stop.
I'm plugging in and tuning out with wires coming from my head.
I'm going to give the universe digital shuffle just to muffle the what I dont want to hear.
Walking down the street or going to sleep life has a new musical score and the selections are only giga bytes away .
This next poem caught me by surprise. Because I first heard it as a song from one of my favorite singer, song writers, Mr. Ben Harper. It captivated me and it became a anthem for myself.
Still Rise -By Maya Angelo
You may write me down in history
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?'
Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard'
Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamondsAt the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I riseUp from a past that's rooted in pain
I riseI'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I riseInto a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I riseI rise I rise.
This next poem/ song I dedicate to my son and all children. -Written and sung by Lee Ann Womack
I HOPE YOU DANCE
I hope you never lose your sense of wonderYou get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give fate a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistakeBut it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
ReconsiderGive the heavens above
More than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance(Tell me who)
I hope you dance(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)(Where those years have gone)I hope you still feel smallWhen you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
DanceI hope you dance
I hope you dance(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance(Tell me who)(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance(Where those years have gone)(Tell me who)
I hope you dance(Wants to look back on their years and wonder)(Where those years have gone
WHY IS, WHERE IS, WHAT IS, GOD - By Roland Cummins -2007
Why is God God ?
Where is this thing ?
What is God ?
Was a strange phenomenon in the sky the first sign of God as early man looked up and emerged out of his cave, or when he finally lost his tail and climbed down from the trees to walk upright.
Was that a verbal command?
Was it the first clap of thunder or the lightening bolt that struck down a tree that scared his primitive mind so much, that there for he declared that was something greater than him.
Was that God?
Was God in heaven just a imaginary vision when early man had a near death experience?
Where did this God come from.
Did it, she, or he have parents?
Did they emerge from another dimension one fine day, and left their child behind to grow and take charge and create life and a universe?
Has anyone honestly met God and had a long conversation with her, him or it?
If they did, were they delusional?
Why was she, he, or it, so angry, and so human in the Old testament?
Was the New Testament's version of God nicer because someone else stepped in?
Or was it because she, he, or it was scolded by its creator or parents and was told to get its act together?
Does it really matter if God is matter?
Or the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe?
Or a man, woman, or child, or it of such superior qualities that he seems like a deity to other people?
The name God refers to the deity held by monotheists to be the supreme reality.
Inmaginary or real?
What is real to you, is all that really matters.
Real or not if the force is with you.
Go with it.
What you feel inside, or your spiritual connection to this conscience or unscience being is all that really matters.
I dont have to meet her, him , or it to have a good feeling about God. I dont need to be in a religious sect to communicate with what is already part of me and all around .
FOURTEENTH OF FEBRUARY BY Roland F. Cummins
A Valentine is nothing like A milk chocolate or a sweet smelling victorian rose.
For in a week these shall be gone,
But the fourteenth of February remain.
If love were always sweet to tongue
Or fragrant to the nose,
Each day would be like Valentine's, And we would go insane.
A Valentine just hangs around Waiting to be kissed Long after special days have been missed And every days are here.
So one is wise to choose one well
And chocolates to resist.
For in the midst of mania
It's nice to have one near Valentine's for lovers and for friends.
All my love goes out to you this day!
Love is something different from desire:
Even, silent, peaceful as the sky.
Nor is love interested in means or ends.
There are no selfish needs that it must weigh.
Instead, love's plenitude itself inspires,
Needing neither cause nor reason why.
Each day my thoughts enchanted with you lie.
No comments:
Post a Comment