Poetry from Benjamin Hollon

35

2024-02-24T06:27:26.000Z

I don’t know where I am going
I don’t know when I’ll arrive

All I know
Is I’m going slow
But that and steady wins the race

Each day I raze another wall
That keeps the world apart
Demarcations keeping one from all

There may be a million more
Or this could be the last
I’ll never know until I arrive
At the place I’ve never been
At the time I’ve yet to learn

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34

2024-02-23T03:37:03.000Z

Do you know how it feels to be lost
without leaving your home?
“Lost” does not have enough syllables
to communicate the concept

Cast adrift in a sea of familiarity
I tread truisms to keep afloat
Cobwebs congeal on my flailing feet
that cast in vain for shore

My terror is in my doubt of the composition
of the shore I strive to reach
I don’t know the form of the end
my journey will shipwreck upon

I inter this burning qualm
beneath the roiling waves
It’s no use asking where the journey ends
while lost at sea

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33

2023-11-19T05:29:29.000Z

The stars come out each night
to sing

Their song is of love
of hope

Listen

Forget

For a moment, you can put aside
your fears

In this moment, forget your failure
and regret

Listen

Remember

Recall who you were long ago
a child

As the stars sing, remember
your innocence

Listen

Heal

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32

2023-11-14T07:02:37.000Z

Kids just wanna be older
ride a magic tricycle
into the future’s wonders

Kids just wanna be grownups
'cause grownups are never afraid

Grownups just wanna be young
take a miracle pill
shed wrinkles and gray hair

Grownups just wanna be children
'cause youth is wasted on the young

Adults raze forests
for the Fountain of Youth
Kids pillage sandboxes
for the Pearl of Responsibility

Perhaps, someday, they can trade

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31

2023-10-24T06:06:31.000Z

Today, tonight we march
We go to the war
We struggle

As the world burns
we fight to put it out

The night is stained with hope
And flooded with heartbeats
We are soldiers marching on

As our siblings fight
we take blows so they do not

We go to war
But not to fight
Our goal is to be heard

As the children cry
we cry out to save their lives

Do you hear the drum?
Do you hear the footsteps moving?
Do you hear the people hum?
Do you hear our love song praying?

Tonight we march.
Tonight we stand still.
Tonight we sing in anger.
We’ve been silent for too long.

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30

2023-10-22T03:02:13.000Z

Some days I wonder
how hard could it be
to reinvent the world?

To change the quarrels
To bring people peace
To soften the cries
To preserve beautiful skies

How hard could it possibly be?

At the very least
I could do better than this
…couldn’t I?

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29

2023-10-14T04:24:55.000Z

I stroll through the lantern-lit street
Brushing my hair with my hand
each time the wind blows
Looking
not sure what for

I spy it from afar
A newspaper
folded into a hat
Comics on one side
crossword sprawled on the other

I ask
how much
Then pay the price
And continue my walk
With the hat perched
on the peak of my head

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28

2023-10-14T04:22:13.000Z

I step in through a shattered stained glass window
Instead of the door right beside
To view the remnants of
A marble globe, cracked

The split runs through
The Atlantic deeps
And cleaves the sphere in two

I mourn the death of this model
This metaphor for our world
Then I leave through the broken window
Into a night that’s stained with hope

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27

2023-10-14T04:20:03.000Z

Does the moon really shine in the day?
I suppose it must, for there it is.

How have I never seen it?
Were my eyes closed all my life?

Do I never look up?
Is the sky only of interest
when there are clouds?

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26

2023-10-13T22:10:55.000Z

She sat at the table next to me
With a cafeteria tray full of Hope

She sat and stared in silence
I asked if I could help

Yes, she said, this Hope thing
I’ve forgotten how it’s eaten

So I guided a spoon of Hope to her mouth
And watched as she swallowed, free

My thanks, she said, but it’s not to my taste
I’ll get something that’s more my speed

So she waited alone
Back through the line
For a heaping bowlful of Fear

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25

2023-10-13T05:37:01.000Z

We are a desperate generation
of paintings yearning for more paint

We long to fill
the holes in our hearts
the holes that should remain clear

The canvas should keep the gaps
left to remember its journey
not fill with painted chaos

For stars still shine
through the ceaseless void
their light reaching past limits
their order soothing our pain

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24

2023-08-28T06:08:58.000Z

Busy intersection
Cars going this way
Cars going that

I need to cross

One step
and I’m not yet dead
(that’s good)

Two steps
A car brushes past
(too close)

It feels like my life
in a way
Two directions to go and
I follow neither
at my own risk

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23

2023-07-12T16:12:36.000Z

He forgot to write this day’s verse
So instead they sent me

I’m not a flirting poet
So that’s all you’ll hear from me

He’d have sung odes of the holes in some cheese
Or of the smell of the far-flung breeze

Always writing of the things that aren’t there
If you’ll excuse me, I’d rather de-clog the toilet

For I’m just the janitor here

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22

2023-07-11T17:52:24.000Z

Here I am now,
writing for my life
writing like I stole something
writing as if it’s the last thing I’ll do

And, God help me
I don’t know what to write

Word after word after

word

But none mean a thing
none have the thrill
the sting of a spark
a spark of brilliance
inspiring

another word
this one is different
this one has a depth
a pain
a cry for help

And ev’ry word
I wrote
when
I knew nothing of
this one bright word
shines
like a diamond in the moonlight
like a beach in the sun
like a pot calling the kettle black
but it’s true

Now they all have depth
the thrill
the spark
because of
that
single

word

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21

2023-06-28T16:54:59.000Z

How do you begin
When you’ve already lost the fight?

Can you hold your head high
When you know that
The best you can do is
Not make things worse?

I don’t know.
I really don’t.

But at least I know
I can try.

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20

2023-04-30T04:41:42.000Z

I stand
in the midst of my fears
despite the wind blowing me down
while the sun’s harsh light burns
through fires and famine and cold

I stand
for individuality
for creativity
for second chances
for meals with those I love

for the song of life

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19

2023-04-27T02:45:56.000Z

To be human is to be aware of my mortality
To use my dwindling time to leave a mark
A mark left when I move on

The world is built on these monuments
Of our ancestors’ hopes and dreams
We stand on the shoulders of giants’ statues
To build constellations of our own

If life were as long as the stars
Dying only with the Milky Way’s light
I would mourn

Because I would have to watch the constellations I built
Die, leaving my tale untold

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18

2023-04-12T04:15:49.000Z

The light of the sun
seems pale by the light
of a song

The wings of a bird
are nothing to the flight
of an uplifted heart

Never shall the shadow of a mountain
dwarf the homes
we’ve built beneath

We dance in the sun
for we know
it can never outshine our lives

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17

2023-03-07T00:00:00.000Z

Never tell me
that dreams can come true
If I knew I would work
and lose sight of the new

I’d forget
I have life,
a life to be lived
I’d forget
about sunlight
about music
and mountains of sky

Most important:
I’d forget about you
Never tell me
that dreams can come true

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16

2023-03-05T00:00:00.000Z

I often overhear others discuss
“—I never thought that he would—”
“—when I got back I literally died from—”
“—no, you see, when you—”
“—and so I told her that if—”

I sip my drink and listen
catching words and thoughts
insults and praises
false and true
Melting them down
and reforging the remains
for my own purposes

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15

2023-03-04T00:00:00.000Z

Why did no one tell me
fire could also warm
I never knew
a force to destroy
could also heal

Why did no one tell me
you would befriend me
I never knew
a past enemy
could one day be a friend

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14

2023-03-04T00:00:00.000Z

Telling me not to speak my mind
is like telling a star
not to shine

Giving me a pen and telling me not to write
is like giving a bird wings
and telling it
not to fly

Telling me to keep my dreams a secret
is like telling a chick
not to hatch
from its shell

My art is meant to be
on display
Asking me hide it
is like asking the sun
to hide in the sky

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13

2023-03-01T00:00:00.000Z

The time I saved
to spend another day
like spare change
left in my pocket
Has disappeared
like a sock
in a load
of laundry

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12

2023-02-26T00:00:00.000Z

Here it is,
the stairway to the stars.

Will you climb it?

There’s risk
in climbing a staircase
so narrow
so steep
stretching out of sight.

What if you should fall,
landing in a field
full of lavender flowers?

Will you cry?
No, you play
while children
stare down at you
with widened eyes.

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11

2023-01-17T00:00:00.000Z

I’m haunted by the future,
By the things I’ll never see.
I can’t escape the vision of
The me I’ll never be.

Yes, the future’s out to find me
Though I try my best to hide.
I build with all the things I’ve done
And hide myself inside.

I killed that future person
By not choosing to be he.
So now he haunts the present time
Despite my fervent plea.

He can’t, of course, know ev’ry tide
Is lifted by the sea.
Despite his wails that I comply,
The author of life is me.

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8

2023-01-05T00:00:00.000Z

Welcome to
the new year
the new year
the new year

Welcome to the new year
Where dreams just might come true

We’ve traveled all this time
To reach the year we’re in
So let’s make the most of it
Before we give in

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6

2023-01-05T00:00:00.000Z

Well?
Here I am.

I have no rose,
Just my smile

I have no gifts,
Just my heart

I have no ode
But my bumbling, stumbling verse

What else could it cost
To buy love?

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10

2023-01-05T00:00:00.000Z

I ride uphill
In this small red wagon
Philosophizing and contemplating
On what could make a brighter tomorrow

I ride uphill
Chasing the sunrise
Fleeing the impending sunset
Fighting the curve of the river of time

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7

2023-01-05T00:00:00.000Z

A time-worn book by the fireplace
My favorite use of an evening
The minutes creep by like busy traffic
As I traverse the innocuous pages

That was your favorite line
When the hero cracks that joke
To cut the tension of a night
Well past its quota of death

I savor it, like a well-worn tune
It cuts through my heart
Reminds me of you and
I smile at the memory

I toss the book into the flames
And recline to better dream of you

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9

2023-01-05T00:00:00.000Z

All I have to say is Shame

Shame on you
for wanting to shine
Do you think
that you
are better than us?

Shame on you
for daring to presume
That we care
for your thoughts
and your tears
and your dreams

Sing tutti not solo

Shame,
Shame on you!
You want to fly from the nest
Is it not warm enough?
Why shame its builders
and yourself

You must not care
about us
About the good we work for
You spit in the air
May it land in your face

Yes, shame
Shame on you

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3

2022-10-24T00:00:00.000Z

Out in this boat,
I speed through the waves,
just a passenger
of the deep blue sea.

But the wind—ah,
the wind gives me pause.
It rips tears from my eyes;
the lids must shut.

So:
Squint, rushing blindly forward
or steer by where I’ve been?

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1

2022-10-24T00:00:00.000Z

Write while you can,
Before darkness turns to day.
Write while you know
How wide oceans really are.

While the world tries to fall,
Write a pillar, keep it up;
Write the Moon in the sky to
Pull the tides to the shore.

Write while your fears
Still loom silent out of reach.
Write while your friends
Flee the wreckage of your dreams.

When the end comes at last,
Write to family, write to friends;
Write the last letter ever,
Haunt the void with a light.

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5

2022-10-24T00:00:00.000Z

The wolf howls to mourn the sun’s demise
Because she does not know more light will shine

The infant child wails at a fall from first steps
Because he does not know more steps will come

From the mouth of this babe comes a vital truth:

We mourn the world’s fall because
We have not yet seen its rise

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My best friend is

2022-10-24T00:00:00.000Z

not you.

Maybe once,
But now you fail.

It used to be that you’d
Climb Olympus and carry down the stars.
I’d still do the same for you.

When you’ve got it figured out,
Come; I’ll be waiting.

Waiting for you.

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The Artist

2022-10-24T00:00:00.000Z

Observe him, crayon clutched in a tiny fist
He thoughtfully fills in the sky: purple

A bodyguard (parental) keeps watch
To protect the Artist from consuming his creation

Finished, the Artist emits a triumphant crow
And shows off his masterpiece

The result is placed in a gallery
Held in place by a refrigerator magnet

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