Bright sun bathes the world
In light
But still
No warmth
Glaring ice and snow
Open sky above
Each word a cartoon
Bubbled
In steam
© Gayle Force Press 2001
My Favorite Suit
My coat of armor is thick
And sturdily built
Fully intact
Despite a hundred heavy blows
And three thousand casual scratches
In daily reminder
Its shine has dulled
But still reflects
Even dim lights
Just like I do
There can be no cracks.
© Gayle Force Press 2019
Sonoran Morning
The colors of sunrise
Slide down this ancient mountain
Like a Technicolor fantasia
Painting the barren desert
Look closely at first
Then let your focus drift
And in this Sonoran morning
You just may see Oz
© Gayle Force Press 2004
Neighborhood Watch
It was raining like hell
When they cuffed me
I told the cops
It was simple
An eye for an eye
Leaves the whole world blind
Just like Lady Justice
Except that I have a smile
Not a smirk
On my face
See, Trayvon carried skittles
But I packed heat
When I followed George
From his house
Until he idled
At the drive through
It’s hard to leave a Krispy Kreme
Once you’ve seen the Hot light
And it’s even harder
After I’ve dropped my whole clip
Into your chest
I told the cops
It was simple
Lady Justice is blind
But I can see clearly
The rain is gone
© Gayle Force Press 2017
If you’d like to hear this poem performed, please check out our podcast.
http://whodeannypod.libsyn.com/may-poetry-pod
Justified Use of Force (for Botham)
Every year there are
Untold more of us
An Amadou Diallo, Botham Jean,
Eric Garner, Tamir Rice or me
Then a loud clamor
Our broken faces on TV
We ask so many questions
That no one’s forced to answer
With sympathy’s short half-life
Most just wait for the noise to stop
So the questions
Can disappear once again
Just like us
In our lives
And our deaths
© Gayle Force Press 2019
Almost Autumn
Mom’s sick
And the baby’s just been born
These are the days when life matters most
We ignore all the trees that failed to bloom
In front of the houses that hold
Not close enough
Little bitty families of great big people
And there’s so much ‘just in case’
In every day we spend
And spend and spend
© Gayle Force Press 2006
Little Plastic Soldiers
The little plastic soldiers
Don’t wear helmets
Or fatigues anymore
Their garments are burkas
Tunics or veils as
Sandaled feet pace
In wait and sand
Those muddied boots
Thrown away
These little plastic soldiers
Have homes and lives
Until we choose
To privilege our newer
Grown ups toys
Since (as everyone knows)
Our SUVs are worth much more
Than the little plastic soldiers
Who have to die
For 30 dollars a barrel
A poem by Franklin Oliver
© Gayle Force Press 2003
The Opposite of Jack
The opposite of Jack
is a happy fellow
you know
The kind of guy who smiles
in the midst of the rain storm
the kind of guy
who always opens the door
and waits
The opposite of Jack
is someone loving
a hard worker
who hates his job
The opposite of jack
is a fun house mirror
in a small town
that’s never seen a circus
A poem by Franklin Oliver
© Gayle Force Press 2019
MeatSaladSurprise, a poem
MeatSaladSurprise
Beto’s favorite word
is a meatsaladsurprise
Too thick for its guise
of healthfulness,
slightly indigestible
See, this is America
The land of the free
who refuse to be brave
Because comfort trumps conviction
and clarity yields
an automatic timeout
We’ll keep wading through disasters
on our raft
of thoughts and prayers
Convinced that if we’re
just polite enough
someone else will save us
From ourselves
A poem by Franklin Oliver
© Gayle Force Press 2019
New Year’s Day
January 1 is always the same
A bacchanal of sound and fury
Signifying something ineffable
Precisely timed though
Imprecisely valued
We pause to notice the flow
Of time’s endless river
Hoping to gain some measure
Of how far we’ve sailed
Or at least gratitude
To be journeying for
One new day
One new month
One new year
One last chance
A poem by Franklin Oliver
© Gayle Force Press 2015
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