It’s How (and If) You Play the Game

January 29, 2017 bernardsbarnes Poetry existentialism, game of life, giving up, hope, inspiration, life, motivation, philosophy, poetry, Samsara

This isn’t my game anymore
I was told to go home
I kick the ball around once in a while still
But I stopped playing the game
They don’t want me in
Unless I follow the rules
And make a line for the pros
But it’s not my game
I’m no pro
I don’t follow the rules
I shouldn’t play
It was good that I got out
Before I got injured
Or worse; got really good at playing

I have a new gig, a new game
One with fewer rules
No coaches, bosses or teammates
This is my game now
And when though I’m still a loser
I’m winning

-BSB

A New World Will Rise

January 19, 2017January 19, 2017 bernardsbarnes Musings, Poetry alcohol, apocalypse, distopia, end of the world, future, homeless, hope, musing, poetry, post-apocalyptic, utopia, winos

After the bombs, the riots, the protests, and all the rest of the excitement finally subside, all that will remain will be rats, roaches, and ruin.

That, and those winos on the corner.
Still trying to scrape together enough for a bottle
– even though the liquor stores’s gone.

When the shakes from detox subside and clarity returns, they’ll either die drinking gasoline, or they’ll form a new society.

–BSB

The wandering lover’s final, lingering hope

January 6, 2017January 6, 2017 bernardsbarnes Poetry alcohol, bar, depression, emptiness, hope, longing, loss, love, poetry, reflections, women

look for her with self-imposed singularity
set yourself, like a ball on the tee
destined for impact
air, hover, and fall

the fall is disappointment
emptiness, doubt, and pain
avoid the fall
accept she’s gone

Three

April 16, 2015 bernardsbarnes Sonnets hope, humanity, people, poetry, power, rebellion, sonnet, struggle

O tangled mess of hopes and fears abound
Inside these cardboard walls we all are trapped
And here, with blinded sight and deaf from sound
Within pathetic pantomimes en-wrapped
We wile away the tepid, sordid hours
Oases of ideal we try to find
But here, anon, we’re sucked of sacred powers
And left to drift, an empty, useless rind
Yet we stand for much greater means than these
Our fate is not to float away on air
O tangled mess – my people! – hear my pleasStand tall and show the world you’re worth their care
And maybe in the end we all may prove
Even us hopeless humans can improve

dear beauty

March 20, 2015 bernardsbarnes Poetry beauty, ecstasy, grace, hope, poetry, rapture

oh please
dear beauty
if tender silent touch has never come before
let this moment be the epitome of rapture
if my heart never aches to such an end
and if every falling day grows paler
then let this sheer luminance wash me
rinse the veil of untruth from me
make this time a holy event to worship
I lay arms down to revel in your sight
this glow warms me to ecstasy
here I live
happy in your beauty
oh please
dear beauty
touch me
and
save me

song of hope lost

March 20, 2015 bernardsbarnes Poetry hope, infatuation, lagoon, lost

the vision of my love appears
becomes make-believe
a mirage with lagoon-blue eyes
flutters in the corner of my mind
fools my heart
to think
it’s her
to think
it’s happened
every time
my lagoon turns to dust
every time
I am left untouched
my sole companion remains
eternal face of memory
thoughts of escaped love
pain of lost chances

say the word

March 20, 2015 bernardsbarnes Poetry existence, faith, God, hope, Nirvana, poetry

Heaven can descend with words
a thought can bring us Nirvana
absence of hope create Hell
God exists if we will it

	bernardsbarnes on Just a Bukowski Tonight
	jillianmrks on Just a Bukowski Tonight
	jillianmrks on Greasy Spoon Day-Dreaming
	Kalia Attal on The Artist’s Winter
	mich Barnes on Make Believe We’ve Solve…

bernard s. barnes

the official website

hope

It’s How (and If) You Play the Game

I have a new gig, a new game
One with fewer rules
No coaches, bosses or teammates
This is my game now
And when though I’m still a loser
I’m winning

A New World Will Rise

After the bombs, the riots, the protests, and all the rest of the excitement finally subside, all that will remain will be rats, roaches, and ruin.

That, and those winos on the corner.
Still trying to scrape together enough for a bottle
– even though the liquor stores’s gone.

When the shakes from detox subside and clarity returns, they’ll either die drinking gasoline, or they’ll form a new society.

The wandering lover’s final, lingering hope

look for her with self-imposed singularity
set yourself, like a ball on the tee
destined for impact
air, hover, and fall

the fall is disappointment
emptiness, doubt, and pain
avoid the fall
accept she’s gone

Three

dear beauty

song of hope lost

say the word

I have a new gig, a new game One with fewer rules No coaches, bosses or teammates This is my game now And when though I’m still a loser I’m winning

After the bombs, the riots, the protests, and all the rest of the excitement finally subside, all that will remain will be rats, roaches, and ruin.

That, and those winos on the corner. Still trying to scrape together enough for a bottle – even though the liquor stores’s gone.

When the shakes from detox subside and clarity returns, they’ll either die drinking gasoline, or they’ll form a new society.

look for her with self-imposed singularity set yourself, like a ball on the tee destined for impact air, hover, and fall

the fall is disappointment emptiness, doubt, and pain avoid the fall accept she’s gone

I have a new gig, a new game
One with fewer rules
No coaches, bosses or teammates
This is my game now
And when though I’m still a loser
I’m winning

That, and those winos on the corner.
Still trying to scrape together enough for a bottle
– even though the liquor stores’s gone.

look for her with self-imposed singularity
set yourself, like a ball on the tee
destined for impact
air, hover, and fall

the fall is disappointment
emptiness, doubt, and pain
avoid the fall
accept she’s gone