Stewart Watkins

Never lose that luminous light
Especially when the veil of night befalls
Always continue the good fight
Even when dreams seemingly forestall
...

Memories so many scratching at my brain
So many to ponder just wondering why things can't be the same

But silly of me to conjure such thoughts
...

Low, way below the wrought, rain and sun-beaten asphalt of man
Dwell empty, hungry, crying souls in search of the master's plan

Some black and some white, some young and some old
...

I stared the ugly truth in its face
Then I boldly walked away from shame and disgrace

So many beautiful years were taken
...

Jazz extraordinaire
Big Satchel Mouth a-blowin'
Trumpet a blarin'
New Orleans Second Lining
...

You are the author of this book
The words, sentences, paragraphs, and chapters
Write, and write well, so nothing is mistook
So this book, your book, can dwell hereafter
...

All these years of blood, sweat, and tears;
the undying will to carry on despite all the debilitating fears

Just being there is what I've longed to see;
...

I went down by the river
just the other day
I sat on my favorite granite
as I gently caressed a kyanite
...

In 1960, I was introduced to the world in a place called Rome
A place where gladiators battled at center stage, a place so far away from home
Young, robust, handsome; nah, 'pretty' that's right, 'pretty'
A product of Louisville, Kentucky with so much confidence, promise, and ability
...

On the floor or the ground
It doesn't matter just as long as you get down

Get down for your health
...

I thought these sunglasses were cool and wore so well
But if you look closely, one can see they have a dark story to tell

A story of lies, deception, disrespect, and co-dependency
...

A whisper gently in the night
One that sweetly lingers into daylight

And into days, weeks, months, and years
...

Standing beside the great ocean blue...
feeling the cool breeze and hearing the waves too

Standing at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro....
...

There is something peculiar in our midst
For the first time, man has never been so distant from an authentic kiss
But today,
Now,
...

Soulful, melodious injections....
Rendering soothing pulsations

Sweet sensations to the spine....
...

Up, up arduous hills
Coasting down feeling the thrills

Through the forest and back to asphalt
...

To soar like an eagle, high, way high in the sky
To explore spaces and places others fear to go, confident my heart knows why
To be self-assured, directed, focused, and free
To fly above the treetops and overlook 'Mother Earth' and know that I must forever be ME
...

Evadin' and duckin' like the plague
Spinnin' and shootin' like an Olajuwon fade

My shot! I am shootin'
...

Hurry! Hurry!
All aboard the Cosmic Trane
Where the mind runs free and the soul feels no pain
A location for the elevation of humanness to the existential realm of salvation
...

A cool caliginous
night
Crickets in their abode talking
A desolate street with no lights
...