Trouble Found Me
Turns out I had been it’s lighthouse,
Not the rocks I thought I’d guided
It away from. No. My safe harbor
Mocked bell bottoms and Dixie cups
I thought I’d been leading out front.
Turns out I’d been behind all along
Dancing a little drunk on gin’n tonics
Acting the sophisticat. But a buffoon
Kept stumbling mid spin, a disorient,
Like a mendicant collecting his alms
To go back home hiding his qualms
Beneath a proposal of best intent.
Found out, what could be done, but
Dive below the sand to find treasure
I’d been staring at like pelicans hook
Seafull mouths of fish in comic book-
s. I dangle my S outside the stanza
Thinking clever thoughts might save
Trouble from landing this pier again.
Let’s harbor safety here in isolation.
Fullbeard Lit 
26 Responses to “Trouble Found Me”
A Very Cool Poem!!!!
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Thank you Angela! It is inspired by my favorite band… The National… and took a trip down a little surreal and fun lane!
I am so glad you enjoyed it. 🙏🙏🙏
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Adore your abstract and fantasy content of the poem Stephen, this stanza tickled my feathers…..
“Found out, what could be done, but
Dive below the sand to find treasure
I’d been staring at like pelicans hook
Seafull mouths of fish in comic book- …. where’s that ‘S’ gone……
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Thank you Ivor. This one is certainly more abstract than my usual fare. I have another one recently inspired by music (and a gin and tonic or two) that I have been a little reluctant to share… been negotiating with Christine about sharing it… because it has some more sailor language in it than most of my poetry… however… I was a sailor so… it is a language I am very familiar with!!! 😆
I am glad you liked these lines… they were fun to write and certainly are more surreal.
Thank you for reading 🙏🙏🙏
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My pleasure Stephen…
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Sounds like there’s a story behind this one. I’m seeing lots of layers.
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There is a story behind this one, a story that seems to be sneaking into more and more of my poetry lately… much still in the margins of books I am reading and in my notes files on my phone. The navy did a number on me… and I think this poem exposes that to some extent.
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I know just what you mean by these stories sneaking into our writing while we think we’re writing something else.
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The brain, the writers brain, does work in mysterious ways. Have you read John Koethe before?
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No, I haven’t.
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He is a poet working at the University of Wisconsin, but originally from San Diego, California. Much of his writing deals with memory and has a rich depth to it. Intellectual stuff more than emotional, processing heart stuff with the brain… and I have found his work really fascinating and affecting my own desire to tap into memory and how those memories exist in the present moment more than just the stillness and presence of that moment. Does that make any sense? Here is an example: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48110/the-late-wisconsin-spring
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Thank you for the additional information about John Koethe. I just read “The Late Wisconsin Spring.” Much of it resonated with me; however, I’ll confess that I didn’t find the intellectual stuff as compelling as the experiential.
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I agree, generally. For some reason his work is resonating with me.
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It’s funny how that works, isn’t it?
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Very true. As I learn about my own writing I find a few different strains of writing… some use the head voice and some the chest voice, if you will. Both are my own and have meaning, but some have clear emotional impact.
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I reserve my head voice for work writing–probably because I do it all day long. I want sensory images for my own writing. But who knows? That could very well change as time goes by.
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When I was at sea, poetry was a clear outlet for my heart and sensory sides. There was ZERO room form it in the navy! Lol. I am sure you can imagine.
Now, though, I am finding more harmony between the two voices. I think this is why the concept of memory is sneaking in among my more sensual and spiritual words.
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I like the thought of harmony between the two voices, like a counterpoint.
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👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏🤓🤓🤓
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A clever poem.
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Thank you Sadje. A dear friend and fellow dad said to me he never drinks more than 2 drinks because beyond that you lose touch with the creative spirit born in those drinks. I grant that this one was indeed the product of one gin and tonic while listening to a National concert on you tube in support of their album Trouble Will Find Me. It is like a coda for a set of poems inspired by their music in a way… a set of poems I may have to drag out at some point I guess… at least now I do!!! 😆
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You’re a good poet, with or without help from a glass.
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Thanks Sadje. There are certainly different tones to the poetry when I have a gin and tonic and when I write after yoga or a hike! But thank you very much. It means a lot to me to read this. 🙏🙏🙏
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A pleasure Stephen.
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Nice poem
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Thank you!
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