Robert James Berry @robertjamesberry - Tumblr Blog

Vocation

I've had a tawdry career

in and out of lame jobs

where I never earned a penny

above penury. I thought myself

reserved for greater things

decided I was an author

kept it dead secret. So my Mother

wouldn't know. So my Father

wouldn't despise me. Now I am proud

of my vocation. It is a real honour

to call myself a poet. Although the title

sits a little askew. Like too much praise.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Creed

I might wear a beanie

grow a scruffy beard

smell like the elements

get a dubious reputation

in all-night bars

womanize prolifically

it would give me

literary credibility. But

never mind such nonsense:

I prefer

a priestly devotion

to art

a private love

of every written letter

it has authenticity.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Shake

That morning

before the light came

the house shook

I was awake

writing

my lamp flickered

you

turned in your sleep

the ground rumbled

four hundred leagues away

a neighbouring city crumbled

I waited for my desk

to stop shaking

I wrote on

earthquakes would not stop me.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Forever

Probably my worst experience

was the May flood of 2003

watching our cliff-top house

my inestimable treasure

slide into the sea. All our beautiful things

consumed by the surging tides

while I stood in the inexplicable rain

with my mouth open. I have been back.

You can still see a brown skid-mark

in the tumbledown cliff, where our home

slid its last. There are huge dockweeds

rampant over our half-acre of heaven

I had designed her myself, to sit

high on the cliff-face. I had thought she

was ours forever. I was absolutely wrong.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Minefields

I shall breeze through the lines

only stopping to punctuate,

because I have a sterling idea

which shall run and run

you will be astonished

when you see it, envious at

the inveterate skill with which

I have brought it to fruition

the critics shall all be blinded

they will gush praise

write of a new era

with me as its captain

then the dream will evaporate

the rigour of composition

shall lame me. It will be all

struggle and sweat. A minefield.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Anomaly

He never shed

his plum accent

which made him

a forever stranger

in his adopted country

the curious thing

was when he returned home

after four decades

nobody understood

his provincial dialect

they snickered

behind his back

at his antipodean twang

effectively he had no place

in either land

he was an anomaly

utterly without friends

I saw him the other day

with his plastic bags and jandals

he shouted a mortifying greeting.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Tribute

This is an industrious city

hung on to the end

of the world. We have

outstanding engineers

celebrated poets. In the centre

of town, there are plaques

built into the paving stones

each one commemorates a remarkable voice

in our brief history. I should like

to be recognized as such

have my own octagonal tile

so people might step across

my hallowed name. And be

inspired.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Miles

There is nothing

so spectacular

as a clear highway

winding into the beyond

hugging the gnarly hills

streaking across floodplains

leaping over bridges

never reaching a destination

I like to drive

as the sun goes down

watch the dark acres

of the paddocks rush by

watch a star

nail itself into the black sky

my foot pressed to the metal

the miles flying by.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Originals

She kept tropical fish

they made beautiful pets

I meet her

when she was ninety-five

she had so many stories

to air. She could talk

unceasingly

it was hot stuff

about the great war

the great depression

she had survived everything

the world threw at her.

I was distraught

when she went. So I am writing

this big hymn of praise

to recollect her originality.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Far

Immeasurably distant galaxies

intrigue me. A smudge

of silver. In an astronomer's

routine shot of the night sky

but how mindbendingly marvellous

to think each star

might have its planetary system

capable of maintaining life.

I believe humanity

may well crack physical laws

voyage to these outer edge places

survey other worlds. That is why

I take immeasurable pleasure

earth bound though I may be

gazing up at the indescribable harvest

of the distant stars.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Time

preserves footprints

on the beach

for poets to marvel at

the heavy tread

of my ancestor

his child and dog

trotting beside him

it must have been

eight hundred years

since life coursed

in his veins

but a firm imprint

of his history

is captured in stone

for me to mull upon.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Prude

I steer clear

of the controversial

I am something

of a prude

I don't like to upset

my readers

there are so few

of them

I do admit

I have a tendency

to be bleak

which bucks

the current trend

however I like to give

what is expected

slightly boring material

with a hint

of a shiver

to make you

sit up.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Doodles

Scratch it out

start again

try some doodles

fill your margins

with indecipherable

nonsense

only make sure

something is created

from the debris

I cannot have

unfinished manuscripts

they cloud my mind

I have no faith

in magnificent torsos

they're an eyesore

tie together

all those loose ends

finish your poem.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Caste

I am high caste

blue blood

courses in my veins

I shall not mix

with the lesser orders

they serve me

when I drink

I shall not touch

the rim of my cup

for fear

it is tainted

by lesser lips

I am fair-skinned

I abhor the swarthy races

my glorious ancestors

were intellectual men

experts in scripture

we prize our education.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Words

The words

have mounted up

out of all proportion

it would be impossible

to collect

every line

I have ever written

fortunately

the majority

is dross

and shall sink

into oblivion

this verse

may embrace

a similar fate

you may glance at it

decide it's not your flavour

discard it with the other trash.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Mess

My poetry

can be somewhat

scant

with the truth

I am obsessively unkind

to my Mother. I use my spouse

to fuel drama

I myself seldom appear.

The themes I call upon

are all inflated. Sentimentality

weeps in my lines. Melodrama

is rife. All in all

it is a sorry mess. I should love

to weave lean classical lines

be a master of form. But

such fine art is beyond me.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

Lies

He could do

with a radical makeover

shed some of that fat

shear his tangled hair

that grows like forest

shave away his ridiculous moustache

he looks like a pauper

the baggy track pants

are unlaundered

his socks are unspeakable

some mouthwash

would be welcome

however

he feels it is proper

to look like a prophet

poets should never

dress up like city bankers

they won't tolerate lies.

Robert James Berry

#poetry

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