The Chimes at Midnight

Poetry, late night musings, and the children of an idle brain!

[thechimesatmidnight]

Condemned

By Bud Koenemund (Written: April 2026) For Lindsay Desire for you will damn my eternal soul; My lust condemns me.

[themadsonneteer]

How Much of Me Must Burn?

By Bud Koenemund (Written: May 2026) For “Her.” Heat endures, though I wonder if it’s worth Fanning embers of a love that’s dying; Going cold by neglect, and growing worse When it seems I’m the only one trying To rekindle those bright flames of passion – Once incandescent – desire that burned In our souls. Shall I accept affection Will never revive? The respect I yearned For denied, my heart glows on a pyre Since your scorn; while what sanity remains Is condemned to the maelstrom of Hell’s fire. True, I offered all… and would again; Yet, a tragic question lurks in that storm: How much of me must burn to keep us warm?

[thechimesatmidnight]

Two Haiku

By Bud Koenemund Muse For Lindsay Her body sates lust; but her bright green eyes ignite imagination. Human For Lindsay Lust makes me a fool; love makes me an idiot. Both make me human.

[themadsonneteer]

Seen

By Bud Koenemund For Lindsay “In the right eyes, you will be art.” – Unknown How could any set of eyes miss the art Contained within you? Even those who don’t Create illumined by you feel your heart: Acknowledging grace as artists are wont. Though it is, in truth, the job of poets To praise beauty; ‘tis thy inspiration – Arising from your spirit, more than my wit – That gives birth to these celebrations Of radiance. All things, seen and unseen; Love and lust; denial and desire; The chaos of black, white, and gray between, Feed the maelstrom of a mind set fire. I must give credit where credit is due: The world will know these words belong to you.

[thechimesatmidnight]

Lessons Unlearned

By Bud Koenemund For “The Three” My inebriate heart too often overrules sober intellect.

[themadsonneteer]

The Green-Eyed Girl and the Supermoon

By Bud Koenemund (Written: October 2025) For Lindsay The green-eyed girl, like some ethereal Being, gliding, ghostly in the moonlight, Guided him across the sand. The feel Of her hand, warm and soft in his, delighting Every sense, while his intellect failed; Yielding all to love, lust, and lunacy. Reaching the water, she turned, her face veiled In shadow, and kissed his lips eagerly. His arms enveloped her, pulling her close – A beauty, wondrous, to rival that bright Body celestial – Nature’s awe exposed; In sky and on earth, a heavenly sight. But, like all dreams, this vision could not stay; On waking, fantasy faded away.

[themadsonneteer]

Sunshine and Rain.

[thechimesatmidnight]

Goodbye Democracy

By Bud Koenemund (With apologies to Margaret Wise Brown) Dedicated to those who would not look past their own wallet In a great white house There sits an orange man; With an enemies list, A Diet Coke, and bucket of chicken. Oh, how he’ll brag, and spout, and lie – A ManChild nothing short of bratty – And set about doing the only job he has: To destroy us from within for his Sugar Vladdy. Goodbye NATO; Goodbye Ukraine; Goodbye Paris Climate Accord; Welcome back acid rain. Goodbye Supreme Court And women’s rights, it seems; So, too, LGBTQ protections; Welcome Heritage Foundation’s religious wet dreams. Goodbye to bodily autonomy; Goodbye to abortion; Goodbye to proper health care; Welcome, once more, medical burden. Goodbye to equal rights for People of Color; Goodbye to those lost in mass deportations; Goodbye to non-partisan government employees; Welcome back those found guilty of insurrection. Goodbye Social Security; Goodbye Medicare; Goodbye prescription drug caps, And Obama’s Affordable Care. Goodbye independent DoJ and FBI; Goodbye Department of Education; Goodbye school breakfast and lunch; Welcome the dangers of deregulation. Goodbye student debt relief; Goodbye teaching history; Goodbye to the truth, And banned books they call “pornography.” Goodbye to diversity; Goodbye to voting rights; Goodbye to clean energy; Welcome to Mango Mussolini’s free speech blight. Goodbye to overtime; Hello to tariffs on every nation; Goodbye to taxes for the rich; While the middle class suffers inflation. Goodbye Democracy; You had a pretty good run; Achieving so much good; But, by ignorance, undone.

[themadsonneteer]

Half

By Bud Koenemund (Written: April 2024) Half of my heart is still in love with you; A notion foolish as it is sincere, When that affection’s forever imbued By sadness: growing more and more austere. Half of my mind is still in love with you; Yet condemned to recall happier days, ‘Fore passion incandescent went askew; Leaving intellect and sanity razed. Half of my soul still belongs to you; Though ‘tis now mortal – crushed beyond the repair Time can grant; a solace long overdue – As I stumble about in my despair. I seek a peace I fear I’ll never find, While memory and shadow intertwine.

[thechimesatmidnight]

[thechimesatmidnight]

All Over Again

By Bud Koenemund (Written: April 2024) I think about you every day. And, miss you all over again.

[thechimesatmidnight]

Debt

By Bud Koenemund (Written: February 2024) A 100 Word Story He started, sensing a presence behind him. “There aren’t many people who can sneak up on me,” he reflected. “I didn’t,” the form replied, quietly. “I’ve followed you for a long time; since your very beginning, in fact. And, waited patiently.” “I was a good man… once,” he whispered, as realization dawned. “After I was broken, it just became too painful to care.” “Life is often that way,” the figure offered. “But, I am not here to judge; only to collect the debt each man must pay.” Examining his own body on the ground, he nodded; then turned to follow.

[thechimesatmidnight]

The Inevitability of Things

By Bud Koenemund (Written: January 2024) A 100 Word Story Inspired by Christina Alvarado He’s always there. Always following. Steadily gaining ground. Inexorably closing in. Too often, he’s forgotten in the rush of life – until he visits someone close, and we’re reminded of the inevitability of things. He arrives without joy or malice. He makes no bargains for more time. He expects acceptance, though he is never surprised when people attempt escape. I turn quickly, trying to catch a glimpse. He is standing in the shadows. Not hiding – that’s not his way. Moonlight glints off the blade of his scythe. “Memento mori,” he whispers. I give a knowing nod, and turn to walk on.

[thechimesatmidnight]

The Devil and the Darkness

By Bud Koenemund A 100 Word Story (Written: December 2023) For M. Michelle had a boyfriend she loved. But – from time to time – she needed to see Brian. He wasn’t a friend with benefits… not exactly. Brian was, she thought, the Devil. Somehow, he knew her darkest desires. Often, she felt shame at the disgusting things he made her do – acts she would never reveal to another living soul. Then, she’d admit to herself that he never forced her to do anything, and that she enjoyed the way he made her cum over and over. She’d feel the warm tingle between her legs and pick up her phone to call him again.

[thechimesatmidnight]

Heaven and Hell

By Bud Koenemund A 100 Word Story (Written: December 2023) For Lindsay “My boyfriend is in the other room,” she rasped, as his right hand slipped under her skirt and up between her legs. “Do you want me to stop?” he whispered. The fingers of his left hand entangled in her hair. He tugged, tilting her head back; exposing her neck to his lips. “Tell me to stop,” he mumbled, his mouth barely leaving her flesh, “and I will.” “You’re going to send me to hell,” she objected; already fighting for breath. In the darkness, his lips curved into a wicked grin. “Maybe,” he allowed. “But, I’ll take you to heaven first.”

[themadsonneteer]

A Warrior Poet's Soul

By Bud Koenemund (Written: December 2023) For Christina Alvarado My mind cries out, profaning the universe; Mourning, o’er and o’er, this tragedy – An assault on existence – while cursing A suppos’d caring god’s perfidy. I wish I could hold you in my arms now; Embracing gently; a reassuring Touch to defy despair and doubt; somehow Granting peace – a balm easing suffering. But, I know the strength you possess: spirit, Resolve, stubbornness, and tenacity; With a warrior poet’s soul. Sans fear, You’ll tilt ‘gainst fate for immortality. I have and will always love you, my Friend; Sentiment which shall endure ‘til time’s end.

[thechimesatmidnight]

Mute

By Bud Koenemund (Written: November 2023) For Tahni. Thoughts of you persist; Impure desires o'erwhelm, yet I remain mute.