No Rain in Sight

the crickets were forecasting the weather last night,

singing, “No rain in sight, No rain in sight!”

wells are drying up, businesses are shutting down,

soon no one will be living in this deserted town.

today two men were chastised for washing their car,

I’ve got to escape real soon to someplace real far.

my friends are looking at me with evil in their eyes,

my well is still working but i’m beginning to tell lies.

if they only knew I took a bath last night,

they’d sputter and yell and say it wasn’t right.

then one and all would leave with a frown,

and sometime at night my house might burn down.

I’ve got to be careful when crickets sing their song.

anything I might say could be construed as wrong.

I’m breathing dust that hangs heavy in the air,

there’s no rain in sight, so beware, beware!

by dan roberson

PERCEPTION

Ugly

I believed I grew up in an ugly town,

A small community tucked in a small corner

Of nowhere,

Where smiles stayed hidden

And were rarely found.

The land was hot and dry in summer,

But cold and wet in winter.

Everyone said it was ugly

And I believed it to be the center

Of a cosmic mistake.

Where was the beauty?

The town pulled at me

Tied me down,

Trapped me in webs of misery

And kept me bound.

“Leave it. Leave it,” I was warned.

“There are places to see, places to be,

Stay away from this town where hope cannot see.”

For years I searched for beauty and smiles,

Crossed oceans and mountains and countless miles.

I did not find the city of my dreams.

Happiness did not exist,

All cities were the same.

I returned to my city,

Weary and worn from my search.

I had learned to smile, learned to enjoy,

Learned to change my attitude.

I greeted each person I chanced to meet,

With a smile.

I looked around and found

Changes in my ugly town.

In the summer it was kissed by the sun,

And the cold in winter was also fun.

This was not a town of misery,

But a town of hope for all to see.

Each smile I encountered brightened my way,

And the town grew more beautiful day by day.

My town, a place to live and grow,

An Eden, a garden below.

Beauty is now found inside of me,

And my smiles are there for all to see.

By Dan Roberson

MISSING PIECES

MISSING PIECES

In a basket on my desk there are twelve coins of various values,

A few handwritten notes jotted down when things began going wrong,

Seven unclaimed keys, one left behind after a few drinks too many,

Three keys meant to open padlocks of long deserted farmhouses,

And two keys from a car missing somewhere on the back roads.

The stately clock in the hall ticks steadily along,

Unaware that the weather has changed and a cold storm approaches.

It’s raining outside and my arms are empty.

But I know my destiny is calling and I must answer,

The rain will turn into snow and cover my tracks.

Tonight she’s with someone and I wait impatiently,

My rage contained and hidden behind a smile and a promise.

I know which farmhouse they’ve been visiting,

And I know by now they have had too much to drink.

The missing car is lost forever, just like my love for her.

If we could have kept our love unblemished,

We could have grown closer instead of apart.

If she had been faithful and remained committed,

Those keys would have rusted away without being used.

It’s snowing now and I know I’ll miss her warm embrace.

The blanket of white is so appealing,

All the ugliness will be covered until spring.

All that I’ll keep are the coins to remember,

Erasing the pain from my broken heart,

Each coin represents a lover. Why did they all go wrong?

By Dan Roberson