“stability” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 062 – Poetry

A SHIP ONTO A SEA OF HOPE :: https://amzn.to/2wr6yhh

stability //

he told me stability
was like gold: the most important
thing one could own,
like love:
the most important thing one could know

she asked me the other day
if I was still on the path
to leadership there
& I lied & said yes

I briefly wished that I was,
to still be on a clear-cut pathway
with clear-cut milestones
& a clear-cut plan for getting there
where I could know & depend upon
security & stability
& of always knowing what was next
what to expect
I know this isn’t what I really want:
it is me being afraid of where I am now
& of the necessity of waiting until
the next step I need to take becomes clear
I hate waiting
& not knowing what I should do
uncertainty is yet to be a friend of mine

but remember: the stability
is all a lie the prices all drop
& the people you trust might
let you down if it’s in their better interest

besides, who wants to be a slave
of their robot society
when you can be free
in the open world?

“In the City Briefly” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 061 – Poetry

In Episode 061, I read a poem called “In the City Briefly” from my book “Sun in the Night: The Poems of Art Poems & Assemblage”. Enjoy!

SUN IN THE NIGHT :: https://amzn.to/2L7xs3g

// In the City Briefly

living in a sandbox filled with crumbs & onion skins & mean old ladies & people who don’t know which way the hands of clocks turn around / enveloped in shrouds of sea waves & shower water flowing down an endless abyss drain universe repeating in her singing voice the existence of stars / calling our across multitudes if universes the beautiful impossibility of it all & yet it still happened anyways / there is a Styrofoam cup embossed in gold containing the most expensive green tea in the world / I laugh at this beautiful dichotomy & then throw a flower into the roaring ocean smiling as sand encloses a rose & preserves it buried underwater for hundreds of years before being discovered in perfect aliveness in the future / I stood unknown to all those who saw me & refused to shake the hands of those who’d lied to me but genuinely wished them the best / stars fell over Chicago & landed below the mother who picked them up wrapped them in her hands & knew / I walked past her & handed her the gold embossed Styrofoam cup & told her “here is good luck. use it wisely.”

“Chains Would Never Bind Me” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 060 – Poetry

Yes, I didn’t post an episode last weekend, so this weekend is a MAGICAL DOUBLE EPISODE WEEKEND! In this episode, I read a poem called “Chains Would Never Bind Me” from my book “Reflections in the Green Triangle”!

REFLECTIONS IN THE GREEN TRIANGLE :: https://amzn.to/2MrqYRC
// CHAINS WOULD NEVER BIND ME

always in the leaning meadow
beneath the calling of the moon’s pure glow
I buried the last of the seeds that I would leave to sow
the night had fallen so quickly that I’d lost
as dreams I’d set out on the sea were tossed
& something in my heart pushed forward at whatever cost
so that chains would never bind me

as the call of morning dove
rang out into the trees above
it felt of spring, of freedom, of love
I heard the call of the mocking bird
& I hung on to every word
& the line between coincidence & life was blurred

always in the silent brook
beneath lush warmth of noonday’s nook
I threw the last of the pebbles that I had left to look
into the depths of another’s soul
into the meaning of their words, their pull
towards what they deemed was destiny’s shoal
so that chains would never bind me

as the cry of someone’s lost love
mingled with the after-rain song of the dove
coming from somewhere above
I spoke of what I’d heard
redeeming every word
with the care of the painter unheard

the floating songs of birds in the trees
the wind in the meadow so wild & so free
I listened, & in the darkness I saw
not what was there but what was all
I stood staring through the keyhole crack in awe
anticipating the sound of freedom’s sprawl
I stood as I must before the call
in the depths of sunshine’s enthrall

gentle rays of light from above
I feel finally the first touch of love
awoken by the song of the dove
left to the wind to remind me
the dream had told me love would find me
& that no chains would ever bind me

“An Ode to Bowlines” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 059 – Poetry

In Episode 059, I read a poem called “An Ode to Bowlines” from my poetry book, Little Bird!

LITTLE BIRD :: https://amzn.to/2MKtQFK

 

// AN ODE TO BOWLINES

bowlines who safely kept me in their grasp
who held me to the dock
it is time to let go your clasp
it’s time to move on

you held me back
you held me down
because I didn’t know how to swim
but now I’m stronger
now I’m ready
yes, I’m ready to win

so let go of me & let me fly
away to where I belong
soaring thru the sunny skies
to what my heart’s known all along

“paper packaging” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 057 – Poetry

In Episode 057 of The Ashlee Craft Show, I read a poem called “paper packaging”, which is from my poetry book “So Long, Lonesome Place”! I hope you enjoy it!

SO LONG, LONESOME PLACE Poetry Book :: https://amzn.to/2zZDd2s

//

paper packaging paper packaging, remember the paper packaging / & the way you used to write your name on every wall you passed because it hurt / old & torn up pickup trucks; or the nice ones – you used to be so obsessed with emulating your Golden Idol & doing everything that would make him impressed by you – the perfect Lady – but in the process you neglected the vacations & travel & brightly colored hair & fashion that appealed to you & the art on your skin & all those flamboyant songs you turned up loud, & all the dreams you were afraid of pursuing for fear he would think you were too large & expansive for him, or not feminine enough, or somehow less worthy than the one he already knew / you were willing to give up so many pieces of yourself in exchange for someone who never even knew what sunlight could look like on my fingertips

//

now you paved your own road with gold, & you looked past the false idols you were aspiring to impress & finally there you saw what you were looking for inside the smell of your own hair

Me Singing Along to My Song “I Know You Can Make It” – The Ashlee Craft Show – Episode 056 – Music

I sing along to the album version of my song “I Know You Can Make It” on Episode 056 of The Ashlee Craft Show! “I Know You Can Make It” is a from my debut album, “Fields of Destiny”.

FIELDS OF DESTINY :: https://amzn.to/2JqMQqo