Author Archives: Roy W. Backes

Who Are We? Bullets designed to fly through The air faster than a jet At full speed. Designed to not pass through Designed to explode when they hit flesh Designed to cause maximum damage Who are we that Design Manufacture Sell And shoot these supersonic projectiles? Who are we? What are we? Roy W. BackesContinue reading “Words of Art – Day 24 – Who Are We?”

The Blues, With a Twang I love listening to the Blues. Sad stories; Haunting guitar licks; Emotional vocals. I love listening to Country Music. Sad stories; Haunting steel guitar licks; Emotional vocals. It occurs to me that Country music is just The Blues, with a twang. Roy W. Backes © 2021

Painting with Light They paint daylight onto dark stages. They paint night skies and sunsets onto blank cycloramas. They paint clouds, trees and windows With every gobo known to man. They paint mood and atmosphere Where work light only exists. They paint the chorus with color and sidelight And highlight the star with a soft,Continue reading “Words of Art – Day 22 – Painting With Light”

She Was Ready She always believed In the after-life. Heaven. Hell. Or, God forbid, Purgatory or Limbo. As she waited for death To finally come and End her time on this earth She was ready. She was ready to see her Mother and father once again. She was ready to see her Best friend, Millie,Continue reading “Words of Art – Day 21 – She Was Ready”

Love Ain’t Comin’ Back The one thing she left Was his old white XL tee shirt That she used to sleep in. He holds it to his nose And inhales the memory of her. There is nothing else left, She took it all. He holds the tee shirt To his nose, Inhales and knows, DeepContinue reading “Words of Art – Day 20 – Love Ain’t Comin’ Back”

The Tunnel Train tracks split my town in two. There was no, “Wrong Side”, As far as I knew. Just businesses on one side Our neighborhood on the other. When my mom sent me out For cigarettes I had to cross those tracks. A six-foot fence, littered with wind blown Debris, separated northbound from southbound.Continue reading “Words of Art – Day 19 – The Tunnel”

What We Leave Behind What do we leave behind When we pass over? Obviously, we leave all of our stuff. Our crowded apartments or homes Full of our memories. Our bills, both paid and unpaid. Our letters, both written and unwritten. We leave our families, We leave our friends. We leave their memories of us,Continue reading “Words of Art – Day 18 – What We Leave Behind”

My Favorite Space My favorite space is the Empty white space that Surrounds a poem on a page. That means that the poem Is written, good or bad. At least it is on the page. It is the looming, large, empty White space of a blank page That is the most intimidating. Now, I onlyContinue reading “Words of Art – Day 17 – My Favorite Space”

Driving Rain Driving through the rain The wipers singing at full speed, “Twhack. Twhack. Twthack,” Over and over and over. Squinting to see out of the Fogged up windshield, Fighting the streetlamps reflecting Off of the rain like a million Teardrop diamonds, I’m forced to ease off the gas. Forced to slow down. I lookContinue reading “Words of Art – Day 16 – Driving Rain”

No Clue How He Got So Blue He sits here at his kitchen table Linoleum cold under his feet A glass of whiskey in his hand Staring out at the busy city. Couples holding hands walking the streets, The distant beat of some music, Traffic moving slow but steady. He sits here at his kitchenContinue reading “Words of Art – Day 15 – No Clue How He Got So Blue”