The Good in Goodbye The Oxford English Dictionary, You know, the one 12” thick. The one that stands on A pedestal in your study, Can’t tell me. Who put the ‘Good’ in Goodbye? Who thought that someone saying bye Was a good thing? When she said goodbye to me There was nothing ‘good’ in it. Why not Badbye? Or Painbye? When someone says goodbye It is never good. It is always bad, always painful. So, who put the ‘Good’ in Goodbye? Mr. Oxford, Mr. Webster, Mr. Merriam, Can you please explain this to me? Why would anybody put ‘Good’ in Goodbye? Roy W. Backes © 2021
Words of Art – Day 3 – Tears on the Jukebox
Tears on the Jukebox
The song comes on the jukebox once again. The barkeep looks up and Sees him still there Lit by the neon colors of the box. A whiskey in one hand The other feeding cash Into the jukebox. He leans against the music box Mouthing the words to the Sad, sad songs he plays Over and over. The same three songs All about tears On wet cheeks and cryin’. He leans against the jukebox Silently singing along with the songs While using the whiskey to hold back His own wet tears. Roy W. Backes © 2020 Roywbackes.com
Words of Art – Day 2 – Blowin’ a Horn
Blowin’ a Horn Blowin’ the blues Gives a voice To the pain. Whether Bass or Tenor Or sax or trumpet Blowin’ the blues Through high notes And low Shows us all That giving a voice To the pain Is like rubbing a cool Balm into the aching body of life. Roy W. Backes © 2021
Words of Art – Day 1 – The Heart Tree
The Heart Tree
The seeds fall,
The saplings grow
Struggling for light
Among the giants.
The Heart Tree struggles to reach the light,
To reach the height of independence.
Once grown it welcomes
Us all to sit in its shade,
To drink the dew off
Of its deep green leaves.
It invites us to spend
All the time we need
To grow and learn.
It guards us against the
Harsh realities of life and nature.
As we prepare to leave
Its protection, the Heart Tree
Offers us one last drink of dew
From its deep green leaves
And ever so slowly
Opens its branches
To reveal the sunlight of life.
Roy W. Backes
© 2020
Welcome to Roy W. Backes – Poetry
I have been writing poetry for over 30 years. Only recently, during the course of the “lock Down/Stay at Home Order” mandated by the city of Philadelphia, did I decide to share what has been sitting in my notebooks for the past 30 years. I write short-form poetry. I embrace the challenge of trying to capture an idea in as short a burst as possible. I think of my poems as a series of “Snapshots” of life. Snapshots not Movies. On August 20, 2020, the 150th day of the Lock Down/Stay at Home Order from the city, I felt the need to do something that would help lift both my spirits and those of my friends, neighbors, and colleagues. That day I began the “150 Day Project” – a commitment to publish and share a poem each day for the next 150 days. Below you will find an archive of the poems from my 150 Day Project. My hope is that they would bring a little light into these dark days of being isolated and alone. Enjoy them. Share them. May they inspire you. May they bring up old memories (both good and bad). May they make you look at the world in new and interesting ways. I have started a new series of poems which I am calling, “Words of Art“. (See below) It is my intent to have this series last another 150 days. Why not? Thank you for taking the time to read my poems. roy.backes@gmail.com / 267-970-4963 To see all the poems from the 150 Day Project and the ongoing Words of Art series, go to roywbackes.com/poetry-archive. Thank you for reading!
Roy W. Backes - Poetry 