Roy W. Backes – Poetry

Looking for Harmony

It’s a chaotic world, this is.
It is hard to find peace and harmony
In the cacophony of this life.
I’ve spent years looking
For some harmony.
Like the voices of Simon and Garfunkel
Or Crosby, Stills and Nash, or
Even the complicated harmonies
Of Manhattan Transfer.
Two, three, four voices all in sync,
All in tune.

I found this harmony with my wife.
Then added the voice of my child.
The fourth voice is added by
My friends.
When we gather, it is my friends
Who make the sound complete.
All of us,
Whether two, three, four or more
All in perfect harmony.

Roy W. Backes
© 2021

Noah

Noah began to build his ark
The day he saw the sun flare.
The day the light pulsed in the sky.

It took years for the heat
From that flare to reach Noah
And his fellow man.
The men and women who laughed
At him for building a boat
This far from the sea.
When the heat came
The heat dried their crops
And scorched their skin.
The heat warmed the sea
For months on end.

Then one day the clouds arrived
From the sea.
The sun disappeared.
The wind blew.
The lightning flashed
The thunder roared.
The rains came.
Hard.  Relentless.
The rains lasted for
Forty days and forty nights.
The sea continued to rise
Till the sea arrived at Noah’s ark
Which was gently lifted
By the waves.
Noah and his family, safe on his ark,
Survived the flood,
While the men and women
That laughed at him
Clung to the remnants of their homes
Floating in the sea
And begged his forgiveness.

Roy W. Backes  
© 2021

Dropping Dead in the Cereal Aisle

My friend walked into the grocery store
Excited about the meal
She planned for dinner.
She loaded her cart
With all the ingredients needed.
As she meandered down the 
Cereal aisle searching for
Some Great Grains,
The clot broke away
And hit her hard.
With a quiet yelp
And a whispered, “Oh my God”
She fell to the well-polished
Linoleum floor taking her 
Well stocked cart with her.
Surrounded by her dinner plans
My friend dropped dead
In the cereal aisle of
Her local grocery store.
No matter how hard I try
I can’t let go of the thought
That the last thing she may
Have seen on this earth
Was a box of Cheerios.

Roy W. Backes
© 2021

The Peace of This Piece

The peace of this piece
Of land is what I hope for
On this earth.
If every plot of land
If every acre of grass
If every forest of trees
It every block of a city
Had the peace of this piece
Of land
Our world would be a
Much more peaceful place.

The Clearing  7-10-21
Roy W. Backes
© 2021

The Cedar

Sitting on the deck
Looking out at the lake
With the sun shimmering
And the waves gently beating the shore,
I sit with a heavy heart.
I am watching and listening
To the giant cedar tree
That predates me by I
Don’t know how many years.
I am listening to it dying.
When the wind blows
I hear it groan,
I hear it moan
In pain as the two halves
Of the split, running down
The middle of its body,
Rub together
Causing it pain.
Causing its death.
This giant cedar is not long
For this world I am afraid.
Either the wind will take it
Or man’s chainsaw will take it.
Either way,
The thought fills me with sadness
As I watch and listen to the
Death throes of this
Magnificent creature.

Roy W. Backes
© 2021

You Got the Best Part of Me

Loving someone is about
Giving the best part of yourself
To another.
That quiet, vulnerable, deep
Place that we all keep hidden
And under guard until someone
Shows up who has the key.
Once open, there is no turning back.
There is no test run.

You unlocked that special part of me.
I gave it to you freely.
I gave it to you knowing the cost.
I am thankful that you have
Taken good care of it,
Appreciated it, understood it.
You got the best part of me.
You got the real me.
                         For ML
Roy W. Backes
© 2021

Movement and Music

My God, did he like to dance.
Back in the day he could really
‘Cut the rug’.
Today, sitting outside at the concert
In his black chrome wheelchair
Listening to the live music
He is too infirm, both physically
And mentally to do any ‘cutting’.

His wife of over half a century
Gently lifted him out of his wheelchair
To his feet.  His balance was shaky. 
She held his hands tight and danced with him.
He could barely move his body,
But, every once in a while, you
Could see him bounce his knees
To the beat, reliving the days
When he and his lovely wife
Would dance the night away.
The music over, she
Ever so gently, lowered him
Back into his wheelchair.
Back into his memories of
Movement and music.

Roy W. Backes
© 2021

Let Me Be Your Memory

We all need memories.
Memories of the good times.
Memories of the bad times.
Memories of friends.
Memories of lovers.
I cherish those memories.
Both good and bad.

We all need memories.
At the end of the day
When our ‘Life passes before our eyes’
Those are memories passing by.
I hope you feel the same
Way as I
When I ask,
Will you let me be
Your memory?

Roy W. Backes
© 2021

From Out of the Sky

From out of the sky, it came.
Silent, like a UFO in flight.
It swept down,
Wings wide,
Gaining speed by the second.

From out of the sky it came,
Talons open and sharpened
Like razor blade steel.
It glided down
And scooped up the
Little tan chipmunk
With such speed and precision
The chipmunk didn’t even
Make a sound.
Off into the wind it flew.
The magnificent bald eagle
Pumped its wings, tightened its grip
And headed home,
It’s dinner well in hand.

Roy W. Backes
© 2021

Fall With Me

Come, take my hand.
Hold on tight.
How does that feel?
Safe?
Secure?

I need you to trust me now,
As we look over the abyss
Of our future.

Come, take my hand.
Hold on tight.
Look me in the eye.
See my smile?
Come, fall with me.
Fall with me into our future.

Roy W. Backes
© 2021