I was going through old files and folders when I found manuscripts I had forgotten about. This poem is one of those.

As The Rain Came

A rhythmic, steady

beating on the roof,

An ancient

timeless tribal ritual –

He’d heard before,

drumming into his soul

calming the restless spirit

for the moment,

a peacefulness

of the moment,

that was new

(or long forgotten)

As the rain came.

The drumming continued

pulsating endlessly,

Barely containing

the restless spirit –

The world lay still,

As memories drifted by

pulled from a heart-dug well

insignificant,

to the beauty he knew,

insignificant,

to that place in time,

that was new

(not soon forgotten)

As the rain came.

A rhythmic, steady,

beating on the roof,

An ancient

timeless tribal ritual –

He’d heard before,

But the drumming and the beauty

shared the soul of the restless spirit

returning the joy,

that was new

(not soon forgotten)

As the rain came.

______________________________________

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

Cyndy and I are at our good friend Sally’s house in Colorado. Doing the same thing we’ve done since before the pandemic – nothing outside the house but the essentials. We did drive to Denver to see places where her brother Sam – who died in April (not Covid) – worked and lived when he was there, but we only stopped twice and had masks, etc.

Be that as it may, Cyndy and I are staying downstairs at their – now Sally’s – house. I was in the bathroom and happened to noticed the shampoo pictured. Most of what is in the shower was here when we arrived. The name Andalou made me wonder if it was named after a woman or girl. If so, what the hell were they thinking? And-a-lou – really?

After doing what I came there to do, I went back upstairs. I sat down at my laptop and checked my email. If I keep dealing with emails frequently, I only have to deal with a few at a time. Otherwise it just gets nuts.

I get an email from Amazon suggesting Andalou shampoo. Say what? I just happened to notice it sitting there on the shelf in the shower a few minutes before. It freaked me out until I checked and Cyndy had ordered the shampoo and just paid with the card set up – which was mine.

But it does give one pause, does it not?

___________________________________________________________

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

Isolated Jester

When days have no meaning

They run end to end,

Stylistic abortion,

an end to begin.

Walls behind curtains –

Doorways to pain,

Neon paths to nightlife,

shine dull in the rain.

Laughter from a woman,

Rings in the ears,

Of the isolated jester,

Knowing not what he hears.

Laughter of the loving,

wind chimes of the nerves,

Straightaways are the silence

before the storm of the curves.

The young love forever,

the old just a while,

Awaiting the sadness

that follows the smiles.

The vision remains lovely

while nothing is said,

Leaving the jester silent

inside his head.

Love is a memory

in a fire’s blue flame,

Faces in the shadows

recalling the name.

_____________________________________

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

Mr. Dramatic’s Attic Attack

Two steps forward

One step back,

Gave Mr. Dramatic

An attic attack.

His mind is reeling

Because someone came in.

Vow of silence

broken again.

New changes, new habits

Become the same old routine,

Unless the rarity between two people occurs

And a new love is seen.

When it flows from the heart,

Yet does not bypass the mind,

It brings to mind special

and one of a kind.

A wink is to a Friday

what a picture is to a thousand words,

Setting free the bird

and seeing it return.

There is new light in the attic,

The windows are ajar,

A toast to the dreamers

wherever they are.

It is the essence of togetherness

Transcending distance,

Ultimate communication,

understanding circumstance.

Two steps forward,

One step back,

Mr. Dramatic handles

the attic attack.

_____________________________________________________

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

Mr. Dramatic

Mr. Dramatic

Came down from his attic,

Putting misfortune at bay.

He stood on the front porch

And announced to the crowd,

“I’ve said all I have to say.”

“I ran for the laughter,

Away from the tears,

Yet there’s no escaping

the fears and the years.

The crowd did not understand,

They collectively sighed,

He began to giggle,

Smiles followed the sigh.

Mr. Dramatic returned –

To his attic and cried.

“They’ll not see the teardrops,”

He said to the desk,

and mirror, and all,

“Because I’m the one there

to pick them up

Whenever they fall.”

“I’ll keep on smiling

Because complaining won’t do.

The world looks better when

someone else is laughing, too.”

__________________________________________

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

Okay, in the mountains it’s called a boulder. Some places in Texas we call it a pebble. Other places we call it a rock. In still other places we would call it a hill and build an overpass over it. But in the mountains, it’s a damn boulder.

Upon seeing this boulder in a neighboring yard, my first thought was that I would have like to have seen it when it rolled down the mountain. Then I thought, “hell no,” because it may not have been alone. That and there were only trees to stop it. At the speed it was probably going, how many trees did it take out?

Did all the animals get out of the way? In the second picture, another, smaller boulder is in the back of the house. Not that they necessarily rolled down at the same time. But you can imagine trying to dodge rocks in a freaking rock slide. Some of which could crush a grown bear into dust and hair.

The question is, would you buy a house with two boulders in the yard? I’m still undecided and I see it everyday for a couple of weeks. It would be kind of cool for a while, but the novelty has to wear off. And it pretty much limits what you can do with the yard. “Let’s go party by the boulder,” has to get old after a while.

What do you think?

____________________________________

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

My wife, Cyndy, came home from volunteering at the local market. She looked at me and said, “You have to write a song called Goat Yoga and a Stolen Kubota.” I said, “let’s do it!,” because it was weird enough for me. She told me the story, I whipped out my poetic license and went to work. After days of letting the song germinate in my brain, it finally blossomed into a complete song. Enjoy the first song Cyndy and I have ever written together.

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

Rest gently, ye suffering servant,

You suffer no more.

The walls of the church

mourn your passing with moans,

groans amid quiet smiles.

Rest gently, ye suffering servant,

You suffer no more.

You are gone, ye good Samaritan,

Gone from our midst.

Sniffles amid sadness,

cries amid sweet memories,

your face is clear in our anguish.

You are gone, ye good Samaritan,

Gone from our midst.

You are remembered, ye good Samaritan,

By all who knew you.

Fond smiles amid memory’s snapshots,

Your spirit fills the halls

of the church and our lives,

You are remembered, ye good Samaritan,

By all who knew you.

Rest gently, ye suffering servant,

You suffer no more.

You were our caretaker,

Now the Lord is yours,

And you are his.

Rest gently, ye suffering servant

You suffer no more.

_____________________________________________________

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

Good question, thank you for asking. More waiting, I’m afraid. Waiting for the single to be released. Waiting for the time when live music becomes common again. I’m in no hurry if health is at issue.

The reason I am in no hurry is the positive news. The single will be released. I can still play live, as it were. I played my first livestream last Friday that went well until Conner’s camera died. We did get a chance to record a few videos. Waiting does not imply sitting around doing nothing. I have to admit though, that I had a few weeks of not being able to finish a thought at the beginning of this madness.

To answer the question however, quite a bit lies ahead. I’ll be releasing a video this weekend. There will be livestreams to come starting next week – I’m working on the schedule and material now. I play in the Poor David’s Pub Virtual Open Mic hosted by Rob Case every Monday. Check it out at 7 p.m. CT.

More singles will be released, but not on my schedule. The release of the Southern Plains Revisited album has also been moved back along with everything else. Hopefully by September.

So keep an eye out for my new video this weekend. And my next livestream coming very shortly.

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark

Good Morning Gorgeous

Did I tell you that you were the most beautiful…

Wait, I said that already,

Did I tell you that you were the only one….

Wait, said that too.

Did I tell you that I…

Boy I keep saying that one,

Did I tell you that you were…

That one’s old hat, too – but it is still true.

Did I tell you…

This is getting tough,

Did I tell you that I would hold you…

Wait, that has to be done in person.

To hell with it –

You are the one,

You are the love of my life,

You are the one I will grow old with,

You are the one I think of constantly

(fortunately I can think about other things simultaneously)

You are wonderful,

You are beautiful,

You are magnificent to me,

You are kind,

You are considerate,

You are loving,

I could not bear to live without you,

When I am not with you I cannot wait to see you again.

I apologize if I repeated myself,

Then again,

If you do not mind hearing it,

I love saying it.

___________________________________________________

Keep writing the songs that are in your heart.

Peace be with you.

paypal.me/danroark