True Love of Coffee

A Road Less Traveled

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Defiant, Honor, Love

If I had, only once chance
To say the things I needed to say
I would pray that you hear my voice
To you, to everyone
Before my life was undone
Would you believe, could you see
That I was, was what I need
of what I had done, was choice
I say, with every breath, my last
To believe in you, the dice I cast
No, this was my destiny
The road that what me,
The path that made me bleed
Do you know, of things I could relay
That love would simply not die this day

Relentless

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Daily thoughts, Loss, Survival

Relentless

The world, as I know it
Is full of uncertainty
None of us; neither rich nor poor
Can expect anything but chance
If I grow strong
I will succumb to weakness
If I am fragile
I will be adorned with struggle
Life will not, ever, be equal
It will lead to challenge
Fond desires broken by lustful greed
And if I should survive, I ask for mercy
The physical body can be broken
And the pain will be quick and deep
It will not relent, as neither will our risk
Nor it will give us a place to comfort
Yet our spirit, our soul, will thrive
In darkness and in light
It will define our greatest accomplishment
And heal wounds so severe we cannot forget
The life we have, will be of two parts
One beautiful, like a flower, needing our nurturing
And the other, like a diamond in the rough
Forever withstanding time and the strife of living
Our bravery will be our strength
The courage to raise ourselves in a chorus of triumph
We will shout, not to be heard, but to live
As if we are children screaming into the world
for the first time

                

E.E. Cummings

Posted by Barry Hurd in Author's Favorites, Daily thoughts, Other Poets

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)

no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

Faith

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Friendship, Spiritual

The only chance I had, wasted
As my heart sadly broke
So sad, I thought, a life of which no one spoke
and to have wine too bitter to be tasted

I wondered, did I deserve a distraction
A beautiful chance to escape
Or would I never fall in love, live a life without satisfaction
Realizing my heart was too far gone to relate

I was so tired, not of dreaming
But of the days spent alone
The nights spent screaming
Hiding in darkness, my true face never shown

Oh god, do I accept
That I cannot discover any peace tonight
Do I regret or forget
That everything I wanted had blinded my sight

Some comfort, all I wanted was someone to care
For a sweet madness to release me
To let my soul fly once more, to leap, to dare
And perhaps, in another day, we shall see

The Way It Ends

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Daily thoughts, Dedicated Poems, Friendship, Honor

I would simply say, adieu.

Perhaps farewell.

No, I couldn’t say good-bye.

There was nothing good.

About walking away,

or watching you leave.

Saying that,

If things ended this way,

I would have to say it all,

to bring closure to each day

to let you know I asked why

I needed to say,

adieu, farewell, and even good-bye.

The Homeless Girl

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Honor

There was a moment of servitude when I faltered amongst the dark cobblestone path
You were a man of great stature strolling through the lilacs
I was a woman of such insignificant ideas that even my own eyes looked down upon me

Yet when you found me collecting my thoughts, kneeling in the rain as no one heard my tears
You looked at me, no, into me
And it was the first time in my life that I was real

You didn’t say a word, but the manner in how you approached me meant everything
To you I was a lady worthy of your kindness, rather than the homeless girl everyone ignored
For a moment, I felt as though I had the right to cry without being disgraced

I was not a girl nor a woman to you. I was an equal that deserved respect I had never been given
In my most honest thoughts, I believed I would never be given anything so kind
I was simply trained to accept that I was not worthy of such childish dreams

Yet you were there, when I faltered amongst the dark cobblestone path
You offered your hand and I accepted, not knowing why anyone would be kind
I was left breathless from the charm of your brisk suit, or perhaps the simple smile you gave me

I don’t know why, but that night changed everything for me
It gave me hope, the childish dream that kind actions could be expected
And when you were gone, your simple act of compassion inspired me to become more

A contest of comedial significance

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Creative Writing, Daily thoughts

A contest,
No m’lady, I would not jest
This is a challenge of not arms, but wit
To win the heart of a damsel, while I just sit

I will grab my pen
As I learn to focus, perhaps define my zen
I will dabble with my notepad
And wait until I feel something, either happy or sad

No, I dare not confess
I am not concieted, just simply the best
My ass is not lumpy,
but indeed my X says I’m sometimes grumpy

Oh I should define
Some thoughts, before I lose myself in a bottle of wine
Yet I don’t care,
as we all know I’m not all there

So I think, ‘oh shit’
I could perhaps just quit
But instead I will write
or play with my x-box and win another fight

The Death of a Lover

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Defiant, Loss, Love

I tried, with every ounce of who I was I held on
Her hand was warm, her eyes piercing
I can be honest,
I was desperate
Her lips though, were so cold
I feverishly held her against me for a moment
As she didn’t speak, telling me she had to go
I could feel what she meant
But I was ashamed
I simply wasn’t good enough
I couldn’t change her mind
My faith, my belief, my love
wasn’t enough
I tried,
I begged her to stay,
as the fire in her eyes turned gray
I lost myself in my screaming
as I held her closer than I ever had
and as the rain came down,
Part of me became so sad
as my life changed  against my futile resistance
I said good-bye
to everything
I gave my heart to you
to all I knew
and I cried
that day you died

Losing Definition

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Defiant, Dreams, Spiritual

I lost myself, not entirely
But as if I was without function
My life resembling a locked doorway
or perhaps a key
But never both, simple one or the other

I was always so
Some viewers failed to realize I was a puzzle
That my edges fit into another
Because they had never seen my partner
nor even knew someone else could match me so well

I was the cup
Designed to hold something
So securely
Yet never finding enough to fill me
I was simply cracked and the essence left me too quickly

I was a lit candle
So futile in nature
As I sat afloat in a sea of despair
That gave me so many reflections to ponder upon
Yet no one would see the direction I was moving

I could be complete, yes with hope
Perhaps someone could fix me,
To give me enough love that I could function as intended
They could hold me, broken and unloved
and make me feel as if I had a purpose

If one soul could reach me, touch my broken soul
I would be amazing
My light would inspire
Allow them to see something worth loving
because without them, I will never function

Into the Looking Glass – Prelude, Part III – A Hero Alone

Posted by Barry Hurd in Coffee - Volume Two, Creative Writing, The Looking Glass

I had told her with every word I knew that I loved her. It wasn’t the kind of love I would forget, how could I? It wasn’t even the kind of love I could imagine. My father always laughed at me for having a heart that was courageous enough to brave a minefield of lost trust, shallow promises, and endless nights alone. I didn’t think tonight would have been any different, but it was. The rain was coming down, I was soaked, and the cold steel of the pistol in my pocket was a stark reminder that I probably wouldn’t be seeing the sunrise.

I tried shifting my thoughts over to something more important as I took her faded photograph and slid it back into my wallet. Its moments like this when you fall back a few years into your history and pray that the people you’ve loved have somewhere safe to call home, that they made something else of their life, and that when you fall face first into the gutter of some city alley they don’t even have a memory of who you were. I don’t know how long I’d be waiting for the inevitable outcome of this evening to take place, but I was ready to charge headfirst into chaos to keep people like her safe from knowing the horrors I had found.

I folded my wallet away into my overcoat and found a dry spot underneath an old elm tree. Just then my phone rang and it startled me as it pierced the quiet of the shadows I was standing in.

‘Samuel?’ A soft woman’s voice inquired.

‘Is that you Kate? I didn’t expect to hear your voice at one in the morning.’

She paused, I could hear she knew something was wrong.
‘Yeah Sam, it’s me. The pastor at the church told me what happened to you last night. Are you okay?’

‘Kate, I’m sorry. I don’t know. I am…’ My voice stopped. It felt like I was trying to breathe while someone strangled me. I couldn’t put the events I had seen to words.

‘Sam?’ her voice sounded a little more tense.

‘Devin is dead, Teresa is in the hospital, and Kyle… I don’t know about Kyle. I left him in a tavern this morning and he looked frantic and now I know why.’

‘Oh god. What the hell is happening with you? I didn’t mean to… to fade away.’ I could hear the tone in her voice, she was really worried. I didn’t mean to have her find out about this and I hated that my only choice had already been made.

‘Kate, just listen. A lot of things have happened. There is a lot I want to say. I know you want to hear an explanation, I know you have things you want to say, but I don’t have time. Tonight I’m finishing what Devin had spent the last ten years of his life trying to complete and I’m sorry. There’s only one thing I can tell you that makes any sense of what’s happening… I love you. I always have. You won’t be hearing from me again and I hope that you forgive me for this. Just be happy, and wherever I end up know that I did my best. Take care Kate.’

‘Sam….’, she tried to say something as I tapped the off button on the phone. I couldn’t pull her into this chaos. She deserved more than that, and if what Devin told me was true about the church hiding something from him was true, then my life was already forfeit and no one else needed to go down with me.