October 2, 2009
Untitled
The oppressive sun
beating down
on a forgotten southwestern town
Empty streets echo
against forsaken framework
A ghost town
I’m standing
with squinting eyes bleeding
red and watering
Dust blowing and tumbleweed
rolls as wavering heat rises
from cracked and broken earth
A slowly approaching figure
familiar in form and gait
clad in shadow
as yet unknown
Slowly solidifying
stopping in staunch stance
a hand quickly slides death
from a holster
and erupting fire
initiates thick red explotions
within my chest
I’m propelled rearward
hard to unforgiving ground
Lying still
as life seeps from gastly holes
in my plagued torso
Quietly the cloaking shadow
separates from the figure
and dying I stare
into wide innocent eyes
My son
Copyright © 2004 by Jake Olden Shy
The Enlisted Man
I fought in every battle
I forged our history
With my wounds, I signed in blood
Our freedom guarantee
I stood with General Washington
Faced the winter and starvation
My spirit and undying will
Claimed for us, a nation
I marched proudly into Gettysburg
A battle like no other
Charging into blazing rifles
Felled by my brother
With the birth of aviation
I was among the first to fly
Overcoming great adversity
I helped command the sky
I fought the wars in Europe
And Korea, Vietnam
I died at the hands of terrorists
And pushed back Saddam
I follow without question
The orders of command
Though often their necessity
I do not understand
I wear the Medal of Honor
For action without thought
Often paying with my life
The lives of friends I bought
I’m the one who stood the watches
The one who dug latrines
I took care of my buddy
As a matter of routine
I’m the backbone of our service
I did more with less
I kept the mission going
With innovation and finesse
I stand a quiet vigil
Making very few demands
Officers prize my respect
I am the enlisted man
Copyright © 2000 by Jake Olden Shy
December 31, 2008
Homicidal Words
Words spread in a nocturnal agony
Lighting on my chest, a persistent melody
Blackened by the starless night
Served to me diseased and rotting
Perplexing prattle spiraling within me
Ferocity held in angered attack
A soul split asunder, begging for reprieve
As increased trepidation is answered in violence
A clawed griping, cracked and bleeding
Tearing at my exposed pink flesh
Ripping slashes send pieces of red meat
Tumbling into the screaming night
A bloody gurgling in hissing bubbles
Within jagged chambers and broken valves
A soul redeemed by fatal satiation
Sighs a terminal breath at malicious words
Copyright © 1999 by Jake Olden Shy
July 12, 2008
Escape
Mangled metal, twisted mesh
Strobe lights, blue and red
An eerie shadow, smoky mist
Former lives have fallen dead
The sky is black and starless
My eyes refuse to see
A blurred and broken image
A face appears before me
Stabbing pain shoots through my arm
I look, but it’s not there
My companion lying next to me
In her eyes a lifeless stare
The ground around me, red and moist
No feeling in my legs
“Please help them, God, please help them!”
A friendly stranger begs
The face before me starts to speak
His expression so absurd
A slowly shaking of his head
I don’t understand a word
As sounds begin to disappear
My friend accepts a shroud
Activity intensifies
The silence is so loud
A chill is filling up my chest
Spectators stand about
Darkness slowly clouds my eyes
At last, the lights go out
Fingers close my vacant eyes
A prayer is quietly said
Tomorrow mourners weep for me
Who should feel joy instead
My mind no longer ponders
A world of pain and strife
This death has surely given me
The gift of renewed life
Copyright © 1998 by Jake Olden Shy
Drowning
Thunderous crashing
Saline spray
Tearing tide
Waterborne prey
Flailing violent
Swirling splashes
Before an eye
A lifetime flashes
Sallow sparkling
Rippled movement
Beneath the briny
Threshold sent
Upward glimpses
Blue-green haze
Wavering orb
Moonlit maze
Gasping gulping
Liquid breaths
Fire burns
Inside a chest
Shuddering shaking
Slowly sinking
Unconscious euphoria
Moments fleeting
Finally resting
Floating free
Welcome end
Serenity
Copyright © 1998 by Jake Olden Shy
