Poetry by David Brager

Poetry Page

At the bottom of this page is a short bit about where the ideas came from for the poems and prose that follows:

Interior designing of the average mental mind,
I see a woman far away that I left far behind
As I approach, most cautiously, I see inside her face
A sight of thoughts she once turned off but exist in this place
Pulling in ahead of her, I gradually slow down
Then back, I turn, to face her as she tries to go around
So gently, pulling back her hair, I let the sunlight through
As she looks up into the sky, she cries a tear or two
For why or what has life returned, can she be better saved?
A man has torn away her soul, but kept the heart she gave.
So turn she did, into the night, to where the sorrow goes,
As she awoke with glass in hand and bottle full of woes.
I know not what the meetings hold, but I know life at hand,
And I believe in Socrates, as time is grains of sand.
But in her life, as in her love, she'll find it shouldn't end,
And she will find, in life and time, that I can be her friend.
She curses me. She kindles me. She smiles through the tears,
As I see her regaining strength ahead in love and years.
Yet she may find the strangest part, when all of life is through,
When she discovers what she is, and who she is, is you.
(c) 1990 David I. Brager
Published: February, 1995: ("Bethlehem" poem)
in "Real Woman (A monthly writer's journal about women)" Prior Lake, MN

Windows work to free the light and let the warmth shine through,
As winter's chill's made better still from love that shines from you.
But two months after Christmas, Income tax becomes the chore,
I've given everything I have, and yet, you still want more.
Valentine's Day, let's find a place with only heat and light,
Without T.V. or telephones to interrupt the night.
A warm, clean bed with comforters and bathroom down the hall
But no, you want the Sheraton(R). You always want it all.
So here's a single rosebud. It's droopy and it's dead.
But like the love I have for you, it's like the life I've led.
For if you cannot understand the meaning of my worth,
You have no comprehension of the truth of Love on earth..
(c)1993 David I Brager
Published: February, 1994: ("Valentine Days Massacre" poem)
in "Writer's Workshop Review (A monthly writer's journal)", Wilmington, DE

She is alone amid the bustle around.
Her eyes reflect the hidden torments of life gone by.
I see that the hopeful dreams of her youth have been bled into misery.
She is alone in the truth of what life really reaps.
Working to kindle a spark, every now and then, a smile is borne.
Though beyond reason, some enjoyment of the present is possible.
But in the end, I still see the tears of broken dreams and lies.
What help can anyone do, for all of America is without hope.
Alas, it is the time for the dreamers to conquer the fears.
If there was ever a need for a reason to live, now is the time.
Without hope, the drugs and frustration will be reaped in abundance.
And without love, there will be no place that can ever be called "Home."
(C) 1992 David I. Brager

"Bethlehem " was written based upon a discussion with a girl who had given her heart to a man that then crushed her. She was a recovering alcoholic, and I wrote this piece to her for inspiration.

Being an avid punster, "Valentine Days Massacre" was written only after the title struck me funny.

"Ali, See Ya" is written for a woman I know named Alicia. She works as a checker at a local grocery store, but her wisdom has been earned through trial and terror. I wrote this to cheer her up.

If you write poetry and want to get better, just keep writing, take chances, and if you see an opportunity to submit your work for public scrutiny, do it. You may be surprised...and you may add to the lives of others.

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