BARKING GECKOS
Stories and Observations in Poetic Prose
by Branch Isole
Copyright © 2010
Smashwords Edition
eBook ISBN 978-0983574408
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the publisher.
Manao Publishing
Hampton, VA 23666
Order copies of this eBook at
www.voyeuristicpoet.com
Author, Poet and Storyteller Branch Isole observes and comments on the motivations of our world both clothed and bare. Writing of issues and emotions often experienced but not always voiced, his style and presentation cast reflective identity against a backdrop of personal responsibility choice or avoidance. This is ‘Voyeurism Poetry’.
Barking Geckos contains adult themes and language, some of which is erotic or sexual in nature and presentation. Barking Geckos is intended for mature audiences.
Voyeurism Poetry ~ looking out, seeing in
“Many write of things known or experienced, I comment on those seen and heard.”
“It’s not how many books you sell, It’s how many readers you touch”
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Contents
50 Years
Anniversary
Barbie
Beautiful People
Best Friend
Between
Café Queen
Choices
Cruel and Usual
Daisy
Day Dream Visions
Diver Down
Electrical Orchestration
End Times
Enemy of the State
First Rule of Correction
Food for Thought
For The
Friends and Lovers
Gifts
He Whom He Sent
Hiding From Ourselves
Idols
Infidelity
Living with Insecurities
Lost
Madonna Reincarnate
Maui Holiday
Morning’s Love
Name
Night and Day
Noetic Conversation
Now and Then
Number Please
O Lord
On Display
Once Upon A Walk
One Luxury
Paradise Found
Passion Soliloquy
Right Now
Shelby Bright Eyes
Sirens Call
Sixty Minutes
State of Being
Teed Off
The Nature of Things
Today
Vacation in Spain
Veils
Waves
Wedding Bell Blues
Introduction
In the Hawaiian culture, Geckos are bearers of good luck. If you have ever visited Hawaii, you may have heard a Gecko “bark”. This is the distinctive sound Geckos make at night when they want to get your attention. Not knowing where this audible noise comes from the first time you encounter it, can be startling. You glance around the room or lanai (patio) and soon realize that the only thing there, other than you, is a three inch lizard on the wall or ceiling, waiting patiently to tell you a story.
These small reptilians are the descendants of thousands of years of evolution. Keep your eyes on this amazing creature and you will see a world of struggle, beauty and survival unfold. They have much to reveal about life and the process of existence.
So the next time you are in Hawaii, relax and listen . . . perhaps the Barking Geckos are about to share with you, one of their stories.
Branch Isole
the Voyeuristic Poet
“I’ve got something inside me but it’s not what my life’s about
cause I’ve been letting my outside tide me over ‘til my time runs out.”
~Harry Chapin
from “Taxi”
‘Harry Chapin Greatest Stories Live’
©1976 Elektra Records
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50 Years
50 years have come and gone
50 years of feeling strong
50 years of being alone
50 years preparing for home
50 years I thought I knew
50 years of red, white and blue
50 years deceived and lied to
50 years I never knew
One year lived by reason and rhyme
One year lived . . . . 50 times
Anniversary
From Paper and Cotton
to Silver and Gold
Our story together
still unfolds
Each year’s magnificence
remembered by significance
A gift to mark
each passing milestone
A love shared together
Love, we might not have known
We said our vows
It seems a lifetime ago,
Where the time goes
No one really knows
We acknowledge yet
another year,
One more anniversary
Remembering that wonderful day
when you and I,
became We
Barbie
Sweeping, swirling,
gliding on the wing
Thoughts of you
allow my heart to sing
of ages past
present days
futures unknown
Once again, forever alone
One note at a time
struggling to find
just the right
conjunctive rhyme
Blended slowly
from bass and treble
Crescendo building
You,
an unruly rebel
A hungered groupie
caught naked on tour
Enjoying self indulgence
just once more
Reaching the door
and playing the whore
White knight slaying all
who might steal your amour
Perfection please;
Scalpel
piece by piece,
trim, nip and tuck
Silicone
Cellulite
Collagen
when is it ever enough?
Once, no twice, no wait
yet thrice,
then four,
then . . . .
even more
Of thought of word of deed
where to look
To find a seed,
one to fulfill
that burning need,
a need of something
greater than greed
Poor and alone
again this to know,
Your thought,
it was always
win
place
or show
Now, where to turn
which way to go?
Where’s the shining man
come to claim his own?
What were your dreams
and where did they lead?
Are you still dreaming today
or did they each slip
slowly away?
What does it take
for you to see
Nothing more than you
and your spirit
for me.
Beautiful People
There are so many
beautiful people
in the world today
On some it shows
in others it grows
A truer understanding
of beauty however
is evidently exposed
and most oft found
when open mouths
do expound
Wordsmiths nay
may they be
but he or she
who communicates effectively,
Always,
head and shoulders above others
will they be
So teach your children
that cosmetic beauty
is only surface, skin deep
While for the well read and balanced
rewards and blessings
will they reap
Best Friend
My lungs are blacker
than a coal mine shaft
but I’m not quite convinced
it’s from smokin’ three packs a day
or my two pouches
of chewin’ tobaccer
Yes it’s true that my liver’s shot
but it’s not because I drink a lot
How much is too much
beyond medicinal?
The fifth’s I need are truly visceral
More a lover
than a fighter
My temper has, one igniter
Do or say
things that offend
I’ll break you so you never bend
again
Money?
I’m a little in debt
Got some bills
I haven’t paid yet
Know my way around a tort
Been three or four times
to bankruptcy court
Lived with the same woman
going on twenty-two years
We’ve had some laughs
some hard times
some tears
She must love me
that’s for sure
she keeps coming back
for more and more
I always like
to treat her right,
even when it comes
to our fist fights
She’s filed charges
of assault,
but it’s never once
been my fault
Yea,
she’s left me a couple of times
no matter the reason
no matter the rhyme
Somehow,
we always get back together
I beg,
she concedes
I blame the weather
We’ve been divorced
and remarried
three separate times
Now I ask, is that a crime?
I always do my j-o-b
even if my boss is an SOB
He says, “You’re not punctual enough”
I tell him what to shove
So I’ve been late
every once in a while
He doesn’t need to
treat me like a child
Besides, I’ve always got
a great excuse
I’m cool,
I like to stay loose
Now, I know
I’m not always right
in fact I made a mistake once,
it was a Tuesday night
I’ll never forget it
for as long as I live
I had to protect myself
and use my shiv
So I murdered
that lying scum bag
He deserved
to have his toe tagged
The world is against me
most of the time
and I have to defend
and protect me and mine
They say my behavior
is reckless abandon
I say, ‘Sorry’
I’d like to make amends
but Denial,
is my best friend.
Between
Between
entering, and leaving alone
Between
coming, and going home
Between
birth, and death atoned
Each life is spent searching
attempting to be a part
of something
of anything
of everything
Except,
Apart
Lifeline severed
mind, body and soul
separated
Free to discover
who we are,
Not
We look outward
for recognition from others
to know
who we are,
Not
So we will not have to look inward
to know and recognize
who we are,
Not
All
we think
and believe
Is couched in what
we think
and believe
Others will think
and believe
About who we are,
Not
We arrive as aliens
in this strange reality,
this foreign place
and time,
Travelers
Trying to discover
Trying to find
Who we are,
Not
We come
with a knowledge
of the cosmic universe
and all its secrets held,
Within
Buried deep
under layer upon layer
of blood, flesh and skin
Masked behind
and veiled beneath
all earthly matters,
Is Us
Between
first and last breath.
Café Queen
Betwixt tank tops
and sables
she weaves
she winds
around chairs
and tables
Queen
of the meal time jungle
feeding her tribe
serving their needs
from dawn to dusk