Dennis Mantin

I was tired from the outset.

My brain had just shut down.

We were waiting for the time change.

All the warmth had just left town.

I was living near the freeway..

With small beds of memory foam.

There was nothing to remember.

And no hair was left to comb.

When I tripped on your umbrella

You were huddled under rain.

I was hungry and delirious

I was buckling from the strain.

Then this sound that was like singing.

Sounded like a thing that you might keep.

And I faded off to dream world.

In a deep and monstrous sleep.

I

There was little more than boredom and a rumor of a war.

And 2 days of the weekend, I just didn’t know what for.

So I searched for deeper meaning, as I nodded off to sleep.

And took it all as gratitude for the lessons were not cheap.

I remember when I used to drink and that raging faceless whore.

The party that was out of reach and the need for just one more.

I took it to the limits of, I nearly lost my mind.

There were bruises and concussions and lost keys I’d never find.

Now I suffer from the Boredom, but the pain it isn’t long.

I still don’t suffer fools too well and can admit when I am wrong.

In the microcosm of my work, in the film industry, our transportation team is headed up by a coordinator, a captain, and a co-captain…
Mad Willie told me about a past trio that had gained some notoriety for a mixture of chaos and entertainment. They were known collectively as the alcoholic, the cocaine addict and God.
I will protect their real identities, mainly because I feel strongly about discretion and anonymity… another reason is I consider God to be a close personal friend. 
Dennis Mantin

I am nothing if not present.

And it’s always been that score.

Even when I couldn’t see.

When my back was at the door.

I hear distant sounding music.

Played by someone who was on tour.

Someone who can be that wise.

To know how and why and more.

In those times, I need to listen.

To those who came before.

Sometimes, I just need to be.

In the draft of troubadour.

It is warmer here now.

Just a touch below where water freezes.

The radio voice says the cold is over…

I am older now and better for it.

My kid was late for school and the world didn’t end.

A woman in British Colombia shot some kids at a school and then committed suicide.

The voice on the radio is speaking  now.

The Advisor is still speaking. My response will have to wait.

I know I should be so grateful. There’s so much now on my plate.

There’s this problem I can’t listen. All these voices in my mind.

A warning with some guidelines. With no words described as kind.

I am walking to her closer now. Standing, grinning eye to eye.

The Advisor has gone quiet now. I ask. “You sure it’s not a lie?”

My question has caused confusion. I can see her far off gaze.

She’s going to her safe house, where soft music always plays.

I know it can’t be permanent, someday she will return.

She has so much to teach me and I have so much to learn.

Everyone is cheating.

Except for you and me…

Options here? Slim and none.

Really, none that I can see.

The dreamers left the highlands.

Rumors are they’re coming back.

To the hope of honest smiles.

Where good story fades to black.

I was lost last night in forests.

Traveled far and deep with you.

There was peace and not much cheating.

Then I woke. That’s what I do.

I’ve been listening to the masses.

They be trying to bring me down.

I’ve been taking master classes.

Ever since the blues dropped into town.

They are talking about oppression.

Like, it’s shiny and brand new.

So much horror in that lesson.

That ironic cake to chew.

They are raging, eyes are blurry.

Tears they fall like April rain.

Going nowhere in such a hurry.

Like they just discovered pain.

I’ve been looking for a chorus.

That won’t break us into songs.

Maybe something just to bore us.

Take our rights back from the wrongs…

Once you escape.

Create a safe distance.

Enter therapy!

Heal…

And try again.

If fortune shines your way.

You find someone who is kind and loving. 

Only then  will you realize that a younger version of you made that choice.