Before this time, this year of 2016 finally ends R.M. Engelhardt reminisces upon the passing of a generation of icons, the end of democracy and upon the embodiment of the human spirit that cannot be defeated.
The poem remains
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Note:
If you weren’t there you might not understand. If you were born after 1985 then try to imagine a time, a world before the internet when the words meant everything.
For instance?
I came here tonight to read a poem. It’s all I’ve got. There are no stars, no celebrities, no live streaming phones. And no distractions except for the drunk guy at the bar making noise. The audience is listening. That’s all that matters.
The poem.
And remember:
That no matter what’s happened or what we will be facing in 2017 we’ve all still got something that will help us pull through it all
Words.
It’s been one bitch of a year.
I’ll be glad to see it end.
Keep writing
~ R.M.
The Year of Sadness
Come autumn when the
Leaves fall we shall dowse
All our sorrows in gin
And in our sorrows remember
The dead, the voices of magic
The voices in our head and of Our time
Those voices that secretly spoke
To us when no one else
Could reach us in despair in
Youth which walked us through
This sometimes tragic world
The music that resonates thru
Us down into our very souls
Lost in the moment, the sadness, The age of being in love and in the 80’s the time
Of metal, purple and glam
The age of innocence and of the
Not so innocent doing lines
In the ladies bathroom at 22
And still wondering who
The fuck we are or who we
Shall one day become
For we too, have wandered
Down these avenues, down these
Streets of stark reality & broken dreams
And have touched the veil of spirits
As we played their albums
On 11 and on the radio and
In the privacy
Of our own heads
And yet somehow? One day When we weren’t paying Attention we all grew up
And got jobs and faced
All of the changes
Alone
By ourselves
So
Dearly beloved,
We are all gathered here tonight
To sing Hallelujah one last time
To fall in love again once more
Before all the lights finally flicker
And fade
And
We are here to sing
Our lullabies into these
Golden years and to remember
Thee, thy memories in all
Spirit beauty and form
For without thee
We go on living still
In tragedy, happiness or loss
Thru years
Alive in
Your words and in
Thine essence
Now & always a part
Of our souls forever
So we shall stand together
In the fire
And
We shall stand together
Against the darkness
With all our music
And our souls
Our hearts combined
For we can be heroes
We can be strangers
If only for one day
A generation who will
Not forget these gifts
Which you once gave us;
The power of
Imagination of
Love
Mercy
Compassion
& Hope
And there is no army
No enemy
And no age that
Can defeat us
So
Fuck your dictatorship
Fuck your rules
Because
We’ve got Lemme &
We’ve got aces and
We’ve got magic
Still
And whether you like it or not We’re going to party
Like it’s 1999 until
The bitter end and until
The dance finally
Ends
So goodnight
Sweet Prince goodnight
Goodnight Bowie,
Cohen & poetry
Music
Reason & rhyme
And goodnight
To America
Goodnight
Rock n roll
Is alive
And well
