PASSION AND A GOOD MAN

PASSION AND A GOOD MAN

by Robin Shwedo

©: Robin Shwedo, 1995



I want Passion and a good man.

Yes, I know that seems

a contradiction in terms,

but that is what I want.

And yet,

when I think of Passion,

I think of colorful men -

in blue jeans and flannel,

who clean up nicely,

dressing up in Armani suits,

or brightly good shirts and suede jackets,

but still colorful in their passion,

men who are the male equivalent of a “wild woman”,

who have no fear of

tender candle-lit dinners on the beach

under the stars,

the waves crashing nearby,

followed by a night of

exhausting

exhilarating passion.

And yet,

these are the same ones

who seem destined to walk in the morning,

heading out the door,

no questions or explanations.

Flip side

are the good men,

the ones with the eager smiles

and have-to-please-you attitudes,

who tell you that giving you an hour-long back rub

would be their pleasure,

and that they wouldn’t try “anything else”,

their boyish smiles

and clean-cut demeanor too good to be true.

A woman knows she can trust him to Do Right,

keeping her safe,

without leaving her in the morning.

But what I really want is Passion and a Good Man.

If I ever find him...



This is part of my book of poetry Revolutionary Broads and Other Nightmares, which is looking for a publisher.

I wrote this poem while driving cab for a living. One of my male co-workers once asked me and another female driver what women wanted in a man. This was the answer, in a light-hearted way. Of course, there's more, but it was a start.

NIGHT SONGS

NIGHT SONGS

by Robin Shwedo

©: Robin Shwedo, 1985



Night always comes as a surprise;

after a long day and lingering twilight,

the sun suddenly,

in a matter of seconds,

is eaten by the large fish beyond the

ridge of hills.

(My mother used to come to tuck me in,

playing games to ease a four-year-old's transition to sleep.

Our favorite was with her at the end of the bed,

where she'd hold the blanket, and,

with a sharp flicking hand motion,

snap the blanket into the air,

up,

up,

up,

until gravity would call the blanket down

onto my slight frame.

It usually fell across my face

(I knew it would!);

I'd shriek my delight

and ask for it again.)

Now night falls like that,

blanketing the earth with its stars and crescent-moons,

guiding us into our seas of sleep.



I'd noticed, years ago, how fast those last few minutes before night-fall seem to go. Pay attention, some time. Twilights may take a while, but those last couple of minutes before the sun disappears behind the horizon seem exceptionally fast. This was written during the 1980s and is part of the collection titled Love, Feelings and the Seasons of Life, which is looking for a publisher.

DAY'S END

DAY’S END

by Robin Shwedo

©Robin Shwedo, 2000, 2022



At a yellow brick building in Clearwater,

I wait for my final fare.

It’s been a long day,

but could’ve been longer,

had dispatch not cared about

paying overtime.

Thank God for small miracles and favors.



The building is a church.

A flash of thought –

did they use yellow bricks

to simulate the golden bricks

the roads in heaven are made of?

Probably not,

but a nice thought.

One never knows.



The stained glass windows,

in various shades of greenish-yellow,

with a dark green stripe around the edges

and a blue, purple and dark

– I don’t know – dark green?

black?

dark brown or blue? –

cross in the center of each,

are unlit from inside the church.



I know not where the choir practices inside,

only that,

when I come exactly on time,

my fare is waiting on the bench

I’m parked in front of.

She has only three minutes

by my estimation

(and car clock)

before we’re exactly on time;

she’s still not here.

Two minutes now.



The church’s security guard

has already wandered by,

checking out my car

from a discreet distance

before going back to his post inside;

he can see me from his window.

That’s okay;

I’m not leaving until I have my fare –

or she’s five minutes late.



It’s one minute past time

and here she comes.

“Hey,” she says,

sliding into the car.

We exchange pleasantries,

and head for our day’s end.



Started in 1999 or 2000; finished 11/11/2022. Part of Working Class Poems, looking for a publisher.

Days Like This

DAYS LIKE THIS

by Robin Shwedo

©: Robin Shwedo, 1996



Days like this,

I think straight lines are the most wonderful things.

True,

the scenery is mundane,

the colors somewhat mute,

when compared to wild roller coaster ups and downs,

but the ride is so much safer.

The “down” days, the ride is like this:

you “drag ass”, not able to get up,

not quite having all the gears “mesh”,

but an outer force keeps you going,

moving;

you let it because,

if you stop,

even for a second,

you’ll never move.

Ever.

Again.

Sounds are muted, distorted;

those that are loud enough to come through startle

with their bone-jarring

teeth-gritting noise.

Colors appear darker;

dark green leaves on brown-black trees

emit deep endless shadows

that threaten to drown you,

even as the branches menacingly reach for you.

The huge white clouds appear malicious,

creating looming faces which change to suite your mood.

Night arrives,

threatening to envelope you in its thick alive darkness.

Days on end grow dimmer and greyer,

almost unnerving in their endless progression,

when suddenly,

you feeling yourself

as you come close to drowning

hit bottom,

sink slightly,

then push off against the

bumpy hardness beneath you.

Suddenly - sometimes -

but oh, so surely,

you break through the foggy film into sunshine.

Wonderful sunshine!

There it is!

The sounds! The joyous sounds!

Birds singing, children laughing,

dogs barking, railroad crossings clanging

as the trains roar up the track,

puffing, chugging,

whistles blowing,

wheels turning,

engineers waving at

small children waving back.

Colors!

Yes, everywhere magnificent colors!

Even in the blackest night

and rainiest days,

the neon lights are alive,

dancing,

calling to you,

singing, “Here we are!

And There you are!

Hello!

Hello!”

The smells of roses!

Coffee floating out of open shops,

colorful sounds,

wonderful smells,

laughing sights,

everything’s so “up,

you’ll never come back down.



Yup, there’s something to be said for straight lines.



This was written years ago and is part of Revolutionary Broads and Other Nightmares, which is looking for a publisher.

ELENA, 1985

ELENA, 1985

by Robin Shwedo

© Robin Shwedo, 1985



Labor Day weekend,

the storm danced off shore,

debating whether to hit for a final vacation.



The week before,

she had slowly waltzed up the Gulf,

figuring on landing in Louisiana;

maybe the thought of some good food seemed tempting.

Then,

Friday night,

we all sat up,

glued to the t.v.,

watching as reports came in.

The storm veered east,

coming closer to the coast.

At 2:30 in the morning,

the evacuations began.

I call a nearby police department,

seeing if a friend's family is safe.

At the moment, she's my sister;

they'd ever give out info on a mere friend.

Their neighborhood's evacuated to a school;

all safe.

I finish the night

with the TV on,

playing game

after

game

of cards with my son

to pass the time.

Saturday,

the storm stalls,

churning up the water,

gathering strength.

The TV shows people boarding up;

the interview in the street,

the water cutting off access

into and out of the county.

Sunday,

everyone runs out of everything,

and rushes the grocery stores.

No one has any bread;

it has all sold out hours before.

Instead,

we make due

with English muffins.

We wait in line forty-five minutes;

ten checkouts open,

and still the wait.

People leave the line

for the free coffee

in white styrofoam,

bringing back steaming liquid

for those who've saved their places.

People who have never met

talk like old home week,

laughing over the

most ridiculous things.

Leaving the store,

we discover that

the hurricane has tired of the sun coast,

and, turning,

hurries

on its

original course,

and heads for

good ol' Creole cooking.



In 1985, Hurricane Elena sat off the Florida coast for several days before turning and heading for Louisiana. This is part of my poetry collection titled Love, Feelings and the Seasons of Life, currently looking for a publishing home.

Mugly Days

MUGLY DAYS

by Robin Shwedo

©: Robin Shwedo, 2022



Muggy day,

weighing down the air,

muting colors to an ugly pastel wavy mass,

a Mugly day,

so Mugly it leaves your skin

sandy, sweaty, gritty,

plasters your hair to face,

shirt to back, sides and front.

So muggy,

it’s ugly,

giving way to mugly.



August in Florida is brutal.



From a new collection titled Painted Words, which is still being added to.

Blues Days

BLUES DAYS

by Robin Shwedo

©: Robin Shwedo, 1994



What kind of day do I like?

The kind where the weather has the blues:

the wet blues,

slip-slop-sloppy-sloshy blues,

the white cold flurry blues,

grey-sky-overhead blues,

where the colors have a chance to

scream out and soar,

and you get to sit around the

nice, warm, well-lit-house,

snuggled into your warm flannel shirt

and your dry jeans

and warm, dry, fuzzy socks,

your hands wrapped around

a nice hot cup of tea,

warm homemade cookies on a plate

or maybe a toasty, chewy muffin,

brimming with raisins and cranberries,

a lemony scent from

who knows where,

as you listen to a car going by

in the slip-slop-sloppy-sloshy rain,

its wipers going

slick-slick-slick,

back and forth in cadenced rhythm with the rain,

tires singing s-w-o-o-o-o-s-s-h-h with the road.

Hardly any traffic

on the cold wet grey roads

on a cold wet grey day.

Those who do venture out bundle up against the cold.

I feel sorry for them

and exhilarated for them:

Sorry,

since they brave the cold and wet,

the colors muted and laced with grey wet;

Exhilarated,

since they see neon lights

and other colors

dance off the road,

running in strange water-colored art,

then heading home to a place with light and dry.

White wet comes later—and earlier—in the year,

dancing,

swirling

down,

caught in a whirling updraft

before drifting down.

Grey winter skies whispered in cold breathy tones,

"Scarf, hat, mittens!

Boots, coat!"

Trudging home at the end of the day,

slip-sliding down sidewalks

and crossing streets to leap grey encrusted snow,

carrying grocery bags and attaché cases

before

getting home

to warm houses and apartments to

dream away to sunny days.



Written during the 1990s, this is part of my book Poetry, Unassigned, which is currently looking for a publisher. I'd written it after being out and about on a chilly, rainy wintery afternoon.