Sometimes...

Sometimes...

Sometimes I feel silly,
And I need to dance and sing.
Sometimes I feel thoughtful,
And just focus on one thing.

Sometimes I am joyful,
All the world’s a happy place.
Sometimes I’m unhappy,
And wear my frowny face.

Sometimes I’m confused,
Can’t seem to get from a to b.
But no matter how I feel,
I know I’m always me.

©2009-Art Belliveau

Back Seat Boredom

Back Seat Boredom

I was riding in the back seat,
As bored as I could be,
Wishing the car ride wasn't so long,
Wishing for something to see.

Outside the car was boring,
Nothing to see for miles.
Except, of course, for the unicorns,
And the purple crocodiles.

The lollipop trees were in full bloom;
Every color was shining bright.
The chocolate rivers flowed next to the road,
On both the left and the right.

The flying pigs and wombats,
Were dancing an aerial ballet.
And I just sat there bored to tears,
Another ho-hum day.

©2009-Art Belliveau

Light Traveler

Light Traveler

I packed up all my shoes.

I packed up all my clothes.

I packed up all of my toiletries.

I packed up the garden hose.

I packed my computer and printer.

I packed up some paper and ink.

I packed up my umbrella stand.

I packed up the kitchen sink.

I packed up the rose bush.

I packed up the tire swing.

I packed up the TV set.

I packed up my favorite ring.

I would have packed up lots more stuff,

But I thought it wouldn’t be right.

How much more stuff could I need?

I would just be gone one night.

©2009-Art Belliveau

Billy Had a Great Big Squid

Billy Had a Great Big Squid

Billy had a great big squid

Great big squid

Great big squid

Billy had a great big squid

'Cause he was one weird kid

It followed him to school one day

School one day

School one day

It followed him to school one day

Then it dried out and died

The kids all had some calimari

Calimari

Calimari

The kids all had some calimari

’Cept Billy who was sad

©2009-Art Belliveau

The Night the Palm Trees Walked

The Night the Palm Trees Walked

The night the palm trees walked

The woke me from bed.

Then they headed to my room,

And I thought that I was dead.

There root scootched 'cross the ground,

Man they were moving fast.

As they drew closer to me,

I prayed that they'd go past.

All that junk food that I ate

Before I went to bed,

Was jumping in my stomach,

Like ten monkeys on a bed.

I moaned and groaned and ran,

Well, at least I tried.

Palm tree arms reached out to grab me,

And real soon I was tied.

And as the trees decided,

To see how many rings I had,

I was suddenly awakened

By my momma and my dad.

I never will again,

Eat so much junk food before bed.

Apparently all that stuff

Really messes with my head.

©2009-Art Belliveau

Claudia Skye

Claudia Skye

My name is Claudia Skye

and I shape clouds all day.

I can make scary dragons or

cute little bunnies at play.

If you are feeling sad,

A little blue or down,

I will try to cheer you up

With a smiley-faced cloud clown.

If you are ready for a nap,

But cannot go to sleep,

I will make a cloud fence for you,

And over it jump cloud sheep.

I make castles, trees, and cars

Up in the sky for you.

It gives you something fun to see

When you've nothing else to do.

©2009-Art Belliveau

There’s a Rhinoceros in My Spaghetti

There’s a Rhinoceros in My Spaghetti


There’s a rhinoceros in my spaghetti!
What am I going to do?
It’s slurping up all of my pasta,
And gobbling the meatballs up, too.

It’s rolling ’round in the tomato sauce,
It’s really making a mess.
The tablecloth’s getting all gooey,
And there’s dribbles all over my dress.

My mother will never believe me,
She’ll say her kitchen isn’t a zoo.
But there’s a rhinoceros in my spaghetti,
And I swear what I’m saying is true.

©2009-Art Belliveau

senryu 5/23/09

through rolled down windows

"Life in the Fast Lane" blares out

the irony stings

haiku 5/23/09

low hanging grey clouds

spitting warm drops of water

empty streets below

©2009-Art Belliveau

senryu 5/23/09

I have often found

days filled with doing nothing

the most exhausting

©2009-Art Belliveau

senryu 5/23/09

my mind is empty
my body weary, and yet
peacefulness fills me

©2009-Art Belliveau

In the Kitchen, Late at Night

In the Kitchen, Late at Night

everyone is sleeping

in this house certainly

in the world outside seemingly

all, of course, except me

as the night transforms 

into early morning

I cannot sleep

I am compelled to work

not by anyone else

only by myself and

my obsession with

not facing the next day

in the kitchen are dishes

pots and pans and silverware too

from the dinner you made

and we all here ate

and I find that 

before I can allow myself

to lay down next to you

and drift into slumber beside you

I must empty the dishwasher

last night's dishes now clean if not all dry

run the hot water in the sink

into a pot full of knives and forks and spoons

I rinse each dish 

I scrub some that will be a problem

and I  put them in the dishwasher

add the Dawn close the door and start it up

and as the dishes are doused with water

I am doused with sleepiness 

that now feel a satisfaction 

and can join you at last

©2009-Art Belliveau

Speed of Life

Speed of Life

some things in life

happen so fast

they are finished 

almost before they begin:

lightning

an eye blink

a single flick of a hummingbird's wing

your first five years

©2009-Art Belliveau

05/20/09

in the quiet of the night

I sit

I wait

I no longer know why

since you

are gone

©2009-Art Belliveau

Unaccustomed Silence

there is an unaccustomed silence

that blaringly announces 

the presence of your absence

as the phone declines to chime

and the door stubbornly stays unknocked

I am well aware that it is you

and my loneliness and I

share a toast to you

and wish you all the best

©2009-Art Belliveau

The Meaning of Meaning

I sit down with the intention

to write a poem

this poem, actually

I want a poem to capture for myself

and any who may read it

my take on the essence of the world 

I drift off, eyes slightly unfocused

jaw starting to hang down

maybe in a creative fog

maybe just trying to stay awake

I stare at the clouds through 

the open windows behind the tv

looking for metaphors 

searching for meaning

My thoughts are obliterated

concentration destroyed

the well ordered words I was constructing

fall to ruin

Molly, my daughter, 

all of five years old

runs into the room looking for me

talking at full volume

with gusts of up to 100 words a minute

She misses me and wants me

to come with her and visit the

tent in her playroom

to see how well decorated it is

She also has to let me know

all about the three-legged dog 

she just saw on Animal Planet

and how it had lost its right front leg

holding out her own right arm

and making cutting motions with the left

Mometarilty annoyance rushes through me

my budding creation of words and phrases

dissolved into nothingness

not even remembering where I had planned 

to start--all gone

But then it hits me hard

that poetical epiphany

where before I was searching for meaning

by looking outside my window

and attempting to construct it on my own

I now had that meaning

rush into the room on her own

for the lines I could have created

based on my observation of clouds

cannot compare to the actual living

of life with my family

©2009-Art Belliveau

05/17/09

outside the gray clouds

hide the blue sky and sun

but not the sun’s light which

though diffuse

works its way past them

to the Earth below

the greens of the trees 

and bushes are all still

waiting 

waiting for what isn’t certain

waiting for who, perhaps?

inside I sit 

a gray funk wrapped around me

obscuring the light that

you provide for me

obscuring it, but not blocking it

completely out

and your warmth, reaches me

reaches me as I sit here

still in the room

looking out the window 

seeing the tableau before me

waiting 

waiting for something very certain

waiting for your return

©2009-Art Belliveau

05/16/09

after the storm passed

sun shined, clouds cleared and rain fell

from the windblown leaves

©2009-Art Belliveau

05/15/09

I AM

I am a caring teacher and loving father
I wonder about the world today’s kids will inherit
I hear doomcriers and naysayers
I see opportunutues ahead disguised challanges
I want their world to be better than this one
I am a caring teacher and loving father

I pretend that I can make a positive impact on the world
I feel that is the first step towards doing so
I touch the future
I worry that I do not do enough
I cry for the needlessly dead and dying children
I am a caring teacher and loving father

I understand that the struggle never stops
I say that means there is always a chance to improve
I dream that the world will eventually be healed
I try to do my part in that healing
I hope the younger ones will carry on the fight
I am a caring teacher and loving father

05/14/09

Art
determined, hard-working, gruff, creative
eldest son of Barbara
likes reading, sleeping, and the Internet
feels ready for something new but
afraid of change
would like to see everyting work out for the best
Belliveau

©2009-Art Belliveau

Portrait Poem 05/13/09

Picture me, Art,
someone who likes science fiction, social justice, and writing poetry,
someone who loves his family and friends,
a person who wants the capicity to handle complications
and needs to work on acceptance,
a man who remembers his first true love
and wishes it will never end.
Picture me, Art.

©2009-Art Belliveau

senryu 5/12/09

Forty-five times now,

I have travelled 'round the sun.

What have I learned, though?

©2009-Art Belliveau

haiku 5/11/09

stars shining brightly

haze in the sky scrubbed away

by a summer storm

©2009-Art Belliveau

Happy Mother's Day

You do so much every day

Cook and clean, read and play

You doctor ouchies when they hurt

You wash away the sweat and dirt

You show your love in every way

And now’s your very special day

We love you hope your day is great

Even though you couldn’t sleep too late

Relax, enjoy, and take a rest

You absolutely are the best

Let us take care of the rest today

And have a Happy Mother’s Day

reality 5/09/09

reality

is not

it lies often

only in 

my dreams

can i

sometimes

find 

truth

you

are in 

my dreams

©2009-Art Belliveau

senryu 5/08/09

quiet evening out

pierced by a scream--who ordered

the crying baby?

©2009-Art Belliveau

haiku 5/08/09

the silent, still woods

on the wall--contrasts with the

bustling restaurant

©2009-Art Belliveau

tanka 5/07/09

a storm is coming

sky darkens, cool breeze stirs up

animals are still

slowly the rain strengthens 'til

its fury is all that's heard

©2009-Art Belliveau

For Louise M. Rosenblatt

For Louise M. Rosenblatt

Together in class

We read a story

It is the same story

Printed in every copy
Of every book
In the classroom

Yet—and this is what

I love about reading—

It is a slightly different tale

Inside every head

As the words on the page

Collide and combine
With the life experience
Of each person
Reading the story

©2009-Art Belliveau

senryu 5/05/09

looking in your eyes 

I see more stars than ever

I saw in night’s sky

©2009-Art Belliveau

haiku 5/05/09

one day the heater

next day: air conditioner

Alabama’s Spring

©2009-Art Belliveau

haiku 5/05/09

rain in the morning

blossomed into warm sunshine

and children’s laughter

©2009-Art Belliveau

Perfect Day?

what I hate most

is a perfect day

the sun shining

cool breeze blowing

fun with family

and friends

not the day itself

not the company

but the wall

the invisible wall

that stands between the day

and my enjoyment of it

on my side of the wall

it is a gray and rainy day

the hot, humid air

clogs in my lungs

my family and friends

too far away to touch

and the worst part is

from my side

I can see them having fun

see them loving life

and can only

pretend

I am with them

©2009-Art Belliveau

Papa’s Paradox

Papa’s Paradox

you have moved me

in ways I never expected

never imagined

never thought I could be moved

you depend on me 

so completely

sometimes it’s a little scary

but i wouldn’t change it

whether I would or not though

it will change

as you grow older and develop

into your own person

and i know that is good

it is right 

it is proper

it is also painful for me

pride and loss are intertwined

at every advance you make

as you read and write

and think your own thoughts

all too soon I will be nothing more

than a specator of your life

as you live it as you see fit

still moved, but removed as well

©2009-Art Belliveau

haiku 5/02/09

the roar of thunder

vibrates the store--rain cascades

I am safe inside

©2009-Art Belliveau

rhymed verse 5/01/09

So Much for Planning

I was going to give a test today
On Greek and Latin roots
I was going to ask for final drafts
Of my students’ movie reviews
I was going to accomplish things
But my plans, reality outstrips
All my plans are junked today
Because of five field trips
This class now is half empty
The next two look much the same
But I’ll just bend like a reed in the wind
I know how to play the game
Those here today will have the chance
To make up work they’ve missed
Or maybe even to get ahead
With me here to assist
The end of the year is coming fast
(It’s in three weeks—right to the day)
And here we are just kicking back
Another wasted day

©2009-Art Belliveau