Friday, March 21, 2014

The Voice

Deep beneath the thunderous sound,
Consuming every minute, of every day,
There’s something that all but drowns,
As we go our many separate ways.

Our thoughts at the speed of light,
Are shouted at hundreds and thousands.
Opinions and values take flight,
Invading millions of houses.

But beneath all this shouting and clawing,
Lies a quiet voice with a simple message.
Its beauty, an artist’s prized drawing,
Belying a palpable presage.

Every day as the noise level rises,
The voice doesn’t waver or soften.
Unceasing throughout all our guises,
Though few will hear it often.

As our hourglass slowly tips,
And time is almost finished,
Words still spill from those lips,
The voice remains undiminished.

The cacophony’s slowly silenced,
Forcing us, to stop and listen.
Whether you’re of God or Science,
The shimmering words, still glisten.

If lady fortune smiles upon you,
And you hold a private conversation,
With one who saw right through,
The sensory constipation,

Be happy for that brief respite,
That quiet room that shuns all sound.
Let both your voices fill the night,
Block the noise that’s all around.

That voice is who we really are,
And all who care, will stop and listen.
Whether heard near or from afar,
The voice maintains its lonely mission.

“I want to love” it says, beneath the fray,
Despite all we’ve said that day.
“And be loved” follows, with certainty,
Its echo rings eternally.

 -

Jarid Hewlett



Thursday, February 27, 2014

Sometimes it hurts

Sometimes it hurts.
It really does
Other times…I don’t even notice
But somewhere deep down inside me
I know it takes its toll
Everytime I’m misunderstood…everytime I’m unfairly judged
It takes its toll
On what exactly? I’m not sure
But I feel it
In the deep recesses of my…being, I guess
With every friend I lose, the hole gets that much larger
With every new stranger, that much more corroded
That much darker
In a perfect world, I wouldn't lose anyone.
Everyone would like me and I would like everyone
This isn't a perfect world
This world isn't even ideal
And it hurts.
Sometimes, I wish they would take their time to know me
Other times I wish they would just die.
Sometimes I think I hate them
Other times, I don’t remember they exist.
It’s like trying to grasp those colours you see when you close your eyes
I can’t quite put my finger on it...
But objectively…I know I don’t care.
I’m going to die…and everyone who might have known me
Will have their opinion of my existence
Good, bad, indifferent…it doesn't matter
Because they too will die
And my existence will matter no more than that speck of dirt,
That clings to your shoe after a long day of walking
Unceremoniously wiped off and thrown away,
The other specks of dirt surrounding it suffering the same fate.
So objectively…I don’t care
But sometimes…

Sometimes it hurts.

Jarid Hewlett


Friday, August 10, 2012

The Long Goodnight


I close my  eyes to fall asleep
And dream of weeping willows
And I make not a single peep
So calm upon the pillow

My breathing slows, my muscles droop
As I begin to ponder
I barrel roll and loop de loop
Throughout the wild blue yonder

My hand lies steady on my chest
He doesn’t twitch or quiver
I am now complete at rest
Dreaming gold and wishing silver

And as I lie so motionless
Oblivious amidst my dreams
That hand that lay upon my chest
Discerns all is not serene

Like frogs upon the lily pads
Know disturbance of the pond
My resting friend is now quite sad
Knowing something has gone wrong

My chest has lost its simple rhythm
A tune all and sundry know
All is quiet within the prison
Tiny rivers have ceased their flow

He must do his best to fetch me
To regain what it is I lack
Alas old friend, it's plain to see
 I am never coming back.


Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Oh To Love

Oh to love and be loved again
And be loved and love once more
Not the love of friend to friend
But love from core to core

In love’s wicked evil plans
Its' lovely wisdom shows
That love cares not for any man
Giving some love’s overdose

Love, like time has been around
From before love was a word
Love can take us up and down
Oh love, you're quite absurd

Oh to love and be loved just once!
The unloved’s wretched cry
But love, like a jutting sconce
Doth poke the unloved’s eye

Love will not locate us all
No, love sometimes won’t show
The difference between love and lust
The unloved never know

The once-loved’s shrill and bitter cry
Echoes love’s curses through the night
For love, like men, sometimes dies
Love can go without a fight

When you find love, oh reader dear
Let love say what to do
Of the unloved’s barbs, take zero care
You love me, and I love you

 -

Jarid Hewlett




Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Birth of hate

For every time you crush my soul
Another part of me grows cold

The goodness forced from out my eyes
Cannot return...oh how it tries
They say that hurt turns hearts to ice
It’s my chest, not heart, that’s in this vice
Every laboured breath I take
Leaves a trail of fog, in its wake
My muscles clench, my hair lies still
My pain is stifled in its crib
Its dying cries you will not hear
Hatred’s laughter fills the air
My vision blurs, I cannot see
Only what you've done to me
My saddened scowl slowly fades
A smile creeps up and takes its place
An empty silence fills my gut
Where butterflies once used to strut
My palms no longer wet with sweat
They’re cooled...the chilliness of my breath
My tears long dried and blown away
This burning anger, here to stay
Oh!
But this lies hidden, yes it does
A bloody hand in satin gloves
A deceptive smile to hide the hate
No warning sign at this gate
But all who enter, please beware
What you seek will not be here
No heart to warm with words of love
No soul for blessings from above
A frozen shell is what I am
A soulless, angry fucking man
So when you ask me “all is well?”
I wish to God you'd rot in hell

For every time...you crush my soul...
Another part of me...grows cold.


Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Echoes

Though still a million miles away
Your echoes fill the air
A long forgotten yesterday
Yet still I feel you here

I sit and watch the clouds roll by
And close my eyes and think
The many tears I did not cry
Would more than fill a sink

Your voice still lingers in the sky
Above the mountain tops
A time that once was you and I
A time almost forgot

You’re still out there somewhere I know
Your voice, so haunting still
To you my dear, I’ll never go
This problem has no pill

I trust that i’ll forget these things
Your face will be a blur
Ne'er again to hear you sing
You won’t deny, you won’t aver

That day cannot come soon enough
I’m tired of this noise
 I sit and overlook this bluff
False hope has left me poised

But no my dear, I will not jump
I’ll not end what could have been
Though in my throat a heavy lump
I’ll never cease to dream

You’re years away but still I hear
Your voice and see your face
You echo loudly in my air
It’s time I leave this place

I’d run as far as I can go
Run as fast as time and space
Something stops me quickly though
A problem not prefaced

Your echoes are not in the air
I can’t leave them behind
You my dear are everywhere
Seared forever in my mind




Monday, January 24, 2011

Somebody shot my son

Somebody shot my son
Somebody shot my son
Some low down cowardly bastard with a gun

He shot him down
He shot him down
He shot my son right in the middle of town

My son had flaws
Yes, he had them all
My son was not the best, but damn he was my son

Why’d you shoot my son?
Why’d you shoot my son?
What to you had my poor dead son done?

So you wanted cash?
Or did he beat your ass?
So you went home, got your gun and shot my son?

My son is gone
My son is gone
That baby boy I raised for years and years is gone

I’m gonna miss him so
I’m gonna miss him so
I’ll miss the last time I watched my son walk through that door

Somebody shot my son
Somebody shot my son
All I know is that that bastard’s shooting days are done

They caught the one
They ran him down
They caught the dirty stinking beast that shot my son

I’m gonna gun him down
Yeah, I’m gonna gun him down
I’m gonna shoot and watch his blood spill all over the ground

Somebody shot my son
But I gunned him down,
Now his daddy’s singing, oh God...somebody shot my son.
Somebody shot my son