NEW POEM - "There For You"

Hey Everybody-

I'm up late again and had to keep my word on putting something new on the blog (something that I WILL get better at doing on a regular basis). This is a piece that I wrote a little while back, but I feel still says a lot. As usual, I'm spilling my thoughts out to you and welcome your feedback. Hope to hear from you. Thanks for stopping through.

There For You

My empathy goes beyond physical reach
This life continues to teach
Reviewing life lesson after life lesson
And if pain is love,
Then I’ve morphed into the cupid of the millennium
Not experiencing the pain myself
But I feel the burn of her, him, and them
With wishes to remove the affliction
My sincere words saturated with pure conviction
Sorrowful words pierce my eardrum
Taking them in, I cringe some

Wanting to go outside to start up the engine
To provide some type of escape or outlet
I say “It’s never too late”
But the straits are dire from the outset
And the positives
Never see the light of day
Sometimes no matter how good one lives
Life can still be as dark as night today
And all that I can say
Is that the struggle still reflects beauty
Round after round with trouble
Mirror providing a stronger prototype that you’ll see

Having been purified by flames
And washed in renewing waters
Endured to be MVP of life’s game
Able to testify that it only gets harder and harder
As you approach the lighted tunnel
Know that your pain has been felt
My understanding is far from subtle
There for you more than you’ll ever realize yourself

-W.A. Gordon

The Cover - UNVEILED

Hey Everybody-

I will be putting up some new work soon, but in the meantime, I have some exciting news to drop. This picture you see to the left is the official cover of the book to be released. It just came to me and I want to give props to the artist Seville Simpson. I had a crazy vision and this cat knew how to put it into something everybody could understand. Take a look at the detail and see what I mean, for real.

Shout out to Seville and his team, I'm So Mars. If you're plugged in on Facebook and want to check his work out further CLICK HERE, you won't be disappointed. This man put his gift into this one and for that, I'm grateful.

Be on the lookout for some new material and some more important promotional news that's still to come. Peace and be blessed!

"Wishing Against Reality" - AUTHOR'S COMMENTARY

Hey Everybody-

Thanks for being patient with me. Life's been happening and has been slowing be down on my blog game and unfortunately my book, too. Nonetheless, as promised, I want to post my commentary on a poem that I posted a few weeks ago. If you remember (and if you dont, just scroll down and act like you know - LOL), I added the disclaimer that that particular writing was probably the most abstract piece that I'd written in recent memory. I got a few comments from people and wanted to give some clarity about the poem and what message I was trying to get across.

So, let me try to break this thing down, stanza by stanza. The first stanza centers around someone who has come a long way, but still looks to their past. No matter how much progress has been made, a certain person, event, or something from this person's past is coming back to memory and is bigger and badder than it was when it all first went down. Now, I emphasize the possibilities of person, event, or something else because this piece was made to be relative to as many as possible in terms of separation and trying to move on and away from what/whoever it is for your own good.

The second stanza simply points to the lack of empathy from the person or persons involved in or around this reflection of thought. In my opinion, nothing can make a painful memory worse than knowing that there were people there, or at least in the "know", who weren't sympathetic or even empathetic to the negative feelings that came to pass. An even worse feeling is when those same people continue to move along as if nothing is wrong and the person affected can't determine whether or not they are oblivious or just callous, adding more fuel to the fire. Again, this piece can relate to you in a number of ways, focusing on the separation that can occur in several different areas. I'll assume that many will find value in the area of relationships, whether family or otherwise.

The final stanza is a review of how the person got to this point in the first place. More importantly, it revisits the effects of everything, carefully studying how everything could've played out differently and even where they themselves could've walked a totally different way. I try to round out the poem with self-discovery following these thoughts, acceptance that what's done is done, and the desire that many of us have to try to get a "do-over" and make it better the second time around. And that, my friends, is what this poem was about.

I tried very much to simplify my thoughts for you around this poem. Truth be told, the words that I just gave you probably don't do it justice, but in the interests of keeping your attention and not blogging you to death on this one, I did the best I could to keep it simple. If you feel that it is still too abstract, let me know and I'll talk with you directly. This poem was intended to be general, but I admit that it had some personal attachment (not TOO much ;-)). Anyway, I will be posting another blog soon, hopefully with a poem (pleeeeese, believe me this time). Break time's over and I'm ready to work. Get at me, people. Thanks again for visiting me!

-W.A. Gordon

NEW POEM - "Endurance"

Hey Everybody,

I'm sooooooo sorry for the absence. In between being sick and some changes in my job, I've been working on some outside work, and also life's been crazy beyond words. I apologize for not keeping up and pledge to never let it happen again. This blog isn't the only one suffering, I still have to catch up on my other ones (don't forget cavaliers.gearupforsports.com/blog and cowboys.gearupforsports.com/blog - show me some love!!!). Anyway, I'm posting a piece to whet your appetite in the meantime. It's shorter than most and is pretty direct. Also, I am planning to do a Author's Commentary soon on my last poem, "Wishing Against Reality" due to the response I've gotten. Let me know what you think. Thanks again for visiting me. Peace.

Endurance

Tired of routine
Growing weary of this scene
Same ol’ ish every day
Refuse to become obscene.
With the things that I’ve seen,
I’m now an experienced teacher
Classes now in session,
No longer coaching from the bleachers.
Although the spectators view is wide
Close to those looking in from the outside
My inside perspective provides clues
Jump into the dark pools of my eyes.
Look into my soul
See the marks stretch over time
Fatigued more than players past their prime
Stuck in perpetual overtime
Forced to resort to overdrive
Pushing past the limit set by those prior
I sit on the stand, trial by fire
No one can judge
No one can call me a liar
Testifying on my own life
Forcing the prosecution’s case to retire
Defending against the forces that be
With this all forcing me to be
Stronger than before or ever
Enduring the pain to enjoy the pleasure

-W.A. Gordon