Virgil Chabre
This is the poetry site of poet Virgil Chabre
Things to think about
Welcome
Welcome
Welcome
Welcome to the Website of poet Virgil Chabre. Author of six books of poetry: Silhouettes, Images, and Faded Memories; The Night She Left and Other Poems; Column One (Poems 1982-1992); Washington D. C.;
Mending Fences; Mining Camp Blues & Other Poems
Contact: virgilchabre13@gmail.com
Anyone interested in discussing poetry or sharing their
Welcome to the Website of poet Virgil Chabre. Author of six books of poetry: Silhouettes, Images, and Faded Memories; The Night She Left and Other Poems; Column One (Poems 1982-1992); Washington D. C.;
Mending Fences; Mining Camp Blues & Other Poems
Contact: virgilchabre13@gmail.com
Anyone interested in discussing poetry or sharing their poetry, please contact me. All comments and responses are welcome and appreciated.
Quotations:
"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead."
"The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it – basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them."
"We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us."
-Charles Bukowski
Welcome
Welcome
Welcome
Welcome to the Website of poet Virgil Chabre. Author of six books of poetry: Silhouettes, Images, and Faded Memories; The Night She Left and Other Poems; Column One (Poems 1982-1992); Washington D. C.;
Mending Fences; Mining Camp Blues & Other Poems
Contact: virgilchabre13@gmail.com
Anyone interested in discussing poetry or sharing their
Welcome to the Website of poet Virgil Chabre. Author of six books of poetry: Silhouettes, Images, and Faded Memories; The Night She Left and Other Poems; Column One (Poems 1982-1992); Washington D. C.;
Mending Fences; Mining Camp Blues & Other Poems
Contact: virgilchabre13@gmail.com
Anyone interested in discussing poetry or sharing their poetry, please contact me. All comments and responses are welcome and appreciated.
Quotations:
"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead."
"The free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it – basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them."
"We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us."
-Charles Bukowski
Virgil Chabre with Joy Harjo Poet Laureate of The Library of Congress
Virgil Chabre with Joy Harjo Poet Laureate of The Library of Congress
Fred Wright is Gone
I was a college student
Working at the Ford garage
Detailing new cars
Actually
A car washer
Making new cars shine
When I returned to school
I was replaced by Fred Wright
An African American with a smile
As big as the state of Louisiana
He would always say
“When I die I will become a cloud
And after the rain I will
Disappear and wat
Fred Wright is Gone
I was a college student
Working at the Ford garage
Detailing new cars
Actually
A car washer
Making new cars shine
When I returned to school
I was replaced by Fred Wright
An African American with a smile
As big as the state of Louisiana
He would always say
“When I die I will become a cloud
And after the rain I will
Disappear and watch the
Flowers grow”
I would say, “Flowers hell, Fred
Nothing will grow around here except
Weeds.” He would smile
And say “Weed can be a good thing!”
Fred would never pass up
A good thing in wine, women and song
Went to New Orleans with his guitar
Not to make it rich
But play his guitar to share his passion
He could walk on any stage
And play with the best of them
Could not read notes
But the guitar became part of him
An extension of his soul
I never would believe
Our paths would cross again
I was working construction in Wyoming
A Paymaster hiring workers
Managing payroll
We needed an oiler for the cranes
Fred Wright walked through the door
His smile still as big
As the state he left behind
He had more stories to tell me
Than a Mark Twain short story book
I could listen for hours
There was never a dull moment
With Fred
He still played the guitar
Always a song in his heart
His passion was still
Wine, women and song
One day I heard the news
Fred Wright is gone
My heart skipped a beat
I thought of how much he gave me
But saw a cloud in the sky
A light rain was falling
Tomorrow there may be flowers
A few weeds
Life will go on without Fred
For he is in the clouds
Floating by
Smiling as big as the state
Of Louisiana
Rain can be a good thing
Fred Wright is gone
Virgil Chabre with Joy Harjo Poet Laureate of The Library of Congress
Virgil Chabre with Joy Harjo Poet Laureate of The Library of Congress
Virgil Chabre with Joy Harjo Poet Laureate of The Library of Congress
Standing Still Man
For: Joy Harjo
I see and feel
The warmth of the sun
The moon and stars
Fade as the sunrise
Moves into existence
Darkness now in the past
The earth stands still
Afraid to move
On its axis
I feel pain in my heart
History repeats itself
The earth moves
Beneath my feet
I cannot walk anymore
Too many clouds
Fill my skies
I stop and hesitat
Standing Still Man
For: Joy Harjo
I see and feel
The warmth of the sun
The moon and stars
Fade as the sunrise
Moves into existence
Darkness now in the past
The earth stands still
Afraid to move
On its axis
I feel pain in my heart
History repeats itself
The earth moves
Beneath my feet
I cannot walk anymore
Too many clouds
Fill my skies
I stop and hesitate
Unable to take that step
Into the future
Haunted by the past
Broken promises
Broken dreams
Broken treaties
Broken bodies left behind
In a world
Out of control
I am Standing Still Man
The Blame Game
To Whom It May Concern
She was young
With a maturity
Of an adult
She was special
A shining star
Someone that could
Be trusted
But her family
Became an obstacle
To hold her back
She panicked and
Played the blame game
It was not like her
But she was out of answers
So her family became strangers
Her friends became enemies
It was her quick decision
To solve her problems
But it was a road
She should not have taken
It would haunt her
Later in life
Once on that road
It is hard to come back
For the road took her
Deeper and deeper
Into places to nowhere
Years passed
Time did not stand still
Life changes
Her good friend
Who always stood
Up for her
Gave sound advice
Without ever turning
On her
Was blindsided
By the blame game
She learned to play so well
She hit him hard
With her thoughts from years ago
But memories fade in time
Friendship is lost
In a world where facts
Become fiction
You cannot win
With someone playing
The blame game
It is a losing battle
Losing friendship forever
Suddenly some day
She will realize
It was a game
And she lost pushing the blame
To the one who
Was always there for her
Now gone
forever
The Blame Game
To Whom It May Concern
She was young
With a maturity
Of an adult
She was special
A shining star
Someone that could
Be trusted
But her family
Became an obstacle
To hold her back
She panicked and
Played the blame game
It was not like her
But she was out of answers
So her family became strangers
Her friends became enemies
It was her quick decision
To solve her problems
But it was a road
She should not have taken
It would haunt her
Later in life
Once on that road
It is hard to come back
For the road took her
Deeper and deeper
Into places to nowhere
Years passed
Time did not stand still
Life changes
Her good friend
Who always stood
Up for her
Gave sound advice
Without ever turning
On her
Was blindsided
By the blame game
She learned to play so well
She hit him hard
With her thoughts from years ago
But memories fade in time
Friendship is lost
In a world where facts
Become fiction
You cannot win
With someone playing
The blame game
It is a losing battle
Losing friendship forever
Suddenly some day
She will realize
It was a game
And she lost pushing the blame
To the one who
Was always there for her
Now gone
forever
Poetry
Vietnam (Friendly Fire)
She was all I had left from the war
Waited patiently for me to return
I saw her every time I closed my eyes
She was always there
But my eyes are afraid to close
Anymore
There was a fire burning in the night
It was another dream
The dreams overtake me
Giant centipedes crawl in the darkness
Waiting for their next sting
I cannot separate reality from dreams
The war consumed me
Agent Orange crawling on my body
Never-ending rain
Snub nosed monkey swats a mosquito
The feast is over
I stood alone in the darkness
Looking at the body on the ground
Lifeless
Friendly fire they would say
But there was nothing friendly about it
He dropped a grenade
Afraid to let it leave his hand
Self-destruction or collateral damage
The jungle on fire around us
I clutch my dog tags to my chest
Look at my toes to try to keep the dog tags away
I close my eyes and see the tunnels
I pull a body out
The sun shines today
The jungle is empty
Silence fills the air
A water buffalo stops by
Looking for food or water
He is alone
I hold her tonight but keep my eyes open
Afraid of my dreams
The smell of burning flesh and napalm fills the air
My eyes must stay open
I must face reality
Prepare for the day tomorrow
Some say tomorrow will be a new day
But nothing is new after war
Just the sound of ammo in the night
And friendly fire
I remember when I arrived passing him
He was leaving Vietnam
On his way home
The words that came out of his mouth
Stayed with me
“The enemy is in the distance,
You will find them,
Watch your friends
They cannot be trusted
This is war”
Electricity
How could I describe
You to someone
I could say you
Look like Julia Roberts
But you do not
Or you are sexy like Sharron Stone
But that falls short also
You are like electricity
A current running
Through veins
You can take darkness
Make it light
You can change light
Into darkness
You can take the cold
Give it warmth
Or on the warmest days
You can send chills
Down the spine
You have the ability
To recharge people
At their lowest times
Full force energy
From your soul
You can give a shock
Leaving those you
Meet trembling
Wondering what hit them
As they recover from your touch
You are electricity
The Closer at Saying Good-bye
I met her in Las Vegas
She was from
The West Indies
Her skin
Was like a shadow
Following her
Tan and smooth
Silk
She was
A dream I had
On a sleepless
Night
When my eyes
Blinked for
Far too long
Leaving me
In her arms
Magic
Of her charm
Was more than
I could comprehend
The closer we
Became
The closer we
Were at
Saying
Good-bye
Stranger
She was a stranger I saw
Out of the corner of my eye
She did not look like Lady Gaga
Or Marilyn Monroe
She was younger
With dark hair
And glasses
A photograph I could file away
In my mind
I did not realize
I must have been staring at her
As I tried to focus my eyes
On the curve of her lips
As she sat silently
Sipping upon a cola
But when I got up and left
And looked back
She blew me a kiss
A stranger I will never forget
Filed away forever
In my mind under
A kiss that slipped away from me
The Smell of Coal
I remember the kitchen
The smell of burning coal
It was the only
warmth we had
It was a mining camp
Company school
Company store
Company blues
I remember the kitchen
The smell of coal dust in the air
Coughing
and choking
Trying to breathe
But the company
owned the air
Each breath made
a mark on the lungs
Of a miner trying to survive
I remember a hospital room
A coal miner fighting
for his last breath
A breathing machine silent
The lungs could take no more
Black lung heartache
took my father
I remember the smell of death
in the room
The smell of coal
The Oak Tree
I walked by the oak tree today
Thought about
All the conversations we had
Sitting under it
How it shaded us from the sun
And the world
It was our place
Where words flowed like wine
And the silent times
Were real
When words were not necessary
Just you and me
Under the oak tree
Today I missed you
As I sat beneath the oak tree
The silence took me back
And somewhere in my mind
I smiled
Thinking about you and me
Under the oak tree
She Needed
She needed an ocean
I gave her a river
That flowed passed her
Leaving her dry and alone
She needed a mountain
I gave her a hillside
With a tree
And an empty swing
Swaying in the wind
She needed tomorrow
But all I had was today
And the ticking of a clock
That said time was passing by
She needed the sunshine
But I lived in the shadows
Darkness was my friend
As I heard the closing of a door
Wyoming Miners
When someone asks us
Where we are from
We smile and say
We're from under Wyoming
The land of our fathers
And their fathers too
It's in our blood
The earth within us
We're not happy in the sunshine
We spend our days
And nights in tunnels
Where darkness is our friend
The gophers and prairie dogs
Live above us
In tunnels of their own
Sometimes they don't understand
The sounds down below
In the winter when they sleep
They dream of metal monsters
Digging in the earth below
When spring comes
Sometimes they are awakened early
By the sound of fireworks
Before the fourth of July
We work the earth
Like a farmer works the surface
Following the steps
Our fathers took
They walk in our shadows
Protecting us from the sun