The Cardinal in my Yard

Tyler R. Martin

The cardinal in my yard won’t sing
He just stares.
He stares blankly at nothing while I stare
Blankly at him.
It’s cold in January in New York
And my grandfather’s grapevine
On which he sits is bare and branches
Shiver in the breeze.
Nothing moves in my backyard today
Aside from an infrequent neck twitch when
The cardinal hears something.
He stays very still but the bright red is
Nothing but a beacon in the dull brown
of the grape vine.
Good for getting laid, I suppose,
But a bad target nevertheless.
He puffs his feathers in the cold
And I watch him and
I think we’re both wondering the same thing,
That is:
When the predator finally comes down on you
Is that day worse than any other?
Simultaneously sicked by this thought
The cardinal flew away and I put my
Boots on to go to work.

New Chucks

Tyler R. Martin

I bought new Chucks a week ago
And now they’re dirty.
The white had sparkled and glimmered,
The black was stark, rich and deep,
The laces, pristine as fresh fell snow.
But now they’re dirty.
Now the white is grass stained green
And the laces dulled with dust
And stark black has surrendered
It’s rich deep dark to the elements.
A week ago I bought new Chucks,
And the world
Has made them dirty.

To Think of Sarah

Tyler R. Martin

Each time that song plays I think of Sarah,
And her red hair waving lovely in that way.
Every time the chorus rings I feel so alone,
Saying, “Sarah God I miss you,
Sarah, baby, please come on home,
Sarah, without you I’ll be alone.”

And each time the song ends, I feel so empty,
Until that solemn tune begins again;
I mourn the loss of my lover
And the loss, also, of a friend
For much like that sad song, I’ve played for so long,
Someone one help me, please, I’m at my end.
Saying, “Sarah God I’ll miss you,
Sarah, please come home,
It’s better here I promise
Than wherever you may roam
Sarah, without you I’ll be alone.”

There’s bound to be a reason for her leaving,
There’s bound to be an answer in her words,
The words she knew so true
And she felt she had to say
When she gasped out her last breath
As I held her hand to pray
Before her body became cold,
Saying, “Sarah, without you I’ll be alone.”

“If ever was there life,” she said,
“there also must be death,
I feel the weight upon me now,”
As she she struggled her last breath
And in her final agony, she smiled so sincere,
Saying, “my loves with you forever, babe,”
In her last moment here,
“But, never fail to wander, and
Don’t be in agony over me,
Don’t sit upon a throne so lonesome,
That I couldn’t bear to see.”
And in that final moment I gave my reply,
Saying, “Sarah, God I miss you so badly Right now, baby, I could cry,
Sarah, baby why’d you have to die?”

“Love and Anarchy”

Tyler R. Martin


We will be together when it all falls down,
When everything is trashed,
And all lies ashen in the past.
We will be together when the cities all have drown
Or some rational is found
To burn them to the ground.
We will be together when the government is gone
And all the politicians have been relieved
Of all presumptive efforts
Towards the spread of their disease.
We will be together when the nanny state is gone
And the final card is drawn
For a new order to awake
And embrace it’s gorgeous dawn.
We will be together
When the Congress hall has burned
And every well quaffed leader
Has been fired and been spurned.
So don’t yet fret, perhaps the time isn’t now,
But we will be together when it all falls down.

Hope you enjoyed the poem! If you did, my chapbook is available on Amazon for 1.99 and if you message me I’ll definitely send you a free one! I’d love to get some reviews on my work. I’m new to selfpublishing and trying to promote myself anyway I can! There is a link below

Check this out: Midnight Mourning by Tyler R. Martin https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0878SXJBM/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_t1_iU.MEbDX2GJ4V

“My Sweet Amor”

Tyler R. Martin

I feel love for all that I see,
My heart beats for all before me,
I’m the king of the Lions den now,
Love my pride forever, I vow.
I beg for you in me to trust,
If to survive you know you must
And if I’m to feel some joy once more
I’ll need you here, my sweet amor.

Hope you enjoyed the poem! If you did, my chapbook is available on Amazon for 1.99 and if you message me I’ll definitely send you a free one! I’d love to get some reviews on my work. I’m new to selfpublishing and trying to promote myself anyway I can! There is a link below

Check this out: Midnight Mourning by Tyler R. Martin https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0878SXJBM/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_t1_iU.MEbDX2GJ4V

“Storms Down South”

Tyler R. Martin

Well the sky’s gone ebony now,
The winds pick up when it’s dark,
They’re all from the north now,
With each gust as the limbs bow
And the trees are stripped of all their bark.

The hurricane comes from Atlanta,
Now the rains are here to stay.
Season of terror here in Georgia,
Now those storms will have their day.

All the stray cats seeking shelter,
Fishermen have hunkered down.
All winds are from the north now,
Every hunter wears a frown.
The rivers have become whirlpools,
We’re at the Apex, by the sound,
The sky’s gone ebony now
All the fish are set to drown.

Hope you enjoyed the poem! If you did, my chapbook is available on Amazon for 1.99 and if you message me I’ll definitely send you a free one! Id love to get some reviews on my work. I’m new to selfpublishing and trying to promote myself anyway I can! There is a link below

Check this out: Midnight Mourning by Tyler R. Martin https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0878SXJBM/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_awdb_t1_iU.MEbDX2GJ4V

“The Last Road”

Tyler R. Martin

This long road’s empty, eyes are heavy
But my hands they don’t shake anymore.
There’s a fleeting bliss with the background playing
The songs that all drivers adore;
With the tires in tune with the pavement
And both hum in sweet Harmony,
My Volks sings bass in background
Knowing my folks back home wait for me.
I blister this long road at 90,
My knuckles are white on the wheel
And I pray to the God in whom I don’t believe
That cops will know just how I feel
As the tires, engine, pavement and speakers
Create a chorus in the charm of a midnight trek,
Recounting a drive, I’ve made a dozen before,
But babe this time I’m not going back.

“won’t come back”

Tyler R. Martin

I’m so alone and it’s deadly cold
In upper state New York
Surrounded by my friends by side
But they’re as frail as chalk
They melt away in the rain
And frown as the storm comes down
And in dark and thunder times
They fail to come around
Dark and drear in the lonely nights
The skies are cold and black
Dark and drear as its always here
I’ll leave and won’t come back
Leave and won’t come back

“The Ballad of the Punk Rock Star”

Tyler R. Martin

In a dank dive bar
Sat an old punk rocker,
Said he was a star back when,
At old CBs he played off key
And pissed on the crowd
As they shouted in glee.

This is the ballad of the punk rock star,
Now just a dour old drunk in an old dive bar.
But with stories to tell of his days of glory,
All different versions of the same old story.

In a dank dive bar
He sits and slowly sips his whiskey
And sings along to the jukebox,
Belting out “anarchy in the U.K!”
As he coughs out his lungs
Saying, “the tunes of my day!”

And after a few it’s always the same:
“The songs of today are a total shame!
And a disgrace the singers way back when
I played old CBs with all my friends!”

In a dank dive bar
Sits the old punk rocker,
He sips at his whiskey and orders a beer,
Slamming them down till he’s too drunk to stand
And mumbles the lyrics
To songs he sang in his band.

In the dank dive bar
No one cared too much for
The punk rock star and his time in the sun,
Never paying much attention to any of his tales
Of blood and the piss
While the feedback it wailed.

Now the old punk rocker went home one night,
Loaded up a needle held it up to the light,
Said, “missed you old friend, been too many years.
Just one little prick and it’s away with my fears.”
And with one rubber band, his bicep he bound,
Waiting and waiting till a fresh vein he found
Then the punk rock star shot it on home
Took his final breath in his room all alone.

This is the ballad of the punk rock star,
Was just a dour old drunk in an old dive bar.
But his stories to tell of his days of glory,
Were just different versions of the same old story.