Poetry By William Kite from Glenwood, Iowa e-mail: wkite@hotmail.com   Sadly, William recently passed away. Another of our poets, Vic Fenton, has contributed a poetic tribute to the dear friend he made from this website.   A MAN WITHOUT A FLAG The painting was an old one That was plain to see To tell the truth it was the frame That at first mattered most to me  I thought perhaps I could use it So I laid my dollar down I took it home unaware Of the treasure I had found  It was a few days later When I had a little time I took a good look at the painting That the old frame did so enshrine  The subject was a soldier Clad in a tattered gray uniform The look of defeat etched upon his face A man so beaten, and forlorn  Around him the land lay in ruins Smoke rising into the sky A closer look into his face Revealed a tear, in the corner of one eye  His body bent, his shoulders slumped As he knelt down on one knee His left hand was touching something That in the painting one could not see  His right hand held a small scrap of cloth It was no more than a soiled rag Down in the one corner of the painting these words Self-Portrait by A Man Without A Flag      GENTLE IS THE NIGHT  Held in the arms of darkness Beneath a sky of dim star light My face kissed by the nocturnal breeze Gentle is the night  Free now from the cares of day I am once more at peace, and all is right The darkness whispers to me soft, and low Gentle is the night  Like a lover come on to me The shadows that touch me are a lovely sight They soothe my soul, and ease my mind Gentle is the night  In shades of the silvery moon light My fantasies all take flight Now once more within its safety Gentle is the night   WHEN AT LAST MASSES SPEAK So much is done by so few it seems At least most of the time that is true But great change comes now, and then When the masses demand their due  A few may hold on to power But all things reach their peak Oh, how fast the mighty fall When at last the masses speak  When the led no longer follow When their own dreams at last they seek History turns a new page When at last the masses speak  When the will of the many Rises to the will of just a few The books all get rewritten And history starts anew  When the sheep turn on the shepherd When they no longer remain mild and meek The Shepherd must run for his very life When at last the masses speak   THIS CASTLE The walls stand stark, gray, and tall Across the moat by drawbridge, awaits the mall Beyond it there the castle stands Built of stone by long dead hands  A monument to times long passed Times when things were built to last Times when from tower top, to dungeon deep This place its secrets so well did keep  A place where once great knights met with king They swore their oath to his realm, and reign They crossed their swords to signify A way of life they thought would never die  Through her courtyard her armies passed by The echo of their cadence rose up to the sky Young maidens cheered them, joyous, and loud The pride of a kingdom old, and proud  Down her great halls wide, and narrow passageways Still linger sings of her glory days Portraits of Ladies, and Lords now so long gone Yet here in her grandeur, their sprites live on  The armor of knights now long in their graves Scrolls that attest to their deeds, so selfless, and brave The writings of scribes so old, and profound That within them one hears hints of freedom's first sounds  Though the throne now sets empty, and bare One gets the feeling that the King is still there The mind sees images of things the eyes cannot view Of the wisdom, and honor that this place once knew  The times that we live in seem so far from this place Yet the present, and past are so interlaced Ideas born in this castle so long ago Have lead to the world that we've all come to know  Now it is just to many another tourist site But once it was the seat of great power, and might Many now pass by it, and never understand The part it has played in the history of man  To them it is just a building, made of mortar, and stone One more part of a past to them still unknown They'll never walk through it, for that would be such a hassle They'll never know story of this place, this Castle       IN THE LAIR OF THE DRAGON In the lair of the dragon There can be found many things Like the bones of once mighty knights From the times of many kings The garments of fair ladies That the beast brought into this den Their fate is as yet unknown Did they die in some beastly sort of sin Here to the shells of long hatched eggs Of dragons from the past And the eggs of dragons yet to come So their legacy will last Though many of their kind were slain Somehow the lair still survives As if to insure that for all time There will always be one dragon left alive They live now only in this dwelling They no longer fly the sky For man has gotten better at the art of killing And outside the lair they would surely die Some say that we should seek them out And put their kind to an end But I feel that before we do that We should atone for our own sins After all, can the dragon be blamed For being what it was made I think that there are far more things Of which we have reasons to be afraid I for one fear not the dragon I rejoice that the dragon still lives on For the dragon was here long before us And the dragon may yet still live long after we are gone In the lair of the dragon Time seems to stand still There should always be a dragon And I believe there always will   IN THE CASTLE OF THE KING In the castle of King As evening shadows fall The torches light the way Through each, and every hall The draw bridge has been raised The guards are at their post The Knights sit at the grand table They await the arrival of their host The Queen and her hand maidens Have retired for another night All is peaceful in the castle For in the Kingdom all is right The Throne now sets empty For the King holds no court this day He kneels in the Chapel Where he has gone to pray "Oh God, King of all Kings" "Ruler of Heaven, and all lands" "I am but your humble servant" "Here to follow your commands" "I have done as you have willed me" "I have done what I know is right" "I come to thank you, oh mighty God" " For the peace the Kingdom knows this night" "Please guide me in the days to come" "That I may not go astray" "For with you here beside me" "The peace that now we have may stay" Now the King stands and turns to leave He must now meet with his Knights He must tell them to be ever at the ready Yet pray they need not fight Being leader of a land Is sometimes so hard a thing Yet by the grace of God, this night There is peace in the castle of the King     DEATH CAME TO MY DOOR In the wee hours of the morning As I sat with pen in hand Writing of this thing called time And what part in it plays man There came a knock at my door I wondered who could this be No friend would come at this hour Still I knew I must go see As I reached the door I spoke loudly "Why have you come so late" A hollow voice answered back "I am the Reaper, and with you I have a date" A cold chill ran down my spine I shook there where I stood "I wish not to see you" said I But it did little good For right through the door came Death Just as if it was not there Now we stood face to face I could feel his cold, hard stare "There must be some mistake" I said "I still have much to do I have not time for dying I will not go with you" "I have not come to take you" The tall dark figure said to me "I have come to ask a favor I wish you to write of me, you see" "I have been misrepresented By so many, for so long Everyone sees me as such an evil thing But they are very wrong" "As a Poet you have spoken of me In the past with words so kind Who better to write my story Could I ever find" "Let us sit, and I will tell you Of how I came to be Of how the Master picked me To be the one to set all Mortals free" He talked until the light of dawn It was a story worth the tell By the time he rose to leave I found I knew Death, oh so well "When next we meet my Poet friend I shall come to set you free Until that time let others know They need have no fear of me" Like the mist of early morning He faded into the air In less than a heartbeat He was no longer there So now when others ask me Why Death is often in my poems I tell them of the night Death and I spent all alone I tell them the story That I heard in Death's own words Of how Death was made the Shepherd of all souls Of all of the Master's herds His charge is not to take us But to simply set our souls free Where our souls end up after that The Master alone decides, you see Death is but the end of our mortal life And the start of life anew What that life will be is the Master's call It is not up to Death, or you Now that I understand him I shall fear Death no more Nor will I try to put him off When next he comes to my door     WINTER COMES  The nights are growing longer One feels a weakening in the sun Shorter by hours now become the days Winter comes  The trees begin to shed their leaves As summer's song is almost sung There is now a chill within the air Winter comes  The snow will soon come floating down Gray skies will hide the sun The land will sleep in frozen silence Winter Comes  So it is with this thing called life For its' song too, will soon be done The darkness closes in on me Winter Comes   THE POET'S SONG The Poets' song is one of life Sung by one who knows That one day the song must end That one day the words will no longer flow A Poet sings in silence For the ink makes not a sound A Poet sings on paper For there his song is found The words are written carefully With tender loving care And to those who read between the lines The Poets' heart is laid bare The score is written with the full range of notes From the lowest to the highest high They are the memories of a lifetime As seen through the Poets' eye The Poets' song is a rhapsody That few have ever really heard For most hear not the music They simply read the words The Poets' song is his eternal soul It is all that he can give The Poets' prayer is that when he is gone The song may yet long live     LAST LOVE He stands now in silence by her grave On this cool autumn eve The tears pouring from his eyes Tell of how he grieves She rests now beside another Who came to her first in life This seems only right to most For long ago she was his wife To the sad man now standing there It will never be anything, but wrong For the love they shared late in life Came long after he was gone They both had lost their dear ones A husband, and a wife But somehow they found each other In the twilight years of life They shared a love the likes of which Few will ever know Now he is left here all alone His heart is broken so Their love was one When at the end of the day Their eyes spoke of it in words Their voices need not say One hand held in another Two hearts that beat as one As they sat side by side To watch the setting sun Though she lies beside another now And in time he will do the same Of the love they found together He will never be ashamed As he dries his eyes, and walks away He tries to act so brave But the thought of her here with another Will haunt him in his grave Age does not diminish one's capacity to love Nor does it lessen the pain Of the heart left behind When there is one it has memories of Of the loves one knows in life One truth we all must find None are ever as strong as the last love For that love is the tie that binds   I AM LOVE I am love, let me into your heart For I can bring to you All you have searched for from the start I am love, give yourself to me For I can give to you The greatest gift in life you see I am love, and I know your every wish Let me fill your life With a deep inner peace I am love, without me you are all alone You need me in your heart For I will be your own I am love, I was made just for you You need me to be complete For to you I will be true I am love, I can light the way Take me to your heart And there I shall forever stay I am love, I am for all time The truest thing in life You will ever find For the greatest joys of life To you I can bring I am love, and all I ask is please let me in For once inside your heart I shall remain onto the end   THE LOSS OF A FRIEND Of all the losses In my life there have been Few have hurt me more Than the loss of a friend A friend is not made A friend must be earned It happens when two Of each other do learn When something about each other They both find they share They find for one another They soon come to care Not all friendship lasts Some friendships die What seems to hurt most Is to never know why When the loss is to death There is no one to blame For any other reason though Is just seems such a shame     SHADOWS Shadows are the strangest things They have shape yet have no weight They can be seen at any hour, day or night Be it early, or be it late They grow, they shrink They turn both left, and right The only place they cannot live Is where there is no light They shade us from the summer sun They hide us in the night Shadows can be fearsome things Yet some are pretty sights You cannot touch a shadow Although it is really there When shadows move about They never stir the air When shadows fall they are never hurt For shadows feel no pain Nothing seems to bother them Not heat, nor cold, nor rain Shadows move in silence They never make a sound And when a shadow leaves a place No trace of it can be found. Shadows are neither good nor bad They simply are, you see Shadows are the strangest things Or so it seems to me   FEAR NOT THE NIGHT Fear not the night my child Let it hold you in its arms Let its darkness wrap around you To protect you from all harm Let the night winds blow about you Let them slip gently through your hair Give freely yourself unto them Let them release your every care Let the moonlight shine upon your face Let the stars twinkle in your eyes Let your soul find the eternal truth That only within the night does lie Cloaked in the veil of darkness You can open up your mind And see the world as it once was Back at the beginning of all time For within the darkness is recorded The very moment it all began So let the darkness tell you its story Let the night become your friend The nocturnal world awaits you It beckons you to come For in the darkness of the night There is safety from the blazing sun The harshness of the heat of day Will fade, and you shall find Peacefulness deep within your heart And tranquillity in your mind Fear not the night my child You've no need to have concern For all things came from within the night And in time, to the night they must return So let your trembling cease Let go of all your fright Hear my words my child For you need fear not the night     OUR OLD OAK TREE They're cutting down our old oak tree today The one in which we use to play The one we climbed up everyday The one in which we loved to stay The one we built our tree house in The one we shared with only a few other friends The one where we use to run, and hide When we did not want to go inside If that tree could talk what stories it could tell That it cannot, is perhaps just as well To most I know it was just a tree But it was so much more to you, and me Remember when you ran away from home You stayed up in that tree house three days But not all of that time was spent alone I brought you tea, and things to eat When our folks found out, our butts got beat Remember when that limb broke, you fell, and tore your dress I helped you clean yourself up, but you were still a mess I know your mom never did believe you and me That it was all the fault of that old oak tree Ahead of me I would let you climb But I would follow close behind How often over time have you thought about that For I know you knew what I was looking at It was up in that tree that we first kissed I am so glad that chance we did not miss I carved in it your name, and mine We thought it would last throughout all time They're cutting down our old oak tree today One more part of our past gone by the way To most it was just an old oak tree, nothing more But it was the whole world to a young boy, and the girl next door So long ago we both went our own way But they're cutting down our old oak tree today So I thought I would write, and tell you this truth I will never forget that old oak tree, or you   THE HERE, AND NOW The here, and now is where we are So speak to me not of yesterday For it is gone forevermore In the past it shall ever stay Speak not to me of days yet to come Of the if, the when, the how For you, and I, my old friend Live only in the here, and now Time has taught me much, old friend The one thing I know to be true The here, and now is the only time In which there is anything we can do What is yet to come Will unfold in its own time Of things in the past we should have done There is no use to pine We have both seen many a sunset And awoke to many a dawn We are now to where tomorrow One, or both of us may be gone That life has gone by so quickly I really don't know how The only thing for sure we really have Is what is in the here, and now Today, my old friend, I say to you Just what you mean to me For to wait just one more day Seems far too risky now, you see If there is anything you need to say Today is the time to find how For all old friends like you, and I Can be sure we have, is just the here, and now Already the list of those we knew Like the shadows of life grows long All too soon evening will turn into night Our time will have come, and gone We have both come to the point in life Where we have a weathered brow The point in life where all we have left Is just the here, and now     THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE This is the time of your life Do not waste it, for it soon will be gone That it will never come again Is a fact you can count on Live each day as if it is the last For one day it will surely be That the time will come when it will end Is a fact from which none are free Time unlike money, once spent There is no way to make more Time is now, and always will be A truly one way door There is no going back That is a thing that just cannot be We get one pass through this life So see all that you can see Do not look back too long For forward you must go There is so much more you need to do So much more you need to know Try to find some happiness Among Life's trials, and strife Remember always what time it is This is the time of your life   I SHALL WRITE NO MORE I shall write no more When I find no more to write When the thoughts of things I have seen No longer wake me in the night When no longer I see the parade of life The joy, the sorrow, the pain, the sin When no longer these things dwell in my heart Then I shall put down my pen I shall write no more When I no longer care When in my heart, my love for life I find no longer there I shall write no more When the words no longer come When the well one day runs dry The one from which they come I shall write no more When no more needs written down When no longer in this heart of mine The spark of life is found When no longer sweet flowers bloom After the summer rain When no longer the wind blows And makes the tree tops sing When no longer the wonders of this world That I rejoice in every day No longer find their way to me Will I from my writing stay When life no longer inhabits these hands When I walk on that other shore When I am no longer among the living Then I shall write no more     LOST IN YOUR BROWN EYES Even though I know That it's not really wise I find that I am letting myself Get lost in your brown eyes The warm glow that I see in them Is letting my thoughts stray I see in them words unspoken Words I long to hear you say If you were to speak them The chance is very small That I could resist them For I would not try at all My heart tells me you just may be Of all, the greatest prize That is why it is so easy for me To get lost in your brown eyes   IN MY DREAMS Last night in a dream I saw you Just the way I always do Your face, your eyes, your smile They haunt my mind the whole night through Even in the daylight I find no real escape You are always in my thoughts Much more it seems of late I have tried to forget you Or at least I tell myself I will But even with the passage of the years I find I love you still I remember how it felt Just knowing you were there The feel of you beside me The scent of your hair Why did you stop loving me What was it that I did wrong Why do I still love you so When you've been gone so long That you no longer want me Is clear, and yet it seems You are always in my heart And forever in my dreams     NO PLACE TO HIDE There are things you cannot run away from For they are in your heart, and they always will be No matter how hard you try to hide them They are there in your eyes, for all the world to see Running solves very little It's best to stay, and face them down For with every mile of running Their weight grows by the pound When you try to run away Just to save your pride You're not fooling anyone For there is no place to hide Life it seems has more than its share Of sorrow, pain, and tears The list is long of wrong done to us As well as wrongs we have done throughout the years We must learn to live with the wrongs done to us We must set them all aside We must accept the blame for our own wrong doing For there is no place to hide   DEEP WITHIN EACH HEART Deep within each heart There is a secret place That holds all the memories That once made that heart race Kept for an entire lifetime All those little things Like the lines to every song The heart ever learned to sing Every joy, and every sorrow Every tear, and every pain Every love ever known All those that were in vain All that has ever happened Right from the very start Is still with us onto the end Deep within each heart     THE NEW, THE OLD Some new things are so shiny And they work so very fine Some old things though, have a charm That comes from another time New things give us the advantage Of the latest state of the art But old things come from a time In which craftsmanship was still a part Not all that is new is better Not all that is old is bad When I am forced to give up some old things I find it often makes me feel so sad Some old things have served me long and well, you see I find I feel akin to them, for they are old just like me New may be much faster, and new may be less work Still, what did taking time and a little effort ever hurt In time the new will replace the old That is the way it has to be I wonder how long before someone new Comes along and replaces me   THIS CREATURE MAN While pondering the universe, I ask What purpose is there for man Does he exist just by accident Or his he part of a greater plan That man exists is obvious To what ends, is not quite so His purpose is if any For the Master alone to know Like his Master man creates Like his Master man destroys He possesses the ability to think A thing at times he does not employ He is capable of producing new life He is capable of taking life as well He sometimes travels the high road He at times takes the path to hell< He lives, he hates, he loves, he dies It is so hard to understand What really is the purpose Of this creature known has man       OLD LONESOME ONE I watch you, old lonesome one In the night sky as you make your run Soon you will be once more outward bound Once you have swung around the sun You light up the heavens so With your long tail of icy light To some you are a frightening thing But to me you are a wondrous sight To my world you are no stranger Yet I have not seen you before Once you head back out into the void I shall see you never more Only once in my lifetime Will you pass through my night sky For long before you come this way again I know I will surely die I am but a mortal man Time is short for me I wish I could go with you Out across the vast cosmic sea I would like to take that ride with you Out beyond the Moon and Mars I could keep you company, old lonesome one On your journey out among the stars Alas, I am but a man Earthbound I must stay While you are a mighty Comet I will be dust when again you pass this way I will tell those as yet unborn Of your beauty, and your awe Of how once up in the night sky The old lonesome one I saw I shall tell them to tell their children And have their children pass the word along For some of that generation may live to see your return If my calculations are not so very wrong Old lonesome one, old Comet I am so glad we have met I promise you, old lonesome one You I shall not forget  Other poems by William Kite: The Last Knight Summoned by the King     Top | Back to Collected Poems | Back to Main Page