I see you stand and gaze around the room
Looking for Mr. Who Knows Who
I wonder when you stare who is it you see
and have you seen me...

the one over in the corner
the one always out of sight
the one that's barely mentioned
the one hardly given the time

You walk along the ocean, enjoying the surf and sand
The shells are secondary as you search for the perfect man
I wonder as you walk by the sea
have you seen me...

the one on the single blanket
the one who averts his eyes
the one that tastes the ocean
in the salty tears he cries

As you sit at your computer browsing through the dating sites
Filling out the questionnaire of your does and do not likes
Looking for that true companion on the newest dating scene
have you seen me...

the one that's also on the computer
the one that's anti-socialized
the one the goes unnoticed
even in his own eyes

have you seen me...

I fell headlong into a poem
And was immediately swept away
As words passed by on paddle boats
They pulled me in their wake

The sweet dew of sonnets glistened on shore
Lined with allegory trees
Dripping with fruit of poetic glaze
As a rhythmic breeze rustles through leaves

There was an ode of maidens in a field
Cultivating the finest of verses
With colors of yellows, pinks, blues, and reds
From amongst the rows of stanzas

The cool lapping of the waves
Brought the imagery to its peak
As the metaphoric stream I floated down
Opened up into a sea of dreams

I keep my heart
in a box
Lined in lead
triple locked

Can't be too careful
you know these days
With Kryptonite
and what girls say

My heart's been hurt
so many times
I had the lead
velvet lined

To give it somewhere
soft to lay
Until it feels
it feels okay

My heart you see
can indeed
Be the most
peculiar thing

Softened in
its tender parts
Hardened from
all the hurt

Hence the box
triple locked
Lined in lead
for this poor heart

I remember when it all went wrong
When the waitress said your order's up
Our fill of love wasn't quite enough
Inside heartbreak resturant

She had handed menus to the both of us
No pictures there and rather sparse
We both knew we both had come
To wine and dine on the best of love

While the cooks in back mentioned the fact
At the appetizers we started with
And that the hunger pangs were built to last
If that's all that we planed to have

As the night went on we more than fought
As the table turned on lessons learned but never taught
Order's up, all for naught
Inside heartbreak resturant

i built my heart
out of salvaged straw and paper
lit a match where the headlines read
it burned much hotter than expected

i then built my heart
using discarded sticks and stones
which in the long run broke my bones
and your words they still did hurt me

it is then I built my heart
out of hardened brick and mortar
windowless it is kept
a heart of brick as thick as this

when did
this start
cold wind
colder heart

i see my brother
lost on the street
i turn to another
more likely like me

when did
it turn dark
dry bones
callused heart

mother and child
with tears in their eyes
i turn my head
and quickly pass by

when did
compassion depart
long list
hard heart

no longer patient
with those that are blind
with purpose in life
i've also lost sight

a heart made of stone
never will know
the freedom love holds

never at rest
the living dead
where a heart is kept

tight in the grip
dark in the chest
thoughts in the head

it must soften up
a heart made of stone
if it's ever to know love

what is it that beats hard in your chest
why all the pebbles in your veins
is it any wonder that when you cry
you splash puddles of acid rain

what keeps you out, out on the fringe
why the desire for the alone
why the sudden finish before the end
because of your heart of stone

there is a chill that comes with your wind
ice hangs from off your eaves
closing the door to all life has to give
why can't the world just leave you be

the casket that holds the thoughts in your head
buried deep in the unknown
it's starting to rot, all that is left
because of your heart of stone

the line that was drawn long ago was broke
letting go the hold on you
all the faith that it takes, all of the hope
slaps down hard your attitude

shoving it tight into a box
that you've labeled with a darkened NO
all that you have, the entire lot
**because of your heart of stone

You treat your heart like skipping stones
Tossing it out on loves lake alone
Counting off one, two, three
Trying not to skip a beat

The problem in this you find
Yourself always on the shoreline
Instead of dipping your toes
In the lake of love you'll never know

It's hard to throw when you have
A handfull of broken hearts from the past
Where all you do is toss your stones
Standing on the life's shore alone

Heaven helps those that help themselves
All along the way
Heaven help those that help themselves
To other men's parades

While some do and others don't
Heed the good Lord's call
Daily this I pray
Heaven help us  all

The sun shines on the wicked
As well as on the saints
While both of them are guaranteed
To see their share of rain

Some count all the blessings
While others only see blessings lost
Which brings to mind this thought
Heaven help us all

You either are or you aren't
A follower of Christ
Either you do or you don't
Know you've already chosen sides

In all of your decisions
You need to count the cost
This goes for the saints as well as the lost
Heaven help us all

Allow me my love to lift you up
Through the best and worst of times
With mountains beyond these foothills
Arm in arm we both will climb

Don't mind the daily pressures
That tend to come from every side
Or the weight of the situation
As you are heavy on my mind

At the turn of every tunnel
Though dim there is a light
Helps in keeping focused
In never losing sight

If you can count on anything
It's the true love of my might
No matter the weight of the rainy days
You are heavy on my mind

Life can be counted off in seconds
In its maddening rush of time
If along the way there are no lessons
Consider it a crime

Don't make light of the situation
Or of the chains that bind
You are the mix inside of the making
As you are heavy on my mind

Tis the season for heavy rains
From those left behind, unwrapping the time
Loved ones here on earth remained
Now all they can find is reason to cry

With the opening up of loneliness
No matter how bright the bow, just can't let it go
Far from the perfect gift
This house once a home, now more like a tomb

Tis the season for heavy rains
Welling up inside, no way to stem the tide
It's hard to wrap around the heartache
Under this tree of pine's ornaments and lights

As the season comes and goes
Amid growing fears of the coming year
Where loneliness will again find you alone
In these heavy rains of tears

You died long ago to the bottle
The day you slipped and fell into the glass
Face first into a life of whiskey
Until there wasn't anything left

You lost all your friends and acquaintances
Forsook those that loved you the most
You came to the table with the only hand you were able
Raising it high in a toast

Here's to the one who understands me
The only one who still hangs around
Love the way she kisses me, dear whiskey
I'll turn her up before I'll turn her down

Forever we will always be together
Nothing will ever pull us apart
This is how it's meant to be, dear whiskey
This will always be the way that we are

But before too long even she's going to leave you
Bid you adieu to her crown
I wonder if your last thought alone was one of being home
Instead of now 6 feet in the ground

******* on a hunk of helium
Every time I'm up to speak
So, every word that comes out my mouth
Is nothing but a high-pitched scream

Morning, night, and noon
I carry an array of colorful floating ballons
To help me breath as deep as I need
When talking to the likes of you

Bringing me to a higher frequency
Of what doesn't make much sense to me
Helium filled bounds and leaps
Dealing with those with special needs

******* gobs and gobs of helium
Like it's going out of style
Laughing my way through the end of days
In and out of oblivious crowds

How did I get to this point where I live
With a voice that is this high pitched
Why, by adding helium
Into my daily mix,
of insanity the likes of this

The misery of the lost inside
For eternity to spend this life
In a state of pain to never die
Forevermore the lake of fire

The memory of what was said
When told of Christ, given the chance
From this time on to remember it
To always have this last regret

The mourning is continuous
Never have to ever rest
Pray as hard as you like for death
But misery, memory, and mourning
are all in death that you have left

hello...
before you let go
of the grip that you have
on the end of the rope
take what is left
of the minute you own
giving it back
in a penitence of love

hello...
before you lose hope
catch a shooting star
in its after glow
open your heart
and let it all flow
bring a thought to fruition
then let it grow

hello...
before i go
just a few things
i thought you should know
there's as many rights
as there are wrongs
mixed with the highs
as well as the lows

Hello, Mr. Misery
Not happy with anything
Once had a song he no longer sings
As life has lost all of its meaning

Hello, Mrs. Waves Goodbye
That's all she ever seems to do in life
Questions the meaning as she wonders why
She only gets the chance to say goodbye

Hello, Mr. Know-It-All
Do you actually think your're better off
Going through this life alone and all
Thinking you're the only one to make the call

Hello, Mrs. Like The Wind
Blowing back and forth then back again
Never knowing where you're going to land
With no idea if you even can

Hello, Mr. I Don't Care
About anything that goes on out there
Don't dare to go anywhere
Best to just sit around and stare

Hello, Mrs. I Give Up
With all of it has clearly had enough
All she can say is no thank you very much
Wish the rest of you all the luck

is there any difference
when seen from a distance
of a waves persistence
of hello and goodbye

if love was the matter
the wave might know better
between the sadness and laughter
of hello and goodbye

is there something missing
off in that distance
some meaning hidden
of hello and goodbye

another agenda
that waving will send ya
once you catch the wind of
hello and goodbye

there comes a time
between hellos and goodbyes
where we make the best of friends

at the start of hello
there's no way to know
when we will say hello again

still we play along
in the comings and goings
most of the time hedging our bets

because we never know
the direction the flow
or how swift the current might get

as we're swimming through life
in the low and high tides
above it all trying to keep our heads

sometimes we find
the time to say goodbye
with what little time there is left

hard to believe
they're about to leave
while hoping all words have been said

there comes a time
between hellos and goodbyes
where we also lose the best of friends

I met a man
He called me friend
Does he not understand
That I am downtrodden

It doesn't seem to matter
One way or the other
When it comes to love, sir
Aren't we all brothers

Although my circumstance
Has me where I'm at
Here are the simple facts
In the depth of what he said

The way to look at life
Is through God's loving eyes
That is where we'll find
We have no right to criticize

After all aren't we all the same
Flesh and bone, blood and brains
Using the last, little as of late
If we did, then we'd all say

Hello friend,
I hope you understand
That love both does and can
Turnabout the heart of man
And then in turn, change the world we're in

hello goodbye to me now
ever since she found out

that it's all been one big scam
hello goodbye to who i am

not sure when or even how
all of this went due south

i'm about to give it up
as i'm passed the poison cup

drinking of it willingly
only enough is here for me

to partake your not allowed
hello goodbye to me now

In the grand scheme of things
It's sometimes hard to believe
With all that's going on
That there are two of me

So I set down and wrote this poem
To the other me that I know
That when all is said and done
We both can get along

Hello other me...

I wish that you could see
Everything it is you want
Isn't everything you need
And that society
Doesn't owe you anything
Nor is there a guarantee

Hello other me...

I wish that you believed
Everything that I believed
How easy would that be
And when it comes to doubt
I wish it wasn't me
Maybe then we'd find out
Eye to eye we both can see

Hello other me...

With all that being said
It's time to move along
My hope for the day is that
There will be more rights than wrongs

And that the other me
Will let it be known
That he and I are a team
In the way we get along

Hello Poetry,
It's me I'm here                                                             ­                                                                 ­                    
Apparently someone should have locked the door
Then my likes would not have snuck inside
Were you not told?
Were you not warned?

I'll try to make our time together
As painless as painless can be
But if you develop a twitch, the slightest of tics
Don't blame me
Blame the keeper of the key...

Mike Hauser
Mar 2, 2013

Hello Poetry,
It's me, I'm here                                                        ­                                                                ­ ­                    
Apparently someone should have locked the door
Then my likes would not have snuck inside
Were you not told?
Were you not warned?

I'll try to make our time together
As painless as painless can be
But if you develop a twitch, the slightest of tics
Don't blame me
Blame the keeper of the key...

I just bought Montana
After I wheeled and dealed with Ted  
He's soon to move his buffalo
To Idaho instead

I'm heading for adventure
Wherever that is at
If you've yet to figure all this out
I'll now be herding cats

I've rounded up quite a bunch
Collected coast to coast
Who's to say I'm out to lunch
When it comes to top 500 clubs

There might be a dip in the economy
Which will affect a lot of moods
With the closing of Chinese restaurants
As they all run low on food

It's crazy to think this grand idea
Popped up out of the blue
With the few brain cells, I have left
What else could a genius like me do

Now with plenty of acreage
As Montana is massive in size
They'll have room to roam on this range they call home
To live out their 9 lives

Not sure yet how I'll draw a profit
I haven't thought that far ahead
May open back up the restaurants
Called Mikes Takee Outee Montana Bred instead

We'll have to see how it goes, as the herd grows
This side of The Badlands
Underneath The Big Sky, my Felines and I
In my quest at herding cats

how did i ever end up here
deep in the south of mainly nowhere
if i could find something in which i cared
then i might actually be somewhere

how did i ever get this far
in this adventure of never quite sure
sinking boat, plummeting plane, or crashing car
in my trip to the southern most tip of no further  

how do i get there from here
if the ways and the means is never that clear
i've been on this journey far too many years
to have to wonder how i ended up here

here is where it starts
here is where it ends
here's to new beginnings
here's to passing friends
here's to childhood memories
all the best of them
here's to heartfelt promises
may they never come undone
here's to what we give away
that which we weren't meant to save
here's to what we don't have now
but hold out for another day
here's to all the advice
we chose not to give
here's to the ear that's meant to lend
in the art of listening
here's to the days that gently glide
as in a well-oiled machine
here's to the love that never dies
here's to you and me
here's to the times of happiness
may they always stick around
here's to the bouts of sadness
that make happiness that much more profound
here's to the here and now
set, died, and cast
all that we are allowed
may these days forever last

here...
is all that is left

here...
is where it is at

here...
is between you and me

here...
is where we are free

here...
is the beginning of time

here...
is the end of the line

here...
is the answer to all

here...
is where we've been called

here...
is the hope we hold to

here...
is the brand in the new

here...
is where you've been lately

here...
is where you will make it

here...
there are no excuses

here...
no one is clueless

here...
is where we're meant to be

here...
is the place of that need

here...
is where they all say

here...
is where it's given away

here...
is where it begins

here...
is where it all ends

this poem will be here for just a moment
soon to be dust in the wind
in the shortest of time it will eventually find
it's way to the bottom of the bin

it might bring a touch of joy or sadness
but that depends on you
and at the time you read it
the frame of mind your mood

it won't take you to the mountain top
soaring to the very heights
or move you to the depths of despair
where it keeps you up at night

it won't bring peace to the nations
or have us holding hands
it won't repair any of the damage
that's been done over the course of time by man

it won't open any minds
or close doors on the best forgotten
in the least amount of time
it'll come and go from every noggin

chances are it won't be remembered
five minutes after it's gone
and without a tune to carry it
it may not even last that long

this poem will be here for just a moment
soon to be dust in the wind
in the shortest of time it will eventually find
it's way to the bottom of the bin

it might bring a touch of joy or sadness
but that depends on you
and at the time you read it
the frame of mind your mood

it won't take you to the mountain top
soaring to the very heights
or take you to the depths of despair
where it keeps you up at night

it won't bring peace to all the nations
it won't have us holding hands
it won't repair any of the damage
that's been done over the course of time by man

it won't open any minds
or close doors on the best forgotten
in the least amount of time
it'll come and go from every noggin

chances are it won't be remembered
five minutes after it's gone
and without a tune to carry it
it may not even last that long

Can we try for this moment
To let our thoughts run wild
Peel back the many layers
Take that which we have found

Free ourselves from the circumstance
Of life making demands
Get back that which we've not seen since
We let go the guiding hand

Don't focus on the failures
Which offers little hope
Set aside the part of life
That leaves no room for growth

What's past is past, we can't go back
Plow full steam ahead
And all act to accept that fact
With the little time that we have left

Make the best of our situation
With every judgement being sound
Peel back the many layers
Take that which we have found

And put it all to good use
Helping our fellow humans out
Standing true to what we need to,
help us survive the here and now

We never know quite honestly
What the future for us brings
From one minute to the next
In the grand scheme of things

Bloom with what you have, where you're set
In life's up's and down's
Enjoy the time you have left
In the here and now

When I looked last the past is past
No matter the depth you can't bring it back
Move beyond all of that mess
To the point where you're now at

We tend to keep our hands
Fumbling in the lost and found
When we should be more in command
Of the here and now

We dream of better tomorrows
That for us may not arrive
Yet we're never promised a minute borrowed
In our hourglass of time

So, enjoy this day, every grain of sand
That you are allowed
In this life while you still can
With the here and now

I've got an idea
Let's do ourselves in
With the spreading of lies
Dealing in sin

We'll continue this way
Till there's nothing left
Right up to the day
Of our untimely death

If truth be known
When left on our own
We don't know well enough
To leave things alone

We feed on desires
Of selfishness
Heathens and liars
A general mess

Think that we know
Better by far
Than God on His throne
Who holds all the cards

So, what do you say
In the way we act, as of late
Should we do ourselves in
And give our souls away

How will you ever dance
If you first don't take the chance
Or raise your head
Above your circumstance
Let go of the knotted rope
That continually holds you back
If you don't take the chance
How will you ever learn to dance

If you never spread your wings
How will you ever fly
If you seldom try
On this side of life
In time we're remembered by
All our words and deeds
How will you ever learn to fly
If you first don't spread your wings

How will this life ever count
If you don't show your true self
Remove all of the doubt
On what deep down can be found
Go beyond the boundaries of
What you've let your fear allow
Show off your true self
For this life to count

When we were young we raised our cup
Here's to innocence
We knew enough to rely on love
But that's as far as our knowledge went

Tender and green by all means
Was anyone surpirsed
Feeling safe in our day to day
With our parents by our side

Then, oh lookie they're here the teenage years
Where we think we know it all
Not sure about that but our happiness
Were days spent at the mall

Back and forth soon enough runs its course
As it always does with time
Life gets tough for all of us
Losing our way when we close our eyes

Who would have known how fast it'd go
When adolescence took a stroll
With life once free, a party
Until it got out of control

Win or lose the battle still ensues
What was once a piece of cake
Where innocence once rode the fence
To fall off along the way

There are people over here
That don't like people over there
Though they've never met
Here, there, or anywhere

They're told the way they are
By people, they don't know
Which makes me rather sad
For the world as a whole

We sit inside a box
Our little happy hippie pad
Liking it or not
It's where they like us kept

You can drool on it for days
What's wrong with society
It's all in what you make
All up to you and me

Because the people over here
Are like the people over there
All we need do is meet
Here, there, or anywhere

To the right or left of me
Maybe somewhere in-between
Is where I tend to find myself
Or could that be somebody else

I nod my head with the up and down
To the twist of it in the twirl of round
Doing my very best to keep
It all from spinning off of me

Sliding North and slipping South
Here and there and there about
Or am I still standing still
All of it against my will

Short and long, tall and small
More or less, less is more
Of this, I am almost sure
But don't ask me because I'm torn

Inside is where I find out
All my fingers are used to count
But only up to the number ten
Then I begin to count again

To the front and back of me
With chattering teeth and wobbly knees
I find that's where I stand my ground
In the here and there and there about

Here today, gone tomorrow
Too often comes as a surprise
From the joy to the sorrow
All can happen overnight

What you have that you hold onto
Often can slip out of hand
Be it old or be it brand new
Be it life or be it death

Here today, gone tomorrow
Where have you placed all your eggs
Do you beg, steal, or borrow
Where on earth have you made your bed

Are your possessions of any value
Do you treasure all you have
What would happen if they left you
Would you think there's nothing left

Here today, gone tomorrow
Would that mark the end of it
Does the thought leave you hollow
Or would you make the best of it

Pick yourself up by the boot straps
Do your best to carry on
You're not the first nor the last
When here today, gone tomorrow comes along