Monday Sound Bites 5-18-2026 (+1)

Lost Indemnity

 

Death

closes the door

Life

can no longer hold open

Nothing

left to walk through

Ahead

— or behind

 

***

 

“United We Stand”

 

Liberty

holds the promise

As freedom

drives it home

Two words combine

what each defines

But weaker

— said alone

 

***

 

A Coming Dawn

 

The virgin beauty

of anticipation

Unspoiled in the wonder

— of what’s yet to become

 

***

 

Stay Away

 

Never enter an arena

where life is valued cheaply

The cost too extreme

— to win is to lose

 

***

 

Building Blocks

 

The lower you go

on the knowledge scale

— the more important it is

 

***

 

Perpetually Apropos

 

The best time for peace

— its moment is now

 

***

 

Straight Emes

 

Truth rises

through every denial

Reforming the doubt

— rebirthing the child

 

***

 

Lip Service

 

A great man is murdered

and we pass a

congressional resolution

Too little too late

to escape the mire of pandering

— failure and loss

 

***

 

First Things First

 

To do it right

 — someone must do it wrong

 

***

 

Tag — You’re Out

 

Playing hide and seek

with my shadow

I stepped into

the light

Playing hide and seek

with myself

I succumbed

— to the dark

 

(Dreamsleep: May, 2026)

 

 

E.J. Hudak (Poems 13-25)

 

Tracks

 

I am lost

because I placed my feet

in the beaten muddy steps

leading me deeper

ever deeper

into the woods

 

I am lost

because in the forest

the imprints of my

predecessor

melted & were meaningless

 

lured

with silver breadcrumbs

I have gone far

too far

to return

to truth

 

 

The Stones Of Cedar Hill

 

I love cemeteries

When I was a child, I played in one

Because we did not have a park.

The stones of Cedar Hill became my primers

Of God, and history and art.

When I was seventeen,

Monica and I went all the way

To eternity
Behind the weathered stone of

General ‘Biff’ Harris, (retired);

We warmed the General’s cold, damp bones

That night

And there was Mary,

Who said it was a sin of desecration

To love on hallowed ground

But it was May,

The earth was warm,

And Mary was gold and fragrant

Like the afternoon.

When evening fell,

Mary loved Cedar Hill

and I loved Mary.

 

Then I wed,

And took my child

To play among the dead

Because we did not have a park,

And how we loved to run free,

Learning as I did,

About life through death.

Once he asked,

“Daddy, will they ever return?”

And wanting his belief in God,

I said, “I think so, son.”

He smiled satisfied and said, “Good!”

And off he ran with Mister Woof.

The wind arose chilling me

As I watched them go,

And I fancied hearing many voices

Wailing by in chorus,

No No No No No No No No No Nooooooo!

We have been betrayed ... betrayed ... betrayed ...

Was it Cedar Hill’s reply to my son,

Or was it only the wind?

I’ll never know.

 

We don’t visit cemeteries anymore:

There is too much truth in those mounds and stones.

Now we have a park

Where children laugh and play,

And couples walk, holding hands,

And old men with silver hair

Sleep and play cards,

With fountains splashing,

And men in white sell ice cream

And gayly colored balloons,

But parks are somewhat wanting,

And when winds whisp by on breezy days

I think of truth as still

Reposing always with my son,

Among the stones of Cedar Hill.

 

 

Second Street Socrates

 

Pop Billings had no legs,

But it caused him no concern

For people bought his papers

Finding wisdom they could learn.

 

A pause would get you news and views,

City Hall, a railroad strike,

Bets, Jets, Mets, the lottery,

And happenings in town at night.

 

Pop Billings had no legs

— just a smile, a mind, and time,

Which kept his corner busy

Changing lives for only a dime

 

E.J. Hudak ca. 1969