ALAN BERGER - POEMS

Alan Berger has a few films on Netflix etc that he wrote and directed.
He lives in West Hollywood with the memories of four fine Siamese cats.​

OLD
​

I like being 
Home alone with my teeth out
It’s your problem 
If I resemble a pre-historic trout
You can unlike me
Always get out 

I like looking back    
And see what I have done
I like calling someone sometime
Young Lady or my son

I listen to these old songs
That you think are crap
I, on the other hand, even like rap    

I have not home-owners insurance
I am a renter 
I meet women
At the senior center
My car is a bus
My health is a bust  

My coffee mate is Coffee Mate
The packs with the nice strips
I use to have coffee with my cat
But he jumped ship  

It isn’t such a question of getting out there
I guess we all could use some fresh air
But life is so un-fair
I think I’ll stay in here  

I have dodged many life hatchets 
Keeping my head from the baskets
Still I could hang myself up
Like I would a pair of pants
I don’t think anyone would be interested
In the circumstance 
Keep your eyes on my feet
And spy my last dance  

Then again  

This leads to this and this leads to that
I think all I need 
Is a gimmie shelter cat.

​

DECISIONS DECISIONS
​

I can’t decide to get it over with 
I can’t decide to get it under with
Either way, my brain is a shiv non-stop
What winds up on the floor
Starts at the top
I can’t decide between a gun or a mop  

Decisions Decisions

Does it make a difference which way I turn?
It certainly won’t change the dim glow of my inner lantern  
If it’s all already written, can I still editorialize on my own?
I have a few thoughts out on a short-term loan  
My,” I surrender flag”, is being proudly flown

There is nothing wrong with a few bumps in the road
When you drop a few things to lighten your load

Decisions Decisions  

Who do I listen to?
And who do I don’t?
My own voice is sometimes water-logged 
Right now, it won’t float  

Decisions Incisions

Sometimes I get on my knees
Lay my head on the bed
It is where I go to ask for things
That I could get for myself instead
But now and then we all need a hand
Even if the prescription is written in the sand  

Decisions Decisions

While we drag our burdens
Aloud the grievances we voice
The best decisions we make
Are the ones where we have no choice


​

PEOPLE PERSON

I’m a people person 
Till you close the curtain
I’ll be there for you for sure
Till I close the door
Out there I’m brave
In my room I’m afraid
It’s not me it’s you
Look what you made me do  

I’m ok when someone is looking
When I’m not being watched
Nothing is cooking 

You think I don’t know?
I don’t go with the flow
Trust me, I know
Outside I make the grade
Inside I’m a slave    
But
With you all is possible
Without you mission impossible   
But you will not be here for long
When you realize the meaning of my song  

I’m a friend till the end
Till we reach the next bend  
And
Why should I listen to your advice?
Read from your pages?
Look at you
No love for ages

So

Don’t tell me how you are different from me
You only show me what you want me to see
I’ll gladly admit I am weak
It’s your risk if you want to take a peek   
My mountains are flat
And my roof is deep  

You think you’re better than me?
I’ll be the first and last to agree

But
I’m a real nice guy
Till I turn away when you cry
I don’t think for a minute
All I do is spin it  
I love the world and its glory 
But I’m not part of its story   

A history of my suicidal thoughts run deep

Heading
Towards a future of a good nights’ sleep 

Here comes that rainy  day feeling again 
Keep it coming and I’ll say when

How did I get so ruined and corrupt?
Like everyone else
The baby steps add up
See you at the till 
One day
Maybe you and I could share the bill   

But
I think I like your style
I’m just not sure
If you’re the symptom or the cure

Leadership or fellowship 
Neither one has been my trip

I’m a really nice man
As long as you stay off my land




​

LIKE FLYING

A mean drunk some of the time 
A body and mind of loveliness most of the time
 Her love will never be mine

We all have our addictions
All are sublime
Some we kick
Most we can’t lick  
Which is fine
She is mine

A beautiful person
With a heart hot as ice
Someone you would not want to mess with
Someone who does not think twice



The merit can wait 
Until the right situation   
Her
Love and hate 
Come from the same plate

Yet 
Time with her is like flying
Everything else is fast standing still 
The pleasure and excitement
Of losing your will



You think you know someone, and you don’t
You think someone loves you, and they won’t
And even through
They are too good at being coy 
While what is behind it is underemployed 


Being with her is like flying 
Everything else is grinding

A waterfall and a cloud of beauty
Tunes my moral compass
To its call of duty
But it does not remain long
Until another fresh tune comes along  

Then there is this girl
Who is and isn’t 
You never know 
Her exact existence 

Any contemporary woman
Knows vanity when she sees it
How far can you go with the racket they call,” Believe in it” ?  

Yet
There is the way that she cares
And the way she never will
I can stare at her forever and a day
As she goes out without me to play

I’m going to lay down for a little bit
And everything will be ok
When I pick it up again, something will come my way

Man am I ever down
Different territory but the same old story 

Man am I beat
Different address on the same one-way street 

Man am I dead
No I’m not
I’ll begin again
You just wait till get my second wind  

On my way
To return what I bought
Until I think
Of another afterthought 

A lovely peachy person
All of the time
As long as the locations
Are only in my mind

   TRAGEDY 
​

                                                               There is tragedy happening  somewhere
                                                                            It is closer than you think
                                                                            There is a storm coming at you 
                                                                             Everything including the kitchen sink
                                                                             It’s moving at the speed of death
                                                                             Make sure you duck and do not  blink
               
                                                                            There is a firefight on your front lawn
                                                                             Right under your very nose
                                                                             Wait a few years until your next yawn
                                                     This one will not be quenched with your garden hose

                                                                             There is a disaster looking at your neck
                                                                              Void of respect
                                                                              Creeping up without a sound
                                                                              It has you in its crosshairs
                                                                              Run do not turn around
     
                                                                              You are being shoved by the land of fate
                                                                              Holding it back forever
                                                                              Still will be too late   

                                                                          There is a sun and moon that will not show  
                                                                              Jimmy’s mojo has even lost its glow  
                                                                              Singing and drinking solo
                                                                                

                                                                                 Call up that insurance salesman
                                                       Regarding that policy that cost you all that dough
                                                                                  He ain’t going to pay it out
                                                                                  He will not pick up the phone

                                                                                  Me? I am under the bed
                                                                                  My arms and back are smoldering
                                                                                  Looking for my old comic books
                                                                        To ease the burden I have been shouldering  

                                                                                  This time it is a world news disease 
                                                                                   That has me and my earth 
                                                                                    Brought to its knees 

                                                                                    We are landing in a crevasse 
                                                                                    Courtesy of our own device  
                                                                                    This is not a guesswork
                                                                                    Don’t think twice 
                                                                                     Cause it ain’t alright
                                                                                      
 

​EX FILES
​

                                                                                 I got a cat that’s dead
                                                                                 I got a girlfriend instead
                                                                                 Now I got a lumpier bed 
 
                                                                                 An abundant woman
                                                                                 Short of brains and bread
 
                                                                                She had a song inside her
                                                                                No one could play 
                                                                                She had a dragon inside her                         
                                                                                No one could slay
                                                                                If the games you played with her             
                                                                                Did not not go her way   
                                                                                She would pick up her marbles 
                                                                                And call it a day   
 
                                                                                The bills she sent me I would gladly pay
                                                                                After the tearful thanks
                                                                                I still could not get her to stay
                                                                 Sometimes you’re happy just to get what you can
                                                                 As I realized with her you’re in a foreign land  
                                                                                Bereft of a passport
                                                                                In either hand
                                                                                                                            
 
                                                                                She thinks she’s a fox  
 
 
                                                                                Instead of the toilet
                                                                                She uses a litter box
         
                                                                                 When she gets sick
                                                                                 I take her to the Vet  
                                                                                 Every other day
                                                                                 She throws away her cigarettes
 
                                                                                  I appreciate the effort
                                                                                  That she tries to replace my pet 
                                                                                   Her being a human
                                                                                   Is my only regret
 
                                                                                   I already know
                                                                                   I never go with the flow   
                                                                                   A drastic situation with nowhere to go 
 
                                                                                   In my head town
                                                                                   All roads lead down  
 
                                                                                   All my aims
                                                                                   Turn into reservations 
                                                                                   All the motions That I file
                                                                  Become hesitations at the bottom of the pile      
                                                                                     
 
                                                                                    Standing on the corner
                                                                                    Ringing a bell
                                                                  The gutters and the sewers know me too well
                                                                                    Ringing that bell till end of my time
                                                                                    My love and charm turn on a dime
                        
                                                                                    Did you know I never reap what I sew?
                                                                                    I thought so      
 
                                                                                    Letting it out
                                                                                    When receiving the word
                                                                                    Sounds like the confessions
                                                                                    Of a Cuckoo bird
                                                                                    Steady as a weathervane 
                                                                                    Forthright and uptight
                                                                                    In the wind and rain
 
                                                                                     It was a dark and stormy night  
                                                                                     Letting it known
                                                                                     Wherever I am blown
                                                                                     I inhabit a dead zone    
 
                                                                                      Have you ever had
                                                                                      An original thought?
                                                                                      Maybe a bright idea
                                                                                 And I mean something anything well lit 
                                                                                      And if so
                                                                                      What did ye do with it?
  
 
                                                                                          Been in a million hard fistfights
                                                                                          All of them in my soft head
                                                                                          Not a lover nor a fighter
                                                                                          That’s what she said
                                                                                       
                                                                                      May take on an imaginary friend                                                                                                   
                                                                                      One that would surely make me sing 
                                                                                          But the memory of the past
                                                                            Is usually better than the present real thing 
 
                                                                                          But then again and again
                                                                                           Here is the thing
                                                                                          Who ever knows?
                                                                                          What the future  may bring
                                                                                           
                                                                                      So stay far way, close, loose, and tight
                                                                                          Anything is possible  
                                                                                          Anything can take flight 
 
                                                                                          Rock with the punches
                                                                                          Roll with the knocks 
                                                                                   Where the fuck, did I put that litter box?

​TO LEAVE OR NOT TO LEAVE

                                                                   I did not want to go there
                                                                   I do not enjoy going places     
                                                                   This is one dumb party here   
                                                                    Filled to the brim with stupid faces  
                                                                    It is safe and warm outside   
                                                                    I am looking forward to exit
                                                                    Who the Hell would want to stay here?
                                                                    Would you not agree with that statement?
 
                                                                    Why could I not stay where I was
                                                                    Where I could encounter no harm
                                                                    Why did I have to take this train?
                                                                     To this animal farm
 
                                                                     To leave or not to leave  
                                                                     This round false alarm   
 
                                                                     The hosts of this party
                                                                     Made such an awful mess
                                                                     The whole joint needs a cleaning crew
                                                                     The whole arena needs a rest
                                                                      It all has gone to far
                                                         
                                                                     To leave or not to leave
                                                                      Wish upon a star 
                                                                      To leave or not to leave
                                                                      The keys are in the car 
   
                                                                       Standing on the corners
                                                                       Looking
                                                                       Hands in my pockets  
                                                                       Crossing all the borders 
                                                                       As my eyes fall from their sockets    
 
                                                                       To leave or not to leave
                                                                       Why should I wait?
                                                                       All I ever had and all I ever will have
                                                                       Are waiting for me at the gate
                                                                          
                                                                        I don’t want another round
                                                                        I have had enough
                                                                        Would you see what is surrounding you
                                                                        Well?
                                                                        You could not make up this stuff
 
                                                                        To leave or not to leave
                                                                        This get together is getting rough
 
                                                                        One big giant playground
                                                                        Where we slip and slide 
                                                                        A slow rollercoaster
                                                                        Is the only place to hide  
                                                        Fear and boredom and loneliness are the only things
                                                                        That I can not abide
 
                                                                         To leave or not to leave
                                                                         The window is open wide
                                                                         
                                                                          To leave or not to leave 
                                                                          Got anymore questions?
                                                                          To believe or not to believe
                                                                          I am thru with my investigations
                                                                          Here comes my resurrection