The Perfect Car

Let me tell you how I found this awesome car

Not that I intended on getting a new car

I had recently sold my old and was content to walk

But I saw this car

                Or maybe she saw me

                Or maybe it was some magnetic force of fleshy machine to fleshy machine

Regardless, I was intrigued, I was turned on,

I couldn’t resist if I wanted, and I had no intention to resist

                I had to take a drive!

I stepped lightly on the gas and was immediately pinned to the seat

                My knuckles went white, my pupils grew wide

   The hairs stood on the back of my neck

It’s the drive of my life

                Like riding a thoroughbred unicorn on a summer eve

                I don’t want to let go of the wheel, or take my foot off the gas

                I could upshift endlessly through the gears

                I want this road to twist and turn its way through infinity

                         And if it doesn't, to find new roads to drive

Let me tell you about my amazing car

She’s the perfect combination of simple and complex

They swirl and merge together like a spellbinding ocean sunset

The style clean and smooth

                      The beauty’s in the design; mellifluous, natural, no need for blinging rims

The actions complex, sophisticated, unrefined

          She performs like an animal let out of the cage

                      The gears shift seamlessly, my senses stay stimulated

                      The response immediate, she hugs curves with witty precision

How amazed am I by that computer under the hood!

                A marvel of invention

                Rapid in analytical response, an intellectual machine like never before seen

And the power; let me tell you – breathtaking

                The power surpasses every desire of my heavy foot

                Each movement defined by purpose and grace

                The handling elegant, she reacts to the turns with passion and poise

“But, it’s just a car”, you say.  “A newer model will come along.”

                But this is no ordinary car

                                Not one found on any lot. Anywhere.

                She’s a custom, a classic, a one of kind in a market all her own

                                A hybrid uniquely designed to perfectly fit

                                An original that will only appreciate in value

                                       And how I appreciate her!

                I long to clutch the wheel

                To let the top down

                To turn the key

    To hear the engine purr

                To step on the gas and make her roar    

                To fly by every car on the road without looking back

Yes, I believe I've found the perfect car!

Reincarnation of Self

Day will come and the sun will rise

While the coals still smolder in his eyes

Left by the fire that burnt all last night

Fueled by thoughts just out of sight

From inside the pyre a warrior yearns

To free himself from the eternal burn

To break the shackles that holds him down

And emerge a man on solid ground

His thoughts are whispers trapped inside

While he awaits the perfect wave to ride

A wave that will land him on the sand

Where he will unmask his master plan

 In the darkness the hammers will pound

But no one is awake to hear the sounds

This rebuilt man of body and soul

Will take to the streets with only a goal

A vision so strongly built in his mind

A vision only he can define

This task that was placed on this shoulders at birth

That will lead him to the ends of the earth

At times his confidence may be void of power

Like a bee trapped in a violent April shower

But much like the rivers tangle their way to the sea

He alone knows its completion will come to be

And throughout the day the chimes will sound

As another casket is laid into the ground

But as long as his imagination turns the wheel

He'll push forward on the desires he feels

For when the path splits he’ll keep straight

And search the jungles for the golden gate

Where finally he'll feast upon the bounty he's caught

This man will not stop until he finds what he's sought.

Jason Cholewa, Ph.D.

Not So Silent Night

How I walk alone on this cloudy night

Wandering through a field of plight

The fog has settled on either side

The place where all my demons hide

They follow behind me everywhere

But are afraid to come out in the clear

And to the front darkness looms

Where I am sure that flowers bloom

Strange machines buzz far away

Their vibrations carry on foggy haze

Lightening bolts strike all around

They electrify the neural ground

The signal travels down the roads

It stimulates the resting nodes

I watched it pass below my feet

Onto the horizon and come complete

Then the lightning struck once more

And in the distance thunder roared

Yet still I walked down the nerve

Where impulses shoot around the curve

Synapses spark and flicker and stunt

As I exited the rear lobe for the front

The fog was thin and easy to breath

A warm wind blew and rustled the leaves

Further ahead was a spherical glow

Where light radiated from an oval hole

So I walked up close to inspect it

Through a field of mirrors that reflected

An upside down picture of some sort

That twisted and turned through the port

Of vibrant colors and a beautiful face

Before briefly shifting to a secluded place

They focused back on the eyes then the lips

As nerve endings sparked and moved finger tips

Then the portals slowly went black

As lightening struck from front to back

The neurons buzzed aroused with vigor

When the portals opened to display a stunning figure

They drank in the sight than returned to the eyes

Shut for a second then opened wide

Suddenly all the neurons started to ignite

They lit up at once and slowly grew in light

The eyes below fluttered rapidly

Then they opened glazed over happily

The portals I looked through closed air tight

While the neurons behind me reached maximum light

An electrical field spread throughout the land

Triggered by every connected sensory strand

I felt the earth tremble and shake

It erupted into a massive quake

Slowly the neurons calmed and glimmered

Then the portals opened upon eyes that shimmered

She held the gaze for quite a while

Before rolling onto her side with a smile

The arm was thrown across her back

Then the portals closed and all went black.

I tried to wander out but could not find my way

For the mind I explored had shut down ‘til day

Jason Cholewa, Ph.D.

The Swing

Perhaps it’s only in my mind's creation

That the world has made a few too many rotations

If in one eye the globe looks all too small

It’s because the other eye cannot see at all

And if I could only see the truth

I would not be standing upon the hanging booth

But as the noose is pulled tight in place

And the black bag is used to cover my face

The crowd chants and applause the act

As I calmly await the floor to snap

And the preacher man says his final lines

And tells me in the afterlife I’ll burn fine

Under the mask I loose sense of sight

But in the darkness feel one last fight

The preacher asked if I had any last requests

I muttered in a low voice, there’s not time to rest

 

They cut the rope and there I fell

And I felt my self sucked down towards hell

But a burst of light entered the mask

And I suddenly felt up to the task

For I struggled hard against the chain

And this Austrian voice entered my brain

"You can do it" he did say

So I gnawed at the rope until it did fray

And I kept on chewing until it broke

And the crowd kept chanting, "We want to see him choke"

But I kept on chomping until it snapped

And as I hit the ground I tore off the mask

My face turned red and I fiercely cried

While the chant of crowd slowly died

And I yelled "is this how you want me"

And they replied, "Yes", and the bastards shot me!

Jason Cholewa, Ph.D.

Nothing Happens for a Reason

Lately it seems nearly everyone I talk either leads in or finishes our conversation by saying: “Everything happens for a reason.”  And I was beginning to believe that.  It made sense.  And the circumstances I faced certainly supported that explanation. 

But no more!

I do not believe that, and I never have, nor ever will!  We are not puppets dangling by the strings of fate, controlled by some great god.  The events of our lives are not predetermined by some master mind creator for purposes that we will forever struggle to understand.  

Though we may try, and invent elaborate stories to convince ourselves and rationalize our actions, we humans are not above the laws of nature.  I believe that events occur in our lives and we respond to them.  This is the way of the universe – cause and effect.   And we have two options: we can ignore the natural response; we can overlook the phenomena leading to the event, cry or chalk it up to fate, and continue traveling lost in the maze of questions and suffering.

Or, we can respond and adapt.  We can look back with intro- and extrospection at the metamorphosis that occurred in our minds and our worlds to yield the event, and learn.  We can cleanse our minds of the guilt, anger, and sadness, and with a still mind take heed of the lessons and help ourselves and others.

It is the butterfly effect (thanks Tash!).  The caterpillar must be internally courageous as he enters the coxcomb, for he shall soon die.  But by letting go of his past life he can emerge a new being: a beautiful and free creature.  And then he can set forth on the winds of nature, ever floating with the currents, never against, satisfied of life and fulfilled of heart. 

 Jason Cholewa, Ph.D