Author's note: The poems presented below are the copyrighted works of Ronald Heyward Bailey, Junior, known here on Big Closet under the pseudonym of Haylee V. If you have found them on any sites other than poetry.com (now lulu.com) or here, then you are reading pirated copies.

For Marcus
(c) 2001

Too many nights of eating cold Taco Bell burritos
And getting drunk off of cheap wine and tequila & coke

I never thought those halcyon days would end-
The laughs we shared amid the midnight swims
Naked at the dam,
Or cruising the strip in your old, beat-up Buick.

But alas! time passes us all.
And for you, Death came way too soon...
==========
For Paw Paw
(c) 1984

"Hey Paw-Paw! Let's go fishin'!"
Oh! to utter those sweet words just one more time!
Then we'd grab those old poles-
Pine saplings skinned by the creek,
With bent safety pins for hooks.
And we'd go digging for night crawlers-
Big, fat ones
that bit our fingers as we put them in that old, rusty tin can.
Not like those pasty, mealy looking ones
the feed store tried to pass off as "live bait".
Then we'd sit on the bank and talk,
Never once catching a bite.
But you're probably busy now,
Giving God pointers about fly-casting,
And swapping fish tales with St. Pete.
All while I sit here and reminisce
About the one that got away...
==========
Granny Louise
(c) 1996

I can still picture her-
Ghostly in her faded flannel nightgown,
Reaching out in the night for her can of Society-
A teaspoon in each cheek,
Her spittoon close at hand.

And I recall the warm summer nights-
Shelling field peas in the kitchen
And swapping stories by the iridescent glow
of that old gas stove.

All while eating Hydrox,
and laughing as the milk trickles
lazily down our chins.
==========
For Brenda
(c) 1989

The darkness encroaches all about
The candle flickers and is snuffed out.
The nighttime folds and fills the air
While shadows clothe me in despair.

I seek someone to take me in-
To comfort me and be my friend.

I seek the light that I have known,
Only to find I am alone.
Will no one come to rescue me?
My knight-crusader- please set me free!