Honest Truth and Other Poems

By Alex Andy Phuong

Honest Truth

Somewhere some place
Creation and destruction conflict
Truth and lies
Everywhere and nowhere
Residents and visitors
Weaving in and out
Of time itself
Like flowing water
Within the river
Of true stories

Eligible

Eligible eligibility
Noble nobility
Age of chivalry
Permissible
Acceptable
Worthy of acclaim
Holding merit
Without being susceptible
To anyone
And anything
Disreputable

Settings

Setting the stage
Writing within pages
Art direction
Production design
Places
Both real and imaginary
Constructing narratives
Told and retold
Across generations
And setting up
For what will come
As enigmatic time
Passes by
Soar high!

Down Then Up

Exhume and exalt the common man
because the pursuit of happiness results in anything but
American idealism is a bit ironic if one considers
the fact that many dreams really do become deferred
Dig deep within the soul
but there is no need to despair
Unearth the beauty found on Earth

Beat the Heat

Beat the Heat
Let the Heart Beat
With Passion
Nevertheless,
Cool Down
And Stay Cool
For the People
Who Can Control Themselves
Can Help Make the World
A Better Place

Naturally Natural Naturalism

Pocahontas once sang “The Colors of the Wind”
Which was a lament about the destruction of natural beauty
A beauty that is great, majestic,
And most importantly…non-synthetic
Meaning that it is NOT manmade
It is also funny that I am expressing these profound ideas about something as abstract
And as wondrous
As rapturous beauty
On paper
This is because paper comes from trees
Well, paper does not “grow” on trees
Because people have to take the wood and somehow change it into paper
That people can use to write, jot ideas down, take down notes,
And sometimes also clean up after themselves after a sticky situation
However, mankind is now in one of the stickiest and bleakest situations ever to grace
The long and turbulent history that people have created for themselves
Ever since Homo sapiens emerged on this planet that we all inhabit
The desire to achieve…and ultimately maintain…sustainability
Therefore, we must listen to the wise Academy Award-winning music of Pocahontas
Because we really are all interconnected
Since we all desire to find a sense of meaning in our lives
“The Paper Cycle”
People can express ideas on paper
That other people can read and learn from
So that we can acquire knowledge
As the trees are turned into paper
And ideas are passed on to others through the printing presses
Finally, we must never fear the future
Because all we can control is the present
Who knows that the world will be like ten years from now?
A hundred years from now?
Or a thousand years from now?
Because as long as we record our thoughts on paper
And remember to recycle
We can continue the paper cycle
That will hopefully allow us all to live sustainably

Global Outrage

Global outrage
Outrageous outrage
Leaving words on a page
And taking center stage
The world needs mankind
To practice being kind
To make the world a better place
While remembering to pace
Because if some are stagnant
That would hinder the planet
Act and aspire
Like an actor upon the worldly stage
Within this current age

Alex Andy Phuong earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from California State University-Los Angeles in 2015. He was a former Statement Magazine editor who currently writes about literature, film, and culture. He has written film reviews for more than one hundred motion pictures for MovieBoozer, and his writing has appeared both online and in print. Alex is a writer who dares to support the ones who pursue their dreams.