Wayne J. Keeley is a practicing media attorney, author, professor, producer and director. He has produced, written, and directed award winning documentaries, commercials and educational programs, in addition to screenplays, stage plays, and teleplays. He is a five time Emmy nominee and two-time Emmy winner. He is the author of the legal thriller, Mahogany Row and the audiobook The Titanic Chronicles. Together with his Emmy nominated wife and muse, they have co-authored the novel Going All In and Deadraiser. They also co-produced, wrote and directed several off-off Broadway plays and have a feature film, The History of Everything F/K/A Kissy Cousins Monster Babies on the festival circuit which will soon be distributed nationally. More information on Mr. Keeley’s Background can be found on his wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Keeley or
his IMDB page https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0444544/?ref_=pro_nm_visitcons
BONE YARD
Granite markers chiseled With bold face lies Erroneous, encapsulated descriptions BELOVED SON – TAKEN FROM US TOO SOON Ha! A junkie and thief was he who Drove his parents to divorce and despair BELOVED GRANDFATHER A notorious panderer, philanderer and adulterer BELOVED GRANDMOTHER The bestowed moniker could have been earlier Were it not for the abortion at sixteen BELOVED FATHER Who was a raging, abusive alcoholic to everyone around him BELOVED AUNT AND UNCLE An incompatible, loveless, fruitless union, coupled only in inaction and denial BELOVED DAUGHTER Consumed and denigrated by the dark demons of anxiety and depression until She could no longer endure AND best for last BELOVED MOTHER In name only, an egg donor, no patience or love to give, wire hanger strict Whose remorseless and cold heartedness now reign supreme In Dante’s most frigid level of Hell Stone tablets liveried in false facades That neither signify the end of Sound nor the End of Fury But rather the idiotic mendacity buried beneath.
THE ACTOR
alone I stood apron ahead boards and polished wood ‘neath my tread tonight I will be more than me liveried in bold armor with a new persona for all my friends, enemies and critics to see I must prepare for the battle ahead by conquering the myriad and confusing lines caroming around in my head and for a brief span of time I will fight to the death in synch and in rhyme after the final volley is over the last claps of thunder diminish now laid bare without disguise or cover my part in the sun will be finished strength and reserves depleted I will return to just being me naked, vulnerable, but not defeated
BLACK DOG
he was sitting there, on his haunches at the foot of my bed his short cropped black fur was sleek and hoary in the moonlight that dared to shine on his countenance mouth closed, shielding the deadly daggers for now he was patient oh so patient waiting to launch to devour to conquer and so I pretended to sleep
Duchenne DAD
Same Hair Same eyes Same dimples Same quirky mannerisms Same taste in music But not mirrored reflections Distanced by years and states of health And the hovering shadow of Death since birth Conjoined souls, bonded by blood, DNA and memories When music’s untimely notes end for one It ends for both
Soft Comes the Dawn
Soft comes the dawn,
Stealing quietly over the earth,
Usurping its predecessor with
All the assurance of a triumphant
GladiatorAnd you, like the infant sun,
Usher in a ray of light where
None had existed before;
Dispelling the lonely night with Your warmth until darkness itself
Is forced to succumbSoft came you into my life
Slowly, like the dawn as it emerges
Into full brilliance
Did I become aware of you…
WAITING AT THE DMV
Sitting at the DMV waiting to renew my driver’s license, fiftieth in the queue Thinking of all the wasted moments, all the things I could and would be doing No Nook, book, Kindle or extant newspapers and magazines to kill time Constantly refreshing my phone and trying to connect to a non-existent wi-fi There were worse things in life than waiting in line for forty-five people at the DMV Going to the dentist was worse of course than being now number forty-three Drinking that bitter, foul tasting liquid laxative the night before a colonoscopy Sure, there were worse things than sitting, watching and waiting Like accidentally sharting and soiling your underwear thirty thousand Feet in the air on a non-stop flight to the coast was much worse Feeling your head brush the underside of a toilet rim as you purge The last three shots you consumed at your buddy’s bachelor party While vowing on your dead grandmother’s soul you’ll never drink again Was a hell of a lot worse than being thirty-six in line Tick tock, tick, tock, tic tock, watching the clock Suddenly completely understanding Einstein’s Theory of Relativity that time moves more slowly In governmental facilities than the outside world Now twenty-nine in line and still not feeling fine Why do you never see celebrities at the DMV? Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga must drive after all Almost to the teens when a booming masculine voice Calls out a greeting to the elderly lady in red in front of me “Helen!” says he, “long time, no see.” As big as the real Sasquatch, he sits next to her His wide girth and buttocks covering two seats He relays his condolences and apology For missing her husband’s funeral a year ago Heart attack followed by massive stroke I was into the single digits when Bigfoot Asked about her youngest son Killed himself. Depression over His father’s death, a felony conviction And not being able to get a job If he had just hung on, his conviction Was overturned on appeal He asked about her eldest son Whom he had coached as a kid Pancreatic cancer, gone in two months An incredulous, anguished moan From the behemoth beside her She was a few numbers ahead of me When she said she just Finished chemotherapy Breast Cancer Her number was up She strode up to the desk Smiled and chatted to the clerk She was still smiling as she Turned and left, I didn’t care About waiting Any More.
Stephanie
About Stephanie & Wayne
Stephanie is a journalist, writer, editor, and has had several hundred articles published in various newspapers and magazines, many of which still are available online under “Stephanie Lyons Schultz”. She has a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology and was a practicing psychotherapist. She currently is a professor of psychology at WCSU and NVCC in Connecticut.
Wayne is an Emmy-Award winning writer, producer, and director. He has produced many programs and documentaries that have appeared on television, and have been distributed to schools, libraries, and home video. Wayne also is a practicing attorney with a Masters degree in Law from NYU. In addition, he is a professor of communications at WCSU.
Together, this recently wed couple write, produce, and direct as many of their stage, screen, and TV projects as they can with a full house -- their combined brood of seven! Some of their work has been featured this summer and fall off off Broadway; other work currently is under option. They hope to continue to promote more of their projects in the coming months!
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The History of Everything f/k/a Kissy Cousins Monster Babies and Morphing Elvis