Giving

we give

what

we get

and if

we expect

more,

then,

we should

find a

new pet.

19Jan16

Winterizing

a deep coldness stirs
around inside me
these mornings since
winter arrived late
and as warmth eludes,
my thoughts freeze
around their memories
much quicker than if
I were to start a fire
beneath their growth.

18Jan16

Medical Myopia

A heavy frost of one color

warms my countryside,

this new day presented,

a day without reckoning

is so presumed but not

expected as toil or not

begins all around me and

with all said and little done,

I waste away with these

thoughts of worrisome

wonder it might be or not

to have teeth reconstructed

when not in misery or any

real concern that merit such;

but, not benefiting as those

to whom a fee is paid each

month for services infrequently

provided until age has visited

the caverns or illumination

until stalactites drips their

poison down the throats of

those now burdened by these

relentless fees and costs in

order to remain healthy.

28Jan16

Dark Dawn

A dark dawn descends

upon the land,

devouring and fulfilling

our own prophecies

of Armageddon,

and, like tin soldiers

prancing about on a Chess board,

we ascend to take flight,

a self-correcting path that

while unwavering in its intent

never quite arrives in time

for tea and crumpets.

27Jan16

Normality

terror this morning
comes in the form
of cats chasing
their tales and
each other,
up and down
the hallway of my
funeral procession,
disturbing the bearers
of the news, even
though they have
continued to listen
while remaining
diligent and
steadfast, standing
on the sidewalk,
waiting for the
traffic lights to
return to normal,
and the chasing cats
to cool their high
strung temperments,
allowing the procession
to continue with its
final procession.

January 18, 2016

Ignorance

someone,
other than myself,
knows
exactly how long
that life
will be inside me,
but,
whoever they are
will not be
shared
for some reason
with me.

January 18, 2016

Noise

the noise of

silence

flows through

time,

just as the

memory of you

flows through

the metal

of my coffin.

January 18, 2016

Fill 'er up

words need not
require any more
substance
than I give them;
still,
you think they do
as I might
have thought
upon a time
had it not been
for the mental
accident of
enlightenment
to think otherwise;
and,
in so doing,
have become
an inspiration to
all those who
continue to believe
that I
am still as
full of it
as I can be.

January 16, 2016 

Blemishes

each and every day
death
comes to a few,
while
sparing others for
whatever reason;
no crime in either one
is seen or
perceived, but
I wonder when she
will come for me?
doubt,
burdens my soul
that is without
blemish,
so,
when my time comes,
will I not
gladly go, but,
not without reluctance,
which is why you
should take me now.

January 16, 2016

What It Does

lighter in weight than rain

it falls to the ground anyway,

covering the landscape so

completely... all the ground;

yet, it is white not clear,

much colder it appears

and all the animals

huddle and hide inside

their surroundings warmth;

but, still it falls like rain

again and again and again,

a mask with holes of white

pure and innocent for some,

complete for others with a

personality all its own,

leaving us to do what we must

after it has done its best.

20Jan16

A White Crown

a white blanket

covers the land,

the first of its kind this year

but the last, we cannot say;

a white covering

fills the valley,

layers of icing

as if it were a cake after baking,

and we slide down

through it all...

as this is what we do;

a white crown

worn by the earth this day

shows her dominance over all.

 
20Jan16

The Majority

sitting alone
at the top or
at the bottom
is preferable
to those who stand
with comrades
at the middle
of something, since
they don't understand
nor want to
but do so
incessantly
to prevent themselves
from being alone.

January 16, 2016

Condensation

tears of fears

empty out

and run down 

my cheeks

drip off chin

into oblivion; 

still, each one

has an image

of an image

of my thoughts

at a particular

moment and in

some kind of

condensed form

that expands

and contracts

over time

leaving me ever

so grateful.

January 16, 2016

Mostly

mostly,
I see the blue skies
and waterfalls,
rainbow colors of
my illusive dreams
and memories
of places never been
while sitting
all alone at night
just before sleep arrives,
and, as I wonder
'bouts
where I've been,
I've forgotten all
'bouts
what I've become.

January 16, 2016

Passage

the dead
pass this way
sometimes
on their way to
revivals;
but,
when they do
many
of them stop to
talk to me,
asking
for directions
to find
their
way back
home.

January 15, 2016

Working Free

we fall short of our
commitments to live
better than previously,
but, our advances

are superior to none,
other than ourselves;
all accomplished at
the expense of those
to whom we owe
no gratitude as they
were just doing what
they were told to do.

January 15, 2016

Breathing

crawling creepers
slide and slither
into positions
as they mingle
and manipulate
their way around
without and within
the eyes of disclosure,
illuminating minds,
lifting spirits and souls
as effortlessly as
simply breathing air.

January 13. 2016

Memory Loss

within the puddles of

intermittent happiness,

we rise and fall as the

case may need to be,

but never can we

control their width and

depth or viscosity,

leaving us to sometimes

immerse ourselves in their

mental removal therapy.

January 13, 2016

Cold Coffee

who teaches whom
in a world that knows
no boundaries nor
has fixed covenants
with those who call
themselves parents
when cold brewed
coffee does not
seem as innocent
as those who had
recommend its use.

August 2011

Warning

without warning
we step into cow
pies and before
long, we do not
even notice the
smell from below,
still, it would be
nice to find some
fresh water to
clean our minds
of all these dirty
thoughts persisting.

September 2011

Years Ago

the muffled sounds of

war drums beat inside

my head relentlessly

each morning as I

shower off the dirt of

life's previous encounters

some of which have

proven to be quite memorable

while others have fallen by

the wayside like all the

dead Indians we killed

year ago for no looking

like us, even though a sturdy

chance we gave them all

and now their burial shrouds

will be all the leaves that

rustle in their absence,

and we must really learn

to dance rather than listen.

January 9, 2016

Celebrations

Alone we stand inside

the hollowness of our

our thoughts in the

early morning hours

before dawn, reflecting

on that which brought

us here and that which

will take us away but

there is no leaving,

only solitude inside

feeling it close in

around and our last

breaths are just as

useless as those ideas

that brought us here

in the first place as

we made our final

attempts at escape.

January 9, 2016

Afterwards

sorrow

seen or felt

is still sorrow

nonetheless

and while

the sensations

of sorrow

may be

calculated

differently

by professors

and the like,

sorrow

yields an

unforgiving

pain,

remaining

in the tissues

of the

memory

for years

to come,

and there are

no remedies

no solution

other than

what death

can provide.

January 8, 2016

Just Today

feeling thinner

but actually

heavier is a

little disconcerting

but I will

continue with

my diet and my

positive attitude,

anyway, at least

for a while.

August 2011

Flies

on the wall

is the fly

I feel like

as my cats

watch my

movements

and as I

wonder if

I should

simply move

higher or

just fly

away to

some other

spot close by.

August 2011

Work in Progress

life at sixty will never be like
it was when I was half of that
but still attracts attention from
those who are when standing in
front of the classroom speaking.
September 2011

 

let my students pass

so that they might

continue to pay tuition

and the school might

continue to survive.

September2011

 

softly chagrin am I

with the loss of

academic rigor

after which it has

been quietly written

down for admiration.

September 2011

Before

in the time before birth
what were your thoughts
and recollections that you
wanted to have now, but
have purposefully forgotten?
September 2011

light rolls into me
removing the thoughts
I had of you and the
better days that could
be had without you.

September 2011

Not At All

I am not my brother

nor my sister

nor am I who I used to be...

my body and mind

continue to deteriorate

and what I used to do

and think seems to be

on vacation, still,

in a warm climate

just south of me.


August 2011

On Your Birthday

With each stroke of the brush

With each word written by pen

With each brief thought of longing

With each kindness offered

With each day that passes from

one month or year to the next,

my silent love for you is expressed

in all those ways and more as

we continue our journey together

down the river currents of time,

blending in and together all the colors

of our travels both near and far

while we sometimes rock in the

wooden chairs of our memories

on the front porch of our lives

and in whose hands, each others hands

hold all our unspoken dreams and

all the understandings that we

have or will have when celebrating

each year of life together and

each birthday before they are forgotten

and we sit in motionless thoughts

experience life in motionless bodies

looking into each others eyes

on the sands of our favorite beach

while our intuitive awareness

sees only that which we always had.

January 3, 2016

Rain

the sun had gone high
in the sky by the time
my eyes were fixed
upon it again, hiding
behind the clouds and
I knew then that rain
was about to fall on
all my early morning
thoughts it took me
so long to find today.

August 2011

Her Muse

she looks for me
inside my mental
museum, hoping
to find an exhibit
worthy of her
interests until I
arrive and she
can introduce
me to her muse.

August 2011