New Year's Eve

 

Out My Window

out my window, I see the

end of life rushing down

the street as if it is late to

work and wonder why it

did not make a plan to

leave earlier than it did...

out my window, I see the

see the struggle that sits

on the shoulders of those

born in this country as 

they wish for a new home...

out my window, I see the

homeless, the starving, the

displaced and misplaced

souls who have no where

else to do, as the roads of

their future incline more

than tend to remain level...

out my window, I see the

weathly telling themselves

they made it on their own

when in reality, the backs

of the broken are what

kept them from trumbling

down like humpty dumpty...

out my window, I see the

future of a nature that has

grown too liberal in its

quest to control all of it.

24 December 2022

Northern Influence

an artic blast blows the birds off course

brings the tourists into the south where

warm air seems to last all year...   the

area that was settled by those who were

released from british prisons, seeking a

new life in a new country with new

inhabitants who had lived here before;

an artic winds blows memories in from

the past that we tried to hide so that our

futures would be more pleasant but

which brought us only despair in the

retelling...  as we hoped no one was

listening but they heard anyway and 

gave us the evil eye for our way of life;

an artic tunnel is formed in the upper

atmosphere extending down into the

gulf where all the hurricanes come to

die each fall...  we see the remnants all

around us as we try not to escape but

rather embrace our futile inheritance.

24 December 2022

Crossing Traffic

behind the closed door is a closed mind

that has no desire to find enlightenment,

it is content with its complacencies and

the ignorance that follows like a well

trained obedient dog...   we have learned

nothing as we move through our public

education, opening our doors to all sorts

of education opportunities secured by

those papers claiming our intelligence;

behind the closed door is a closed mind

and the ignorance that rides our the backs

of the degreed like an unwelcome parasite,

voting from a liberal point of view...  not

understanding the consequences of our

actions or lack thereof...  we are secure

in our moronic thoughts, gravitating to

the middle of the road where the traffic

is not likely to allow us to cross in front

of them despite having working brakes.

21 December 2022

Thinking Differently

long robes touch the ground

worn by males and females,

heads covered by hoodies

faces behind masks... walk

though the villages as if on a

mission to share with the rest

of the world their philosophies,

no one listens and no one cares

as the sun beats down upon

their covered bodies...  for so

many years and decades it has

been the same over there as the

rest of us think and dress a little

differently...  and when our worlds

collide, the old world loses its

vitality and interest while the rest

of the world turns its back and

removes all its money from banks.

21 December 2022

Youthful Replacements

from the north comes the cold

from the south comes the warmth

from the east comes the rain

from the west comes the snow

from the heartland comes the uncertainy

of the future that looms over our heads

like a winter storm...  we are more

uncertain now than ever before as

we lean into a new year with old ideas

and solutions...  we live in the past,

moving foward in time and space,

seeing the dark replace the light as

the days shorten and get colder...

our walls close in on us as we look

for the right colors with which to 

paint them all, without using the

primer to prepare them first...  our

lives are forfeit as a younger group

of people make the decisions, replacing

the marketplace with fresh blood.

21 December 2022

It's Christmas!!!

 CHRISTMAS 2022

Christmas Eve

Meant To Be

minutes and hours pass slowly

days and weeks pass faster

years pass faster than both and

before we know it, we have passed

more than we have yet to see...

time is only on its own side as it

could care less about us...  it

moves forward and never back

unless it is in memories...  and,

those memores are often not the

truth of what we really experienced;

a new day always appears and a 

new night always falls and we age

faster than our health declines...

we look in tthe mirror and wonder

why everything went the way it did,

wondering if it could have been a

little different, when our reality is

our life always is the way it was

and the way that it really had to be.

16 December 2022

Doing the Time

sheer curtains do not block the rays

of the sun nor does a glass door when

both face the east side of the mind and

eyes behind the lashes see the end of

the day before the beginning arrives...

we think...  we wonder...  we conceive

ideas to replace the old ones but forget

to post them on our blogs as others want

comments to be made of our thoughts...

sheet cover the beds that live in the rooms

of our minds that requires rest after a few

days of constant actions...  we turn and 

bend over not caring who stands behind or

why they are there there is no incarceration

and if there were, we'd be out on bail, trying

to figure out how to pay back the loan...

16 December 2022

Instant Pudding

around the corner is another corner

and around that corner is a turn and

can be left or right or straigth ahead,

we walk around corners, make turns

and walk straight ahead throughout

our lives and never look at the path

that we took until we are too old to

make any changes...  this is my life

your life and their lives about which

we speak, none are influenced as we

continue to make bad choice and get

influennce by those we trust or by

our friends who know less than we

know but who influence our behavior,

we learn very little and want to learn

very little as we focus on ourselves

and what we want when we want it,

16 December 2022

Southern Style

false claims, rock the boat

we hide our feelings inside

the thoughts of others,

letting them troll outsiders

who bear witness against

false gods...  we sense a

tragic ending when there

is no tragedy at all...  we

wonder if Shakespeare was

the only one who saw the

truth being lived out on the

streets of his town... we hail

the taxis that take us home,

knowing they will not wait

to take us into town in the

morning...  our city life is

replace by a rural one and

we see ourselves as a new

brand of redneck...  we 

cuss the lifestyle, knowing

its pure and innocentt traits

will never be our own...

the moon weeps for its

missing stars and those

in the opposite hemisphere

are glad they don't have one.

13 December 2022

Our Generation

we are the seeds of life

our generation

as the previious one

is gone or impotent...

we sow our seeds in all

corners of the world,

north and south

east and west

all point in between...

we are relentless in our

pursuits of change,

even when it goes

against tradition...

as there is nothing sacred

in our world, the least

of which is what was

sacred in yours...

your rules and your 

laws are not ours and

will never be since we

write our own as each

day passes in night...

we were never bound

by your mistakes and

have no desire to make

our own...  we are pure

in everything we do.

13 December 2022

Our Solution

we are strong in our commitments

to ourselves and others,  doing what

we say and saying what we do...

a voice lives inside us all, controlling

our words from an early age and 

all we have to do is listen...  even

though it is sometimes difficult;

we hide inside our opinions as if

they are never to be trusted or let

out on the general public for fear

they will never understand the

logic that we used to justify our

unusual actions... no one knows

excpet those who are like us and

they do not really know as much

as they are speculating...  our deeds

are done, good or bad and we live

and die from our yesterdays that

provided us with this uncertainty;

the dawn clears us out a new path

acknowledging the road taken and

that it always ends in our death.

12 December 2022

Rejoicing in Deliverance

rain rolls down the side of the smokys

into the valley and we rejoice at its

deliverance...  crops are fed and some

destroyed by it appearance...  still we

rejoice at its deliverance...  children

play in the puddles of rain, vehicles

hydoplane into trees and fences and

we rejoice at its deliverance...  water

is caught in barrels and used for baths

and cooking as well as houseplants

that were given to us by unknown 

and unfamiliar relatives...  we find

ways to rejoice at its deliverance...

hearts and souls are uncovered by

the dismal life we have chosen to

live while other point the finger at

us claiming we are rednecks and a

tad uneducated in the finer things

that life has to offer...  we rejoice

in its deliverance, understandng we

are the ones sought out by the rain

that ran down the side of the mountain

in the hopes of finding where we live.

11 December 2022

Two Decades Married

a black night fog penetrates the soul

devils move in and our of memories

like worms moving from organ to

organ in a dead copse...  we send a

few vibrations out the window to 

our neighbors in the hopes they will

contact the authorities...  we scream

out obscenities in silence while we

wait fot the day to begin with the

sunrise of light...  an end to the ever

present darkness that is inside my

thoughts and the hatred we feel

towards each other...  we sit on

opposite side of the evening like

crows trying to decide if it is time

to feast or not...   arms of anger

ripple through our veins like the

blood that provides us with life,

and we don't give a damn about

anything at all, except ourselves.

10 December 2022

Strangers & Mistresses

the stranger barks out the night

darkness flows all around us,

we dress and undress to the tune

of our own thoughs as they rain

down on the land as pellets of

ice, warmed and cooled as they

fall through the atmosphere...

the mistress spits out the day

light flows all around us,

we wear comfortable clothes

so that the head does not ruin

them with stains...  unable to

wash them out once they appear

and we have no one to whom to

turn to trade what we wear when

the light turn day to darkness and

those who call themselvs by a

name unknown to us are those

that we refer to as our strangers.

9 December 2022

Our Inheritance

the weight of a nation falls upon the heads

of the dead who did nothing to stop it...

allowed it to fester and grow until it boiled

and spilled on the streets of all the towns,

their residents who supported it happening,

we were decent folks once a long time ago

when life was simple and carefree...  it was

a time of walking the streets unaffraid and

unmolested by stranngers who walked

in our communities unannounced...  it was

a time of innocence as we knew not the

pain of growing old and having to come

to terms with someone else's legacies...

it was a time when one honored one's word

as much as one honored one's life and one's

family, laying down one's life to protect

them both...  it was a time where life and

all its components weighed heavily on 

those who protected us, our thoughts and

our freedoms to become what we wanted

rather than what was expected in order to

casarry on the traditions that did not work.

7 December 2022

Pickup Trucks

all day the rain falls on the winter ground

instead of snow which is much better but

the clay soil does not perk well and the

stands in puddles all around our location,

we reach out to our friends and neighbors

who cannot reach out to anyone one else

for help, bringing food and blankets to 

all of those without electricity...  we are

the one in the pickup trucks who block

your vision when in front of you...  we

are the one's who have come to your

salavation and rescue...  we are the ones

on which you can trust and on which

you can rely when others walk around

the bodies on the sidewalk as if they

are infested with some deadly disease,

all day the rain has fallen, making the

grass slippery to walk upon and it is

our trucks that come to your rescue.

7 December 2022

Side View

reflections in a hardwood floor speak more

more to the installer than the home owner,

and yet, it is the one who ordered the change

who should be blamed for its appearance,

and not the one who was give the materials

with which to work...  it is beyond our ways

of understanding that this life focuses its

burdens on us, in the hopes that our suffering

will be the price we pay for our lives...   all

along knowing that no one requested to be

born into this world...  as it just happened...

traitors treat themselves to desert for living

beyond someone's expectations but the rest

of us are given time limits and geographical

borders in which we are to live and thrive

with or without the means to do so...  we are

not the victims of desire but of necessity as

we struggle from one side of the room to the

other in order to beg for the right for us to live.

4 December 2022

The Guest List

a thousands scars on my body can

be seen by those who are interested

in what it was like to live like me

in the early years...   a thousand

memories mostly bad, are left in

a room that strangers never knew

existed when they were friends...

a thousand souls have flown in

and out of my consciousness as

if they were part of me when in

reality they were only there to

provide a temporary service...

in and out of my mind are the

keys to the kingdom that we all

must visit sooner or later when

our lives have lived out all of

their usefulness...  in and out

comes the salvation that wraps

its arms around the lonely as if

it were trying to comfort itself...

years of kindness are replaces

by the woes of ugliness and we

sit in judgement of those who

would wrap us up as presents

and given to beggars at the next

holiday while overlooking the

guest list of who was invited.

4 December 2022

The Street Lamp

a lonely street lamp stands at the end

of the cul-de-sac...  light is dispersed

in all directions, forming a cross if

viewed properly...  it is this cross that

tends to be the focal point of the small

group of houses that bend around the

road as if formed by a machine...  and,

the machine that might be used is one

that is made in Germany, not China,

just as far as not being made in our

America...   still, when our America

bleeds so too do all her residents as

they had been directly cut by the

knife in the hand of the ganster...

it is this ganster that stands under

the street lamp at the end of the

cul-de-sac directing traffic as if it

just purchased a house and wanted

to make sure it was being protected.

2 December 2022

Straight Paths

a staight path is offered to all those

who want to fly crooked...  narrow

and true and south of mason dixson,

but only those who understand the

lingo can dwell on the past as if it

were something to be remembered;

a straight path is offered to all those

who would be willing to sell their

souls for a patch and a leather jacket

with letters stitched onto it...  and

colors flying above the seat on

which you find yourself riding...

as if it were something to be

remembered and shared with those

who are still wanting to learn;

a straight path is offered to all those

who stand up for the national anthem

instread of bending a knee like was

done for a ruling king...  and when

the scars of battle are stitched up

and hidden, no one will remember

nor will they ever want to remember.

2 December 2022

Hot Water Relaxation

hot water surrounds my body

crystal clear and reflective,

tops of trees and roofs are

seen boarding my bent knees,

hands move on the surface

gently moving the liquid,

repples move outward from

the center where my toes

are located...  back against

the porcelain walls I rest,

sinking farther down into

the liquid heat...  steam

rises in little trails that soon

disappear into the light...

bubbles emerge from down

below when soothing jets

are set to blow...  the pressure

hits my back like a massage

without the oily hands...  the

wind swirls against my face

the chapstick prevents cracks

in the lips and a sneeze is

felt and supressed when the

cold beats against my chest.

30 November 2022

The Siamese

around and around 

he walks,
as if prancing...
he sits and licks
his fur,
he licks his paw and
rubs his face to
keep it clean...
he sits and admires
his surroundings
as if it all belongs
to him...
he strolls to the window
jumps to the sill
and looks outside
at whatever catches
his attention...
he longs to be ourside
but knows he has
been there before and
it proved to be
harmful...
he no long scratches
at the door to be
released... and,
no longer needs that
release as his age
has calmed him down
but not killed
his spirit...
he curls on the couch
on the blanket
on top of the pad
that is heated,
relaxes his muscles
knowing he is
safe inside.


30 November 2022

Vertical Rain

wind blows sidways pushing the

vertical rain in another direction,

puddles form in the low areas of

highways and roads that wind their

way through the valley...  ducks 

have flown south months ago so

there is nothing to enjoy with all

this destruction...  homes are flooded

as are the crops and no one seems

to care about those who have lost

just about everthing...  but their

lives...  for which they are thankful,

winds blow sideways and the rain

pushes its influence on unsuspecting

inhabitant that have nowhere to flee

and hunker down like mules who

do not believe in the warnings...

verticle rain falls through the winds

hitting the ground like pellets of war

and those who stand in her way are

blow away by her windy brothers.

30 November 2022

Local Traffic

clouds roll in with the wind

the wind brings the rain and

the water floods the land...

we wait for it to drain like

ducks wait on a pond for a

reason to fly away...  the clouds

change colors from greywhite

to greydark to darkgrey as the

night lumbers in with its walking

cane and fireflies that glow until

wee hours of he morning...  the

morning coulds shed their tints

and tones, forming a massive

blue sky that extends from one

side to the other like a rather

large umbrella...  and we wonder

where the sun is hiding since 

the light got to its job first...  an

opening in the sky through which

it passed into tomorrow and no

words to the locals, saying goodbye.

27 November 2022

Remembering

cobwebs and dust collects in places not

so often visited anymore but still house

some of life's memories not readily or

easily put on the list to visit...  mental

notes made long ago, posted on the 

walls of the mind that allows reviewing

spark episodes of madness still as the

images of those times is remembered

and reviewed in the early hours before

light provides us with cognizance...

memories of sins, albeit little ones, 

dwell in the mind like tiny pieces of 

meat caught between two teeth...  we

pick them out carefully, avoiding the

gum bleeding that ensures if too much

pressure is exerted...   those moments

where regrets linger like drunks in

bars without the slight awareness that

calling an uber is necessary...  a list of

items overlooked but not forgotten

rises up with the butter for the toast we

must now eat becausse the memory

has lingered long enough to remember.

27 November 2022

Living Large

a sunny day offers no clouds

a rainy day hides the sun

day by day we live obscurely

in our neighborhoods...

containers on the street for

weekly pickup, keeping our

communities clean...  children

play outside with footballs

while their parents watch the

games inside...  chilly winds

blow through the valley as if

if it is trying to clean out all

the debris...   canoes and kayaks

stored under the house for the

winter, with easy access in case

a warm day arrives as the lake

is always open...  shopping with

friends helps pass the time as

store present for the holiday,

and give to others in case the

family decides not to arrive.

26 November 2022

Silent Thoughts

silent thoughts walk around inside

my mind like prowling wolves,

feeding off the dead or forgotten

memories that were once so much

a part of my life...  years take their

toll on what the mind tries to become

as it tries to influence actions and

personalities...  we are no longer

who we were or wanted to be as

influnces change the direction and

the ideas of what one believes...

silent thoughts walk through the

mind as a Europeaan traveler who

wants to visit all the popular cities

and all the popular sites visitors

want to see before the end...

silent thoughts walk through the

mind like soldiers marching on a

parade field celebrating the end

of the war...  we drift in and out

of the reality that surrounds our

lives with grace and we remember

all that we were intended to know.

26 November 2022

Lights & Darks

rings around the colors of light

vertical stripes down through

darks and shadows bump up

against each other in a vain

attempt at closeness...  lines

of a horizontal nature run a

parallel course to the bottom,

and we lift our spirits as if we

were the ones running the show

when in reality, we were just

watching from a distance to 

see if the rings of color were

different than people of color

and racism becomes just a

lesson learned before it is too

late to make one's apologies.

25 November 2022

An End's End

a silver shrine sits on the balcony of success

a gold necklace is worn by motherless boy,

shoe shines are given in railroad stations and

law enforcement dare not enter the subways;

we extend our influence throughout the land

and into the mountains as well as in the valleys

that sometimes lead us to the eastern coast...

we pay pennies on the dollar for goods we have

smuggled into this country in the hopes of

turning everyone into addicts...  but intervention

always seens to save the day from salvations

and we pray to the gods that perhaps we will

be given another chance tomorrow...  the dog

of life bites our backside almost every day

as we slip and slide throught the gutters of

life wondering who will save us from ourselves

and who will bury us with our past memories.

23 November 2022

Falling Short

out of the mornng sky the falcon flies down

towards the valley of shadows, lingering at

the point of no return when its flight has been

all but committed...  no other prey in the sky,

not the eagle nor any other raptor except the

vulture who soars all alone...   the skies have

a way of forecasting the future, as it attempts

to explain the past  by allowing the present

to unfold like it normally would each morning

when the birds of prey are all unleashed...

out of the morning sky flies the falcon and the

hawk whose job it is to patrol these parts from

from rabid hunters who walk the grounds at

the end of the sky where it meets the ground,

but it's not flat and not as jagged as the sides

of a mountain but it is home to those who

walk the land in search of others with like

minds and survivor skills the last the winter...

out of the morning skies flies the falcon, hawk,

and eagle on a parallel course of protection,

targeting those who have filed a similar flight

plan with no idea when the currents will fall

short of expectations and the flyers fall down.

23 November 2022

Sun Drenched Mind

a sun drenched mind sits in a cold

body that lays in the bed without 

the warmth of a wool blanket...

a sun drenched mind plays a game

of hide and seek with thoughts

that no longer suit one's personality...

a sun drenched mind believes in

the purity of thoughts that arrive

inside at birth without reconstruction

and are nurtured until the end of

cycle of life after puberty...

a sun drenched mind remembers

its origins just as well as it sees 

its past failures that robed it of

its integrities and promises...

a sun drenched mind stammers

and stutters as it registers all its

grievances with the local county

clerk knowing that the terms of

office have exceeded expectations...

a sun drenched mind lives on the

soft shoulder of the road that runs

through the valley of consciousness

when mental hollowness is expected.

21 Novermber 2022

Towering Times

a wooden door opens to the cold

warm sun penetrates the glass

light reflected on a wall makes

the rest of it look dirty...

a fireplace off the the right burns

no logs just elecricity and the

mantel above holds the bose that

is no longer used to spread the

sound from one side of the room

to the other side...  a large screen

monitor hangs on the wall directly

above, allowing us to see the news

from a distance when we are not

involved in making it...  we sit in

chairs wondering about our past

as it relates to our future and if

there might have been a change

had we looked the other way...

jealous cats keep each other on

their toes and they silently walk

around the hardwood floors on

their way to another room...

the clock on the wall reads close

to noon but in our minds it is

just as easily midnight...  we are

surrounded by the light that

enters through the open door,

letting us finally see what we

think our life is all about now.

21 November 2022

Time Passing

morning moves the mind to a

state of consciousness and an

awareness of the day without

the presence of darkness...  a

day and time unspecified when

afternoon leaves her tears on

the doorstep of the evening

when life has passed by quicker

than anticipated...  when one

sees another time blown apart

by its inclusion to the exclusion

of those who came before...  we

embrace the morning, the afternoon

and the evening as waves of passing

time that cannot return or be run

again as if we are looking for a

do-over...   morning begins while

afternoon stretches and evening lets

us know what has passed...  we can

measure the speed of its passing

from our changing appearance and

hope that we will understand before

all our time has been used willingly.

19  November 2022

Creatures of Habit

a cloud in the sky stands in the way of me

flying up and into the sky to be with the

birds who raised me as an infant...  when

left on the side of the street in an empty

zerox box of paper...  I recall them not

thinking too much of me other than taking

the time to give me a name...  the name of

"what's-his-name" was what they said to

me when they left...  and, the birds swooped

down and picked me up as if they had been

paid to do so...  and, as my life unfolded, I

what not to do in a nest with others as that

was the quickest way to get kicked out of

the next and spend the rest of the night on

the cold ground...  a cloud stands in my 

way or else I would fly into the sky and

soar up into the sun as I gave up my wax

wings long ago, after reading the story of

Icarus...  and, grew my own but never had

the desire to escape my surroundings...

we are creatures of habit and only seldom

do we have a habit of being creatures as

the latter does not suit our personalities.

18 November 2022

Free

unencumbered as the wind, we blow

one way to the other without regrets...

we walk the line both thin and thick

just to see where it will take us...  in

the dawn of our lives, we depend on

others for our indiscretions but as we

it becomes out doman and ours to 

decide what will we do...  or not do

just to keep ourselves out of harm's

way, should we decide to exercise

our desire to be free...  and, what it

might mean to someone else should

we decide to do so...  as we are not

as free as we would like to be, once

we understand the rules and regulations

associated with that choice...  it is not

just a black or white decision, but one

that is defined by a lifetime,  moving

not in a straight line but in a line that

flows with the wind and is unhampered

by the wisdom of the trees that stand

in it way when attempting to gain force.

18 November 2022

Off In the Distance

off in the distance the moon rises just

like it did yesterday and the day before,

and will continue to do until I die...

after that, it can do what it likes as I

will no longer be in a position to care;

off in the distance, the moon highlights

the clouds of the day that did not have

enought time to escape and I can see

faces  in their shadowy structures...

off in ther distance, the moon howls

back at the wolves who stare at its

light as if it were the enemy it has

been searching for all its life...

off in the distance, the moon seems

to be sitting on top of a hill, whose

image is barely visible in the dim

light that surrounds the horizon...

off in the distance, the moon casts

doubt on the evening and all the

darkness that is no longer present...

off in the distance, my body walks

ahead of itself as if it is hoping to

see itself arriving instead of being

told it's destination has been reached...

off in the distance, my relatives are

all gathered at the top of the hill in

the hopes of delaying the opportunity

for me to have dinner with them all.

15 November 2022

Attitude Adjustment

my mind lays on the day with the

force of a light wind that has no

where to go but in circles...  the

eyes of the world look down on

me with an inferior gaze that is

reserved only for my friends...  a

light appears off in the distance

as if it were the end of the tunnel

that runs through my thoughts

without stopping for editing...  a

distant bird flies around with the

deed to the house while another

flies around with my divorce...  I

scratch my head as if wondering

why my mind is doing this to me...

a blade of grass cuts the images of

my dreams in half, leaving a scar

wide enough for the blue ox and

I still don't know who is behind

all the attempts on my attitudes.

15 November 2022