Under the Rock

visitors from space land on our fingers

offering us illumination as they flitter

around in front of us...  a summer

phenomenon...  remember the child

I was collecting them in a jar...  but

no longer alive by the next day...  I

had put holes in the jar's top but it

made no different to them...  we were

young and foolish for so many years

and when we became mature we were

older and more foolish than before, we

chose not to see it...  our mind had been

rearranged by the culture that molded us

into creatures of habit, teaching us to be

as insincere as we were impolite when

were confronted by those who were 

just a little different than us...  virtues

of our righteousness were laid out on

the ground like surveyor flags and we

ignored them as we ignore our own

salvation...  a ruse to make us seem

holier than thou...  we were unique

births and at a time when all was as

quiet as a church mouse...  now we be

relics of a bygone past that had no

fury in its minor accomplishments.

23 August 2022

Spiral Thoughts

One hill after another, my thoughts

must roll over to be heard...  evil

lurks in the valleys between these

hills - my mind is careful to avoid;

roads of other thoughs, paved long

ago, wind their way in and around

these hills hoping to confuse my

judgement - I sustain credibility

by ginning up my courage...  hope

falls through the grains of sand

that surrounds these hills and is

trapped in the underworld and

taught how to be innocent...  a

new dawn...  a new day...  beckons

to be heard when it awakens from

its self-induced coma to avoid

yesterday's visitors who brought

gifts instead of friendship...  age

lessens the impact of ignorance

but we all know when it's too late.

22 August 2022

An Eco System

inside out...  life provides what

we need...  outside in...  death

provides a final solution...  in

the answer, we find questions

forgetting all we know to allow

the new to enter...  float in the

light of awareness and gain

what no one know or sleep in

a bed of forgetulness and learn

infinite wisdom left on scrolls

in the dead sea...  stand tall and

look down at yourself, a perception

of what might be...   sip the liquid

of the gods and fill the spaces in

between your teeth with winter

food that sustains existence...

inside out or outside in, we are

creatures of the same creator who

is not of where we were found...

clues hidden under rocks can

only be found by snakes carrying

apples and the leap in awareness

came not from what we learned

but from what we wanted to eat.

22 August 2022

Sky Travelers

we listen to the air passing by

and the wind that blows through

our hair...  we look into the sky

and see the heavens that only

death will bring us to...  we

see the stars at night, wondering

if it is spacetime that brought

them into our hemisphere...

we sleep on the ground when

we can otherwise we walk

around lookng for answers...

we bathe in the waters of our

forefathers and fish in the lakes

they created for us...  we sink

into the mountain caves for

protection in the cold, finding

comfort with the animals that

hide there too...   we are easily

mesmerized by the sky travelers

who created us and thankful

when they return with gift of

knowledge, taking us inot our

future... we are sleek in our

appearance and sly with our

thoughts as we take advantage

of those who are much weaker.

21 August 2022

Life's Frustrations

sight betrayed by mental trickery

hides self deception...  a noise

is not just a noise but a distraction

blended forth in magic...  we

insist in cancelation, receiving none

our lives are transformed and we

have not the faintest clue...  sounds

beckon our attention elsewherre

in a moment of temporary insanity

that mocks our lives and it attempts

at being rescued...  we lay our minds

on the shelf of memories, seeking

out the ones that are the most familar

instead of the newest as oftentimes

those are the ones who have been

somewhat distorted and disfugured

like botched cosmetic surgery...  life

extends out beyond the obviious 

and to a point of no return, leaving

us to cling onto our dreams in the

middle of the night if we want to

awaken as ourselves in the morning.

20 August 2022

A Neighbor's Chat

the morning creeps in while we are sleeping

an abundance of light covers us all...

we dance with our nude reflections on the wall

wondering how easy it was to find each other...

we speculate on tomorrow then give us the

silly investigation as it was really none of our

business even though we pursued it most 

of the day...   we see the commonplace while

ignoring the unusual as it does not match

the vision with which we awakened  and

while silence is golden to some, it is not

to the rest of us who chase our tails like

a dog, hoping not to catch them...  rumors

keep us focused when chatting with the

neighbor who life was just repossessed by

his wife's death...  his lingering fears of

loneliness are worn like a sun hat to keep

out the light while farming...  he knows 

not why he cries out for attention but 

when it arrives, rejects it like the dessert

he refused to eat when dining out last...hat

he is known for his tenacity and shares

some of it with us in our quiet chats of

just listening to each other try to breathe.

20 August 2022

A Problem With Sharing

hummingbirds flock to the feeders not wanting

to share at all...  reminding me of selfish cats, dogs,

and humans who seem to be the worst of all...

we pledge ourselves to poverty and hunger and

then abandon both when our own situation approaches

dire and we regroup into a me-first attitude not

caring about our fellow comrades...  we touched the

sky and it belongs to us, nobody else, and when

our territory is threatened, we will launch a bevy

of thoughts into your direction to push you away

and think again before stealing from us...  not even

wanting to share the crumbs from our table or the

food not eaten as it still belongs to us...  and we 

are the haves and you are the have nots and we

are unapproachable...  like the hummingbird that

flies away instead of engaging, thinking that food

can be taken another way...  we are creatures of

habits who have learned from experience that

sharing has nothing to do with being American.

18 August 2022

Not Anticipated Today

into the night our spirits flee from the

tyranny they perceive from our actions,

we hide behind the judas priest in the

hopes that his robes will hide us from

tentacles of our own unconsciousness,

we live deep inside ourselves where

only our creator is allowed to go in a

search of the lost link to our salvation,

we are a mirage of feelings juxtaposed

next to the days of the week of their

formulations...  but we seek no justice

in who we are or were simply because

we have no recollections...  and when

our spirits again rise again from their

hiding spaces they will know that all

is not well and again retreat into a

more passive isolation where life

does not exchange itself with death

but uses death as a partner to evolve

into that which was not anticipated.

17 August 2022

Passing Buses

from my seat in the livingroom

I can see the moving branches

of the neighbor's tree and know

that a breeze is blowing...  a 

gentle rustling of the leaves

rather than dramatic....  we have

had our fill of drama in this

valley as one bus right after

another one has driven by, not

waving, not blowing the horn,

now so much as a howdy on

their way to the big apple...  we

see them on the nightly news

unloading their passengers at

first light in the morning with no

one at the destination to pay for

their meals they ate along the way.

16 August 2022

Not A Cloudless Day

between the layers of the clouds

the sun penetrates as if it were a

determined lover whose satisfaction

was imminent and would prevail

over any resistance...  the clouds

parted and light shown all around...

the rain would come another day

no doubt when least expected

coat the land with her own fluid

growth saved from the months

of isolation on the other side of

the world where salmon dance in

the cold waters just to be someone's

dinner...  a drought ends and one

begins is the ageless cycle and we

are caught in the middle of the 

struggle and neither side lends a

hand to our predicament...   we rob

Peter to pay Paul using Philip to

convince the crowd that our play

is more serious than it appears.

16 August 2022

End of the Day

the end of the day is always premature

and if I were to dictate the length of the

it would be like Alaska...   nine months

long...  although I am sure that after a

few weeks of constant daylight, my 

desire for days would vanish...  I recall

my military days and my need to have

the evening watch so I would not be

around the scrambled eggs people...

and when time slows down and allows

me to remember such trivial thoughts,

I am grateful for the end of the day

and the need to rest our eyes...  the end

of life is nowhere similar to the end

of days as we know death to be...  the

evening brings about merriment and

death brings about finality...  we troll

the night looking for hostages that

need to be set free from their homes

where they are confined like prisoners

and when we rap on their doors, their

caretakers urge us to leave with knives

and other weapons that had been ruled

forbidden by those who decide it all,

and if we don't obey, then our lives

could come to an end rather abruptly.

13 August 2022

Living the Good Life

we dine on food from the garden

as if it is our last meal on earth...

corn and potatoes,

squash and zucchini

bell peppers and green onion

cucumbers and tomatoes...

our rows extend out fifty feet,

we have a row for each 

except three for corn...

or tiller is an electric one as we

want to do our part for going green

and we have no private jet to sell

nor do we have an electric car...

we are an elderly couple living off

our uncle Sam who has, from time

to time been more greedy that

either of us can imagine...

our coffee comes from Sams but

the two are not related...  and, 

by the time we've paid or taxes

there is really nothing left to save

except or leftovers from the garden.

13 August 2022

The Teacher

inside my clasped hands, I hold a

tiny firefly that was not quick enough

and now remains my prisoner until

I decide to release her...  and...  I 

have no idea while I think that he

is really a she...  as females must

be on my mind of late...  especially

in this early evening hour in which

I am finding myself...  we learn by

doing or do by learning...  I can

never remember how it goes...  but

one thing is for sure and that is that

summer is finally at a close...  and

soon I will go shopping for clothes

and such that I will wear to school,

meeting these real females who

won't have anything to do with me...

while that idea may sound appealing

to some, it is not to me since I am

much much older and will be required

to set the daily example for them all.

11 August 2022

Getting Away

clouds on the horizon

clouds in the sky

clouds all around us

I know not why...

our sun hides behind

these clouds in a most

peculiar way as it gives

us the light we need

yet pretends not to stay...

we lift our arms upward

in an effort to be seen

in the hopes that our

sky gods will provide us

with what we need...

a river of doubt runs

through my mind as I

wiggle my toes in the

creek on whose bank

I sit with all my morning

thoughts...  the least of

which is planning our my

days in this foreign land

to which I have been

subjected...  it is the land

of my parents and of their

parents as well who came

to this place decades ago

to hunt and fish while on

vacation...  but now we come

here mainly to get away

from all the rules and regulations

that have invaded our city.

11 August 2022

Summer Rain

inside our shelters we sit, out of the sun

but roasting all the same...  stripped down

to our bathing suits...  sitting behind our

portable fans that spritz water on our

faces to cool us down...  when out of

nowhere comes a dark cloud or two that

has, in the past, blown on by...  but today

it lingers and dautles around until there

are quite a few of these dark clouds above

our fashionable heads...  we stare up at

them daring them to come closer...  teasing

them with our sweaty bodies, hoping for

a quick drop or two...  and, when we think

we have lost our last strand of patience...

a thunder clap is heard just over the horizon

and then another...  and, another... and 

strikes of lightning hit the ground all

around our structure and we wonder if this

next one will hit us squarely...  but before

we get a chance to ponder that thought

too long...  the heavens breaks loose with

an enormous plunge of water that instantly

makes puddles and cools our environment

by ten degrees or more, making chilly, cold

and shivering as the wind dries our sweat...

we huddle together for warmth but that is

good only for those on the inside as the

outer ring still shivers...  and, the downpour

of water shifts from a deluge to a trickle...

wondering if we should stay or go, we sit

down on the ground and open another beer.

10 August 2022

About This

light remains in the valley long

after the sun goes down...  these

months of summer...  half way

into the early evening it lasts...

we, the bikers and the hikers

like it as we recover more than

just a little distance...  we have

almost another half day...  the

farmers and the pickers like it

as they can earn more money to

pay for their bent over backs...

and, the kids play like kids of

any age until the landlord tells

them it is time to come in...  we

all know what it was like and

some of us remember...  at least

those who still have their wits

about them since it is better to be

about this than something else.

8 August 2022

The Lost Generation

we are done with the incidentals that

cloud our judgements, causing us to

make the same mistakes as those who

came before us made...  we learned

nothing from their presence except

how to farm, cook, and give birth...

we are as unknown to each other as

we are to all the stars in the sky that

cast their light on our direction...  we

are pitiful in how we respond and in

how we show our appreciation to

those who gave us our future...  a

future that we know not how to care

for, protect, or grow...  we are are

barren as the elders who are about

to die...  they gave us nothing but

grief in the way they controlled our

thoughts and behavior so we would 

end up being more like them than us.

7 August 2022

Trees Bend in the Wind

trees bend in the wind and

we instinctively take shelter,

from a storm we do not see

but feel through our closeness

with nature...   we share seasonal

feelings when we can, letting

each other know that in and

outs of our insecurities that

enable us to survive year after

year when other fall by the

wayside...  we are strong and

determined in our understanding

of what they are telling us...

when they bend as they do

in the wind...  and we pass that

understanding on to our children

who sometimes wait for he storm

to appear and are no longer seen.

7 August 2022

Summer Fun

an afternoon rain leaves the

grass too wet to mow... so,

lawn mowers stay in their

cages and their keepers see

the chance to put off work

until tomorrow...  mothers

tell their children not to pay

attention to the postponement

asking them to help her make

oatmeal cookies instead...  we

understand what the lady of 

the house is doing but play

along with her all the same...

blue sky is the password that

lets us know all is well and 

we are in the clear to play as

she is busy talking to a neighbor

who has nothing better to do

with her day...  summertime

is the season that fits the weather

except when a storm rolls in

from the west and because it

left Canada a day or two before,

we are looking for a delay of play

as if we were a major leaguer...

when all we are is a few kids trying

to have a little fun each summer.

6 August 2022

Outside My Window

outside my window, is a whole

world of the unforgotten, those

who would only be seen in the

early morning and those who

would only be seen in the dark

of night...  and, those who would not

be seen at all except by each other;

outside my window, are the trees

from centuries past, planted by

some unknown stranger for some

unknown reason so that we could

enjoy them today...  although that

was never their purpose we know;

outside my window are the street

lamps planted by the city to make

us feel safe in lieu of someone

patrolling our neighborhood as

those funds could be spent on things

far more important than citizens;

outside my window, are the trappings

of success as fancy cars sit in the

driveways of fancy houses that have

been purchased by fancy people in

the hopes that one day people like

me will finally notice their success;

outside my window are all the emotions

and concerns that the one who lived

here before me and did not articulate.

6 August 2022

A Mortgage Paid

a tropical breeze passes by overhead on its

way to the Caribbean and says hello and not

wanting to disturb our complacency moves

on without further comment...  we acknowledge

its presence but not its politeness as we tend

to or own business in the sunny south...  we

are not who were once were and while many

are thankful for that change, others debate

as to whether or not it was warranted given

our current lack of personality with a

passing breeze...  and, while we know the

difference between truth and lies, we offer

a complaint that we heard not the comment

nor did we notice that which was passing...

we fetch and carry our belonging back to

our homestead and bid our followers goodday

as we reach inside our homes to unlock the

gates that keep us safe and protected...  we

simplicity in motion and in action and seek

no advice from those who handle the mortgage

of the home we swear has been paid off since

we were little in our nature to understand 

and what we comprehended was explained

to us in detail...  so there could be no mistakes.

6 August 2022

Believing in Time

we weave our thoughts around

the strings of time...  these strings

of energy whose random movements

create the dimension in which we

believe we are living...  we move

from one dimension to another

as we define and redefine our interests

in the theoretical as if it were the

only acceptable reality...   we jump

 start our knowledge as if it were a

machine believing its future is just

an aspect of our past like the facet 

of a diamond...  we can no longer

see or understand that which is gone

 have recorded it was here...  we know

what was is gone but was here and

we know it is part of now...  we trust

the strings that have made it so even.

if we don't believe in time at all.

2 Aug 2022

Latent Personalities

we stand on the banks of our knowledge

wondering what to do or what to think

when knowledge vanishes from plain

sight and emotions are use to explain

those actions of which we had no control;

we sit on the shores of our imaginations

hoping the waves of creativity will wash

up with the sands from foreign lands...

our benign interests float on driftwood

from all those abandoned ideas that

drowned in the waters of apprehension;

we kneel on yoga mats in revolving

time from the past that has no future

unless we trap in inside our minds 

with the thoughts that are no longer

viable or have not been used since

before we had a chance to see them...

we bend to the will of our desires rather

than to the wills of our understand and

leave behind those emotions that had 

an influence on our latent personalities.

2 Aug 2022

Dawn Eventually Arrives

a warm humid morning lays on the ground 

birds hunt through freshly cut grass searching

spiders rebuild their webs from yesterday

rain clouds slide by to alternate locations

and the days unfolds as possibly memorable...

we listen to sights and sounds, interpreting

what we can...  learning from those signs

we cannot...  our day begins in the night

when devils are the most diverse providing

light when least expected as it struggles

with what it wants to share...  dawn gives

us hope and a new beginning that grows

out from the desire it had tried to resist.

2 August 2022

Our Own Stupidity

inside our mental homes of concentration, we

sometimes see ourselves for what we are worth

and wonder why are we still alive and functioning.

we cast doubt on ourselves as we struggle through

the day, wishing it were different than it is...  and,

when we make an attempt to change, our own

personalities defeat our progress, keeping us

more frustrated than we were before and a little

apprehensive about ever trying it again...  we then

become our own victims constantly proving to

ourselves we no longer deserve what we had

thought we did...  self-destructive we become,

teaching our children to become the same, and

blaming others for our inability to succeed...  it

is not the tragedy of our actions but the stupidity

of them that causes us to remain who we become.

31 July 2022

It's Just a Journey

the path I walk is narrow but the road is wide

my thoughts follow only randomness

my head tilts at windmills as if to say hello

but no words are exchanged by the greeting;

words come freely most of the time...

as I play with them daily...  or them with me...

I have not yet figured that one out yet...

the remorse of the day rolls off my shoulders

a slick coat of kindness protects me...

surrounding my vision is an abundance of life

some of which are useless...  some not  but the

one vague question persists that I know not

the answer to...  why this journey...  why me?

my birth was not recorded and my name was

not offered to me as I took the only one that

I steal at the time and whether I like it or not,

it is now who I am...  and it is this which has

sent me on my journey to who knows where

and when I return they'll be no one here to tell.

25 July 2022

My Myterious Creature

above the treetops soars a flying creature

way up high, unknown to my untrained eye...  

if I were smaller I would catch a ride...

if I were younger I would fear the sky...so...  

from my vantage point lying on the ground,

I can see all around me and in between the

clouds...  where the rain comes from, I suppose,

but not today as it is as clear as it can be and

for some time the sky has not been this way...

but today...  it is clear and beautiful...  and I

imagine me as an angel, flying here and 

there...  without care...  until my bidding is

required... and then I dart away as quickly as

I had appeared...  on the ground, I lay with the

tall grass tickling my fancy and my ears and

spot an upside-down animal approaching

from the side...  onto my elbow I raise myself

and once our faces meet, I realize we have

meet before in some distant dream I had when

on the ground I was lying and fast asleep I 

went only to be awakened by this same one...

my eyes closed involuntarily to block out the

sun and when they re-opened, I was alone.

25 July 2022

Off In the Distance

rain follows thunder and thunder follows rain

neither are of any concern without the thunder

as thunder brings the lightning and the lightning

brings the danger to all those out and about...

rain falls in droplets sometimes sparse and

sometimes plentiful and sometimes when it rains

we just walk and let it pour down all around us

as if we have not a care in the world...  our clothes

cling to our bodies and our features are on display,

painted by an amateur but painted nonetheless 

and we are a showcase of charms...  low hanging

fruit ready to be picked...  but when we are not

walking for pleasure, it is the rain that is our nemesis

as we do so out of a need...   and, like always it is

welcomed...  co-existing with nature when we have

to or when it is prudent...  the rain falls and off in the

distance we hear thunder and stop what we are doing.

25 July 2022

Endlessly Searching

each day we look up into the sky and wonder...

each day we ask ourselves the same question why...

each day we hope what we are doing has a purpose

and will provide our limited life with meaning...

but...  what is it for which we search?

there is no answer here or anywhere...  yet, we

search as if it is out there waiting for us to find...

our days spent wandering the countryside

our nights spent sleeplessly hoping that our

journies will soon end in victories...  and a new

found sense of self...  still, we find nothing that

we did not already know... as we live with no

purpose and no meaning and no direction other

than our continued pursuits...  and, each day we

believe and perceive we are closer to the truth...

life offers us encouragement by giving us another

day to search...  another day to see out that which

we know we must find...  it is our salvation...  our

final resolution...  that we understand it all...  that

we know everything and that it all revolves around

our knowledge...  we are the center...  we are the 

core of it all and everything else is just subordinate.

25 July 2022

Giving Thanks for Life

days flow by unharmed by the presence of

mankind and I wonder how long nature will

continue to allow that to happen...  humans

tend to ruin everything around them for the

sake of generating money to acquire more

stuff they can ruin and then abandon...  we

the same species no matter the century and

no matter our location...  no only do we 

destroy what's around us but we destroy

each other in the process...  and yet, those

of us who believe in a greater power cannot

understand why this continues to happen...

we are poison to the earth...  we are poison

to the land and water found on the earth...

we are poison to the air that surrounds the

earth...  and, we are poison to the creature

who inhabit this earth...  we destroy those

we do not like or those who do not think,

act, or believe like us...  we spend our life

looking over our shoulders in case someone

we are destroyed is approaching us...  we trust

no one, not even ourselves and pay guards

to protect us from our family and friends...

we teach our offsprings to hate those who

do not understand you, killing before you

can be killed...  and, once a year, we find

ourselves giving thanks for being alive.

24 July 2022

On Getting Older

moments, images, and names flash across my

mind and I pay none of it any attention...  this

slide show of memories does not catch my 

attention and while these might be interesting

glimpses they provide no immediate desire for

further investigation...  but when a memory of

my own design flashes across my mental screen,

it gets the attention it deserves...  perhaps more

if the details are a little sketchy and the vision

does nothing to clarify...  these moments stay

with me for the rest of the day and then some 

as my sleep is interrupted by these teases that

cannot quite catch on...  a nuisance they are

hanging around as they do...  annoying the

mind as it tries to remember but cannot...  a

devil of a demon with which to contend but

a necessary one when it happens, trying to

find the conclusion to the riddle they pose...

but when the mystery is solved and the issue

vanishes, it is not too long before another one

appears just as elusive, leaving one to wonder if

this is just the plight of one who is getting old.

23 July 2022