Fall Rituals Unnerving

a morning sun leads the way
other stars follow,
planets by the dozens float
in weightless space
waiting for an invitation,
 unseen darkness is the energy
moving gravity through
spacetime and those who
have the resisting energy
do so with renewed vigor...
wolves on earth lead the way
along the path down by the
creek that moves water
from the mountain...
into the valley it rolls as if
on its way to an urgent
meeting with nature...
signs of humanity are seen
by the holes in the ground
looking for resources
hidden from our grasp,
and those with feathers in their
caps and money in pockets
are the ones who benefit...
leaves from the trees fall
hiding from their masters,
raked into piles for fall fun,
only to be burned because
of their pagan natures while
we dance around campfires
and drink hot chocolate.

October 31, 2024

The Life Tree

a pale blue sky holds the remnants

of a framed, full yellow moon with 

shadow - images on its face like 

rather small earth-like continents...  

off in the distance a row or ross 

trees emerge that favor a true 

depth of field...  just above like 

loose fitting hats are serious purple 

clouds framed by a pastel pink 

sunset and a lone scavenger flying 

west as well...a slightly curved 

ground holds a full head of tan broom

straw grass, clumped together, adding 

perspective to the lifeless, leafless, 

dark tree whose branches twist 

awkwardly up into the early evening 

fall sky...four main limbs give the 

impression of a human but the hundreds 

of smaller stems and limbs offer up

the abstract and the illusion of

nature's life centuries of years ago.

October 28, 2024

Nature's Cycle

a leaf slowly tumbles

to the ground,
raindrops flatten its
frail appearance,
squirrels trample upon
its torn body,
leaves falling on top
of old ones,
covering the grass
hiding the roots of
old trees and
covering nuts,
for which all the
squirrels search,
ants live under the
leaves making homes
in the dark dirt,
worms burrow in and
around - leaves crumble,
finely mix together,
as more leaves cover
the ground...  fall
turns to winter...
winter to spring,
fresh leaves appear
and the journey
of the cycle ends
just as abruptly
as it began.

October 27, 2024

Nosey Neighbors

a purple vase sits atop a
dark oak wood table,
a tennis ball atop of that,
behind it rest two green
and tan vases on either
side of a fireplace...
a mantel holds a clock
and a temp gauge that]
seldom is accurate and
to its left is a large screen
monitor on which movies
are watched occasionally;
a cabinet of equipment used
for entertainment rests on a
hardwood floor newly
installed by amateurs since
it now squeaks when walked
upon when traveling from
one side of the room to the
other - several times a day
this is now done...  an air
purifiers against the wall
keeps life relatively sterile
even though the windows
are always open...  visitors
sometimes knock on the door
to see if anyone herein lies.

October 27, 2024

My Siamese Cat

hues of brown fur-like hair,

soft and silky streak,

across the slim body as if

by design...  a dark brown

tail highlights the difference,

brown eyes turning sky blue

in a serene and calming way,

teeth like fangs on either side

offer a menacing point of view,

long legs and black paws

even on the underside,

pure bred all the way...

and when he enters the room

everyone knows that day,

announcing in a special way

no hearing loss today...

purring when being rubbed

silent when sleeping,

curled up in a tiny ball,

not quite sure of anything,

juxtaposed against the yellow

ones - two brothers they are,

all of whom have shared space

for thirteen years or more...

shy at first and even after

not trusting anyone, he poses

no threat with a sweet demeanor

but tomorrow he might trust

you less than today...

none the less he is that peculiar

and gains nothing either way,

it's just a longtime friend he is

my Siamese cat named Piper.

October 26, 2024

Halloween

an eerie moon hangs low in the sky
a bevy of quail replaced by crows
sits on a weathered fence rail
guarding the open graves....
fall leaves on the ground lay
hiding the young grass growing,
rain gentle falls on the tin roof
sounds of an orchestra tuning,
squirrels and chipmunks scurry
along the ground hopping over
each other for the small nuts...
a witch in black, rimmed in red
surveys her domain silently while
crows gather at her feet paying
homage to her ruthlessness...
lightning strikes nearby, followed by
thunder - spirited silhouettes shiver,
darkness rocks the imagination,
tall tales abound - innocence sleeps
in warm beds, oblivious to the
menacing outside...night's brew
simmers in mind cauldrons and
some hide in closets waiting for the
light of a new welcomed month. 

October 26, 2024

Morning Haze

sunlight drills through my mind's curtains
enlightenment is never out of reach,
shades of wisdom float past my eyes
as if on a river cruise in search of ports;   
a path forward seldom taken clouds the
vision - fall storms without lightning,
pleasing a judgeless jury and a crime
gone missing in a fall haze...
equipped with compasses, the quest
for mindless truth begins - a journey on
not so familiar ground - the bartender
ignoring curfew, our steins fuller than
they were before...  endless chattering of
endless kind grace our mature ears,
helping us find our missing captain...
tears stream down glass walls where
tourists rested their heads, trying to
catch a glimpse of the pope's reflection,
and with eyes firmly planted in the
back of my head, I push forward hoping
the day will finally catch up to where
it had left off - just yesterday it was...  or

so it is that my mind believes it to be.

October 24, 2024 

End of the Line

paused and waiting, we tend to
dwell in the past - not necessary,
swinging doors and wells
more than we should...
children of alliance stand tall in
the valley of time, moving
it conclusion ever so slowly,
fields of uncertainties replaced
by sustaining hope and faith,
longer than normal we wait...
anxious to be called out
anxious to hear the assignment
anxious to know...  it is all just
a matter of time, they say...
the fringes of memories hold
the doors open letting the wells
run dry as if they were oil fields,
doubts are cast in bolts of lightning,
we duck back inside when the
last one strikes the ground and we
collapse into a forgetful river.

October 24, 2024

Chinatown

the weave of the land is personal

from foreign lands they come
with them bringing cultures of
food, clothes, and wine...
desert garments they wear on 
their shoulders, different colors
different style but the same
message is conveyed - they are
the ones with whom we will do
battle one day just a sure as the
just as the sun begins to shine,
hair across their faces blown
and eyes but just a slant - no one
knows their destination, no one
can understand their rants...
justice is as it always is, prevails
among the poor and rich alike
but to these immigrants it
matters little, offering nothing
in return bur pain and suffering,
a long list of deeds they do,
some of which belongs to others
but blame they receive all the same,
taking it graciously on the cusp 
of the new day in their control.

October 21, 2024

Morning Stillness

a stillness in the air prevails today
back porch sitting in the sun,
umbrella up to prevent contact...
strange yellow cat beside my feet
rolling over in the sustained heat,
exposed and vulnerable, this
little one trusts more than he should,
a cacophony of sounds emerges 
around me - a new conductor arrives,
the fall air is full of the morning
the morning is full of sound...
little creatures walk along their
curved dimensions not knowing
up and down or right from wrong,
yet they persist with their toils 
like they were always to do as I
watch not meant to do this at all.

October 21, 2024

Black or White

black and white rules the world

dark and light pretends not to notice

life's duality comes into view

each time morning replaces night,

one exists not with the other, yet

both are opposites to the whole,

we slice our view down the middle

every twelve hours or so just to 

be on the safe side of it all...

we are neither united nor divided

but we are different in that we

are on different sides of it all,

wondering with each passing

moment when it may all end and

we can return to the normalcy

we knew before it all began...

no heroes exist in our line of 

no slaves will there be either, 

we are known for our obscurities

not the realities that separate us.

October 20, 2024

A Different Kind

eyes of a different kind peer out
at our environmental horizon,
letting us know the way is clear,
our path resolute and finite,
towards a wintery solution, we
march like slaves on batan,
no one left behind - no one can
be taken with us since our journey
is mentally insecure...
faces of a different kind laugh out
at our choices and decisions,
believing them to be premature
and without proper emphasis,
like putting the natives on sandy
reservations and hoping they
have the skills to grow corn...
words of a different kind tossed
out with the bath water in the hopes
of teaching lessons soon to be
forgotten or ignored as we march
to the tunes of our own perceptions,
grasping as the boundaries that
separate and divide us from birth
until the grave that we must dig for
ourselves and fill with hopefulness.

October 18, 2024

Our Fences

mind the fences that
bind us,
separate us,
mend them if you will
it will do no good,
set in stone, we are
birth to grave,
taught and trained
by parents whose
biases outlived them,
strange it is that we are
even together,
stranger still that we are
even talking...
fence made of thoughts
are the worst,
no tearing them down,
no refurbishing,
or modifications will
change them or
alter their reflections,
speak to those who
speak the loudest...
they are the most biased,
the most adamant,
the most determined in
the fight, caring not
about the struggle just
the winner's circle.

October 16, 2024

Harsh Reality

hundreds dead
cast away by water
nature symbolized
destructive and
powerful...
twice attached
and twice
survived, without
loved ones live,
compensation
offered too late,
we see it now
but welcomed it
earlier...
dawn's day arrived
damaged observed,
assessed, reported,
and replies stated
at grave sites too late
to be meaningful,
casted votes now doubted
saviors called upon,
in strange disguises
felt by brothers and sisters
long gone...
trees uprooted,
homes swept away with
praying occupants,
disturbed silence now
yelling instead,
watching it reported
hearing it stated
hundreds dead,
returning to complacency
and the next day as
time moves forward
never looking back,
never wondering what
might have been,
as the cards were played,
the hands dealt,
life taken from us
never disappears.

October 13, 

Aftermath

under water it is

all or most everything
homes and businesses
north to south
all points in between,
up-rooted trees
others twisted off,
creatures large and small
in hiding still...
we have no future
without a past,
no present without
a dream fulfilled,
bodies washed away
never seen again,
some found buried
in the muck...
we pray for intervention
it arrives at the end,
always too late but
well intentioned, it is.
there were other times 
as well when, Nero fiddled
scribes recorded, passing
it down through history,
and today, once again,
the gods taunt us with their
out of reach gestures,
letting us know too clear
that we are only human.

October 10, 2024

Migration East

east by southeast, the compass points,

bands of refugees forward heading,

no leader, no followers, just all moving

in the same directions, leaving behind

that which is no longer useful and

that which is no longer needed...

into warmers lands from whence they

come, shedding clothes as their

journey unfolds in front of them...

rape and plunder they do, males and

females alike are not excused as the

process hardens their feeling and

severs their nerves...  only the few

animals they bring along are saved,

night opens up the day, close by the

sun who now hides behind the vast

horizon somewhat behind them...

a new land is foretold - once there

a new ownership begins as all they

can see is theirs and their families,

the gods have bid them farewell and

the gods will welcome them home,

it is told around campfires under a

full moon when all is well - no one

can dispute their promised claim.

October 10, 2024

Saving our Souls

darkness hits the ground heavily
stars in nearby galaxies bounce,
relativity is carefully suspended
monstrous dark energy abounds,
images from the past appear in
the random chaos following,
not too far from the center...
black holes opening and closing
around desperate systems as all
debts are foreclosed upon...
debris clusters collectively combine
sunshine muted by the bending
fabric of time, allowing gravity
to hold on to its own while
maintaining a careful distance,
we see what we see as dawn
approaches our latitudes - we
hear the decades scream out at
us for no apparent reason save
our unique juxta positioning...
darkness hits the ground just
below where we are standing,
we bear witness to it all, not 
knowing when daylight was
last used to save our souls.

October 10, 2024

 

Abandonment

along the walls of Jericho
an army marched,
the stones rumbled and moved
tumbling to the ground,
soldiers marched in...
bodies and blood on the ground,
along the walls of Mars colony
the winds howled,
pulling and pushing ferociously,
no brick and mortar were they 
on the ground they lay,
aliens entered and those who
were there perished violently,
along the walls of my thoughts
tears of joy stream,
new and bold are the ideas
stolen each and every one as
I was sleeping and dreaming,
now the emptiness haunts
the image of who I was,
desire skips over me like a 
vaulting tornado - hiding inside
its turbulence are the memories
of those who came before me
and those who stole the syrup
from all the maple trees.

October 9, 2024

Callous Memoirs

in the distance you stand

at the end of a thought
a fragmented sentence,
juxtaposed with metaphors
and similes as if you were
independent of actions
and circumstances...
around my neck you hang
a bracelet of sorts to
remind me of pledges
and promises made at
the end of the day when
not one listens and no
one cares who the players
really are except for the
validated parking...
miles of red tape follows
you around like a drought
looking for rain, and in
the end, we the song is 
sung and the dance ended
we are branded by the
braids we were in our hair
and the colored combs we
carry in our back pockets.

October 9, 2024

Gone

gone are the silent sounds
gone are the hummingbirds
gone are the peacemakers
and their bands of warriors,
gone are the heartbreakers
the soothsayers whose words
brought destruction not healing,
gone are the brick layers and
and all the engineers whose
labors built these pyramids,
gone are the street cleaners,
the wife beaters and the
children's eaters who cartoon
cartoon fantasies kept their
attention all morning long,
gone are the politicians whose
hearts were sincere and bank
accounts empty save the pennies
paid for their services...
gone are the postal riders and
the native Americans who stole
the mail to keep from having
to move again...
gone are the rough Neckers 
and red Neckers who backs
broke building up the wealth,
gone are the stabilizers and the
law enforcement officials who
refused to investigate lynchings,
gone are those who gave a damn
replaced by those who had been
damned and their efforts to
regulate American societies for
their own enrichment purposes.

October 6, 2024 

Daybreak

dawn approaches from a distance
creepy crawlers out to play
darkness folds in around us
there are no more riddles to solve,
time bends and slow down its
passage as gravity extends its
reach out into the bowels of space,
paper cuts and iodine solve the
problems locally but wisdom
like Alka seltzer does not always
hit the spot on the first attempt,
trees are trimmed in the spring
before the flowers bloom,
gardeners receiving their callings
earlier than first presumed...
morning lifts up her sleepy head
trying to acknowledge our
points of view...  it was just a
few minutes ago, that we were
enshrouded by dark cloaks and
presumed guilty of all charges.

October 6, 2024

Isolationism

night peers into tomorrow
yesterday says goodbye
the belt of oblivion
tightens every cycle...
moons follow moons in a
direct line succession,
blotting out the past not
agreeing with the future,
a backwards glance
a stolen kiss
a figure in the shadows
not understand who, what
when or why...  but...
wanting to read the story,
the land of forgotten memories
the evening of restless dreams
a moment or two of despair
that for centuries hung
in our closets with all the
out of season clothes...
vogue has a vague reminder
of what it was or used to be,
when hard drives were
easily restored and hackers
paid attention for fort knox,
we know with certainty how
uncertain life can be when it
is tossed away carelessly
into the next unfortunate day.

October 4, 2024

Puddles

rain falls into puddles
it never fails
but whence does it fall
and why...  
puddles never form lakes
lakes never form oceans
but rivers feed both,
and we wonder why...
dogs and cats play
in puddles,
as do children, and
parents wonder why...
as do we all
sometimes...
but why...
rain falls into puddles
it never fails
and from the sky
it comes but not like
the sideways wind
or the rolling stones
that made the roads
on which we travel...
never once do we
wonder why...
when it comes our
time to die.

October4, 2024

A Nuclear Option

hardly an hour, a day, a week

passes by that we don't witness

changes in our personalities...

our mental clarities

our self-esteems and our

self-awareness of life itself...

bending viruses flow through

our bodies like blood on its

way to nourish organs...

deterioration begins,

we fight off what we can

succumb to all the rest...

victims of life and all its

advances we are dumber for

so not as smart we become,

negating each other's wills,

allowing selfishness to dictate

actions and behaviors not always

that dissimilar... while some

predict destruction and decay,

entropy in proper ordering...

we have unleashed holly hell

on mankind, her disciples

and all her children forever.

October 3, 2024

Time Has Her Way

time has her way with my
moral decline, leaving
me wondering if being
destitute is my only
salvation - save the mind
and not the body... is of
principle concern to my
coroners...  I am the one
who committed the crime
as they so fondly say...
time has her way with my
indecisive behaviors, as
I wonder off here and there
when there is no need for
either other than to see
what I cannot see better...
time has her way with my
mental banishment as
the thoughts that were
once there are no more\
and the thoughts that I
never wanted have been
attacking me like wolves...
time has her way with my
good fortunes as there
has been no fortunes
found for decades and
those retrieved were taken
away to charities since
questionable from whence
that had approached me.

October 2, 2025

Awakening

awaken you fool

rise up from your slumbers

the day has begun again

and you are behind,

awaken you malcontent

and be done with

your foolishness,

morning has gone 

beyond

and you are behind

in your involvements,

awaken you imbecile

my thoughts are 

no longer yours when

you behave as this,

leaving me in such a

discourteous fashion,

awaken self and join with

the other parts of me

so that our whole is more

or less again complete.

October 2, 2024

Human

we are resolute

determined

persistent

our beliefs solid

unshakable,

remarkable in their

differences,

remote in their

understandings,

life without death

death without life

paroled into the

vast universe

of unknown silence,

bouncing from one

galaxy to another,

justice found,

our quest ignored,

unfortunate in our

birth year...

crying in the shadows

for lost innocence,

aged indifference,

and the notion we

are simply human.

October 2, 2024

Seeing Belief

see the wind

with its magnetic 

appeal

remove its roots

from the soil,

see the rain

with its lustful eyes

fill the banks of

a small pond.

see God's hand

as it waves goodby

to all followers,

catching the lifeline of

another belief,

see the band that plays

the songs, no one

wants to hear,

see the curtain close 

on the annual play

as the actors take

up acrobatics,

see the land that once

belonged to us.

being taken to grow

marijuana...

see the people, 

wearing clothes of their

opposites wish for

sexual attraction.

see the stars 

in the evening sky

bend and twist towards

oblivion, just to see

another sunrise.

October1, 2024

By Design

nature launces her counterattack

unprepared mankind misunderstands,
trees needed for homes and buildings
forests needed for expensive resorts...
lands needed for food and burials
depleted resources mount up...
dead soldiers face down in puddles
pretending their lives mattered not,
roads and bridges destroy the landscape
acid rains destroy all the crops...
vines cover destroyed monuments
ivy covers all the windows, allowing
spiders and their families to flourish,
webs of deceit obscure our vision,
machines build lakes and dams,
redirecting mother nature's reach,
can extend her reach - out battles
continue relentlessly with no desire
on either side for the design to end.

October 1, 2024

Rainfall & Floods

seasonal rain flows down mountains
ravishing valleys and those who live
in the lowlands - act of God - 
or is it just a coincidence?  
religious destruction dangerously
deployed in the south gives rise to
those who are forsaken and those
who desire forsakenness...
we are strange in our beliefs
even stranger in our understandings,
blame not equally shared but addressed
in bits and pieces of our beliefs...
we drown in this misunderstanding,
raising up the banner of doubt,
looking into the future for answers
not the past or our heritage or by those
who try to direct our minds...
we are the children of children of those
children unsatisfied with those who
tried to control of destiny because
of the relentless, damaging rainfall.

October 1, 2024

Secret Lovers

off in a distant fantasy, you reside
not that clear as your destiny
continues to manifest itself...
male and female combined
both dominate each other
fight for survival and recognition
aware of self and more as your
acceptance gains ground...
my marriage has enlisted you to
define our roles and responsibilities,
a palpitating heartbeat
rhythms of the ages spread wide
grasping at straws and holding
only phallic symbols - you are
seen with me inside - the reality
of dreams co-exists beside the
possibility of our discovery.

September 26, 2024

Brief Encounter

candles burn in the dark

leading the way...
a figure in front of me
another behind...
to the right and left they
stand in silence...
light from the candles
they hold, illuminate,
nude aberrations they are
to me as well as I am
to them as we pass...
on the bed you lay 
your back to me I see
as I am laid down beside,
moving to face,
slippery sliding we are,
all those before and
all those after,
leaving us to wonder
if we come together.

September 26, 2024

Politics

right or left, who's to say 

sometimes in between,
this way or that it seems
nothing ever changes...
re-elections, bribes, and
increasing riches is what
it is all about - we mere
mortals who have endured
for years, know what it is
all about...  kings and queens
have come and gone,
dukes and prices too,
freedom bears the cross of
death, zooming our lack
of knowledge daily...
children see and imitate
so it perpetuates and no
one sees and end in sight,
without a terminal illness,
laughing dignitaries' bleed
us dry with their rhetoric,
we give them the keys to
our treasures and wives make
them bread and cheese for
their domestic journeys...
we the people, no longer see
no longer care and no longer
weep of the days behind us.

September 25, 2024