Senses

hear
     see
         smell 
                taste
                      feel

senses are real

alive and full

of energy,

reminding us

of what it is like

to be human;

normal and

unconditional

they are,

will be...

betrayed at birth

by sounds and

sensations,

we grow into

what we believe

to be true

rather than

rely on senses.

December 15, 2024

Sacred Pond

around me only water

a hazy sky above

trees off in the distance

not for my protection.  

gentle is as the water flows

my position clear to me,

watching is not just 

for the birds like me

but for anyone who wants to

to live in these strange lands

mankind has created.

December 13, 2024

Walking the Dog

 

Night fall quickly

this time of year,

streetlamps shine

an appearance of fog

in the distance seen

down through the

road ahead...

beside me walks

my friend

of many years now,

along this road

we have traveled

once times many,

perhaps this will be

the last as we

both aging rapidly.

December 13, 2024

Missing Keys

out the door passed
back inside fast,
on the counter
by the coffee pot
in the bathroom
table by the bed
yesterday's clothes
all pockets checked
inquiring kids
and wife last
no signs anywhere,
removing pillows
on the couch
and underneath
checked it all
again, and again
nowhere in sight
what to do, a
befuddled mind asks
do I call it a sick day
if someone asks why?

December 11, 2024

Lurking

evil lurks around the corner
of every belief that
everyone ever had and will
forge alliances with the
devil to make us adversely
pay for those beliefs...
society is cruel and wicked,
allowing its growth to
divide those once united,
pealing back the onion
one layer at a time
reflecting mutual discontent
that at one time or
another united us...
we have slipped int the
abyss of thoughtlessness
and despair, peering out
of the hole every so often
to reflect upon our past.

December 9, 2024

Decorations

stuffed decorations sit on tables

in front of fireplaces and

hang on the doors

inside and out

as we celebrate another

holiday season...

the house smells of cinnamon

and spices, pies and cookies,

recently made as children

of all ages want to help...

Stockings on the mantle

mistletoe on the doorways

music from speakers hidden

carefully in the walls...

holiday cheer is wall to wall

our shopping never ends.

December 8, 2024

Leaders

Thor slams down his hammer to get

the attention of the lords,

Khrushchev slams down his shoe

on the table top,

Putin sends in his troops to fight an

inferior army and loses,

leaders the world over and beyond

continue to make bad decisions,

leaving the rest of us to wonder

if our safety is in check or

should we take ahold once again.

December 8, 2024

Untitled

                                        

                                          a 

                                                      fall 

                                                                     leaf 

                                                                                  magically 

                                                                                softly

                                                                           gently 

                                                                    and 

                                            without 

                   hesitation 

                       falls

                             to 

                                          the 

                                                           ground 

                                                                                  unobstructed 

                                                                                 unseen 

                                                                               and 

                                                    unheard, 

                                   then 

turns 

       colors 

               dies 

                      whittles 

                                  away 

                                                       before 

                                                                       spring 

                                                      arrives 

                                  the 

                next 

year. 

December 6, 2028

BE A DREAMER

reach out 

into the heavens 

grab a star 

let it roll around 

in the palm of 

your hand a little... 

smile 

laugh 

giggle some 

let it energize you

inspire 

mesmerizing too... 

when it disappears 

you are left grasping 

for its memories. 

December 6, 2024

Falling Trees

trees fall in silence
around is no one,
life is meaningless
alone in silence,
lock step we are in
our thinking
not in actions
nor in deeds...
nonetheless,
we try.
learn to learn 
in the forest is
what it's about, yet
they know not why
they were planted,
or the rain or sun
growing them tall.
knowing nothing,
until they fall...
gone are the homes
in their branches,
gone are the leaves
that fell last fall,
gone are the birds
announcing morning,
the squirrels that
foraged and all...
no longer appearing
are the trees that
landed in silence
no one around to save.

December 5, 2024

Retaliation

fill your lungs with hate

your eyes with longing

ears with disrespect

your mind with unanticipated

contempt for those who

would disagree with you...

now is the time

not later

when anger subsides,

and the tension your

body felt relaxes...

take action now

make them regret

what they made you feel

all the turmoil through

which they put you,

the abortion of ideas

your brain demolished

after you decried your

merciless suffering...

make them pay...  big time.

December 5, 2024

The Photograph

one thousand words flow out of me
when I see that photograph,
lingering around in my memory,
moving from one year to the next
chronological and all...
pardon me, if I seem to be ignoring
my memories are calling me
out to play a little...
look inside my thoughts if you will,
find the wagers I have kept
in my back pockets...
borrowed time is calling me
and I have no answers,
save the photograph to share,
if that is acceptable?
wealthy with you beside me, I am
floating in the universe
aware of nothing
fearing it all will come tumbling
down upon me and my photo.
stand aside and let me pass,
let me step into the image
and disappear inside forever.

December 4, 2024

Generalized Opinions

our lives are better now than before
some say - others disagree.
I know not what to think.
both points of view are valid
both are incorrect as well...
everyone is not applicable
in these generalizations 
on which we base our opinions.
cope or not cope, we say
(not know who we is)
no one sees or hears the truth
which is what, I ask?
say no more, they say, we are
preparing to come for you.
dangerous times we are in
living or dead we become
immobilized in our thoughts,
actions and deeds and say no more,
nobody listens - we begin again.
believe as you will - listen if you can,
dare to stay the snake in the eyes
stand up for your beliefs...
generalizations are unfair.

December 3, 2024

Cooking Lunch

sights and sounds of life
all around me
scrambling about
flirting with the light
as their prey,
shadows hiding here
and there - a 
painter's delight...
moments of thought
interrupted,
delayed and rephrased,
delivered and summoned
as would a jury be...
skilled and unskilled
in the light obey
the traffic signs they
do not delay any longer
than necessary...
they say with contempt,
non provoking 
their disobedience is,
mocking about
in our lonely minds...
tempted to look inside
the pressure cooker
before it has finished.

December 3, 2024

Blissful Ignorance

believe or don't believe
think or don't think
you are the master of
your own ignorance,
choice is choice
or not...
when expecting to be
influenced or
waiting for others...
we exhume our own thoughts
when absolutely necessary
relying on others to
guide us prematurely,
not so forthright 
in our actions are we when
it pertains to the life
we would have liked
to live versus the one, we
were forced to live...
the cold mist of reality
blankets our minds,
clouds our vision
and teaches us to be
less protective of our future
than we once were when
our ignorance was bliss.

November 30, 2024

A Vast Universe

the wind blows across
tree branches outside,
I am reminded of the past,
sitting inside
in my recliner
observing what I can...
reminded of a time when
as a lad, I was full
of many ideas to revolutionize
the world in which we lived,
from toys to transportation
and points in between
like fantasies of space,
wars between planets and
ancient aliens who had
visited us once or twice,
the creatures imagined were
fierce and strong,
taking no prisoners,
beating down all who stood
in their way...  as if we
were nothing but ice cubes
falling from a dead sky.
It was a childish fantasy,
I suppose...
keeping me up at night
exploring the vast universe.

November 29, 2024

Humans Destroy

mindless souls flitting

about the universe,

random thoughts merge

into chaos...

soldiers fall on the battlefield

unnoticed because your

country is not involved;

weak minds control the weaker

for more power and the

world falls victim to a lost

universal metaphor,

when life on earth is no longer

cherished by the masses;

victims of our own affluence,

we blame others for our

ignored demise, looking to build

spaceship to flee what we so

willingly over the years destroyed.

November 29, 2024

Obesity's Party

too much of too much
we over-indulge
no longer slim in either
attitude or weight...
fashionably late to the table
unwelcomed guest results,
gorging ourselves on
finger foods left over
from yesterday's party,
out back by the creek
we barf it all over,
returning for more as if
we newly arrived...
obesity runs the show
during any holiday,
making sure only one or
two of them are invited
you will incur no debt
once they are gone.

November 28, 2024

Ingenuity

a judgement surrendered

decision lost,
fair market value no longer exists,
under siege by those who
make the laws and
those enforce them,
victims of an elitest class that
looks down on those
who wonder...
who question...
who want things better
than before...
a listless memory of sorts
no one remembers
but knows it was there,
like the sun, the moon, 
and the stars,
the existence of conjecture,
factoring good and evil into
a combustible thought...
an engine of sorts
destined to make the future
before the past catches up.

November 28, 2024

Enlightened

once or twice, I suppose
we think of others,
that is more the exception
than the rule...
what is in it for me,
they exclaim before
agreeing to do anything;
it is not that I disagree
with their logic
frame of mind or
attitude but can we really
exist like this in the
marketplace of today?
once or twice, I suppose
we think of others,
when it comes to drying
but even that depends on
distance and travel time;
we are encouraged to 
keep an open mind,
obey the golden rule
but those are just phrases
that we say and expect
no one to follow...
we are enlightened as
a progressive society.

November 27, 2024

Wondering

wondering through your memories

are you?
What do you see?
moments in time you were happy
others when you were sad,
friends long since expired
others brand new,
jobs you ran towards while
other from which you fled...
memories of a different life
a gentler, kinder world where
we were civil and
proud to be alive,
remembering marriages and
children...  relatives and
grandchildren,
friends now deceased
others still alive...
mistakes and successes
about the same
but never did you want to
leave where you came from
or talk ill of those who
disagreed with you,
yelled at you...
or called you names,
wondering through your memories
are you?  
Well, what do you see?

November 26, 2024

Self Incriminations

hallways in the mind created
abnormal links to reality
burdens itself with familiarities
too precious to deny...
stop bending my thoughts,
I yell out to no one.
leave me now or surely
I will die of loneliness...
it is not for me to question
yet that is exactly what I do,
leaving behind the past
and the future, dwelling only
in the present on which I 
have grown very accustomed,
it is I, I tell myself as if I am
not aware of it happening.
looping myself away from the
miscreants that rest upon my
shoulder day and night. 

November 23, 2024

Rebirth's Birth

down the steps I flee
running away
from my own careless mind,
it tumbles after me
holding on,
paralyzing my thoughts
making me a victim
of its actions,
its rape of me intellectually
violating my personality
as it tortures me
into submission...
into another night of anxiety,
a sleepless night,
and in the morning, I am
exhausted...
to tired to say stop.
fleeing the assault, my body
quivers with excitement,
anticipation, doubt, and regret,
sooner than later, I know
all will be revealed...
I will burst into this life
without my permission.

November 23, 2024

Poem for Conservatives

commodities all they are
people,
raw materials,
machines,
and supplies...
bottom line focus
cutting expenses
leveraging debt
and paying dividends
is what we do to survive,
compassion and empathy
not part of the game,
staying competitive 
beating competition
is how we thrive from
one generation to the next,
built in obsolescence
economies of scale
and clever lawyers
is who we are and certainly
what we are all about.

November 22, 2024

Poem for Liberals

darkness follows light

light creates the dark,

we live in fear of ourselves

never understanding

\the duality of life...

hope lives in the gutters

we live in the huts of time,

minds hate the opposition

our vain lives always shallow,

death forgives life once

consciousness disappears.




November 22,

Devil's Consort

heads roll off the guillotine floor
like crumbs onto the floor when
eating over-cooked cookies, 
shame on us for not seeing what
was right in front of us...
light rain falls into our eyes as
we gaze into the heavens for
a little godly advice...  knowing
it will never be received while
acting as the devil's consort...
dreams of a better life float
through our minds each and
every evening, we remain poor,
like the heads off the guillotine
floor we have no way of judging
how quickly we will fall...
death to us all eventually but
earlier for some who resist
against the system that brought
them here and gave them life,
we are what we eat, as the trite
saying goes when being delivered
from the self-inflicted evils we
unleashed upon this fine earth,
consequences will be paid for.

November 20, 2024

Part Two

inside hides the flaws
outside are the walls
sinners dance religious
tunes for compensation,
we are at the end of life
staying in bed until noon
leaving all the lights off,
turning water into wine
so, we can feed the cats,
dressed in the clothes 
of the day avoiding 
paparazzi and when 
questioned about our 
roles, claim stupidity,
light peers into darkness
darkness lives in souls
death is a warm substitute
for life and all its trappings,
we bend the rules for the
wealthy, leaving poverty
to fend for itself...  my life
is easy to forfeit if it brings
restitution to all that I have
destroyed by my involvement.

November 19, 2024

Social Media

we are who we want to be
rich or poor
attractive or not
liberal or conservative
our photos may be fake,
yet we all need to share
and share we do,
the need is great,
hiding behind our words
and opinions,
lacking in social skills
we have no experience,
and are influenced deeply
by what we read,
no verification
no research
no doubts...
we perceive it to be truth
we form opinions
believing they are truly
righteousness,
never disillusioned,
always reinforced
even when wrong, we are
steadfast in our beliefs.

November 19, 2024

Unguarded Heart

closeness is no requisite for love
physical contact either
attractiveness is an elusive fake
compared to longevity...
love attracts those who need it
ignoring those who don't,
love lends itself well to those who
have nothing to prove and
nothing to gain by the connection,
love lives on the outside
never on the inside of feeling as
as they are too temperamental
and always too fragile...
love comes only once in one's
life if it comes at all and is
oftentimes confused with a
natural attraction of like minds
before the understanding begins,
love tends to be closely guarded
so it is not abused by either side
which is often the case in arguments
that have no meaning or purpose
other to expose differences...
loves lives beyond the petty
and the trite - is there when least
expected always capturing the
unguarded heard at first light.

November 16, 2024

Seasonal Change

cold air streams through the valley
like a service provider without fees,
cats remain curled up inside, some
on a low setting heating pad...
furnaces churn out the heat,
fireplaces burn dry wood...
fall has finally arrived, and we are
are caught without our flannels,
chocolate and sweets once a seasonal
treat, now sits on the countertop
cooling for consumption, as we
play video games, sometimes
answering tweets that have been
sent to us by mistake...
inside we are bound without any
restraints for several months,
losing our summer tans as we
wrap up in blankets to stay warm,
seasons are no longer kind to us
our bodies no longer respond well
to the change - minds resist as well
we don't always notice the change,
reading lamps are on, we sing with
lost harmonies watching our breath
flow out in front of us like some
ghostly spirit leaving our bodies
in search of a better residence.

November 15, 2024

Nature's Way

along the leaf a caterpillar crawls,
robins necking in the trees,
squirrels room freely from tree to tree
more like monkeys in their frivolities,
ants dig holes under tree roots
chipmunks hiding nuts galore,
season after season comes and goes
routines never change here...
ducks on ponds paddle end to end
wild turkeys in the forest hide
especially in November...
deers and does walk freely by
hunters reloading bullets,
snow lays on the ground comforting
those living underneath...
snakes in caves hibernate along
along with their furry friends
and those of us who love the sun
have long since gone home...
nature does as nature lives
we can learn a thing or two from them
but only after we find a way
to put our past behind us.

November 14, 2024

Turning Tides

muted sounds from the mountains
ring out across the valley proper
signaling season's end...
muted sounds from the city
ring out throughout the streets
signaling a changing ownership...
muted sounds from the homes
ring out in the suburbs
signaling a new era...
peace be with you - and to you
keeping a wish list of hopes
and those of fear as well,
pay attention to the teaching
of your children, now that the
devil has come to town...
live vicariously in the debt that
has been amassed as though you
are the only one deserving...
redeem tomorrow from today
for fear you might lose it all.

November 14, 2024

Free our Freedoms

climates of distrust survey
our free lands,
flags unfurled fly high
and oh, so proud,
we are united in our animosity
against a common foe,
divided in our lack of respect
for differing opinions,
we challenge and debate
ignore and confuse,
lie, cheat, and steal to prove
our more valid points, 
delivering our souls from
those elitist watchdogs,
who prey upon the innocent
and ignorant - we conditioned
them as well to be that way,
with strong wills and backs
we muster in ranks of an
original militia to protect  and
defend the honor and
integrity of those who cannot,
we bend a knee to no one
and no nation who believes
our freedoms are free.

November 13, 2024

Lighthouse

long and tall it stands
alone and silent
strong and sturdy
light shines out warnings
in all directions sent
three hundred and sixty
in the darkest night
storm clouds and all
pellets of sleet
lightning blasts into
the ancient ground,
mariners pass by its
towers, recording points\
on navigation charts,
steer clear of it all
live another day...
sleep another night
eat another meal
long and prosper live
free and clear of spirits
take the night upon you
bury the darkness hither
sound the alarm
pass the news - we on
land beseech you to
forever and a day
safe and free will be.

November 12, 2024

Politician

rescind and descend into darkness
barred and blocked from replacement
dishonor the disloyal and fight inside
the opposition is exacting revenge,
hate what is not understood and
love only those who voted for you,
make a pledge not to pledge anything
to those who won the people's voice
since they cannot be trusted...
turn to the past for verifcation
pronouce the future dead on arrival,
live the day as if expecting birth,
giving nothing to those who have
little to offer in return...  and...
above all else, remember this if
remembering nothing else - you
are a politician and are therefore
bound to never telling the truth.

November 12, 2024

Saving Animals

creatures large and small
fat and thin
long or short
white haired or brown
sleepy or active
all gather in my presence
and be saved from the
horrors of alienation,
neglect and starvation,
we protect you as you
protect us with your
loving, unfailing company,
we are yours to have as
you are ours and we
live lives together...
as it should be...
lay down your body next
to mine and feel the
compassion in our 
togetherness...
we are free
we are joined
we are saved
in our eternal attention
to the plight of your
hellish existence.

November 10, 2024

Manifestations

down the road distant
fog emerges -  a likely
precursor of sorts...
one way or another we
decline responsibility,
looking beyond the
manifestation as if it
were an unlikely hoax,
a remark that disparages
our purpose - our meaning
a wind of change blowing
through the minds of those
who claims ignorance 
since ignorance prevails,
a self-admonishing truth
hidden by the courts in
false claims and convictions,
lining up along the streets
to praise the victors in 
songs of adoration like
building the pyramids 
and all godless structures
occupying our southern
hemispheres of growth.

November 9, 2024