Backwards Thinking

we think we are that which we want to be
not knowing how to act when we arrive
pawning our souls to achieve glory that
only last at best for the blink of an eye...
we think we are that which someone else
wants us to be, honed to a sharp edge
by our parents at he moment of birth,
only to discover their disappointments
lies in how much to talk about us...
we think we are that which was destined
by some thing or creature more mighty
than can be imagined and we echo the
thoughts of some grand plan when we
gaze back upon our unfulfilled life...
we think we are that which simply is
neither good nor bad as we patiently
experience our futures, accepting that
which is slung our way like descendants
of those who just wanted another chance.

June 25, 2024

Misplaced Permanence

from our ancestors we gained awareness
a keen sense of understanding exists,
we pawn knowledge for salvation, knowing
none will ever be offered...   we belittle
our thoughts with insidious desires, hoping
to find reconciliation...  none arrives...
we live in the tunnels and caves of our
mind's dreams, believing a secured place
in heaven will be provided...  we know 
not of such a place until death, too late
for us to change our positions...  and.
the awareness we gained short-lived
as it is becoming the legacy we sell to
children as their inheritance...  nature
asks us to leave politely - we refuse,
paying the price daily for our sins.

June 23, 2024

Grownups

hero worship ends, lies begin
life's wrong turns haunting,
beekeepers level the score
drowning in debt we are...
children on the stoop sit
counting their blessings
not knowing what they have
parents mull about inside
fresh pots of tea sit on stoves
angry workers store tools,
our lives are fashionable to
those who cast the votes
and we swim along the banks
of the Nile looking for clues
on ancient pyramid building,
children of the night sing songs
of compassion falling on the
deaf ears of seagulls flying
too close to the shoreline
noticing not who beckons.

July 23, 2024

The Seagull

out into the world I go, dragging
all my worries in a sack behind me,
over my shoulder, I look at all the
people fighting behind me,
I wonder about all those who came before
and what they did to survive,
I see my life flash by in front of me
just as the seagull begins its dive,
plums of water spout up from behind
the bird disappears underneath,
moments later it is in the sky flying
with a fish dangling from claws,
and all I can see around me are hunters
trying to shoot the seagull down.

June 19, 2024

Age

age marks my place in time

but not my spirit or determination,

age separates me from others

but it is they who are missing out,

age does not define who I am

nor does it define my legacy,

age is just a number some say

while others say it is a characteristic

that labels people like me,

age does not always reflect wisdom

nor does it reflect ignorance,

it reflects what we want it to

by our actions and our statements.

June 19, 2024

Alone Sittring

alone in the chair he sits
on the front porch of his home,
coffee in hand, eyes squinting
to block out morning sun...
alone in the chair he sits
without a spouse by his side,
four years ago to the day the
light of his life passed away...
alone in the chair he sits
not really seeing 
not really enjoying
just wondering what he is
going to do today...
alone in the chair he sits
without a name on his mind
without family or friends
wishing he could just die...
alone in the chair he sits
bending over to look closer
he sees a stray feline sitting
beside him waiting...
patting his leg, she jumps
curls in his lap purring...
no longer alone in his chair
the old man has a new friend.

June 19, 2024

Another Day

mornings expel night demons away
mornings purge the dark atmosphere
morning provide a second chance
mornings seem to always arrive....
morning are the beginning of the day
giving us light instead of blackness,
morning bring with it the sun and th
heat or the cold and rain along with
snow and ice or something in between,
mornings bring us together as a family
earnestly preparing for the day,
not knowing what to expect yet always
prepared for whatever happens....
mornings mean showers and fresh clothes
mornings mean trimming and shaving,
morning means cosmetics and makeup
morning gets us ready for the day...
mornings are quiet and joyful
mornings always open our eyes
morning seem to tell some of us that
we are above ground another day.

June 18, 2024

Consciously Aging

light glistens on the cat tree
in the corner of the room,
windows opened to allow in
the morning coolness...
wicker furniture silently sit
waiting for visitors and a
ceiling fan circulates air
in the sunroom....
summer highlights observed
summer heat and humidity felt
sights and sounds outside enter
enter the cottage home...
no children live inside nor
outside nearby - only the older
with the right to survive,
their siblings left long ago
leaving only photos behind,
on the porch now and again
you can see them sitting,
drinking morning coffee
or afternoon iced tea...
longing to be gone elsewhere
as their lives seem finally over.

June 18,

Innocence So

it was what it was
nothing more - nothing less
it was what it was meant to be
starved by its realities,
foremost it was that which
it needed to be,
free and clear of all
encumbrances...
a meaning - a purpose
a clear definition,
all of us knew its meaning
its direction and all its
manifestations...
we were not that simply
nor were we that bold,
we were in between it all
 like a room in a house
or the root of a tree
or a cell's atoms divided
equally into sixteenths...
it was that time, it was and
we were all young and oh
so very much innocent.

June 16, 2024

Full of Life

beyond the simple pale of existence
lies the souls of good hearts with
not so good intentions as they make
their way through life's journey...
one by one they rise to fame and
one by one they fall into darkness
never to be seen again on this side
of life and banned from the other...
beyond the simple pale of existence
lies the entrails of those who have
gone before with big plans and big
lessons taught to their young, yet no
one was the wiser as none listened...
beyond the simple pale of existence
lies our photographs and memories
soon to be buried with our hollow
whose legacies are more than just
death but that we were full of life.

June 16, 2024

Death's Direction

all around me are those
who have passed over,
many my age - a few younger
a lot older like my parents,
some were sick, others not
some died unexpectedly
but as we get older
instead of life, we see death;
daylight dies everyday
replaced by darkness
fall brings gradual death as well
when leaves turn colors
die and fall to the ground...
cold is associated with death
warmth is associated with life
rebirth is a cycle with which
we all must contend although
never to the extent we do when 
the age of maturity is reached;
wisdoms are the words of age
not the young who never lived,
wrinkles on faces easily achieved
in a soon to die category we are
age bring sickness and pain
with mobility not to far away
moving as best we can, knowing
it is just around the next corner
keeping us from turning left or right.

June 12, 2024

Death Delayed

death has delayed her arrival
sunset has yet to be revealed
horns of the bull still remain 
and I wish for this vision to
finally, be over...  leaves of
life linger around the body,
vultures sit on rooftops waiting,
silence spills through city streets
like rainwater after a spring
shower...   rodents rampantly
run through the minds of the
elders whose curse we all
seem to feel each night just
before sunrise and I lay down
on the cold times awaiting
my fate that has taken all my 
life to locate my hideaway.

June 11, 2024

Joyful Sunrise

water washes over me, cleansing my soul

my heart pumps out rhythms of joy

globes of insight take me into the future

horns ring out with sounds of forgiveness,

blue skies cascade all around me

birds fly from one moment to the other

like monkeys on a faraway tree,

clowns dance along the shoreline

their wet feet clinging to the sand,

dolphins make rainbow dives in the waves

as if on some kind of a vacation and I am

left wondering why I still here and alive.

June 11, 2024

Once Upon a Time

fly baby fly 

soar high into the sky
circle around the fields
through the valleys
see those who
dared you not to go...
fly baby fly
make your mark in
this world or another,
transformed by all
that you do...
fly baby fly
spread your wings
let the currents take you
where they will
while there are winds
to ride high and above all
the nonsense of life...
fly baby fly
into the sun if you will,
test your courage
and resolve, mark your
place in it all before
age tells you not to.

June 11, 2024

Anxiety Release

I reach out to grasp the sky
it remains out of reach,
my heart falls into disrepair
as night encloses day and
evil resumes its prowl...
words fail all of us on this
day when nothingness ran
over us like a violent storm,
hiding in the mind's recesses,
failing to open eyes now 
that light has disappeared...
we call out the snake who
crawls on the ground like a
baby moving from room to
room in a quest to find the
one who gave it life...
my heart cries out at the noise
and the forsaken who have
ushered in a new age of
enlightenment - a registration
that no one accepts, except
those who need a place to stay.

June 10, 2024

Gameday

thirty-three levels if there are three
performance comes not often,
trailing in the night with light
marking the way of discomfort,
leveling the game, we play on
nerves of steel fall off the helmet,
tears rolls down youthful cheeks
honor relies on all the showgirls,
a mellow tune flows down halls
like the smell of rotten fish
we bundle ourselves up in thoughts
hoping to wake up tomorrow,
atoms rearranged by atoms leave
us will molecules rather unstable,
we learn more tricks than a viper
spitting out its bad tasting thoughts,
we are not chairmen of the board
nor are we the rank and file....
we are those who have listened to
the words so many times, we know
them all by heart...  we are the wish
of death that arrives at midnight.

June 9, 2024

Time Fishing

through the windows of the moment
the end of time flashes before me,
age reverts to time served and the
mind stores the knowledge created
by the transition....  space jockeys
fly their crafts as if in a race, stopping
in time to see the prince of the palace
blessing a rider who had fallen off...
values and morals apply not to time
as it begins and ends on a whim,
guardians roam the skies in their
prey birds now that the checkered
flag has dropped to the ground...
the jury is out although it was not
charged with deliberations since
the crime was committed before
time had been set into motion...
through the windows of the moment
we change direction, collecting all
the data from which to cast votes
and end the practice of time fishing.

June 8, 2024

Obedience

future kings lay in their racks wondering

if they will live long enough...

future queens sin in the grass under trees

wondering who they will marry...

lords and ladies dance to a silent minuet

hoping to finally hear the music...

peasants tend to the craps that belong to

the castle no knowing what to think...

palace guards bend at the knees letting

everyone know their allegiance...

scribes write down the laws and orators

remark on the opinions of others...

throngs on onlookers stand in the rain

hoping to see the royals...

history repeats itself but no one listens

life changes very litter for the participant

whose job it is to accept what they have.

June 7, 2024

Travelers

long ago - before the elders
after the wars that divided us all
twelve tribes braved the wilderness
sanctioned by the determination
of just one belief...
twelve tribes of innocence and
blind faith, created a world
unknown to the gods that came
before them...
unknown to the gods that died
after them and unknown to
the elders born from the ashes;
a fleet of souls migrating across
the vast universe of spacetime,
not knowing in what direction
they were heading nor what 
direction from whence they came,
a body of opinions that had
fallen on deaf ears for centuries,
now were used to chart course;
constraints of time provided 
over which they jumped,
some of which were mental
abirritations instinctive planted
in their path by memories...
travel in time as they will with
nowhere to go and no expectations
except their own persistence,
and longing to finally be free.

June 6, 2024

Standing Ready

rain and sun battle the valley
simultaneously,
faster than normal growth,
played out in full
by the sounds of engines...
remedial work for the farmers
whose crops have yet to be sewn,
a lake of fishermen come
home empty-handed,
after seeing their reflections
in the water,
dog tags are left at the front door,
waiting for the funeral director
to arrive with the programs,
and the smart money is on the
new generation who has no 
idea what life is all about...
stargazers stand on balconies
binoculars pointed to the sky,
systems troll the universe
looking for ways to avoid collision,
and we here on earth stand ready
with open arms should they fall.

June 6, 2024

 

Judgement Day

bright green grass feeds on the summer rain
afternoon showers come often here,
rainbows of hope appear in the sky and the
valley returns to the lushness of the civil war;
we packed our belongings in duffle bags
left over from our stint in the army,
chickens and a rooster were sold to a neighbor
for an old pickup truck not in use...
a dozen of us climbs aboard in route to the
next county over as the rumor has it they are
willing to hire us all if we arrive by nightfall,
the ghost of Achilles rides shotgun - the rest of
find space where we can - we chug away
slowly under the heavy burden we are carrying,
we pass sunset on the highway while we wave
our goodbyes fall by the wayside - the wind
hides our tire tracks from predators...
bright green grass feeds off the summer rain
we all sign a deep breath of relief,
a light in the door welcomes our arrival
followed by the sounds of rifles from the roof.

June 4, 2024

Night's Watching

a valley of darkness in front of m
a moonless sky above e me,
sounds slither around like snakes
unmolested I walk the path,
eyes peer out at me from behind
trees and bushes, blinking every
so often to let me know...
a breeze blows slightly from behind
my collar turned up to the chill,
aids in the ears allow me to listen
sounds from the radio play low,
footsteps march to the beat of a
different tune and the spirits 
understand not what they say,
beating heart pump adrenalin
vessels expand and close like the
valves in an engine - pressure flows
out of my mouth with each step
that is taken down the road...
journeys rotate around my dreams
dreams seldom ever conclude,
my thoughts sit on the rim of the
hummingbird feeder when my
goal was to be fully inside by now.

June 2, 2024

Stalking

softly along the floor he walks

careful of the surroundings,
watching on both side
only slightly turning the head,
ears back and raises,
tail up and curled,
slightly fluffy...
he is poised and ready
expecting something to cross
his path and ready for a fight,
or perhaps a retreat will be
in order - he does not yet know,
he stops in the middle of a
movement, his front paw raised
slightly quivering...  he decides
to move forward slowly and
cautiously - not sure what to
expect, knowing there is nothing
different here than there was
twenty minutes earlier before,
carefully he sits the quickly rolls
over for his belly to be rubbed.

June 1, 2024

Surface Feelings

on the surface of feelings lies
the quality of the pain...
we rejoice in our ability to
resist what we know will
cause us to suffer...  moods
influence views and views
dictate behavior and actions
have consequence that most
of us try to ignore - life is just
an avenue...  an approach...
a vessel to take us from one
place to another...  and pain
allows us to feel what our mind
tries to resist in order to maintain
its sanity...  instrumental in life's
ebb and flow...  key to our way
of life and its survival...  we are
perched on a precipice like a
bird of prey, whose keen eyes
can see well into the future,
we know what we know when
we need to know it and not
sooner so that we can foreclose
on the past before is influences
in an adverse way our future.

June 1, 2024

Blinded by Fear

across the street sits a statue
a woman holding scales
a blindfold hides her eyes
she is the decider of truth/
distorter or no she judges
spinning lies into truth like
weaving a tapestry of life,
she jokes not - she talks not
she is s stone symbol
a metaphor for justice...
even when there is none,
and will be none either now
or in the future...  we have
defecated upon her with a
distortion of the truth...
we have used and abused
her innocence now that she
is decades old and aged more
than the law she represents,
she is old and full of holes
sadden by scars of distrust,
truth that has been slanted
to fit false narratives...
she is no longer honorable,
no longer worthy of trust,
behind the blindfold she
has no eyes and never
intended to see the truth,
only what could be proven
regardless of the methodology.

May31, 2024

Shakedown

on the quarterdeck of the mind
we survey our thoughts that are
quietly standing at parade rest,
down the ranks we walk looking
for gigs soon to be removed...
the wooden deck is easy to stand
upon during our inspection as it
will take more than a few minutes
to complete...  our assembled
ideas rub elbows with each other
as they patiently wait for the
signals to reach their destination,
rearranged and edited, words and
phrases report to their respective
duty stations as the battles around
them continue...  anchors aweigh
sends them off to sea sometimes
prematurely and without proper
training but those who have the
courage to endure brave the seas
returning home with experiences.

May 28, 2024

Night Viewing

each day turns from morning to night
each night beckons for the salvation
of the day - the laws of science abide,
mankind makes its mark in the sand
as it falls through the hourglass,
guiltless of any crimes committed,
Science honors history with false
absolutions, expecting indifference
while instead receiving praise...  the
cosmos lies to itself while living in
universal expansion that threatens
no more or less believes otherwise,
gravity hangs around absentmindedly
since it has nowhere else to to at the
moment hoping something will be
attracted to its presence...  flights of
fantasy fly by undetected except for
the angels that ride it wake through
the wormholes of time...  seeing no
end in sight they dissolve into the
past to console those who have not
been so lucky...  galaxies form around
their forfeitures and we realize nothing
nor have a clue looking through our
under-designed futuristic telescopes.

May 28, 2024

 

Horizon Wind Blows

wind off the horizon blows
prefaced by rain,
clear and shiny an hour ago
molested weather foretold,
an avalanche of thoughts
mirrors the storm,
lifeless and cold many
have become - isolated
fragments of a segmented
life strewn on the beachhead
 at sunset - not so glamorous
as the westerns but in the
same ballpark of interest...
wind off the horizon blows
steady and firm it comes,
shelter in place or so we are
told by the locals who
seem to know this place,
surfers in the water - excited,
stubborn and stupid ride
their slippery boards as if
jousting in a king's tournament,
fishermen too ignore the call
holding their poles steadfast,
when all of a sudden it abates
all of us with mouths open.

May 28, 2024

A Served Purpose

bends in the road
hills and valleys
life raises her head
hides her behind,
we curl up inside the soft
recesses of our minds to
hide from the hypocritical,
throw darts at the liars,
and ignore those who would
be our friend if only we
would this or that...
salvos of anger tossed our
way indicates displeasure,
hoping to silence us
put us in jail, keeping
us away from like minds
who use the connection to
raise awareness for their
own causes and situations,
leaving us to wonder
if life means anything at all
once certain milestones
are reached and we have
served our useful purpose.

May 27, 2024

Mindless Souls

the world we know is gone

society in which we were
raised has vanished forever,
we are recipients of power
in whose hands creates a 
false sense of control...
a world of division, deceit,
and disinformation, followed
by scores of disillusionments,
praising the bearers of good
news that has divided us into
a world of hate and anger...
a self-serving world that is
famous for having no bounds,
relentless in its pursuits of
unabashed ignorance that is
at the soul of our youth in
which a new rebellion has
been waged - a war of pseudo
intellectual stupidity funded 
by the billionaires who believe
it provides them with relevant
humor to cure their boredom,
a world of average hearts doing
average work for average wages
and compensation when in a vile
reality they are pawns of nothing.

May 25, 2024