Feeling at Home

Sleepy kitty on the wooden deck lies
in from a night of hunting
prowling through the yards
neighbors in their beds unaware,
kitty-kitty is the name he goes by
given by previous owners
a street away but comes here to eat
and spend the day - belonging...
yellow and white are his colors
more like a tiger on his tail.
a clipped ear is his battle scar
never knowing how it happened...

Little boy is the name we gave
not knowing his point of origin,
two years ago in the middle of winter
two skinny cats begging for food
arrived at our back door - not more
than six months each they were...
the black and white was adopted
leaving the yellow one all alone...

Fat and healthy, he is nowadays
each morning looking forward to his arrival,
still not a fan of our three other cats,
outside he must remain...  content he
has become with that arrangement,
as we have as well - sometimes in the
early morning before humidity descends
I find myself sitting outside with him.
hoping it makes him feel at home.

July 7, 2025

An Earned Life

a five-year-old rug lays
across the decking
concealing most of the wood
from harsh weather...
a neighborhood cat lays
on freshly cut grass just
out of reach of my vision
bothered not by appearances...
a glass table in front of me
provides a home for my laptop
once the umbrella is opened
to its fullest reach...
coffee with cappuccino mix
sits in a Weigel's cup beside me,
following me everywhere
regardless of the weather...
storms across the south on either
sides of my location causing
flash floods and taking lives
are freshly in my thoughts...
dreams of earlier years push by me
like a gentle breeze or early morning
mist that seems to float by mindlessly
from house to house...
recollections borne from ageless memories
haunt me needlessly, recalling those
I want - forgetting those that bring
with it negative outcomes...
sister, brother, friends link their
stories with the ones my daughter
carries around in her purse
that seldom leaves her side...
rumors move from one mouth to the
other, changing and evolving over time,
rewriting the plots and drama to
satisfy one's current needs...
I simply sit on my back deck with bare
feet on this old rug with my Cappuccino
mix coffee, reflecting on why and how
my life ended up here in this chair.

July 6, 2025

Après le quatrième

morning stillness
a gentle breeze
seeping humidity
through the trees,
purple red flowers boast
backyard gardens
bending branches
like willow protecting
their habitats...
minor incursions from
restless squirrels and
chipmunks seldom seen
in the lonesome valley
summertime...
snakes curl under rocks
beside streams and ponds,
turtles bask on stones
flattened by age
wind and sun mostly
hidden in water...
spiders repair webs
trampled by movement,
ants dig holes underground
expanding territory...
decks occupied by humans
never noticing the
beauty of their environment
once celebrations end.

July 5, 2025

Death Rejected

 
Halt...
your feeling here.
trespassing forbidden,
with the emptiness
your are carrying...
not down this street
will you walk
if I have anything to
say about it.
Halt...
you are not welcomed here.
leave your baggage
on the corner
before entering here,
not this asphalt 
will you touch with
your sacred feet...
Beneath these lights
are the omens of delight
afforded only
to a few...
you are not the one
to enter here...
this hallowed street
pathway to
the other life...
the place you have not
earned or deserve.
Halt...
turn around you fool,
finish what you started
before returning again,
you, my naughty fool
are not welcome.

July 4, 2025

Bending Trees

a private walkway meanders along

brown and red leaves cover

bending trees bend over to observe

the path it has taken...

green grass grows all around

nature's contrast illuminated

visitors standing on the side

shadowing all trespassers who

by this way have also journeyed...

distant blue-sky corals an innocent day

leaving us alone to ponder on...

silent walks in bare feet proclaim

that each day has come and gone,

nothing delayed or left behind

reassurance of a normal kind hands

in the balance of our thoughts...

given slowly with deliberation

wishing we were there when not

and somewhere else when there,

memories lay on the ground amidst

the leaves and also undisturbed...

waiting for other to collect them

by these trees who honor us.

July 4, 2025

Present has Passed

undistinguishable are the two of them
futures building upon the past,
not knowing when it stopped being
part of the present - the hear and now,
how far back does it need to be...
to be considered back there?
few of us wonder - fewer care
no one ponders anymore - how sad...
life flows forward always 
despite all its differences and
latent contradictions...  following 
the path of least resistance...
a sanctimonious life without a
beginning or an end...  yet, forward
it always moves, never staying
long at all in its present form...
whether that be past or future.
we tire of these thoughts
day after day - night after night
needing someone to referee our
non-binding, inconclusive thoughts,
rhetoric spouted out presently but
always ending in the past as it
becomes the future to soon to be
that accurate - or so they say...
or that is what we think anyway.

July 3, 2025

Lingering Doubts Festering

lingering doubts flow through
the subconscious,
meandering of words,
socialism...
democracy...
original fathers who knew
not the suffering...
commissions and
retribution for those who
were more robust than
first encountered;
boats of shipwrecked ideas
floating into mental shorelines,
picked up like shells,
tourists encountered,
paying their fees of rental usages
and meals from local
farmer's markets...
lingering doubts again flowing,
moguls mourning the
loss of shelters for their 
ill-gotten gains,
flourishing abundantly...
deep pockets lined with the
excrements of illegals pushing
over barriers...
filing lawsuits...
multiple families in single units,
denied compensation,
arrested and deported,
criminals of the state for
they sought in earnest.
wayward are their feelings
incongruent with ours,
felons are they now, alone
with their inheritance
and ties to inequalities.
Remembering...
running and hiding,
the law is the law unless one
is specially protected
from harm's way.
lingering doubts flowing
irreconcilable differences
reality divorces
multiple intrusions
and nothing to show for it.
a demonized life ends,
we comfortable sit in recliners
watching it all on fake news.

July 1, 2025

Regretless

mothers cry for their unborn child
fathers weep for missing time,
parents mistakenly pat themselves
on their backs for behaving
exactly like they were treated;
siblings fight among themselves
for no apparent reasons, carrying
their anger into middle age then
forgetting what had started it;
couples live together for a few
years before deciding to marry
in the hope of being compatible,
nothing ever works out as planned,
still, we tend to keep trying...
a laughing cow, a flying pig and
a blue moon appears to be in
the same unbelievable room of
our feeble imaginations since
we never benefit from out errors
of listening to our trusted elders.

June 29, 2025

Self-Serving Survivors

life bends its will towards survival
creatures large and small agreed
implanted at birth, self-reliance
teach the offsprings well - instinctive
nurturing their young at all costs
not too proud to share or protect,
take what you need no more
live and let live philosophy
no musical serenades - just love
in an unconditional way...
fight or flight fantasies loom
on nature's spectrum, letting others
know when to abandon the claim,
moving on to nearby lands.
life bends no will for humans,
taking more than always needed
exercising control over survival
may the best man lose today.
wheels, deals, and negotiations
are the crust of our daily breads,
only a few sit on top of the hill
dictating to others how to live
their poor lives well...
not caring if they live or die
as long as they pay the rent.
casualties of greed at the very least
exercising our wills to be stupid,
manifesting our destiny in garbage cans
as his will be done in graveyards.
we are not what nature intended
neither on good nor bad days,
we are what we taught ourselves
wondering why it's a global crisis.

June 28, 2025

Independant Celebrations

dogs and burgers on the grill
easy reminder of freedom
chicken and beef as well
healthy does not matter
pig picking in the south
the menu of no concern there,
memories still in fashion
reflect on what it means,
wars are never kind to those
who unfortunately had to die.
corn cobs wrapped in foil
down in the coals lie,
holders at the ready on the table,
umbrellas block the sun while
fans stir the atmosphere
lingering close to the ground,
Frisbees fly from hand to hand
dogs of different sizes run in
circles after their tails as 
tales of service told by veterans.
paper clothes cover the tables
bowls of beans, salads and casseroles
sit atop the red, white, blue colors.
music plays on smarter devices
powered by the sunshine and
bags of ice rest in coolers waiting
for their turn in glasses...
a welcomed retreat planned for
every year, regardless of the weather,
regardless of politics, ignoring
the hatred that permeates the land.

June 28, 2025

Falsely Accused

alone
we stand or sit,
dedicated
we are or are not,
perfected
we might be,
irrational
we have become,
masochistic
we are not or maybe
not for sure anymore,
rampant
we have become,
premeditated
juries say we were
imprisoned
remaining are we today,
forgiveness
we don't prescribe,
termination
for which we are bound,
remembering
will be no one anymore.

June 27, 2025

Bad Actors

beyond the fringe of rationality

below the scope of indifference

beneath death's desire overridden

between the curtains of deception

we live in a world of neutrality

beckoning beacons bursting forth

with a natural need for compassion,

deep roots hold onto the truth 

like snapping turtles clinging

onto their limited lives inside a

manmade country fishing pond;

winds of complacency blow away

all uncollected evidence as if they

were drawn here by some unseen

benign force of nature, prowling

on the festivities of self-reliance, 

curling up their noses at the smell

pasture dung brought back by

wandering bovines behaving with

airs of independence formerly

associated with French expatriates.

southern traditions, lingering

delinquent habits resurfacing when

bad actors are elected to office.

June 27, 2025 

 

Counselling Fragments

as long as needed, friendships last

similarly with marriages, it seems,

witches and wizards stroll down streets

similarly with beggars I am told,

life in the south spoils those

visiting from the north who look

down their noses without spectacles,

silent animosity builds the nation

that lost its founding fathers

somewhere on the train that ran

aground in our electric land...

tips on the table for good or bad

hired help follows out the door

when it doesn't match service

rendered inside - pursuant to no

law posted on the menus...

governors and mayor clash on

Wall Street every time the voters

favor their opposition - mini strokes

are they having - none really care.

pitchers stand inside the diamond

that are a woman's best friend

wondering which curve will take

them to the series and which one

will send them home to babysit,

clowns from the circus escaped

leaving breadcrumb trails, wishing

the bulls weren't as mean as before,

unsure of their motives as they

stand in line at the recruiting station.

June 26, 2025

Undeniable Relentlessness

unknown destinations
loom on the horizon,
un-encounters and
explorations...
tree-top locations,
mountain caves,
seaside adventures;
risk-takers we become
death seekers some,
jumping and diving
like it was meant to be,
insurance claims filed
subsequently denied;
think, plan, and create,
Michelangelo mindset,
filtered by the audience
and expectations...
just perform some say
without cognition or
dampened spirits,
thrills seeking thrills
addiction, craving, and
rehabilitation pursued;
boundless energy even
the aged participate...
keenly are we eyed out
sought and procured
bringing to the market
undeniable relentlessness.

June 25, 2025

Silver Silence Instead

silence claws its way 
through my head
deep breathing exercises
willful and with intent
premeditative malice
snagging a consciousness
from the banks of memory
along its pathways...
penetrating and probing
at first blush or first glance
it matters not as it drills
down into the decayed
tooth, wanting extraction.
proof of ownerships is
always required leaving
everyone standing at the
corner for the next bus.
silence takes the elevator
down to the next level,
hoping reason and logic
await its arrival...
mercy stands on the shore
of remorse, believing
talking is required before
defoliation and the drug that
always plays well with
sixties memories...
silence craves endorsements
and remarks on the limited
edition print mean nothing
if one is not familiar with
the mindset of an artist.

June 24, 2025

Summertime

heat waves off the pavement rise
weather dome overhead
outside workers stay beware
your time comes and goes too soon,
babies stay inside this week
too weak to leave outside
mothers prepare iced cold drinks
that keep their youngsters alive,
medicines from the cabinets
don't ward off the oppressing heat
cool rooms and ceiling fans
are now all on automatic...
temperatures soar into the hundreds
beach goers remain inside water,
umbrellas without a gentle breeze
are no match for mother nature...
old folks sitting on the porch
remarking of the olden days have
no idea of the danger created
by their unofficial protesting,
remaining because they're covered,
shades pulled down in back
curtain closed together in front
whirlies on sides of both walls
grandma in the middle...
summer bends its will early and we
learn how to take shelter...
no one casts doubt over the warning.

June 23, 2025

Enemies Within

screams emitted from the pores
of our soul reverberate through
night's essence, subtle and
somewhat endearing, crisscrossing
through Pandora's box, motivated
by an incessant desire, mission
critical noise, largely ignored...
perils of Pauline resurface,
discovering doctor Who and
the realms of possibilities...
hidden in the vaults of time are
the secrets desperately desire
by the creations once divine,
we serve loyalty not subservience 
or cluster communities of false
empathy for the less possessed.
children indoctrinated on crime
freely roam of streets of failure
looking to score the next hit,
encouraged by grandparents who
want them out of the house...
associations of a similar kind
flock to empty rooms, seeking
justice for their thoughts that
reverberate throughout the valley
like some weather phenomenon.
fearful of our past, we cling onto
a tentative future that covers more
holes than an auditorium when the
tickets are reasonably priced.
we fuel our rocket desires with
Viagra substitutes, preying on those
who did not make the sports team
while negotiating treaties with the
enemies of all our recent enemies.

June 22, 2025

Peaceful Harmonies

light's umbrella encompasses silently
overhanging trees interlocking branches
nests of birds safely situated aloft
squirrels at the base rest carefully
bullfrogs adopt an abandoned pond
resting on lily pads for the Koi,
flat rock paths form boundaries
around and through water flows
fresh water recirculated daily
shadows in the trees attract the
artist's eyes in watercolors
framed and hanging on walls...
chairs and tables line the perimeter,
in the heat of the day occupied,
random are the cooling breezes 
penetrating the landscape
as if taking it own ownership
renting to neighborhood visitors 
paying homage to it calm beauty,
resting in its abstract isolations
are the soldiers who had sustained
a life of quiet restraint and mental
solidarity with their survivor blues.

June 21, 2025

Hidden Souls

mornings live on the outskirts of darkness

just out of reach until called upon,

moving rapidly to intervene with us...

nightfall lives inside the town squares

of our minds. surreptitiously waiting

for us to drift into slumber once again...

both are joined and disjoined

as if destined to be Siamese twins

living on the horizons of thoughts...

light cannot exist without darkness

true is the reverse as well

not knowing which to rely on more...

destiny is the bastard child of planning

of which we do little, preferring to live

like those addicted - one day at a time...

normalcy invades our thoughts when

reaching for hope on the top shelf,

few can do so unassisted - small stools

no longer manufactured in the South.

we curse the brevity of life

praise those who believe falsely

condemn everyone who is different

believing darkness hides our souls.

June 17, 2025

Dangling Entanglements

around us on all sides
a universe lives
alternate sometimes
with multiple dimensions,
we choose to ignore
obvious reflections,
we being miniscule,
insignificant...
not in our own minds.
traveling the mind
through spacetime
looping through time
like rocks on a pond
sliding along...
connected we are
in front and back
admitting not the rare
associations we have
to life and its abundance
of freedom...
taken everywhere we go
but never for granted.
we see what we feel
feel what we see
acknowledging the very
fabric of our uniqueness
with poems and songs
celebrating what it is
that we think we have.
we squirm over the terms
of our expectancies
singing ourselves to sleep
when comforting loneliness

June 17, 2025

Dawn's Crack

dirty down dawn breaks through
night's pissy black darkness,
humiliating laid back owls,
howling like wolves at some
imaginary creature deported
out of heaven for a crime that
only human can ever commit.
an elusive dawn creeps through
the willows of forgotten souls
like rats through a maze with
no solution is sight...  still they
scramble around like soldiers
seeking a safe place to defecate,
shells whizzing by overhead...
indian songs of pacification
dart here and there looking
for the targets to which they
had been assigned, suffering
indignation if not found...
sea monsters awaken from 
shallow graves hoping to
disappoint the tourists who
have gathered at the pier for
weekly fireworks...  dawn came
too early this week, forcing 
many to return home early.
Nancy Drew came down to 
check for reality only to find
Chan got there first, selling his
story to reporters knowing it
would be different when published.
just another day in paradise,
just another group of illegals
crossing over for coffee and tea.

June 16, 2025

Changing Mentalities

lines are crossed, seasons lost
peril follows us all,
woven weaves unwind
unraveling our dreams
sadistic crowds mock each other
in the streets of Los Angeles,
tubes of lava flow underground
bringing in new species
only realized in nightmares...
victims of leisure crowd the beaches
looking to take home the sun
enduring the sand and water
to be bronzed all over
shedding their whiteness forever.
jubilant warriors dance and die
on the battlefield, rejoicing
in their deaths, leaving behind
a life in which they no longer
had the same beliefs with which
they had been born...
mustached tax collectors roam
the streets of our communities
looking for donations
finding empty souls and pocket,
the cradle of life now destroyed
replaced by artificialities,
remakes and deep fakes,
leaving us wondering about reality.

June 15, 2025

Night Madness

on the streets of battle
dead bodies lie,
gang soldiers and civilians,
mothers and fathers
brothers and sisters
no one spared
only violence served,
raids in the nights
or early morning,
difference still unknown,
leaders on their knees
learning how to pray,
slaves of labor
steered the wrong way,
gossip flows quickly
down abandoned alleys
fearing the worst
trying to rest assured
nothing calmed or sedated
except the thoughts
of who is next...
who lives - who dies
who tells the story of
all this night madness?

June 14, 2025

Blue Sky Mornings

a cloudless blue-sky morning
stars from the previous day
remain high and out of sight,
feckless birds frolic and hold
congregations nearby, hoping
to be selected birds of prey,
wondering illusions hit the
ground like twisters right
out of the movie, hiding
behind buildings until the
light of day where more
destruction can be observed.
crews of workers' delegate
responsibility to watch and
swoon over what they hear
as the rumblings of destruction
make music on the ground. 
manipulated twins hold up
their skirts to commemorate
shared birthdays while vets
pass out popcorn to customers.
a silent majority speaking
words never heard lay on the
ground for street cleaners
practicing their vows before
members of the council while
shoveling manure afterwards.
all in a days' notice and only
when blue sky mornings arrive.

June 13, 2025

Facts Set Free

clarity follows understanding
understanding follows investigation
investigation follows questioning
questioning comes from wanting to know.
crowds of thoughts line up like
people wanting to believe what
they hear or see and if verification
always seems to lead to truth.
truth is only that which can be
proven in court or law, having
very little to do with the actual truth.
clarity is an illusion of the facts
as presented or explained,
always being interpreted...
always being modified...
always being used by those more
clever to mean what they want
and not what really is...
facts come from data
data can be rearranged and words
can be used to transform beliefs.

June 11, 2025

The Old Man

on a front porch
on the side of a hill
just off a windy back road
a lonely man sits
with book and memories
of a simpler time...
no family or friends has he
this lonely old man,
a wife who walked away
years ago, leaving no
no clues or explanations,
a child who left shortly later
wishing him nothing...
but could no longer stay.
a brother and sister who
turned their backs on him 
years ago now over
things he had said in anger,
no second chances...
alone on a hill he sits
pondering nothing except
wondering why he's still here.
locals see him as a stranger
avoiding at all costs,
mail is delivered only when
the old man's not outside.
not a word does he say
to anyone, except the birds that
sit on a nearby tree branch,
staring at him sitting there.
into town he goes
once a month, no more
grocery bags sit in the back seat
of a two thousand and five Chevy.
one day he will die and no one
will want to bury...
courts will order him tossed inside
the cabin burned to the ground,
the fire department will be the
only ones at his funeral.

June 11, 2025

Glass Walls

window glass slides in-between my
thoughts without asking permission,
menacing ideas transform themselves
when shattered into tiny pieces...
fragments of my life flash and reflect
the distance of life's blessings when
served to someone else instead...
curled up on the sidewalk like a snake
are my shriveled memories pulled
out of mental storage like one was
more than obsessed with revenge...
janis joplin songs in the background
play as wiper blades are torn off the
windshield of the sliding glass wall,
beggars stand in line for leftovers
the hogs refused to eat as they were
too busy devouring my legacies...
no one know what they don't know
and no one cares that they do, but
someone cares that the music is dead
and awards night has nowhere to go.

June 10, 2025

Wealth's Legacy

sacred, are the rules we follow

written down by aristocracy

governing the less fortunate

perceived as all too ignorant,

sacred is the word of law

around which we govern all

those who cannot, and who

we rely on to decide for us,

the way our lives will migrate,

older and wiser are they all

dressed in their fancy clothes

with their arrogant attitude

looking down on those who 

are perceived to be like dogs.

called the constitution it is

for our future salvation and

a book that holds all the secrets

on which our greatness depends.

where whites and blacks are

just like wealthy and poor,

the two shall never mix,

forever silent are the respected

as time waltzes by as if it were

to be served equally to all.

June 9, 2025

A Sunroom's Gift

a wall clock indicates almost noon
windows up - five out of twelve,
a cool breeze enters...
pushed by tree arms just outside
blocked sunlight not inside,
flashing mirrors keep birds away
hummingbirds too, much to
our mutual dismay...
strips of silver ribbons reflect
a persistent light prevails,
summer rain last night fell
moisture seeps into and around
a fresh mowed lawn...
birds squawk high in the branches
balancing on the bobbing limb,
blackened clouds from the west
approach our southern location,
pushing out the pastel blues
with the precision of a boxer,
pressures rise - temperatures fall
drops of water hit the roof
along with muted thunder...
doors close on my winged thoughts
just like on the inclement weather,
safe, sound, and protect are we now,
sitting underneath our sunroom roof.

June 8, 2025

Darkness Reveals All

evil silently lurks in the darkness

as does the good side,

patiently lingering and luring

reluctant recruits from their cribs,

church going child molesters

spouse abusers and alcoholics

all dress the same way,

garments of fashion and leisure

tucked nicely away in styles,

no one knows for sure who they are

where they have been or from

where they recently arrived...

but here they all are, mingled

among us like rats in a cage,

waiting and planning the deed,

plotting out their escape and

lines of commination as if

normal is no longer obscene.

beside us they live, watching as

we curiously go about our business,

ignoring their presence and their

sideways glances into our space.

evil and goodness lurk together

in the same shadows in the same

back alleys and dirty gutters...

they were once us as we were

once them in different lives

seldom investigated but there

nonetheless...  side by side.

June 6, 2025

Forlorn Wondering

through fields of doubt, we march

good toy soldiers forever faithful

missing arms or missing legs

it matters not for us...

we paid our dues to another piper

very much in favor of the tune,

out of key but never out of beat,

our brand turned inside out

worn outside in for kicks...

never in public will you catch us

flaunting this or that above our heads

like fanatics on a collision course.

we dine on caviar and wine

or Pepsi and cracker, it's all the same,

bending of the little finger and such

when holding the china...

we live on sloppy hallways sides

slipping to and fro in bare feet,

watching for broken glass

blown in off the streets.

normal lives are for cowards

we are forgotten at best still the

unusual aspects of life have

its benefits none will deny.

June 6, 2025

Acquiescing

on the corners of
madness and
enlightenment,
I turn my attention to 
those who weren't
so lucky...
those who bathe
themselves in the 
attention of others...
those who dream
but never do...
those who fishtail
their lives around a
monumental goal
without justification...
those who understand the
evil in life, embracing
it without question...
those who stand on the
corners or in the alleys
pitching pennies
for a meal...
those who dangle on the
end of society's nose
as if it was customed
tailored for them...
my attention has become
short-lived when patience
mean little to those who
want to steal from me.

June 4, 2025