Golden Leaf

life is but a dream nothing more

for some it is good
others bad
a dream nonetheless for all,
we can fight it
accept it or
ignore it if we choose
the conclusion still remains;
we are forced into life
foreced into death
free to do in between...
life owes us nothing
takes all we have,
we bitch and scream
it never changes or is deterred;
we dream of rivers boats
floating down a stream,
not realizing we are already
on a golden leaf that is
almost about to tumble.

January 26, 2025

Life Living

forced...
to look the other way,
beaten down...
stay on the other side,
sold...
into slavery after being
abolished for decades,
new generations...
tend the fields,
work the factories,
mend the clothes,
righteous wealthy pay
minimum wage...
destined to be destined
to be in servitude,
humbled...
we die in secret never
seeing the light
on the other side,
never understanding why
we were given a chance
to survive,
forced to live like we did.

January 25, 2025

Winter Home

a wintery sky blasts artic
air into the valley,
ice forms on windowsills
rain turns into ice
mommas rush children inside
fires in fireplaces burn,
silvery blue colors prevail
bare branches bow in the
windward gusts bushing
through trees and bushes,
limbs breaking
green leaves cracking
blistered lips of postmen
delivering the mail,
no shine of sun anywhere
no warmth surrounds
chilly fingers in mittens
frosty eyes of those
shoveling their drives,
winter has found a home.

January 23, 2025

Poorly Sentenced

from east to west the tide
turns north to south and
sometimes up to heaven,
salt water made fresh
muddy water turned to wine,
civilized people create the
life they are destined to have
while others receive leftovers,
a country of laws turns 
silent in the wake of judges
who offer no penalties for
crimes committed...
time served leaves us without
revenge and without a 
justification to survive...
tend to your own gardens
and let the bullies have the
rest since we are ill-equipped
to dredge up any despair.

January 23, 2025

Specter

enlightened,
they say we are
with our murders,
rapes and beatings,
cultured,
they say we are
few cares about the arts
even fewer care
civility...
educated,
they say we are,
mostly memorize
then forget we do,
as grades become
rock idols...
compassionate,
they say we are
pulling knives out 
from backs and spewing
hate on public forums...
declining,
they say our nation is
none wonder why.

January 21, 2025

Being Here

against the wall we stand
resisting the resistance
wondering and waiting
how long will it take for
them to arrive here?
fixed and ready, we are
no prior experience
do we have...
it matters not
we are told,
resistance is resistance
all the same.
mental bayonets we have
along with our mental
pistols and rifles,
shooting virtual bullets
at the approaching crowd.
determined and resolute
we are that this day will
go down in history...
and we will be remembered
all the same for being here.

January 20, 2025

Observation

windows bar the cold and heat
we are free to roam about 
clothed in garments or none,
exploring in darkness
or in light, it does not matter.
life lives on the edge of it all
or it dies in a sewage gutter,
darkness clouds our judgement
but only until morning when
light embraces us all,
free to speculate and declare
go to good to other places
heaven or hell...
we do not care nor do we fret
about the consequences
unintendedly created...
moments are what moments
do best...  then the past clouds
our future, relying only
on what we actually observe.

January 19, 2025

Closed are We

open are our minds to
things we know or perceive,
closed they are to those
things uncertain...
we believe that which
we are told and not to
that which we are not 
told - not thinking for
ourselves are we allowed.
mother jones knew this
all too well...  she shared
not her wisdom before
leaving us - we are
forever scorned by her
enemies, taking over
our lives as if they were
our father knowing best.
we are open and free
for those we believe as we
but closed to those not
believing as we do anymore.

January 18, 2025

Revenge

life for life
limb for limb
eye for eye
we are all equal in
all that we do...
revenge is sweet
sometimes bitter
but it is revenge
nonetheless...
we learn nothing
when applied
and it could make
our attitudes worse,
enlightened we are
or claim to be
but it is doubtful
that we have learned
anything at all
from life when we
do to them what
they did to us.

January 17, 2025

Here and Now

moments are lived in
minutes pass by slowly
hours tend to linger
days flow into weeks
months give rise to years
decades become memories
age allows us few luxuries
other than what we recall
even when those glimpses
into the past are vague...
past supports future
future relies on the past
we are creatures of now
not understanding
how long it will last.

January 17, 2025

Dystopian

dark lives inside, light outside
minds dwell upon emptiness
routines find their way back
to the end of the day and
openness hides inside the 
framework of full disclosure,
hearts cling together like
church bells announcing the
weekly service while clergy
make last minutes changes
in their diaries and journals.
we serve strangers with the
leftovers of holiday meals as
farmers prepare their fields
for next season's planting...
curiously we move from one
generation to the next while
decades pass by un-noticed.
we see nothing except what
we are supposed to see and
hear nothing not intended to
hear unless it is that which we
already knew to be false...
hybrid vehicles keep our hybrid
bodies out of the cold - we move
slower than before, noticing only
what was left for us today and
chewing each bite thoroughly
before being tossed aside again.

January 16, 2025

Endings

lines across her face, showed age

and fragile was she,

she inclined just enough to see

family around the bed sitting...

she wore her age well

managing as she always had done,

now the was rapidly approaching

reclining her bed one final time.

January 16, 2025

Amused

pass by me fast they do

these highway cars,
moving from one locale
to another...  in a somewhat
reckless manner...
tailgate they do, if and when
a slowdown occurs...
anxiously revving in neutral.
on the other side
they fly by frantically as well
as if no matter where they
head they must do so fastly.
a cautious soul, I am
making sure I get to where
I am going stress free,
and when not concentrating
on my task at hand,
I am quietly being amused.

January 15, 2025

Summertime

slowly she brings herself around

meticulously careful and thorough,

she sees herself in simple terms

not those of her predecessor,

or those with whom she battled,

relentless she is in her pursuits

justice and the rule of law

to which she clings like a person

who has no convictions...

she is not deceitful nor is she

one to pursue indifference for

the sake of devil's advocation,

she is as pure as she is innocent

and liked by all those who have

at some point enjoyed her warmth.

she is summertime personified.

January 12, 2025

Honoring

distance brings us closer

pastel sky and all,

clouds high above the head

no air at all...

we sit is isolation among

the trees so dear,

some of which are curved

severely in honor

of our age...

umbrella designs they

all appear to have

so tall it does not matter

but the beauty they provide

is far superior...

we see our future in these trees

their distance magnified

by their height...

we are consumed by them each day

frightened by them at night,

despite their overbearing presence

they represent our plight,

never knowing what will cause

our lifetime of delight.

January 11, 2025

Winter's Lament

dance and prance in snow
white flakes falling
animals hide
children collide
playing outside
in the cold...
by the fire we sit
all warm and cozy,
listening to the tunes
on the radio,
cable is down
our dog's in the pound
we have no means
of retrieval...
lost in the snow
is the ghost of us all
as we fret and complain
about the chill...
and all's we know
is it ain't like the fall
but spring don't arrive
until much later.

January 11, 2025

Anxiety Unleashed

dawn turns night light on...  we
put down our evening spectacles,
doors open...  doors close...
we walk through most while
ignoring others of which we're unsure,
night bring us comforting 
easily removed during the day,
we shield ourselves unknowingly
through our unintentional ignorance,
light lives inside the darkness
darkness hides inside the light
waiting for the opportunity
to release its depravity on all
those unsuspecting souls who
trust in the nature of mankind...
we wave our minds into its service
unleashing our anxiety at will,
surrendering nothing to the new-
comers who walk upon our shores
as if invited to our family vacation.

January 9, 2025

Enlightenment

arrives at dawn
when we least expect it
with the chores and
routines of the day...
it ushers in sunlight
from the dreary darkness
opening minds
both young and old
new insights
courage
removing poisons from
the previous day
encounters and 
extraditions...
it cleanses the mind
of rituals
long since followed
admonishing
their likeness to the
hidden truth,
calculating the exploits
of those who failed in
preserving our world.

January 8, 2025

The New Life

inside the warm coziness of the mind,
I wander aimlessly through memories
timeless in nature, full of turmoil and
doubt of life's reality, clinging onto
existentialism and life's absurdities,
suppressing and oppressive, keeping
our beliefs from freely forming...
prisoners of ourselves, living in
mental cells of our own creation,
blaming and pointing fingers at
those we hated, distrusted, and
wanted to die a horrible fate...
the new generation we were with
all the right answers, solutions
and reasons for society to change,
according to our plans, our beliefs
our idea of what life should be
what it should not be and who
should benefit from these changes.

January 7, 2025

Government

who are we to decide
who should live,
who should die?
what manner of creature
are we to kill for sport
and not for survival?
are we the chose few,
the ones for whom
this world was created.
I wonder...
as should you but
you do not...
as long as you have
what you want...
shame on those who
care this way
and not on the way
of the future...
we deny ourselves little
demand much
return nothing
and wonder what would 
our lives be like if we
didn't have government.

January 6, 2025

Cyber Wilderness

lost in a cloud wilderness
found in another,
cyber tricks played on
unsuspecting users... 
criminals hide in underground
caverns - theie hunters take
time out for lunch...
best wishes are sent out 
via email or texts as
we plan our protests in
online chat rooms,
where no one, that we know,
is listening in like they
were at home...
males swing from the tops
of trees like monkeys
to break and enter into
the dwellings they want
check out for purchase...
facts flow freely in the minds
of the accused as they have
their attorneys bribe the
judge with inaguaration tickets.

January 4, 2025

Damaged Souls

far from the crowd

far from those who care
far from the edge
too close to the other side.
not beside or not within,
between this or that
in rapid succession,
delve into it with me
or not, it matters litte
what you do or think,
when we are the wrong side
no one listens to our pleas
or our concerns...
we are the forgotten
the over-looked
the scraps of lunch 
discarded out back doors
as if dogs to feed
and little more...
we are what you were
what you left behind
what you refused to admit
you once were and more
and in the end
we perished along with
your destroyed soul.

January 3, 2025

Birthday

Age brings us wisdom
as faculties fade
moving less freely
like we did before
hearing and seeing
each day’s beauty…

Age brings us memories
of times remembered
births and birthdays
special events
and summer vacations…

Age brings us peace of mind
fairy tale days without
the worries of places to be
and people to meet
or errands to run…

Age brings us confidence
where we are who we are
and birthdays as just
another reminder of how
fortunate we have been.


January 3, 2025

Blinded Leaders

mellow minds we have not

hate is the flavor of the day,
we pride ourselves on intelligence
but fail to engage in compromise,
wealthy leaders tell us when
and how to act, preventing us
from becoming like them,
hoping we do not notice
and plan a quiet rebellion...
our days are numbered
so they say these scholars
why try to teach us well
but their methods are somewhat
distorted when politically
influenced by their beliefs...
nowhere is it written that our
society must band together
and unite yet it seems only
logical it is our only choice.

January 1, 2025

Windy Wednesday

Tennessee pines swing like
Florida palms in the wind
that blows through the valley,
trash cans roll down beside homes
harmless critters sift remains,
birds flock to secret hideaways 
carpenter bees squirm deeper
into the holes they made...
a polar wave will arrive someday
maybe two or three they say
swooping down through the
like an attacking Canadian
scrambling for recognition...
teetering on the edge, we stay
in our log cabins like Davy Crockett
before journeying to Texas to
defend a part of Americana...
grasping at straws we drink our
sweet teas from inside, looking out
out at nature having a little fun.

December 31, 2024 

My Better Half

morning crisis lies ahead when

there is no coffee made;
I stand firm in this conviction.
so, much so that coffee
is made the night before
and in a carafe placed...
next day morning arrives
and in a cup is poured,
place in a microwave
heated for a minute or two;
viola...  there it is...
my warm coffee smell
soon to be tasted
and crisis is averted...
until my better half points out
it took just as long to reheat
as it took to make now
that pods are on the scene.
back in crisis mood I go
trying to decide direction...
wondering why I ever
wanted a better half.

December 30, 2024

Timeless

 
along the wet sand I walk
a quiet escape from life around me
shells scrap the bottoms of my feet
and in my state of calm the
touch is hardly noticed...
no seagulls fly overhead
my thoughts and I are alone,
no animals on a leash do I tend
no a wife with whom to hold hands,
a chorus of ideas pass through
imitating the wind that is obviously absent,
the last light of day warms my body's
left side as the right is wet with spray,
small waves crash near me
a constant reminder that the oceans
never fade away like our lives.

December 29,2024

Bored

warrants lay on the desk unserved
soldiers stand at parade rest
toddlers play in the sand with shovels
parents sit under umbrellas reading
yesterday's news without regrets
cats sit on fence rails howling
at some unseen menace they
know is around there somewhere
and I sit on the couch with my
laptop drinking tomorrow's coffee.
chiefs of police postpone their duties
soldiers fantasize about the weekend
toddlers reach out for love and affection
parents reminisce when it was just them
cats no longer prowl in daylight and I
leave the couch to change the channel
nothing changes from one day to the other
I wonder what it is like not to be bored.

December 28, 2024

Thoughts in Flight

a flurry of thoughts passes through me
like a chilly winter morning on the coast,
the banks on the outer rim of the mind
are great for fishing this time of year,
or so I have been told once or twice.
before you I stand, instead of sitting
a man of my word I have become
listening to you complain every time
my headlights are turned on and
you are caught without a license.
each thought is a memory
each memory has a story
each story is painful
except the ones I forget to share.
in the dark my mind hangs like
a scarf around my neck that grows
tighter and tighter with age.
I fail to grasp the importance of the
nightly excursions into my past
where life is always recalled differently
and mornings arrive without sleep,
afternoon naps nurse my sanity
until another light bulb bursts.

December 28, 2024

In the Zone

stand in the light
let the warmth
wash over you,
feel the resurgence
of life coarse
through your body
into your veins
down to your feet.
don't lose sight
of yourself as
you bask beside
the window of
your sunroom,
feeling the heat,
feeling the tensions
just dissolve away,
like the life of the
fly you just swatted.

December 28, 2024

Coffee Break Bastards

in their cushy leather chairs
they sit drooling...
all pious and above reproach
wearing their expensive
clothes and jewelry
making law for those of us
who have nothing,
we, the people, is a mockery
to those who wanted
us to be guided and manipulated
into thinking those we
elected would do us right...
low and behold
the joke was on us,
we never were cared about
never ever given a courteous
second look...
we are your disdain
your embarrassment
your children referred to
coffee break bastards
not smart enough to pour
piss out of a boot
and you know the rest...
we will one day come a lookin'
an pay all yawl back.

December 27, 2024