Homelife

native Americans sleep in tents

some fashion houses in trees,
Inuit's remain in igloos when cold
descends upon their tribal lands,
others live trailers or log cabins,
using nature for their business,
leaves, straw grasses, pine needles,
we admire our modern conveniences
as they keep us inside, no longer
disturbed by eagles and hawks as
they fly by unexpectedly...  homes
made into the sides of mountains
or dug out deep into the earth, we
find space wherever we can and
always hope for the best...  stars
in the sky point the way home or
to hunting lands both north and
south as only water in the other
directions we have been told by
the ancient spirits...  coverings
made from animals keep us as
warm as we can be and fish from
the rivers and streams fill out
empty bellies...  we are desperate
to see the sun and blue sky again
cleansing our bodies dancing in
the summer rains - we live day to
day in our little worlds, caring
not for outsiders who pass by on
their way elsewhere, and with our
weapons, we let them know to 
keep on moving away from here.

February 13, 2024

Poised and Ready

our backs turned towards the sun
attention focused on the trees
barren with their winter limbs,
roots covered in dirt and leaves
snow piled up around trunks...
birds fly out in mass like the end
of a shift or an ending service in
the house with the cross on top;
our enemies see not our strategy
nor do they see the simplicity of
our thoughts that lure them in...
we are one with the earth, hearing
their movements in the ground
beneath our feet... carefully are
we composed as we turn to do
battle with these trespassers and
they us who they perceive as an
easy prey and not prepared...
arms raised wide for battle, heads
high with clinched teeth and fibers
of every muscle - tensed and ready,
the winds howl past the battle as if
it is of no lasting consequence at all.

February 12, 2024

Connected

music from South Korea
plays on the smart phone,
its words not understood
but the melody is pleasant,
drama filters it way through
this house of ours as if 
that war never ended...
and the one we fight this
day is composed of words
and strange music that
flows off tongues of actors;
our world is smaller than
it has ever been before,
and to the web everyone
is connected  - no need
for stamps and mail as 
we can talk instantly and
see each other on the 
screes as if being in the
other room they be...
music, not language is 
what sweeps the universe,
keeps us connected and
paus the bills that feed
our foreign families...  it
is the nature of things in
new strange world of ours.

February 12, 2024

The Ancients

floating aimlessly throughout the heavens
gods engage in battles with other gods who
are in fear of growing old, testosterone in
their veins for a millennium...  mating with
the stars in order to create planets of life
on which they will rule from time to time,
centurions guard the galaxies and cosmic
priests provide eternal salvation for all 
those who bear witness creator who dwells
on the edge of everything, wielding power
as though fear needs constant stimulation,
intergalactic handmaidens are sent to tease
the gods who would be more than they are
but doing so unknowingly since greed exists
not in their vocabularies...  colliding dimension
revolve around the core of existence and star
wizards use crescent moons to fish from...
the universe expands and contract from the
pressure provided by the dark energy that
holds it all together, deciding arbitrarily 
which planets will live or die and which 
ones will offer life, then take it all away...
gods roam the universe like fish in an
aquarium without the benefit of guidance
provided by the one who started it all.

February 9. 2024

Just Another Day

families know not what they believe
individuals step out of line
soldiers fall on their swords and
leaders bite their fingernails...
the wealthy help not the poor 
the poor steals from those above
and sea gulls remain at the beach
during thunder storms...  we are
a curious breed of humans who
kills for pleasure, placing their
trophies in safety deposit boxes
in the credit unions while banks
scramble to sell loans...  the north
fears the rise of the south and the
south detests the rudeness of their
northern neighbors...  but unite
when a common foe appears...
progressive and liberal we trace
our heritage back to the WASPs
and it it always the young that
rejects and changes the past...
ponytails on males and crewcuts
on females, we switch roles as if
there is no tomorrow only todays.

February 9, 2024

Depression's Birth

the road ahead is straight
not uphill nor down nor
curving side to side...
a loan figure walks in the
darkness looking for light,
children play marbles on
the side of road while the
older once toss the dice...
a loan figure walks past
the fog and into the rain,
clutching at his head as if
preventing something that
wants to leave...  holding
a head in his hands he cries
out for forgiveness but
receives none, t least that
he is aware...  mercy takes
him on a ride from which
few have returned - death
is welcomed in the interim,
mostly we say hello or say
not a word, gathering up
our faculties to fight, and
once posed to run, we are
capitulating and screaming
for nurses to put us to bed.

February 9, 2024

Controlling Minds

morning rests itself just outside my door

like an impetuous child I open it

sunlight floods my space - blinding me,

the day has began by announcing itself

we begin our rituals by accepting it,

dusk until dawn we prepared ourselves

the alarms bring it to our attention,

we forfeit nothing for the day and

nothing for the night we just left...

we owe the bookkeepers our labor

we earn on our productivity

we see little of the proceeds but we

continue anyway as we have done

for years and our fathers before us,

we are determined, resolute in our

thoughts and concern, expressing then

to our bosses since their bosses would

to know our state of mind and if we

felt disenfranchised and so much so

as to no longer need to work inside

the minds of those who control us.

February 9, 2024

Coast to Coast

warm weather swarms through the south

atmospheric rivers deluge western lands

wintery snow blanket the mid west and

river boat rides move up through the delta,

diversity is our namesake and we rule the

day when it is not...  no longer will we be

same as we were before...  a mixture of

tolerated beliefs and actions combining

into an iron man of sorts - a defender

of the weak and poor - the answer to our

doubts we so closely cherished when

guided by the stars and heavens...  dark

souls were born, some created, others

resurrected but regardless of their origins

have migrated into our veins and there is

no vaccine to counteract the damage...

wicked weather winds its way across

our lands with no indications that it 

cease, desist its actions anytime soon.

February, 7, 2024

War Winds

winds of war have flow over earth
since mankind was old enough to 
fight with their hands and later with
sticks and stones and even later with
spears, bows and arrows...  males
have always wanted to kill other
males for pleasure rather than out
of necessity...  other animals kill to
survive but not human beings...
we kill out of greed and our lust
for power and control...  and if it
is not us doing the killing, then
it is our proxies - young males
and females in their prime with
nothing better to do that to join
the military and be sent to kill;
our religious beliefs be damned
when it comes to killing as faith
has nothing to do with war yet has
been the reason for it over thousands
of years or more...  our Christian
wars were brutal yet we are never
informed how bad it was, least we
loose our faith from this truth...
but, the Muslims remember and
and continue to wage endless wars
against those barbarians entering
their lands and telling them how
they were going to live their lives.

February 7, 2024

Differences

we float in the river of doubt everyday

as we ignore those who came before,

our own rules and regulations, we

force on the minds of others like the

atmospheric rains that calm our souls

and replenish our fields with food

from the gods fit for mortals...  we

consume desperation figuratively

and are chastised for our beliefs;

the ability to doubt is magnified by

the age of it - no better than swollen

glands in the neck...  mother of all

things rejoices in our separation.

our inability to give in - facing the

music of bands we have always

disliked during our youth...  rock

and roll embodies our resistance

and solidifies the joy in our hearts

that we have due to our difference.

February 5, 2024