Within Each Level

from side to side, we move

down the hallway...

taking our cues from those

who went before... 

up the stairs we tread carefully

as if not wanting to be heard,

the wooded boards moan

with each step...

a faint ribbon of smoke filters

around us and gradually

into our minds, softening

our thoughts and bending our

perceptions of the reality

we have delved into...

moments turn into minutes

minutes into hours,

we have passed though every

level there is without the

slightest inclination of

the purpose of being here,

we gather in the corner to

announce out intentions and

find ourselves out of the fame.

May 15, 2024

Snookered

VV Resorts holds our attention this day

not one but two nights do we stay,

three day also or so they say...

one day we were arriving

the third one we were leaving,

a misleading diagnosis at best...

it is the southern part of this state

that we see these day - the resort already

has a blemish on its portfolio,

at least with us...  and the bone we pick

is not a lean chicken bone or rib but one

we encountered years ago when first

we had arrived down here...

it was a young a foolish opportunity we

thought even though we were both

quite experienced and mature...

it was not the luck of the draw either

it was just plain stupid trust...

May 12, 2024

Journey South

early morning rise and shine

cliches go a long way...

car pack the night before 

the tank topped off the day before,

through five states our journey

extends - from our own into

north carolina, the southern

version of that same state,

then off to georgia and we

terminate at the tip of florida;

destination gps leads the way,

the shorter version or the longer

one we are not sure as those

terms were arranged years ago,

and still we know not what we did;

long hours in the seat we live

stopping only upon necessity

then quickly back and off we go

making sure we end the day

before darkness covers the sky.

May 12, 2024

Life's New Lens

roll over, out of the clover, into the new

open your eyes to see the obsolete,

replacement parts on their way...

a better world, a better life, a better me

all of it is around the corner and coming

our way if you let it happen...  

look deep into the eyes of the sky and

see the future that is right in front of you,

breathe in the air of change and let 

your body bask in its sunlight...

some will reach out, other will struggle

change is coming and will roll over

all of us who stand in its way...

the children of the dawn saw it in the

wombs of their mothers, grabbing its

life as soon as they could speak...

condemning the old - praising the new,

death to those in the middle as they

are the weak links than must be removed.

May 9, 2024

Steps

we take steps to become who we want to be
sometimes these steps are large
sometimes small - they are steps nonetheless,
we encounter those who stand in our way
blocking the steps we need to take...
jealousy or ignorance?  it is hard to say.
steps lead to other steps and those steps
lead to even more steps and we wonder if
and when these steps will ever end...
we grow tired and frustrated,
losing our desire to continue and yet we
consider not ourselves a failure and pursue
the goal that is so elusive - and, just when
we are about to give it all up and throw it all
away inside some bottomless pit, the steps
we are on widen and become escalators to the
next level in our progression - steps led to steps,
and when the day is done, we sleep on steps,
not caring about anything but the final step.

May 8, 2024

Time Keeper

the clock on the mantel shows seven pm

the clock in the bedroom shows nine,

the clock on my wrist stopped two days ago

but the clock on my phone shows ten...

no one really knows what time it is

no one really seems to care...

there is no master of the clock on which to

depend to tell us what time it really is,

those of us who still work will discover

there is no clock at the factory...

no one knows what time to arrive

no one knows what time to leave,

even those who bring their lunch each day

have no recollection of when to eat

unless the bosses are there to guide them;

we live in a world of clocks that give us

the correct time and let us know what

to do and when to do it - we are lost now...

without our clock and without the keeper

of the time to tell us when it is time to die.

May 7, 2024

TRUTH

truth lives on the floor of the jury room

truth is not what can be proven or disproven

truth has slipped through the fingers of liars

truth will never appear accurately in history books

truth is what our society has neve been

truth is what mainstream decides to predict

truth is pissed upon by politicians and all

our nasty corporate executives who are in 

part supported by the billionaires who have

no desire to hear the truth until it means money,

truth is a false slogan sold by Superman

truth and lies fornicated to produce justice

and nowhere in the world is there any living

creature who believes truth will set them free.

truth has created this world and truth will be

around when this world destroys itself...

once it realizes it needs truth to survive.

May 7, 2024

Life of Simplicity

he never knew his father
nor his mother but had
siblings older and younger
who were adopted outright
leaving his alone...  it was
the strangers to which he
objected as their lack of
caring meant nothing to him;
it was the military that had
captured his attention and 
took him out of high school
and into the rice fields of
Vietnam...  it was his mind
that betrayed him, causing
no fear of death each time
he ventured into the bush;
it was the doctors who said
he was disabled when he
returned home and it was
his neighbors who called
him the crazy one...  he lived
the lie for fifty years and one
day when mowing his lawn,
he fell off the zero turn, falling
dead on the hard ground...
his third wife buried him and
the preacher said a few nice 
words not really knowing who
he was or had become...  his
rank was not high enough to
earn rifles but a trans soldier
played the bugle and white
roses were tossed into the hole
after his casket hit bottom;
he was a man of no seasons
a man of complexity that lived
and died a life of simplicity.

May 6, 2024

Instant Revelation

within the footprints of the day
my body stands without assistance,
walks from side to side unencumbered,
reaches its peak midway - only to
find an unsettling sensation deep
down inside, a hollowness that turns
downward as the boiling reaches
an upward angle throughout...
lightheadedness reveals weaknesses
as standing is compromised and
a feeling of nausea washes over me;
eyes cloud over with concern...
sinuses are ignited and a dry mouth
has trouble formulating words,
crawling skin seems to move in
and around my being as if preparing
preparing for a collapse...  I am weak
with the concerns of the day that
surround my mental thoughts but
cannot focus since the emptiness
possesses me like an ancient sickness,
grabbing the cart to steady movement
looking for a place in which to glide.

May 5, 2024

Listening

charming are the lads that walk

down the street with pride,

not so thrilling are the lassies

that try to follow them...

a long time has passed between

the beginning and the end of

the dance but those who can

remember the melody have no

problems finding their way...

storytellers gather at the foot

of the mountains, at that point

in time where all the lads and

lassies are running to - no one

knows the outcomes, no one

has bothered to check to see

if the coast is clear, so when the

gun sounds the alarm that the

game is won, no one listens. 

May 5, 2024