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

Aimlessly Pondering

elders sit around campfires
seniors sit around stoves
retirees sit around propane furnaces
elected officials hide in pews,
rain pours in through the hole
in our heads put there years ago
by well-intentioned doctors
who believed in the red, white, & blue;
our wealthy drive electric vehicles
made by the poorest of the poor
while everyday common citizen
struggles to feed their children,
higher education ran amuck
decades ago when boards approved
awarding tenure to the bright elite,
and thousands of farmers in the
heartland did their best to improve crops;
we learned more from mother nature
than we have learned from ourselves,
and millions of migrants break our laws
just so they can say they got there...
today, we count our blessings on
one hand while using the other to
wipe our body clean of the decay,
no one will ever remember these words
because they don't know what they say.

May 3, 2024

Society Concerned

regret peels away from human consciousness
like rainwater down a mountainside,
benevolent societies pick up differences
minorities rail with discrimination and the
courts are seriously backed up for years...
death to america scrambles along the sidewalks
major cities close their doors in despair,
mayors cry foul at council meetings and the
juries are filled with biased constituents...
a meaning peck on the head by the birds
women and children screaming in the fields
a mockery of our judicial system exclaims
all the experts and talking heads but the
judge agrees with all the convictions...
a cowboy mentality hangs from the belts
holding up our universal jeans and boots
walk through the piles of crap that litter the
floors of our courtrooms - justice prevails...
the media keeps track of the score by the
copies of papers sold, failing to release
result for fear of starting a panic...  and...
we all wonder in silence for our future.

May 2, 2024

Campus Unrest

crowds from in the commons
males and females
white and black
as if those distinctions matter,
pedestrians stop to chat
protestors run them off,
workers provide protective custody
administrators can only gawk,
riot gear covers some
gas masks cover others,
the media is fascinated by the
turn of events that has
cancelled all their learning,
parents look for their children
spouses try to find spouses
law enforcement on the sidelines
waiting for permission...
agitators of a non-student nature
entice the crowd to respond,
pushing their ignorant buttons
with skill and dexterity...
shots fired - some take cover,
limp bodies on the ground lay,
we no longer count our blessings
no longer understand the cause
no longer care about victory
as life inside leaves us all.

May 2, 2024

Glancing Back

glimpses into the future we take

by looking into the past,

understanding the influences that

incentivized our actions...

labelling our friends with photos

while ignoring all others by

deleting their addresses...

strange days and strange nights

flow through our minds like

abandoned memories we

perceived were meaningless...

the past grows on us like a

heavy beard needing shaving,

leaving us in the present when

the power is virtually interrupted.

April 30, 2024

Wrong Side Down

open door block the view
closed ones hide the crime,
a monkey and a pail of hope
or a church without a steeple,
which one would you choose?
peckerwood Becker sees only
what he wants to see, avoiding
avoiding the rest as if it were
the Spanish flu...    the clinics
have fired all the doctors-  the
town lives for nothing anymore;
sopranos sing base in the choir
of jubilee as priests and nuns
dance freely in the old streets,
time was but is no more
we used to wonder as well
little sister got married early,
sending her children back to
the village to raise -  parents
were shor for human trafficking;
just when we think we know,
life changes and all we have to
hold onto are a few memories.

April 29, 2024

Pre-election Jitters

rain possibilities flow through the air

hot and humid has been the day,

cats lay around like blood hounds

squirrels chase birds away from

their stash of winter nuts...   Kois

lay on the bottom of the pond and

hummingbirds float aimlessly in

and around multiple feeders...  we

are the southern suburbs at our best

when it is least expected...  muscle

cars stay cool in garages while EVs

prance around the interstate as if they

are on some motorized date...  fans

inside and out work overtime, sitting

underneath the breeze until landlords

change the speed...  ruptured thoughts

fall out of mental holes, made from all

the winter traffic - surgeons frantically

work to have me better by November.

April 29, 2024

Differences

before the calm is the storm

before the rehearsal is the wedding

a baby born before pregnancy

graduation before attending school,

backwards are we before forward

and nods before glances as we

stroll by those in the park...

nature is joined at the hip with life

and life is said to be lived after death,

we are a curious breed, unsure of

of whom we are at any given point

in time, facing insurmountable odds

at discovering our true identities...

still frames of a movie reel we are,

acting or not acting depending upon

the direction yet always mindful

of that which makes us all different.

April 27, 2024

Story Tellers

from the depths of our imagination

we create our prolonged fantasies,

piecing together childhood stories

with life's reality based upon our

adult points of view...  material

witnesses flash their credentials

to the doorman on duty in the

hopes of getting access to our

thoughts...  only to find those

mental aberrations no...t indicative

of what should be available...

we strive for authenticity while

accepting mediocrity, believing 

that is the best we can do given

the circumstances...  and that

which we imagine leaves stains

on all of our views in question.

April 27,  2024

Life lock

beyond what the eyes can see
is a world of mystery...
beyond what the mind understands
is the fascination of imagination,
a universe of possibilities
with endless outcomes and
permutations - as reliable as
they are not so - as formable as
they are feeble and weak...
thought storms cloud our awareness
keeping us imprisoned in boxes
and silos of influences not of
our own choices - creeping into
our fantasies as we might 
creep into bed with a stranger...
closed windows to be cleaned
closes minds to be refurbished
a future that slides through life
greased by a misaligned vision
of what life is all about.

April 26, 2024

Sea Oats Envisioned

mist collects on the stems
pods live out their lives on top,
a tan color they both are,
green leaves long and narrow
flourish in the sun and sand,
along the coastline they roam
from one sand pile to another,
winter changes the tide
saturating it all with water
and the sea smiles as its
actions cause havoc up and
down to cold sandy land...
seagulls nestle in the oats at
night when no one can see,
and off into the air when the
sun hangs low in the sky,
seeds fall the ground and die
others fall and live - it is the
way of nature in the Southern
hemisphere...  spring brings
a resurgence of the oats as if
time never stood still at all
and when the sun is full and
in all its glory and mist from
the crashing waves filter out
like an outback walkabout, the
oats will flourish like was 
intended as its deep roots dig
in, protecting yet again as has
been its jobs since its inception.

April 24, 2024

Longevity

sunshine through my window comes
soft, warm, and oh so reassuring,
casting shadows on the floor in which
the artist in me sees many faces...
to the touch, the glass is cool while
warmth surrounds me like a cocoon
of gentle harmony, relaxing all the
tensions felt in my mental muscles,
sunshine streams through the sunroom
as if hell bent on some direction
unknown to any of us nor disclosed
to those who watch us closely...
a time for challenge and answers
long overdue is what we hear on
the daily news - obviously aware of
nature's influence - we tetter on the
brink of too much information but
are reasonable with the weather...
sunshine enters into us through 
the cracks in our vision glasses
have failed to correct, but sight is
only one aspect of the reality to which
we have grown accustomed to over
the years that we have lived here.

April 22, 2024

Southern Trends

southern songs ring out to us
reminding us of home and our
past but unfulfilled origins...
we dream what we can
live like prisoners of habit
cruise to the top of our class
with thoughts of marriage;
results survive criticism
words transcend language,
beliefs we had as children
livelong into the future...
limitations are the norm for
the farmer and those who
herd people into the future
without the slightest doubt
with false imaginations...
northerners seek to influence
and curtail our individualities
while geography penalizes
our aggressive natures...
east and west mind their own
business - but see us all as
doubters who know too much.

April 22, 2024

Retrieved Warmth

heat rolls down the mountain side
like rainwater after a storm,
we brag about our youth because
age puts us into despair...
Malcolm X solved the problem
of race by waging war against
those who were not black,
white peddle dope since they
are raised on privilege...
doubt enters our lives through
the backdoor of lovers who
origins are Haitian and not the
blue bloods of the vineyard,
summer brings the humidity
and the sweat smell of rain,
fresh cut grass and magnolia
blossoms but no one has the
right the block the transition
of spring by claiming if is the
fault of those who believe in
climate change as the enemy
of idle summer school dropouts.

April 21, 2024

Season Change

winter lives on the back porch
of spring, providing that summer
is not too far behind...  it is a
generous nature that allows us
to experience seasons without
the regrets of pallbearers who
are hired to transport the old
one into the land of nothingness
where only memories of a few
are allowed to survive and the
rest are buried with all the over-
exposed film that was used...
summer carries out her wishes
into fall when all the colorful
leaves fall to the ground and
are carted away like memories
we no longer want to remember,
winter wages war with nature
and the prevailing winds always
seem to force cold weather into
the southern hemisphere for
safekeeping...  all seasons have
sprouted out of old one - we
see the transition and declare
we ae not the owners of the
climate just unlucky recipients.

April 19, 2024

Surrogate Realities

ageless spirits sit on tombstones guarding
that which they know will soon be gone,
once a thriving agriculture, we have become
toxic chemical compound for illegal immigrants,
who care less about the country they have
invaded than they do about what they left;
tears roll down the skulls in the ground of
those who died saving us from destruction
only to find their effort proven futile at best;
criminals manage the city councils and those
recently released from jail have become
member of law enforcement sworn to guard
the people they want to kill, since the pleasure
of life has long since been taken away from
them and substituted for the star of David...
ageless spirts sit on tombstones wondering
how long before they are replaced by birds
of prey that have been released by the zoos
and when their keepers will appear to return
them to the only home ever known by them,
since the will of the people no longer prevails,
stars fall from heaven quicker than Hollywood
can create new ones amid the legalities that
surround creating surrogate humans to love.

April 19, 2024

No Rain in Sight

incongruity leaves us speechless
uncertainty leaves us powerless
forbidden is what we were meant to be
and life is always unexpectedly ending,
a cruel joke perpetuated upon us
from the very beginning and we
like everyone else believes in it...
we mourn its conclusions while feeding
on all of its possibilities like fools
dancing in the rain on some broadway
show we were told about when young,
drifters bring their handguns as if
this were the wild west - law and
order is kicked out of court after
being changed with contempt...
nature holds the key to our survival
but has no desire to share since we
are not good stewards of her land,
laughter lives inside us all, buried
deep inside our subconsciousness,
and no one has a fishing pool and
line long enough to retrieve it now.

April 18, 2024

Tunnel Vision

ceiling fans turn
windows and doors open
iphones are charging
on the counters,
light illuminate dark rooms
cats sleep on beds 
without heating pads,
all is well in the village
and we outside dwell,
green grass glistens by
the morning dew,
babies cry to be held,
nature forces us to tan
our skin in places
we cannot hide...
rumors run rampant
throughout the land
knights fight battles 
with swords in hand,
and we sit aimlessly in
our rocking chairs
waiting for the end of life
telling stories of a 
past life, and casting votes
in a reckless town...
no more we are told
but more is on the way,
words cannot eliminate
what we fail to debate.

April 17, 2024

Ancient Times

light falls down two sides casting

shadows on the limestone ground,

darkness cascades down a third side

and the fourth side is still unknown,

palm trees stand tall along the river

bank as feluccas catch the wind,

 height adds a majestic atmosphere,

white robes flow to the ground

their feet in sandals unseen

turbans cover their heads

their outer garments sheer gold,

the structure shines in the sun

shiny surfaces all around

and guards with gold bracelets

stand watch as if turned to stone,

animals with curved necks carry

passengers back and forth while

others walk along holding tablets

and slaves, like horses, pull carts,

in the air are hovering craft that

watch over the tasks below - once

in a while a foreign voice is heard

giving order to those on the ground,

floating down on currents of air are

the messengers who understand all

that must be done and the timetables

in which it all takes place long before

another changing moon when the

elders will return and results expected

or repercussion for all will soon ensue.

April 15, 2024

Sunshine Happiness

heat follows us around

sunshine without rain,
wind lightly blows the
cool temps away...
shorts and sunglasses
are on display as more
people than normal
can be seen frolicking,
shade trees act like
beach umbrellas and
underneath the old folks
enjoying their brief
moments outside...
there will be a time for
lamenting later - today
we celebrate profoundly,
the birds sing songs with
nt meaning and the larger
birds steal all the worms,
except those found earlier
by those at the pond...
dogs chase each other as
they bark - we wonder how
they can do both since they
don't seem that coordinated
inside the house...  and when
the day passes and we all
find ourselves ready for bed,
a fond memory we will have
if and when we can fall asleep.

April 15, 2024

The NEWS

north - east - west - south
we call it news
domestic or international
it is truth and reality
combined with a flair
of the personal,
the opinionated,
the biased...
hoping no one will notice
until the next day
or much later
when it it old news
no longer relevant...
we cast doubts on truth
we cast doubts on reality
a matrix life is what we want
no questions asked
and none answered,
just an acceptance of what it,
will be or could be...
like minded folks keeping
the record straight and accurate
as the news was intended,
we are the new barbarians,
the new sentinels come to tell you
what you should think,
what you should believe
and who you should hate...
crime is no longer an option
but a necessity, and while we
grow it at home,
importing is better giving us
sufficient room to blame...
it's just the news we want.

April 13, 2024

Not Expected

on this couch I sit and ponder
trying to understand and grasp
the reason(s) for your love...
a love that knows no bounds,
no limits, and has no restrictions
on what is said or done...  loving
you was easy - easier than one
might have first imagined and
while that love has surpassed
three decades, neither one of us
can imagine why...  from two
different worlds we are, two
different cultures and families
that raised us differently as
we were exposed to all that 
the other was not...  and the
words between us cannot begin
to describe that misunderstanding,
that difference of opinion and
how we interpreted the results,
kindness beget anger and anger
beget mistrust and mistrust had
us at each other's throats wondering
why we married in the first place,
it was mystifying and confusing,
convincing ourselves a mistake
had been made and needed to be
corrected...  and yet, nothing...
there was nothing happening...
we simply went to bed and woke
up to a new day and to a new
type of beginning with different
results that brought us together.

April 12, 2024

Watching the Watcher

I saw you in the shadows from the shadows
night before the night before when you when
you were following the one following you,
and in the moonlight, your eyes glistened
light bounced into the darkness around you
and died an inconsequential death as it
wrapped itself around the wall of the alcove
in which you were standing...  and I, across
the way in another alcove watching another
day being given birth...  a hollow victory for
those who love the night and it absences...
clarity of the moment entered our minds as
we shared each other's trauma and the failure
our exposure gave the other side...  we were
like two peas in a pod, and the pod hanging
on Apa branch that broke loose from the tree,
had fallen to the ground, cracked open the
pod, allowing the peas to escape...  one 
rolled to the left the other to the right and
the third one managed to remain steady,
and when the evening exposed itself to 
the morning sun, we were nowhere to be
seen and no one knew that we had been
there except the dust we left on our collars.

April 12, 2024

Fallen

we dance inside the mind when 
confident of the outcome,
parading our posturing in front
of those who would be amazed,
silencing our critics and putting
to bed any fears of not being up
to the task at hand...  but, what
do we do when we fail and that
failure is monumental and beyond
any comprehension of the possible
upside to the situation...  our heads
are hung in disgraces and darts
thrown at our photos hanging in
the bathrooms of places visited;
we are a disgrace...  an outcast...
someone to be avoided, ignored,
and not talked to...  let alone be
invited to a company brunch...
yet, those are the same once
praised and admired, whose
names are give to our children,
and profile studied in an effort
to be and become more like them,
how far have we fallen and how
much disgrace can we bear and
how often to we long for the end.

April 10, 2024

Life Above Ground

we live inside the conspicuous confusion
of a preconceived reality passed down to
us by those no longer in touch with the
nature of the human condition...   we are
a species that survives by killing others,
taking what they have, and making it
better according to our standards of life,
we steal, cheat, and lie because it allows
us to feel superior over those who don't
share our same values - values that are
now grossly out-of-date, no longer in a
position to serve our unnatural greed...
life is death and death is live and the
church leaders know the difference or
so they proclaim...  no longer do we
believe or want to believe even though
there are some who are self-aware...
we live inside the failures of our self-
justifications believing or wanting to
believe, we are justified with our false
actions since there is no competition.

April 10, 2024

Our House

light flows in through the windows
pushing out the darkness of night,
corners of each room protect and
the walls separate reality from the
illusions around which we live...
floors slide from one room to the
other when walking and we hold
onto to furniture to maintain our
balance....  gas stoves cook the
air we breathe, cut into pieces,
put into pans and refrigerated...
cats guard the perimeter while
awake spending most of the day
sleeping on heating pads...  we
hold up our legs as the cleaning
robot passes underneath enen
though it seldom returns to its
charging station without help...
rugs covers our mistakes and 
are cleaned regularly to prevent
confusion but we are resolute in
the residence that we still own.

April 10, 2024

The City's Finest

a trained eye sees the many faces
an artist's hands paints a royal sky,
the illuminati steals the headlines,
the pope decline communion to a
dysfunctional  cardinal's ex-wife,
Berlin tears down its barrier walls
while their enemies send spies and
the world of justification has just
about blown a fuse over abortion;
politicians and criminals share the
same lawyers and party at the same
clubs in new york city and paris
while the billionaires fly spaceships
into the atmosphere because it is
the next best thing to being there,
hookers sit in fancy restaurants
waiting for the weather to change
watching a line union workers
forming in front of the mayor's
lemonade stand with discount
coupons received from the hookers
who had sent them all invitations.

April 7, 2024