Art by Mark Harm Niemeyer

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Good Morning

Roll off bed, stretch,
A new day’s start,
Big yawn, rub eyes,
Belch and fart,
Drink coffee strong
Enough to raise the dead,
Gird loins for
The crazy day ahead…

Monday, April 13, 2026

春の色

White-pink cherry blossom
Petals, fallen on the ground,
Now multi-shades of
Green, emerging all around...
Soon colors of Azaleas and
Hydrangeas will abound,
White. pink, magenta, and
Blue they will bring,
Those magical, transient,
Flowers of Spring...

常識

After a long while,
You learn
When to smile,
And keep your
Mouth shut,
No if, and, or but...

Sunday, April 12, 2026

Our Current Reality

I sometimes wonder why,
It's become normal & accepted
To bloviate and lie,
Finding truth becoming
Too hard to try,
Media and demagogues
Selling pie in the sky...

Saturday, April 11, 2026

Loss Of Control

Sometimes smiles
And laughter hide,
Harder feelings
Which burn inside,
In a brain's dark
Nook, they reside,
Temporarily trapped
In a neutral mode,
Until the terrible
Time they explode...

特殊訓練

Special uniformed training,
Arranged by my nation,
Sitting in my plywood
Box, mild hallucination,
Due to lack of food,
And sleep deprivation
No choice but to grimace,
Grind-through, the situation...

台風4号

Missing landfall, the typhoon
Howls in disappointment offshore,
Then growls and stalks northward,
Dissipates until it is no more…

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

戦争の現実

Once a geopolitical
Fire is lit,
It's difficult
To stop or quit,
Or quell the brimstone
Pain and hate,
No off-ramps
To deescalate,
Just wait for
Killings to abate...

Cure Varieties

Escape from
Hangover's thrall,
Strong black coffee
And Tylenol...

Or, alternatively,
Imbibe a bit more,
Of the booze you
Had the night before...

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

夜雨

Soothing sound,
Out of sight,
Spring rain falling
In the night…

Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Yearning

Why is it
So strong?
That, for which
I long...

The slow burn,
Soul ache,
My unfed
Feelings make...

Let Go

Thankless burden of
Worries we carry,
Better to jettison,
Or bury…

Monday, March 30, 2026

Looking at Tokyo Bay

Morning ocean view, and waves
Which undulate before my eyes,
Ever shifting, static patterns, waves
Which sooth, almost hypnotize...

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Good Morning

The struggle to emerge from sleep,
Overcome gravity, meet the new day,
Prepare to manage whatever
Will come my way,
Roll with the punches,
Keep the ball in play…

Somewhere in the Middle East

Average, peaceful people,
Dominated and cursed,
For rule by radical
Assholes is the worst.
Freedom of action
Restrained by the gun,
Trapped by the controllers,
Nowhere to run...

Influence

Don't concentrate,
Rather, meditate,
In a chemically
Altered state...

Sunday, March 22, 2026

Hubris of Youth

Youth is wasted on the young
I was once told,
By someone who was 
Angry about being old,
Or maybe not a feeling
Of anger laid bare,
But something else
Closer to despair…

Saturday, March 21, 2026

観光公害

Kyoto, ancient capitol,
Emperor of the Sun,
Now a tourist magnet,
Exposed, overrun…

弱肉強食

So, yeah, why
Negotiate,
When you can
Obliterate… 

Friday, March 20, 2026

How It Happens

Sometimes, when you sit in front of
Your keyboard, you kind of know,
That something's going to happen,
Words will just appear and flow,
And from that grammatical surge,
A poem of some sort will emerge...

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Let Go

Only so many hours in a day,
Only so much you can do,
Let things go where they will,
Over, under, or through...  

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Before The Fall

We’ve got this!
Everything’s under control,
Was the power’s claim, 
Dissembling and droll,
Laugh through the tears,
Bend over, and roll…

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Season's Lean

Arrival of wet winds,
Spring's precipitation,
Result of change in Earth's
Tilt, vice its rotation...

Thursday, March 12, 2026

啓蟄・Keichitsu

Booming noise
The thunder makes,
Inside the earth,
The insect wakes...

カラスの食欲

Alert and agile, the
Crows peck and eat,
From garbage
Dropped on the street,
Jump up and fly
When cars come near,
The hungry crows
Have no fear...