Escort

The children run ahead,

With Grandpa in trail,

He tries to catch up,

But to no avail...

Is This All There Is?

Pleasure received, and felt,

For minutes, rarely hours,

Gifts the chemicals dealt,

From a deck of feel-good cards...

Fleeting effects, soothing

Randomly, in uneven measure,

As we hanker for the happy

Fuel of our limited leisure...

(Note: This is a revision of a poem I wrote on 12/6/2014)

It's All Relative

It seemed clear to me,

That success would

Obviate mediocrity,

Surely winning rewards!

But not so, evidently,

Things much fuzzier,

More complexity,

While caught between

To be, and not to be...

(Note: This is a revision of a poem I wrote on 12/11/2014)

Roll With It

Have a good deep belly laugh,

When things are almost through,

What will be, is being, and

Not much else you can do...

Sometimes fate takes over,

And you cannot run or hide,

So, smile, save what you

Can, sit back and enjoy the ride...

Legacy

Award letters, neatly framed,

Hung, in a pattern, on the wall,

Recount past glories, but now

Mean not much at all,

Medals and citations,

Neatly packed away.

To be discovered by distant

Relatives someday... 

Eva

Dog or cat,

An animal friend,

Not just a pet,

Until its end,

And then count the

Emotional cost,

Of a furry

Companion lost...

Decision

Rethinking possible ill

Effects, just to be sure,

Breathe deeply, give my

Coffee another stir,

Because once started

Things will whir and blur...

Damage Control

Worked pretty hard

To repair and restore,

But things not quite the

Same as they were before...

Lunar Light

Appearing, up above,

Like a spooky friend,

Crescent Moon 

Glowing over day’s end…

お寺

Actions and reactions,

To the chaos all around,

Minutes and hours 

Consumed without sound,

But time comes to a stop

In the Temple ground,

Its null absorbing

Life’s static and fears,

Quietly, for over

Five hundred years…

連休後

Awareness, high,

Motivation, low,

But still have to answer:

"Yes, or No"...

Life doesn't wait,

Time to go...

Post-Op

Heartbreaking, the sight of

Her curled-on hospital bed,

Dear granddaughter, and 

I wish it were me instead...

Malaise

Overwhelmed, I

Hesitate, freeze,

Mentally 

Knocked to my knees,

Bemused by the

Visceral fact,

Of my inability 

To act…

Sunday Morning Mall Musings

Bleary and blinking,

Clouds in my head,

Not really thinking,

Until the jolt from

The coffee I'm drinking...

It's the 20th Anniversary

Of the shopping mall,

So many random days spent

There, I don't remember at all...

Meanwhile, her mood

Is ugly and black,

Until she sees the

Half-price sales rack,

Unholster credit card

And attack, attack...

(Note: This is a revision of a poem I wrote on 2/19/2011)

茶道 Tea Ceremony Wisdom

The flavor of new green tea

Is flowery, somewhat sweet,

Then blended over time,

Tastes more complex, complete,

But later, when fully mature,

It embraces astringency, 

Becomes deliciously bitter,

And like the tea,

So are we...

(Note: This is a revision of a poem I wrote on 1/9/2011)

The Protector

I pause 

In the shade,

An urban tree

Has made…

The tree a solitary sentinel,

In the midst of the concrete,

Providing green cool

In the afternoon heat…

Alert Launch

Not sure what's ahead,

Hesitation and fear,

But hell, just go ahead,

And play it by ear...

主

Huge, blue-black crow,

Sits, stares, and squawks,

The Corvus king

Of the garbage box...

秘密

Deep inside,

Our secrets

Hide,

And unrevealed,

There, they abide...

Temporary Comfort

Deep steady breaths, in the

Blue glow computer's light,

At least, for this solitary

Moment, things feel all right...

成長

So sad, excruciating, for

The parents of a child,

Who, once was so cute,

Now going mad and wild,

The child, rebelling,

Perhaps too soon,

But desperate to break 

Out of the cocoon...

Nocturnal

Cold dark sidewalk,

Flickering streetlight,

Black cat hunting,

Quiet as the night,

Eyes glow yellow,

And it pads out of sight...

Expulsion

A bit of splatter, and

Some scattered stains,

After a big sneeze, which

Blew out his brains...

A sudden, reflexive,

Lethal-like sinus spray,

At least, at the time,

It felt that way...

誕生日

Tapping away on the keyboard,

Words capture what I feel,

While aware that what is

Fading is what is real,

A body's fails and fears,

Whispering after 71 years...

秋分の北風

Hot days, cool days,

Weather back and forth,

Bugs go quiet before

Cold winds from North,

Which, around the

Equinox, arrive,

Insecta do what 

They do, to survive…