How I Lost My Lunch

McDonalds restaurant by the sea,
Seahawk circles slowly above, and
Then swoops down to grab a
Burger from an un-watched hand...

(True story)

Robo-Striding

Out for an evening stroll...
Immune to weather worries,
In my room, on my treadmill.

Socialist Walking Karaoke

The demonstrators march and sing,
Using a banana-boat melody by
Harry Bellafonte, they try to bring
A dose of geopolitical fear
To the busy milling crowds, who
Might briefly notice the queer
Little group walking through
A Sunday afternoon, calling
Out for peace, not war, to a Carribean
Tune, they stroll away in the falling
Light, pretty much unheeded, unseen.

Jet Lag

Body senses something isn't right,
When it jumps out of bed
Ready for the day, to fight the good fight,
But it's still the freaking middle of the night.

Body queries brain: "Hey! This is dumber
than dumb, can't you see there's no light!"
But there's now no chance for slumber
No return to dreamer-land, so might
As well make coffee, take a shower,
Make the best of this time-twist plight.

Omaha Westroads Mall, 2013

With a sense of comfort, I sit
Sipping a cup of coffee, me, a thrall
To desires which do not quit
In luring me back to the shopping mall,
To people-watch -- and maybe also it
Means I quietly derive some small
Nice something, a transient bit
Of quiet peace, seeing Midwest folk buy
Happiness, without wondering why
It could possibly be on sale,
Available for purchase, without fail.

Northeast Asian Lament

How can it be that ancient voices
Even now tell us who to hate,
Old memories coloring our choices,
Bad history slime-sealing our fate.

Our future is a distorted thing,
Cursed by Siberian graves,
And corpses in Nanking --
Usually time heals and saves,
But for us, it does no such thing.

Best Moment In The Family Room

The pain and stress floats away,
As I warmly fade into a nap,
On a gray winter Saturday,
With a cat curled on my lap.

Thoughts On A Comment By My Niece

An accomplished woman is not
To be trifled with, or ignored,
I suppose, rather she ought
To be studied, perhaps explored:
The valleys the jungle-space
Of her mind all there to be
Discovered -- It's not just her face
She is quick to remind me,
An accomplished woman's need
Is to be admired and accepted
For her excellence inside,
Even without make-up applied.

Shipwreck On Sea Of Grass

There is nothing to shield the cold
Wind, cutting across the plains,
Blast-eroding the old, brown
Knot-wood walls ... all that remains
Of a farmer's fierce, failed, try,
To build a bit of Europe,
Under a pitiless prairie sky...

Garden Survival

The songbirds in the garden
Suddenly go quiet-still,
As a hawk patrols over,
Looking for a kill.

The backyard assumes
A life or death feel,
As feathered ones avoid
Becoming a meal.

But the hawk will always
Hunt relentlessly,
Nature's original version
Of a Raptor UAV.

The Wages Of Gridlock

We, the loyal and affected,
Will stay at home for a day
Each week, without pay...
As has been directed
By the Capitol of our nation,
Which is broken and infected
By a thing called "sequestration".

Impermeable

How awful it is to realize,
Hearing your voice as you do
The chores, and when your eyes
Meet mine -- to know you are
A stranger, and I cannot possess
You fully, ever, for it is a far
Distance that separates us,
Who are as close as can be,
Fenced and separated by skin
We journey together, intimately,
Yet always separated from within.

Our Hidden Yearning

All of us, having survived the strain
And brutal shock of being born,
Grow-up to become adults, yet remain
Subconsciously alone, and quietly yearn
For those years after birth, when
We were held and hugged, by the
Strong arms our parents had back then.

Special Fleeting Moment

There's a way to stop time,
The only one I know:
It happens when I hug you
Long and hard -- before I go.

Some Kind Of Optimism

It's best to think
Bigger ideas first,
Lest they later shrink
Under a bad day's press,

Strive to ensure they
Emerge from the mess
Intact -- Good big ideas
Of hope and happiness.

Kitchen Delight

A moan of pleasure,
Almost a swoon,
Licking the cookie dough
Off of the spoon.

Silver Bullets Out Of The Ocean

Darting, bursting up and out of the sea,
Lifted by gleaming fin-wings into the wind
Over the waves, the flying fish is momentarily
A bird -- gliding Swallow-like, skimming
The frothy blue-green ocean, free
For an instant, from the hold of the deep,
It glitters metallic, then drops suddenly
Back to being a fish getting ready to leap.

Government Official

A bureaucrat bows to those above,
But lords it over those below,
And wields like a king, a limited power,
By citing rules, and saying "No".

Girl's Day In Japan

The pattern of her kimono
Is as exquisite in detail
As the make-up on her face.  

Somewhere South Of Kabul

Digging a desert hole, so I don't get shot,
I am tired, but once it's done, I will lay
Down to rest, safe in the dirt, and will swat
Away the scorpions and look up at the
Stars, then fall into exhausted asleep, not
Aware of much besides a need to survive
The battles that have yet to be fought.

Haru Ichiban 春一番

I take off my coat, walking outside
In what was supposed to be
Cold, again the weatherman lied...
And a spring storm is blowing
Hope, as the warm and cold collide.