Blood Is Thicker Than Flowers

Out, with my family, on a Sunday walk,
In a park, with flowers for all to see,
I stop to take pictures of my kids,
With the gorgeous roses, and quietly
I realize, it's not the blooms, but
How beautiful my kids look to me...

Next thing I know, I start to choke-up,
As a father's love swells viscerally,
And sends a tear running down my face
Which I fail to hide effectively...

Thereafter I'm joking and denying
To my worried, puzzled, children:
"No, no, Papa wasn't really crying"...

A Random Vicious Act, Nerima, 28 June 2013

Drops of children's' blood on the pavement
Crosswalk, where young, innocent life
Was almost cut-short, literally,
By a mad angry man with a knife,
Who attacked the first-grade kids without
Warning or cause, and could have
Done worse, were it not for the shout
Of the old volunteer crossing guard,
Who charged the attacker, waving,
A flimsy traffic flag, furious and hard,
Making the would be child-killer balk,
And then flee, leaving scared screaming
Kids, and a shaken hero, on the crosswalk.

    

 

I Wanna Hold Your hand

My anxiety settles down,
Things become calm and fine,
When she comes around close
And puts her hand in mine.  

Terminal AM

Suck a breath of the free
And bracing fresh air
Of the morning,
And taking care
To taste it, for it's one
Of the few things left
To enjoy, before I'm done.

Forgotten Fight

The burnt-hulk of a battle tank
Lies half-embedded in the sand
Of a distant tropic river bank
It's bent cannon pointed quietly
Over the azure water flowing
Steadily towards the southern sea,
The tank, a rusted reminder of
One's defeat, the other's victory...

The Longest Day

We are, who we are,
Not much changed
From those far
Away years, when
We chased-down
Our food, and then
Cooked it over fire...

Do we remember
How, with bellies sated,
We reclined in the ember
light, and celebrated
Our luck at being alive,
While waiting for
The darkness to arrive...

No matter what we own,
Or gods to which we pray,
We are, just what we are,
On this long Solstice day.

Fact Of Life

An action is sometimes
Taken by a powerful man,
Not because it's wrong or right,
But simply because he can.

Troubled Sleep

Knowing I have to get up in the morning,
Very early, to start a full busy work day,
I understand very clearly the warning
That now is the time to turn-in and rest,
And sleep with dreams of getting up
Later, full of energy, to do my best....

After The Fall

Nothing is more humbling
Than to own-up to
One's bumbling,
And, thereafter, take
Responsibility
For the mistake.

Four Monks

A quiet blessing from an elderly one,

Draws the attention of the monks,

Walking, clad in indigo robes, now done

With begging, and headed slowly back to

Their temple, quiet under the god trees,

Which whisper zen-sounds in the breeze.

My Inner Caveman

We humans want so badly to
Believe we exist in narratives
Of free dramatic meaning, vice
Obeying biological imperatives,
And other instinctive urges, hidden
Deep in the ancient stems of our
Brains, which emerge, unbidden,
With urgent primal power
To spur, control, and drive
Us, despite our efforts to deny,
No matter how hard we strive.

A Country Called Yamato

Japan is difficult to describe
Ancient and homogeneous,
Less a country, more a tribe,
Protected for centuries
By surrounding seas,
With the greenest hills
And gods in the trees,
Its people crowd together
And adapt, with unease,
Knowing the next earthquake
When it happens, will destroy,
What they build and make,
Yet they do not quit or despair,
And accept the impermanence
As a given, like the sweet air
Of the forests they have known
Since their oldest animist days,
And this spirit of adaptation
Has remained, at the insular core,
Of a holy, perfectionist nation.

My Smart Professor

The middle-aged Ivory Tower man,
Loves to discourse and dispense,
As a tenured expert in his field,
Advice that challenges common sense.

Restructured Morning

About three weeks into it,
Don't know for sure,
Because I'm a little bit
Tired, bored, confused
About what I'm supposed
To do, and also bemused
About my current state
Of joblessness, which has
Given me this awful great
Gift of "my time", whereas
Before it was my daily fate
To go to work and spend
All those minutes and hours,
All gone by a long day's end...
Well, now, my big decision
Is when to get out of bed,
And knowing I don't have to,
Means, I'll just lie here instead...

A Note From Area 51

There are those who believe in UFOs
And little green men with oval eyes,
Who pilot their floating dynamic saucers
Which flit-zoom over the desert skies...

So are they real? -- Well, no one knows
For sure, but the theory they pose:
That we are not alone on our own green
Planet, and it's the visitors from those
Distant planets, who arrive and are seen,
Is what keeps us willing to believe
In the curious flying objects, we perceive...

Survival Situation Under The Eaves

The crow, from its perch on a street light,
Snaps its sharp beak, and misses a dive-
Bomb swallow, which has chosen to fight
The black evil giant, and keep it from eating
Swallow babies, crying in a near-by nest,
The crow goes away for now, but will be
Back again -- the swallows can never rest.

The Gucci Shield

Walking home from work,
Unable to avoid passing by
Someone she would prefer
Not to have to see, is why
The sun glasses she wears
Allow her to show a smile,
Even as her eyes emit
Death-rays, all the while...

Chance And The Bottle

There is something to be said for deciding
With clear intent, despite the known potential
Ill effects on health, one's will overriding
Worry, to break-out of a dull day's funk,
Grabbing the bottle of premium Bourbon
And drinking, in big gulps, to get drunk...

So the night melts away into a dream,
And what impends on the morrow,
Is surely not as fearful as it may seem,
The unpredictable and unknown
Possibilities, fate's roll-of-the-dice,
Will apply, despite the seeds you've sown...

Heterosexual Mating

First there's a momentary
Gasp during insertion,
Followed by minutes of
Grunting, moaning, exertion,
Ending with a small measure
Of intense, but fleeting,
Muscular pleasure.
After which, maybe,
Depending on precaution,
Might come a baby...

World Cup Qualifier

The television screen remains mute
And expressionless, as if it could
Respond to the loud and acute
Moans and animal sounds being
Made by the animated beer drinking
Ones, who go quite mad in seeing
The kickings of a ball, thinking
Their team must prevail to win
The battle of lights, shapes, and
Colors, the T.V. shows from within.

A Morning At DMV

Never underestimate
The ability of bureaucrats
To dither and obfuscate.

Afternoon Strategy Session

Trapped for two more hours in the meeting,
No hope of escape, sinking into a feeling,
Of despair, which deepens as the slow minutes
Pass -- I start counting the tiles on the ceiling...

Devil's Helpers

It is generally held to be true,
That too much lazy free time
Will, inevitably, lead directly to
Mischief and complication,
Adult control frustration...
So, various and sundry
Measures must be applied,
To keep the bored and idle
Young ones fully occupied.

Idol

A young woman's beauty
Is a flame, which warms
And attracts the lonely men,
Who gather in swarms.