Felis Catus

The cat patrols around the
House, on stealthy paws,
Always watching, it acts
According to its own laws,
Allows itself to be petted,
While hiding its claws.

The cat relaxes, purring,
Sits on the windowsill,
But its eyes always search
For something to kill.

Prime Minister's Hammer

Despite mounds of problems

Yet to be debated, or solved,

The rulers have declared

Their government dissolved...

No matter what those in

The opposition cry, or say,

Power wielded tactically,
Cynically, 
In a parliamentary way...

Hermit Priest 山伏

Meditating on top of a rock,
In the rarefied mountain air,
Silently searching for
A god that's not really there.

Stubbornly and patiently,
The hungry, tired, ascetic
Maintains a lonely vigil,
Hoping to become prophetic.

1914-1918

Armed men, dying in muddy trenches,
Leaving their loved ones in sadness,
All of it caused by imponderable,
Lethal, European political madness,

The Somme, Paschendale, Verdun,
Soaked in the blood of luckless boys,
Torn apart by World War One...

The Power Of The Leaf

Emotional de-escalation
Achieved quietly,
With soft words,
And cups of tea.

Pedal To The Metal

American motor dream,
In the spaces so vast,
Where you can drive it,
Straight, far, and fast...

November

Green turned to yellow,
Then to brown, then lost,
Plants shrivel and adjust
To the falling frost.

Generational

Grandchild, considered for a moment,
Summons an unspoken recognition
Of one's continuance, and at the same
Time, one's gray-haired condition,
New life and old life, passing the baton,
In a never-ending cycle and transition.

Examinations 受験

The Japanese girl studies
So hard to be the best
At memorizing facts to
Regurgerate in a test
To determine her place
Within all of the rest
Of her tribe and race.

Point Of View

Humans are strange and funny,
Looking at the sky, some say "partly
Cloudy", others say "partly sunny"...

Gotcha

The terrorist bomb-maker,
Works in his darkened room,
Until a drone-launched
Missile hits, then, boom!

The bomb-maker bombed,
Like an eye-for-an-eye,
Retribution paid by a
Robot in the sky...

A Good Antidote

Stress and frustration
Dissipate, disintegrate,
Through chemical alteration,
Embarked upon,
By drinking,
Cabernet Sauvignon,
Or, helped along
It's way,
By Chardonnay.

Jenever Freedom

The rich have all the power,
We poor can never win
Against them, or escape
The grubby fix we're in,
So, screw what cannot
Change, start drinking gin.

Towards The End

In the end, we exhaust
Our supply of happy days,
Used up, or simply lost,
Pleasures auctioned
Off at half their cost,
Leaving us simpler,
Souls stark and clean,
Bearing awful wisdom,
Yet strangely serene.

Every Night, Good Or Bad

Serious slumber
Signals creep,
Into my core,
And I sleep.

The murmuring rain
Heard no more,
In the darkness,
Where I shift and snore.

Dragged down by
Exhaustion's undertow,
Into the oblivion, only
It can bestow.