Working For Minimum Wage

She really hates her job,
Can't bear to think of
The energy it will rob,
Each day, from her life,
Her internalized rage
Not nearly compensated
By her hourly wage,
She slogs through the
Process, sensing the loss
Of better things, under
A blissfully unaware boss...

Anticipation

Hope, whether rich or poor,
Is something we all feel:
The rich, for dividend checks,
The poor, for another meal,
All hope for something better
Their tomorrows might reveal...

Meteorology 101

Weather can be scary,
And here is how things work:
There's a period of sunny calm,
Before things go berserk.

Do It To The Finish

I sometimes wonder why
Athletes run so hard, and
Don't give up, they try
To finish, even when
Another's won the race,
They still fight the pain
To be fourteenth place...

Condominium

All the everyday events, and occasional
Moments of real human drama, packed
Into rectangles of urban living space,
Combined into a tower, all neatly stacked,
Concrete anonymity, no soliciting allowed,
A home of which ants would be proud.

Gazing At The Dinnerware

Five plates stacked in the cupboard,
Along with five cups and bowls,
Remind of time, distance, covered,
Remind of the family we once were,
Who now are dispersed on vectors
And tangents, all hoping to attain
The same happiness they left, as
Shown by the plates which remain,
In the kitchen cupboard of the old
Place, the graying parents retain.

Trace Of The Believers

They used to pray here, and celebrate
Their faith in a bigger thing, which might
Look down on them with mercy, and
Ease their worries in the dying light,
Faith in a god, who could give them
Patient strength, and the will to fight
For survival in an unforgiving, untamed
Land, take their minds off of their plight...

(Photograph by Geoffrey M. Hamilton, 1955-2011)

Our Ark At Rest

A hard voyage finished, and
Our heroic boat now lies
Decomposing, quietly, on the sand.

What Can't Be Changed

I take a big swig of wine in order
To reach the impenetrable
Bastion of a fool's hope,
Somehow, escape the inevitable...

A Performance

Fingers, almost a blur,
Caressing the piano
Keys, the song is her
Passion, expressed
In a melody made
By Chopin: hauntingly,
Miraculously, played...

Holy Roller

I run my country church according
To the plan the holy spirit makes,
Preach and perform from the pulpit,
Gesticulate, sing, what ever it takes
To bring people back each Sunday,
Foam at the mouth, play with snakes...

Diva With A Bow

The violinist, makes love
To the song she plays
So exquisitely, we're
Simply left in a daze...

Living Room Couch

Young lovers, unable to detach themselves
From each other, they cuddle and embrace
Almost desperately, hoping their hugging
Will obliterate time flowing through space.

Memorial Park

Lichens, gray-green, cover spots on the old
Tombstone, which stands not to forgive,
But rather, to remind us that war destroyed
The right of a strong young man, to live...

無常感 Evanescence

Good times are like sand, running through fingers,
Or soap bubbles drifting and wafting until they burst,
Transient, never to be pinned-down, moments
To be savored, thereafter fading, dispersed...

My Niece

She works in the library, efficiently,
But not always really there, wishing
Instead she was out in the mountain
Valleys, just hiking and fishing.

Fact Of Life

At times, things pile-up into a mess,
With which you're forced to cope,
Problems, some self-made, some not...
Fighting-through all of it, you hope
For the best, and give all you've got,
To manage and solve ... you're cursed
To pay fully for what you've bought.

Omaha Oakview Country Club

Afternoon sun glints gold
On the plastic looking leaves
Of manicured trees, all so
Suburban peaceful, one perceives,
At the end of a golfing day,
And a bottle of Chardonnay.

Timeless

Peaceful and sublime,
In the shade of a god tree,
In the courtyard of a shrine.

What Is Forever

What lies ahead may be like a traveler's road
Built straight through happiness and travail,
Yet sometimes I sense it circles back,
Repeatedly, like a snake eating its tail...

Peace Comes From The End Of A Gun

Protected by cops, and the law,
The delicate ones act stronger
Than they really are, as violence
Dominates them no longer,
As it did so in the past,
But will this peace really last?

Je Suis Charlie

Blood and gunfire,
A deadly price paid,
For religious satire,

Lives lost, futures
Destroyed and gone,
Due to the hate
Sown by an Iman,

Religious wars'
Deadly dance,
Performed again
In France...

Early January, Year of the Sheep

The new year's sun shines on the
Cold the north wind has sent,
I wake up to a Saturday wondering
Where the first ten days went...