The Observer

The old man was thought to be
Grumpy, sardonic, cynical,
But in his mind, he was
Simply being clinical,
Poised to declare and aver
The way things really were...

Safe Instinct

Its nest built under an overhang,
The Swallow's chicks cry inside,
And predators hear, but cannot
Discern where they hide...

The Uses Of History

History can be studied to help
Prepare or mitigate,
But, it also can be used
To foment revenge or hate,
Some memories best
Left in a dormant state...

Java Enlightened

Quietly surprised by
Something I never knew
Monday morning epiphany
Over a Starbucks Cold Brew...

Micro 幸せ

In a world which is a mess,
They doggedly cling to their
Small bits of happiness...

恋愛

Romance
Is often
A game of chance

Predation

Frog relaxing on lily pad,
In a placid lake,
And it never saw
The snake...

Portland Nights

Just before it all blew up,
A remarkable moment of quiet,
Then the switch was flipped
Into chaos, gas, and riot...

雑草

Swaying in a humid summer breeze,
Proud tall weeds and wild grass,
Someday to be cut and
Bundled off as bio-mass...

Harmony

In Japanese conversations,
A rule is generally applied,
Avoid being too explicit,
Rather, leave things open, implied...

Viral

She was, tragically,
Politically courageous,
While at the same
Time, fatally contagious,
Should have worn a mask,
Stayed home in bed,
Now just another case
Of Covid-almost-dead...

Pastime

Passing time while
Bored, having to wait,
Some will sort of
Meditate,
Others
Self-medicate...

Apparition

A fleeting glimpse
From the corner of my eye,
Where rules of reality
Don’t always apply,
Somebody, something
Seems to come near,
Sparking curiosity,
Or uneasiness, fear...
Then I Look! Only to
Have it disappear...

American Casual

Foot traffic at the Walmart store,
And as far as the eye can see,
Pushing carts full of junk food,
Clans of obese mediocrity...

Prophesy

A world gone mad
Ten years hence,
A result I cannot see,
But I can sense...

介護サポート

Wheeling grandma
Through the store,
Picking from consumer
Items galore,
Pushing her
This way and then that way,
Hope my kids will
Do it for me someday...

What's In A Name

An incredible, distant,
Unreachable cosmic display,
Which someone decided
To call a "Milky Way"...

When It Comes...

Writer's block, or
A blank slate,
Don't matter which,
I just will wait...

Crow Morning Buffet

Garbage breakfast time, and the
Dagger-beak crows stab,
Sensing the stinky juicy bits,
They tear, poke, and grab.
And not very long
After they start,
Raw garbage strewn about,
Bags ripped apart...

Muzak

A beautiful tune, brilliantly performed,
Note after note, chord after chord,
Plays on the elevator speakers,
Enchanting, but largely ignored...

Vehicular Chance

Lesson of the
Traffic light,
Stale yellow
Maybe all right,
Fresh red
Driver likely dead...

The Bugs Of Summer

In answer to some
Kind of chemical urge,
Up from the mulch
The insects surge,
Into the plant stems
And leaves they cling,
When the sun goes
Down, they start to sing...