Memorial Day

My child, raised through my love,

Chases the ball, kick and run,

My dear child, grown older now

Puts on armor, picks up a gun,

Swears to defend a country,

Fight until the war is won,

My child ends up as worm food,

When all is said and done,

Killed in battle, but why can’t 

There be a better way,

To settle quarrels, my poor

Lost child, this Memorial Day...

Meat Grinder

In the heat of battle

It never became clear,

Whether to advance

Forward, or to the rear,

For either direction

Was full of hurt and fear...

Preflight

I long to go to a higher

Altitude, a cleaner atmosphere,

Where the dream clouds float,

Above and away from here...

Jet Fuel

Nighttime buzz,

Sleep not likely for me,

After a few cups

Of Kahlua and coffee...

Mirage

The predicament 

You find yourself in,

Is not as dire

As you imagine,

The door you 

Think is closed,

Is an illusion,

Self-imposed...

Hesitation

She stopped to calculate 

Benefits versus cost

But the moment passed

And the chance was lost...

3:20 AM

Spooky quiet

Before the dawn

Empty sky

The Moon is gone

Cleansed

Sometime toward the end of May

Out onto the sparkling street

This cool damp morning of a day

Everything fresh and washed

By the rains which have blown away

Onset Of Arthritis

Sad and thinking

Back on it again,

We just never saw

The where and when,

Things started turning 

Dystopian...

さようならコロナ

Viral sequestration 

Cancelled by

Vaccination...

The Big Sleep

The long day ending,

Dark, quiet descending,

Decompressing, turning in,

Let the fever dreams begin....

From The Sidewalk

Walking next to the hiss of wet

Pavement, run-over by wheels,

Overwhelmed by the roar and

Speed of countless automobiles,

All controlled by, and carrying,

Those who must not be late,

And therefore burn fossil

Fuel, rather than ambulate,

And so they hurry, in the rain,

Driving down the road amain...

Ultimate Servant

So things are off a bit,

Incomplete, an imperfect fit,

But no need to worry

The robot will take care of it...

Plus Size

Burning craving hunger pangs,

Which you eat to satisfy,

But food can’t put out the fire,

No matter how hard you try,

And the layers of belly fat,

Relentlessly, multiply...

Kabul’s Curse

Where in his heart

Does the true believer keep,

Such feelings of hate 

So cruel, so deep,

What satisfaction

Could he possibly earn,

By blowing-up schoolgirls 

Just trying to learn,

As if educated women are

A blasphemous error,

They must be suppressed 

Through fear and terror,

And poverty, ignorance,

Fundamentalism portend,

That such lethal intolerance 

Will likely never end...

鳥居

Bow, and step through

The torii gate,

Into ancient calmness,

Where gods await...

 

Restless Rest

Spooky imaginings,

Existential dread,

Pretty much harmless 

While lying in bed...

Sport

Sometimes the other

Team wins,

Then lick your wounds

Until the next game begins...

Survival

Need to stay alert,

Keep your eye on the ball,

Wear a mask and

Slather on ethanol,

All part of your

Pandemic protocol...

Cogito Ergo Sum

I think, therefore I am,

Or so I sometimes think,

Or sometimes don’t,

Nudge, nudge, wink, wink...

Unforced Error

The chatroom quickly turned
Chaotic, impolitic,

Ad hominen attacks,

Caused by an errant click... 

Vernal Evasion

The thing about spring

Is that it lulls you into ignoring

The heat that summer will bring...