啓蟄

The return of Spring

Not just about plants,

Or flowers, but also

Appearance of ants,

And the other insects

Which green resurrects...

Marriage

Yes, of course, my dear,

Eternally yours,

With love (and fear)...

Optional

To be, or not to be,

A stark choice,

Or useless sophistry...?

Wallflower

She mainly wanted

To be left alone,

With her thoughts

And a smart phone,

Carefully preserving

Her safety bubble,

Human connections

Just too much trouble...

土曜日の朝

Roll out of bed, and

Balance -- steady, steady,

What? How can it be

A Saturday already,

Rub eyes, shaking head

Summoning some pain,

The dregs of last night's

Bacchanalia remain,

Bathroom, then kitchen,

A new day must begin,

But first thing fortify with

Coffee and aspirin...

Office Haiku

The challenges a workday sends,

How to handle them,

Well, that all depends...

Somewhere Near Kursk

Isolated, surrounded, recognizing

The hopeless situation he's in,

Being taken prisoner not an option,

So, he reaches deep within,

For the strength, and with a sigh

Of resignation, pulls the pin...

Saint Paddy's Day

What have we here?

Shots of Jameson,

Cold green beer,

This, our crazy day

Of Irish cheer,

Drink until the

Leprechauns appear...

ADHD

Some of us

Step lighter,

And the flame

Burns brighter,

Can't stay quiet,

Can't keep still,

Just run ahead to 

Where what will...

Moments at The Surfrider

Jet-lag-sedated in a wicker rocking chair,

Lazy-gazing, bemused and transfixed,

At the colorful tropical human

Cocktail, being stirred and mixed,

By the common urge to roam within,

The veteran colonnaded lobby, full

Of various shades of untanned skin,

Bulging T-shirt, flowered dress,

All aloha-urged toward their leisure,

In the Trade Winds' caress,

Hurry, the luau drums starting,

Hibiscus, pork, and mindlessness...

- - - - -

(Note: This is a revised version of a poem written on May 17, 2012)

INCEL

Few things are more

Dangerous in life,

Than an angry, lonely

Man with a knife...

Solitary, un-loved,

He eventually kills,

His pain exploding

As random blood spills...

Group Panic

Bird screaming, suddenly,

Starlings launch up

From the tree...

Then, based on something

They mysteriously learn,

The Starlings, to a different

Tree, circle, and return...

Why

I sometimes wonder,

Where and when,

I feel happiness,

Now and then...

Gray Matter

From where comes the

Instinct to flee or fight,

Or the urge to create,

To paint, to write,

All of it comes from

Somewhere deep inside,

Our uncharted brains.

Where gods reside...

Theater

I get the feeling, sometimes,

That my life is like a show,

Whether it's high drama, or dark

Comedy, I do not know...

Grandpa's Leg

Small grandchild hugging

My leg, looks above,

At me, with happy eyes,

Unconditional love...

So precious, such

Small innocent trust,

But evanescent,

For change it must,

As I can only 

Protect so long,

And the child must

Turn hard and strong...

TMI

The hell with this crap,

Turn the thing off,

Go take a nap...

Destabilization

Something's off, confused

Unsettled air,

Of which she's only

Slightly, dimly aware,

Her mind in a state

Of mild disrepair...

Brew

First gulp of cold beer

Refreshes, always does,

Those thereafter diminish,

But enjoy the buzz...

Modern Society

The priceless luxury

Of being alive,

And not having to

Struggle to survive,

Lucky to dwell

In a welfare state,

While others face

A more dismal fate...

Our Gift

A compassionate curse

The creator gods sent,

By making us

Man apes sentient...

Counter-culture

Hippie wisdom's legacy,

Drop out and vegetate,

Merge with music, in a

Chemically altered state,

Always feed the munchies,

And medicate...

春近よる

Rain and bluster,

South winds bring,

Winter receding,

Arrival of Spring...

Inconsolable

Old mother grieving over

Her son, lately slain,

Refuses to accept it was

Wrong or in vain,

Her son, lost while

Obeying the command,

To baselessly attack

A neighboring land,

She will neither regret

Nor understand...

Bleariness

Sleep, like a finicky ghost,

Sometimes spirits away,

When you need it the most,

And you're left in a

Wrack, insomniac,

Until mysteriously, the

Ghost comes back...

IT's Blessing

No one here, all alone,

But converse with the universe

Through my phone...

Survival

Hardly making a sound,

Solitary starling pecks

At crumbs  on the ground...

Storytelling

Our ongoing, baffling,

Streaming affliction,

Subsumed by, and stressed

Over works of fiction,

Enchanted, engrossed by

The tales they weave,

Forgetting the fact they

Are just make believe...

Checklist

Get ready for a new day,

Check off mental action list,

Wondering which, this

Time, I will have missed,

Different, I suppose, than

The omission before,

As I hurry to prepare

To go out the door...

Invisible Force

Oh, to be free,

Of the pull,

Of gravity,

To which we,

Succumb,

Eventually...

Expulsion

Being one of them,

No longer one of us,

I'm handcuffed and

Riding on a bus,

Being transported,

By executive order,

To another side

Of a border...

Off The Leash?

Dogs, leashed by lonely ones,

Meet others, doing a walk,

The dogs sniff introductions,

While the owners sit and talk,

Dogs, calm, surrender to the

Instinct of the packs,

Only to get excited when

An owner offers snacks…

Ebb Tide

Small waves ripple and whisper,

As they expire on the pier,

A calm ocean, blue turning

Aquamarine, is nothing to fear,

Rather gasp at its beauty,

All calm, now and here…

The Great Plains

Prairie, oceans of grass,

Over which buffalo herds

And prancing antelope pass...

Changed slowly, inexorably,

By the foreigners' arrival,

And the plowing under

To ensure their survival...

Self Destruction

In retrospect,

Internal combustion engines

Produced an effect,

Disastrous, but impossible

To deflect...

Mobility's illusion

Of being happy, free,

Masking a more

Toxic reality...

Nightfall

Cold cleansing rain

In the middle of the night,

Falls unheeded,

Falls out of sight,

Leaves a glistening

For the morning light...

Park Bench

The pigeon jerky-struts

Towards the piece of bread,

But a quick moving sparrow,

Takes it away instead...

To Write A Poem

Inhale, exhale,

Then dig deep,

Down to where

Miracles sleep,

Where burning

Feelings keep, 

Down to the

Mystic fire,

Where words,

Ideas, inspire...

冬の換気

Open window, ventilate the

Room, freshen the air,

February cold invades,

Flows around everywhere...

And me, I jump

Back in bed,

Pull the blanket

Over my head...

Pachinko

Neon like flashing lights,

Excite a game of pinball,

Morphed into a video game,

The silver ball bearings fall,

And when it hits a payoff,

Music triumphs crescendo,

And all would be OK if that

Were the finish, the endo,

But no such luck, because

From the very beginning,

The odds of losing are greater

Than those of winning...

Keikyu Miura Beach Center

Empty tourist beach,

Business plans abandoned,

Profits out of reach...

So different now from

When crowds would throng,

Onto the sand, under the Sun,

Now gone, adieu, so long,

Leisure dreams undone...

Rice Wine 日本酒 (Rev 1)

First cup, the man drinks the wine,
Second cup, the wine drinks the wine,
Third cup, the wine drinks the man,

Happens regardless of intent or plan...

And if things unfold in a harmless way,

The drowned will somewhere safely sleep

Until waking up the following day,

With thirst and discomfort, dizzy and deep...

デブ

Spandex really doesn't hide,

Cellulite, or a body that

Is just too round or wide...

"Curvey" and "Plus sized"

Words used instead of obese,

Fat being made fashionable,

Will wonders never cease...

Blank

How does nothing "happen"?

Unlike action or accident

It has no kinetic effect,

Nothing is null, a non-event...

Zero

The fearful immensity of it all,

Occasionally captured in thought,

On the other hand, mercifully

Ignored, more often than not,

Our passions, pains, loves, and

Dreams, adding up to aught...

Covert Operation

Undetected was the

Aliens' descent,

Quiet abductions,

Then their ascent...

梅林の目覚め

Out in the cold, life sap

Starts moving inside,

Waking sleeping blossoms,

The plum trees abide,

Slow nurturing the buds

In which their flowers hide...

The Grind

The harder you have 

To work to survive,

The more you 

Actually feel alive,

Push through pain,

Pass the test,

Appreciate the luxury

Of sleep and rest... 

D.C. in January

Political revenge,

Enemies fired,

Lawyers lined up,

Yes men hired,

Same old drama

Sad and tired...

Hiatus

Pre-dawn, lying back,

Staying still,

What will happen, will...

Retail Emergency

Critical shopping overload,

Mission abort, abort!

Execute emergency landing

On chair in the food court,

Regroup, reassess the

Situation while I can,

Then refocus on conducting

My egress plan...

単刀直入

Don't cower before the

Demons looming large,

Buckle your helmet, grab

Your sword, and charge!

Crossing

Gaze at the other side, where

Riches shine and blaze,

But before you cross that road,

Be sure to look both ways...

Now Playing

In addition to all the

Stress, angst, and pain,

Politics has the

Ability to entertain,

Which is something

Old media knows,

As it manipulates

The news-talk shows...

青

Azure is a word

For blue,

As is cerulean,

I never knew...

椰子の木

Breezy cold and sunny,

Ocean wavelets glimmer,

Palm fronds wave,

Sway, shiver, shimmer,

On this winter's day,

Spring still months away...

Chance

Hop, step, jump!

Grab a gold ring,

Or land in a dump...

社会のルール

Smile and bow,

Instead of embrace,

Love confined

In personal space,

Minimize friction,

Saving face...

Imaginary

Paused, before 

An obstruction,

Of her mind's

Own construction,

If only

She knew,

She could walk

Right through...

おはようございます

Splash cold water

On my face,

Grimace, shudder,

Gasp, and brace,

For another day of

The rodent race...

Creative Writing 101

Blank screen, staring

Me in the face,

Me, bedazzled,

Sitting in place,

Waiting for something,

Lost in space...

Motion

Whether or not

You worry,

Things still move

Ahead in a hurry...