Past Jubilance

Oh, for another taste

Of that innocent joy,

That was freely felt

By girl and boy,

Running and playing

Outside in the park,

Breathlessly happy,

Until it got dark...

馬鹿

Ignorance is

Being unaware,

That knowledge

Is not there,

In your head,

But don't care...

寝る前

A misty distance

Dreams will keep,

Waiting for me 

To fall asleep,

Tossing, turning,

Counting sheep...

Overloaded Kyoto

Japan, if I may adumbrate,

Has turned into a theme park,

An ambivalent fate,

For an old proud place,

Tourist numbers won't abate,

All caused by a favorable

Yen exchange rate...

Fool's Errand

The Court Jester told a joke,

And those were the 

Last words he spoke,

Because the King didn't laugh,

And neither did his staff,

Stand-up comedy

Not yet the popular craze,

Back in those dark

Medieval days...

Visionary

The poet's words were soothing

Inspiring and anesthetic,

But upon closer perusal

Were found to be prophetic,

Sounds, syllables,

Seized by an idea's gleaning,

And then imbued with

A far-seeing meaning...

Ghetto Wisdom

Subsistence, not 

Science, rather art,

No need to be

Particularly smart,

Just know when

Not to bet or start,

And leap away when

Things fall apart...

Sign Of The Times

Welcome to today, and

Our spiritual asphyxiation,

Caused, in part, by our

Political hallucination...

窒息

Consuming the hillside slope

Almost unnoticed, unseen,

A cascading, vine choking

Invasion of green,

Suffocating the trees,

Quiet, clinging, verdurous,

The effect of summer's

Kudzu is murderous...

A Few Days Before 夏至

Coming soon, it is near, 

Longest day of the year,

14.5 hours of solar light,

Then slow return to night,

Vivid greens, Sun's heat,

Start of an unnoticed retreat

Solstice, a climax, of sorts,

According to galactic reports...

米騒動

Japanese people now

Buying their rice,

At an eye-popping

Exorbitant price,

Which increased

One hundred percent,

From last year, why,

How, where things went,

Unkown in a system

Murky, closed, and bent...

Some Kind Of Bliss

Turns out that not knowing

Was how we were protected,

From the dread of a malady

Which was yet undetected...

Civil Disobedience

Those few, rare ones,

Who refuse, who resist,

Uncowed by authority,

Raise placard and fist,

Innately they sense

The need to act out,

Don't grovel in silence,

March, protest, shout!

リストラの後

Fired, laid off, let go,

Don't fret or panic,

Go with the flow...

Open the new doors,

Be steady, be strong,

Your new life was just

Waiting, for you, all along...

Enjoy While It Lasts

To be

Carefree,

Is fine,

But momentary,

Events intervene

Eventually...

A Special Type of Courage

Mastering the hand propelled wheels,

Learning to maneuver, cope,

New ways and rules for my body,

And never abandon hope,

Or give in, surrender to the

Broken desolate feeling,

Of the illness you fight,

And from which you are healing,

Doggedly, with grim humor

Patience and grit,

Believe things will get

Better, bit by bit…

歩道

Slow steps in the crosswalk,

Old woman frail and bent,

For whom crossing the street,

Is a death-defying event,

Agonizingly slow is

Her feeble stride,

Quietly desperate to

Reach the other side...

専業主婦

Weekday outlet shopping mall,

Weather suburban cool and sunny,

Filled with lucky wives of

Husbands who make enough money...

OJT

Avoid frontal assault,

Maneuver or evade,

When necessary,

Set truce or trade,

Don't follow the

Dumb and unafraid,

That's how the

Game is played...

A Cure

Morning after

A hard night fall,

Strong black coffee,

Tylenol...