Hubris of Youth

Youth is wasted on the young

I was once told,

By someone who was 

Angry about being old,

Or maybe not a feeling

Of anger laid bare,

But something else

Closer to despair…

観光公害

Kyoto, ancient capitol,

Emperor of the Sun,

Now a tourist magnet,

Exposed, overrun…

弱肉強食

So, yeah, why

Negotiate,

When you can

Obliterate… 

How It Happens

Sometimes, when you sit in front of

Your keyboard, you kind of know,

That something's going to happen,

Words will just appear and flow,

And from that grammatical surge,

A poem of some sort will emerge...

Let Go

Only so many hours in a day,

Only so much you can do,

Let things go where they will,

Over, under, or through...  

Before The Fall

We’ve got this!

Everything’s under control,

Was the power’s claim, 

Dissembling and droll,

Laugh through the tears,

Bend over, and roll…

Season's Lean

Arrival of wet winds,

Spring's precipitation,

Result of change in Earth's

Tilt, vice its rotation...

啓蟄・Keichitsu

Booming noise

The thunder makes,

Inside the earth,

The insect wakes...

カラスの食欲

Alert and agile, the

Crows peck and eat,

From garbage

Dropped on the street,

Jump up and fly

When cars come near,

The hungry crows

Have no fear...

Refuge

Sit down and lean back,

Breathe, relax, vegetate,

Let the hurried blood

Settle and circulate,

In this room

Where I hide,

From the utter

Chaos outside...

Pre-Equinox

He welcomes the continued winter

Cold, hopes it will not leave,

So much better than the coming

Hot summer, a cool reprieve,

He silently supports the

Season's rearguard fight,

Against the inevitable humid

Heat, the cruel Solar light...

Recollection

Alone, gazing up at

The morning-after sky,

Moving steadily,

She stifles a sigh,

While hanging her

Laundry out to dry...

Bombs Away

Ominous dawn, different

From the day before,

For then was peace,

And now it's war...

宅急便

Suspended, waiting for

The doorbell to ring,

And that which the 

Deliverer will bring,

Must not move,

Cannot leave,

Stuck in place

Until I receive...

あっという間

Right now, what is,

Became what was,

Time slips away,

It really does...

物の哀れ

The old ones learned to understand,

That impermanence is permanent,

From the colors of the land,

From the shifts in the air,

As seasons changed, they

Came to realize, and be aware...

SOTU

Boast, proclaim, admonish, berate,

For the longest time on record,

To explain the Union's state...

天皇の誕生日

Emperor's birthday, holiday,

And parents, with legions of

Kids, drive, shop, and play...

Into the suburban mall

They enter, pour, like

It's everything and all...

Food Wars (Revision 1)

In the endless battles over dietary sin,

It's usually the tastebuds that win,

The arguments brain and conscience make,

Fall flat in the face of chocolate cake...

(* Originally published 9/27/2010)

Defiance In Yellow (Revision 1)

Tall, shimmering Ginko tree,

Gloriously golden, for

All who pass by to see,

Its leaves, like pieces of the sun,

Fall, lay, in a cold yellow

Farewell, as autumn is undone...

(* Originally published 11/22/2010)

片道

Only after launch, toward

Mars, did we learn,

That there would be

No way to return...

News Talk Shows

Televised News, less to

Inform, more to entertain,

Or preach, resulting in

Angst, and spiritual pain,

Therefore, to stay sane,

And as a last resort,

Limit your viewing 

To the weather report...

It's Complicated

To make something

Great again,

Assumes it was

That way back then,

Which may or may

Not be true,

Depending on 

Your point of view... 

Chemistry

How a fart

Will resonate,

Depends on

What you ate…

曇り空

Cool, overcast, gray,

But still beautiful

In a gloomy way...

禊

Clear holy mountain stream,

Cerulean winter sky,

White-clad Pilgrims

Bathe in the water to purify…

人生

Fall in love, unite,

Then procreate,

Grind through

Family raising state,

Emerge on far end,

Old life mate...

Survivors

After the comet hit,

All the dead reptiles,

Safe in their holes,

Mammalian smiles...

Slumber

Down into sleep,

I gently fall,

Drift away through

Nothing at all,

Concerns and

Worries disinvest,

Slowly, quietly,

Heal and rest…

立春

Old Japanese calendar,

Feels a bit queer,

When first day of Spring 

Is the coldest of the year…

Blade Runner

Replicants, almost human,

Exquisite robots, ill-fated,

Condemned to be hunted,

Identified and eliminated…

Covert Operation

Head toward the bed,

Sneaking back,

Successful completion 

Of midnight snack…

Free and Single

My solitary sitting room,

Filled with cold, empty winter air,

Leave TV volume on, to

Feel like someone else is there...

Wages of Withdrawal

Institutions abandoned,

Rules averted or ignored,

And we were left with a

Situation somewhat unmoored,

Setting up, eventually,

Something awful, untoward...

Mysterious Playwright

Who is it that writes,

The dialogue in my dreams,

Somnolent drama nights…

政治家

She waves at passing cars,

Exclaiming her name,

Bows, smiles, dreams

Of political fame,

And the money which will

Come from winning the game…

Somewhat Peaceful

Quieter now, so much

More than before,

Declined, the city’s

Daytime roar,

Replaced by 

Slumber’s underscore…

It

It will pay to be

Alert and aware,

Of how things will

Land, and where,

You assume

Nothing much is there,

But then it hits, and

Sucks out all of the air...

Mutually Beneficial

Balanced on winter branch,

The Jaybird pecks and parries,

In the brittle leaves, searching

For little black berries...

The berries are life-sustaining gifts

For the birds, from the tree,

And seeds in the berries will be

Planted elsewhere, eventually...

How To Endure

To cope with the troubled

Times in which we live,

Take joy in small things,

And fight to remain positive...

Truism

Future, present, past,

Happens, exists,

But doesn't last...

Dark Epiphany

Dearth nighttime view,

From the fourth floor,

The Moon a silver sliver

Which wasn't there before,

Soak in the immediacy,

The meaning, nothing more...

Data Center's Gift

Ask a question, and in the

Time it takes to yawn & blink,

AI provides an answer,

No need for me to think...

AI, my computer friend,

On you, I increasingly depend,

The beginning of the end...

森の息

Northern winter breeze,

Susurrus and sighs,

As it flows through the trees...

Endless

So, what is

Infinity,

Compared to

Eternity?

They seem the

Same to me...

Tasks

Why is it that when

You think you're through,

There's always something

Else to do... 

Yamanote Line, 1/17/2026

Power out, commuter train

Now stopped, now stuck,

Packed together, all nuts

To butts, and holy fuck,

He waits for rescue, smells

Surrounding sweat and soap,

Claustrophobia, tries not

To panic, lose hope...

An hour later, doors are

Opened, and he descends,

Walks along the tracks,

The ordeal finally ends…

Ancient Economics

Excess food production, spurred 

A need to preserve and store,

Which, in turn, created

Wealth and also led to war...

Semi-Repose

Perched on the wire,

The songbird sleeps,

While half of its brain

A vigil keeps...

A state of rest,

Similar, it seems,

To my slumber, polluted

By vivid dreams...

Sudden Pause

The life noises stopped,

Without much warning,

Now, the empty minutes pass,

Eerie silent morning...

薬

Regardless of the rush,

Or the mood you're in,

Got to take your medicine...

Black Breeze

Rattling the windows

The night wind blows,

Whooshing and moaning,

Away it goes,

To murky places

No one knows…

サラリーマン

Unpaid overtime,

Do more with less,

Paychecks sort of

Mitigate the stress,

But the aches

Remain, nonetheless,

In my company

Employee's mess....

Continuity

Earthquakes, political

Confusion, war,

New Year the same

As the one before...

Middle Country

Han China, growing

Powerful as a nation,

Flowering after a

Century of humiliation,

Its ancient roots run

Long and deep,

Now, at last, emerging

From history's sleep...

Painter's Block

Her inspiration

Lost and unbidden,

Remained closed

And hidden...

The visceral surge

To create good art,

Was doomed to

Drudge from the start...

石橋たたき

When it comes time

To choose your path,

Analyze your options,

And do the math...

Get Real

Peace will prevail in

This year of the Horse...

Just wishful thinking

Of course...