Elton John's "Rocket Man" (1972)

Lean back in my recliner, listening

To Elton, staring at the ceiling,

Imagining the night sky beyond it,

Then I get this spooky feeling,

That the chair on which I sit,

And my tentative dwelling place,

Are clinging to a planet reeling,

At great speed, through Space...

Note: This is a revision of a poem I wrote on 12/21/2012)

Theater!

Take a moment, dress it up

With lights, music, sound,

Make it special, different

From other times, all around,

Create magic minutes, stop,

Disjoint time's normal flow,

And hopefully, briefly, banish

The boring life we know...

Note: This is a revision of a poem I wrote on 12/31/2012 

Hej där

Into IKEA pour parents and kids,

A mob, hungry, stressed, amped,

On a rainy Sunday, refugees from

Rooms cluttered and cramped…

And somehow they are sure,

That joy will be found

Among Swedish furniture…

宇宙人の仕事

She said she was kidnapped

And probed by a UFO,

So, god's truth, or fiction,

How do you know?

But all in a day's work

For the Aliens, apropos...

Anti-Hero

He knew he was a coward,

But when the moment came,

He acted without thinking,

And gained eternal fame,

Became a hero, things thereafter,

Would never be the same,

Yet no real change to

What will linger, inhere,

As he remained unsure,

And chock full of fear...

Un-Remember

A salving gift

Is forgetfulness,

Bad memories just

Cause pain & stress,

Better to scrub clean

Consciousness…

車社会

This surreal, mobile,

World we live in,

Riding an internal

Combustion engine,

Which propels us

In our too-large car,

To random places,

Near and far...

A Valley in Nepal

A glacier collapsed 

And stormed downhill,

A rock-mud tsunami

To crush and kill,

Mercilessly destroying

A peaceful day,

And we couldn't run

Fast enough to get away...

What Will Be

Tomorrow, an enigma, with

Risks and fissures fraught,

Plans are undependable,

Despite what we were taught,

Products not the same as

What we thought we bought...

Grind & Create

Writing this month's twentieth poem,

Find the right words, carry the load,

Wheels spin before they engage,

Almost made my brain explode...

Safe Haven

In addition to sucking

Up carbon dioxide,

The tree is a place

To rest and hide,

For evading the

Hawk and crow,

Its leaves providing 

Cover, down below,

This, the songbirds

Somehow know…

無理の月見

Moon hidden 

Behind cloud,

No dreamy 

Gazing allowed,

The opaque 

Situation,

Not conducive to

To inspiration,

Which relies

On moonbeams,

Unblocked, unfettered,

It seems…

立秋

After the passing of typhoon,

A cool glimpse of autumn,

But gone too soon,

And wild lilies droop

In the drowsy afternoon…

Micro Risk

Every time they walk out the door,

The chance that things may not return

To the way they were before…

The Process

Eventually, it

Catches up with you,

And it's not like

You never knew...

Stuff

An accumulation of things,

And the feeling of permanence,

Stability, that brings...

Bric-a-brac, books,

Lined up on the wall,

Pretends to postpone,

That which will befall...

Law of the Jungle

In case of

International spat,

Call up the

Diplomat,

But if it turns

Into a war,

Need something

Much, much, more...

Then also comprehend,

That it may not neatly,

Quickly, end....

Babysitting

If the truth be told,

Grandkids make you feel

Both young and old...

The Mower

Cut grass, and he

Can sense and see,

The abandonment,

Slowly, of infinity,

The chopped weeds

Remind of the reality,

Of impermanence

And our fragility...

Glacial

Years of struggle, smiles,

And effort applied,

Left their relationship

Stable, but petrified...

Take 5

Catch your breath,

Catch a break,

Luck lies in the

Bed you make...

Otsu Port

Protected from waves and tidal churn,

Seagulls sit on harbor ramp, waiting

For the fishing boats' return...

Troubled

Something’s off,

Doesn’t feel right,

Trapped, in a

Restless night…

Spooky

That childhood feeling

Of fear and dread,

Over what is hiding 

Under the bed,

Pull up the blanket,

Shivered & shook,

Nothing really there,

But too scared to look…

Sideways

Glass half empty,

Glass half full,

Either way

Suboptimal…

きつい・危険・汚い

Toiling in hot afternoon heat,

Dressed in coveralls, colored blue,

Foreigners grinding on the work

Which Japanese will not do…

In prosperous Japan, an

Unspoken understanding,

That “others” will do the jobs

Which are physically demanding…

Outside Dentist Office

Analyzing the pattern in the

Wallpaper, contemplating,

The difference between null

And dull, waiting,

Mind wrapped around

Nothing at all,

All stop, until the

Next shoe will fall…

New Normal

Family gathered, all

Quiet and nice,

Each screen-sucking

On their own device…

頑張れ

Embarked on a challenge,

Ship has set sail,

No choice now, but to

Endure, and prevail...

空気を読む

In Japan, one learns

To "read the air",

Learn from words

That are not there...

And the meaning

Of how, or what,

Is ultimately

Sensed in one's gut...

Hemingway's Hint

Edit, while sober, what

You wrote, while high,

Seems to work, but

Not too sure why...

Travel Advice

Sometimes, a thousand-mile-journey, 

Begins not with a step, but a fall,

Followed by getting back up, and

Sort of reassessing it all,

Then, resume the trip, knowing

What might twist or appall....

Some Kind of Cure

Alas, survey the moment,

The state, you are in,

More likely to lose,

Rather than win,

Well, abandon the thought,

And just take your medicine...

ゲリラ豪雨

Late afternoon, and some

Convectional perturbation,

Pushes, cools the muggy day,

With wind, precipitation,

Water puddles and streams,

Asphalt glistens, steams...

Investment

Invaders, dressed as businessmen,

Came from Outer Space,

They purchased craftily, and no one

Knew it was taking place...

Mumbai

Still warm, from yesterday's

Sun, the square of concrete,

Where he curls up to sleep,

On the side of the street...

Authoritarian

Trade away our freedom, and

In security we are wrapped,

Convince ourselves we are

Happy, while being trapped,

We are comrades, and we

Bend to fit what we belong,

Bow to our father dictator,

Who can never be wrong…

Flesh

Human behavior, driven,
In no small measure,
By biology, and the
Promise of pleasure…

Geopolitics

Hearing the first Cicadas' cries,

While wars are fought over gas,

And territory, the Kudzu vines

Don't care, "This too shall pass",

Underling words unspoken, as 

Elephants trample the grass...

Saved By Public Transport

Slumped on the back of the

Bus seat, under the vent,

Blowing down cool air on

My fevered neck, heaven-sent,

The awesome feeling of relief,

As my sweat evaporates,

And the curse of the

Too hot humidity abates...

Septuagenarious

Right around 70 was the

Beginning, the start,

Of her body slowly

Falling apart…

Inductive

Artificial intelligence,

Not quite the same as

Common sense...

For wisdom

Is corporeal,

Grown from what

You see and feel...

冷夏

Wilted Hydrangeas,

Droop and bend,

Sayonara, rainy

Season's end...

Thanks

With the rising Sun,

Our spirits lift,

Each new breath,

Each new day, a gift...

Negotiation

Truce time and talks,

We hoped they would forgive,

Bury the hatchet,

Live and let live,

But we could tell from

The looks in their eyes,

That they had no

Desire to compromise...   

Imaginary

My room, a rectangular box,

Filled with restive air,

Host to mental adventures,

But nothing really there…

Hamamatsu Tragedy, 7/7/2026

Jilted, and his ego could 

Not stand the mental pain,

So, he killed, and then

Jumped in front of a train,

Only fumes of a

Broken romance remain,

Blood on the tracks can

Neither repent nor explain...

Safe Haven

Survive in the shadows,

Away from the noise and glare,

And thrive in the cool,

Calm, and quiet there...

Air Strike

Crow chased by Swallows,

Harried, pestered, no rest,

Flies away, after getting too

Close to their nest...

抱っこ紐

Baby crying,

Unable to rest,

Goes quiet, harnessed

To mother’s chest,

Soothed by warmth

And smell of breast…

90-Something

Old one, her body a

Bag of aches & ills,

Kept alive by

Handfuls of pills,

Still thankful to

Breath the morning air,

Out in the light

In her wheelchair…

The Wager

Showtime, game on,

So it begins,

The dice are rolled,

A bottle spins,

Only gods know

How one wins...

How It Often Happens

It’s a race against time,

As things tend to diminish,

Sometimes disappear,

Before one can finish…

On The Sidewalk

Intact bird’s nest, lying on the ground,

Fallen from the tree above, I suppose,

So did the baby birds grow, or fly,

Or survive -- who knows?