Death By PowerPoint

He profferred his conclusion
Confidently, up front,
Supported by a profusion
Of graphics, vice reason,
The selling words he spoke,
Were basically a punchline
In search of a joke...

Karoshi 過労死

The Japanese have a word for dying
From working too hard, called
"Karo-Shi", caused by complying
Through ignorance, or fear, with
Hellish office hours, day after day
After day, somehow denying
The option of simply walking away...

The Power Of The Leaf

Nothing better clears one's head,
Helps the mind's eye to see,
Than a couple steaming cups
Of strong red English tea.

A kick-start in the morning
Of another working day,
Compliments of Darjeeling,
Or Earl or Lady Gray.

Winter Workout

Working up a sweat,
On a stationary bike,

In a cold gym room,
Feeling hamster-like...

To Stay In Power

The world viewed from North Korea
Is full of shadows, enemies, spies,
Surrounding their proud angry
Hermit kingdom, poised to surprise
Attack, therefore the ruling Kims
Insist, through coercion, pain, and lies,
That they must remain in power
Until their final deadly hour...

January

Warming our hands
By a bonfire made from
Old Christmas trees
- - - - - - - - - -
In bed, awake, warm
Under the covers,
Postponing the inevitable...
- - - - - - - - - -
Distant blue-white mountains
So beautiful to see
But no place where
I would actually want to be
- - - - - - - - - -
Warmest, most pleasing
Spot int the house:
Heated toilet seat.

Algeria

Hiding, trapped, under a truck,
And I remember the sudden
Shots ... "What the fuck!?"
Fired into our room, which
We assumed was safe, but
Wasn't ... So screw the hot
Desert country now acting not
Responsible for the many
Deaths it caused, when it attacked,
But should have negotiated...
Yeah, we were cursed, fated
To die, unless you jumped, and
Were quick to scramble,
Under a truck in the sand...

Empty Nest

It's just the two of us,
We're the only ones
In the house, which is
No longer home to our sons,
Each of them gone away
To live their own lives,
Making their own way
Helped by loving wives,
It becomes plain to see,
In this empty-feeling
House, that we are now free
From a burden we carried
For many years, so happily,
And here we are, still married,
With each other to hold,
For years to come, as we get old.

(Dedicated to Danny and Christy Jones)

Snow Dance

The snow came unexpectedly, with very
Little warning, in a place where
Boots are generally not necessary,
And now the cold commuters prance
Through the slushy puddles,
They do a funny tip-toe dance
To an ice-tune winter has provoked,
Trying, unsuccessfully, to keep their
Socks from getting soaked...

Winter Night

Got myself a chill when
I got out of bed to pee,
But now I'm back under
My blanket, comfortably
Warming -- no other
Place I'd rather be...

NFL Playoff Senryu

My stomach moves
Up and down and around,
Along with the ball on the field
- - - - - - - - - -
Recipe for a disaster:
Too much pizza,
Combined with a defeat.
- - - - - - - - - -
Where do they come from,
These feelings of utter elation
And burning hatred...?
- - - - - - - - - -
Standing behind,
Wife shakes her head
At her man going out of his mind.
- - - - - - - - - -
Things get emotional,
Reality less clear,
As the game progresses,
Self-induced stress, with beer.

Where Am I, How Did I Get Here?

She sits there, in the winter sun,
On the sidewalk, in her pajamas,
An old woman, brain come undone,
She can't recall where she came from...

The policemen ask her questions,
But to no avail, her home may
Be just around a few corners,
But might as well be a universe away...

So, for lack of an on-scene solution,
The cops load her into their car
To take her to a place where
They hope the answers are...

Our Teenage Separation

In the end, we broke up.
My love remittance,
She said, was insufficient,
An emotional pittance,
Paid too little, too late,
For her to tolerate...

787

The Boeing Seven-Eighty-Seven
Seems to defy
The notion that an aircraft
Made of plastic can fly...
So I sit back, enjoy the ride,
Not asking how or why.

Before A Business Trip

Resigned to what will be,
I set the alarm clock
For an early wake-up,
Which I know will shock
Me out of a restless sleep,
And I'll hit the snooze button,
Again, again, like counting sheep,
Except the numbers only lead
Away from peace, and
Toward the schedule I must keep.

The Old Big Tree At The Shrine

The tree, a type of pine,
I assume, perhaps it's a
Spruce?  Is given divine
Status by the priests and
Others in the old shrine
It overlooks, go-shin-boku,
Or god-tree, it has grown
For almost 500 years,
Towering, massive, alone...
Susurrus in the branches,
Where holy winds have blown,
Are the sounds of the peace
Seeds, the god-tree has sown.

The First Sunrise 初日の出

Some Japanese are compelled
To get up early, jump out of bed,
To see the New Year sunrise...
I prefer to sleep instead.

Ancient Enemies

History has a weight
Sometimes measured
In collective hate
For the misdeeds
Of evil others, who
Cannot be forgiven,
No matter what they do.

Before The White

The long grass, now colored
Gold, brown, maroon,
Bends in waves in the
Wind, which will soon
Bring snow, in the
Darkening of the afternoon...

Theater!

Take a moment,
And dress it up with
Lights, music, sound,
Make it special,
Different from other
Moments all around,
Create a special point
In time, one to make
Time stop, to disjoint
The normal flow
Of all the boring
Things we know.

The New Year Has Opened

Welcome to the Year of the Snake,
The hopes you may bring,
The troubles you might make,
Off, we now together slither,
Through the winter's whither
Toward another fall, summer, spring...

Radiological Bucket Brigade

According to my orders and direction,
I pull up a bucket of sea water from
The designated spot, for inspection,
Later, in a distant lab, where the
Water, analyzed for so many years,
Has yet to reveal anything that
Might warn or justify the fears
Of the citizens, on whose behalf,
I strain my back, each day,
To verify what has been
Already measured, anyway.

Tough Times At The Power Plant

Geologists, and other technical experts,
Gather to report and debate
Over the characteristics
Of soil, to determine the fate
Of a nuclear plant, built over a
Fault, discovered too late...

Concrete, steel, and billions of yen
Hang in the balance, tense explanations
Are made, and then countered
With growing anger and accusations...

Someone must decide,
There is nowhere to hide.

Yuletime Morning

Drinking with intent,
We partied all night
And got seriously bent,
But we did not fight,
Not that I remember...

My mind's in a fog,
Sometime in late-December...

Now, for the hair of the dog...

Spiked!

Vodka poured in the Holiday eggnog,
And with the drink thus secretly infused,
Wildness, great ideas, and hilarity ensued,
But the Great-Aunts were less than amused...