The Truth Is Out There

Some folks are predisposed
To believe in the
Existence of UFO’s
Visiting from a planet
Beyond the Sun
And landing in
Area Fifty One
Where the aliens
Stealthy and out of sight
Kidnap humans
In the dark of night...

All Is Vanity

Sometimes “changed”
Is simply the same
Things rearranged...

Survival

Out of the storm
Among the shoppers
I am dry and warm

No other place
To live
I take what comfort
Retail can give

I pray the Mall
My soul to keep
Toilets, water, and
A chair to sleep

Pacification

Magically coming to rest
The baby's screaming stops
Suckling on mother's breast

Aerodynamic

"As the crow flies"
Is never a straight line,
It is all over the skies...

Basho

On north narrow road
A poet walks alone
Much much later
His haiku carved in stone

時代劇

Her face on the screen
Haunts me, brought to
Life by a video machine,
And knowing this, still
For her beauty I long,
Which, except for
The electrons, is gone...

商店街

Rusty Yokosuka shopping street,

Idling at the bus stop,

Clanging shop shutters raised,

Tinny speakers play Japanese pop...

The Writer

Lucid, cogent,
When he thinks.
But more inspired
After drinks...

Driving South From Denver

Sun appears to sink,
Behind snowy mountains,
Clouds overhead turn gold, then pink

On The Pond

The waterfowl glides
Across the water, serene,
Its panicked paddling
Below, unseen...

Valentine’s Day 2018

I pulled the lever
Setting off the alarm,
AR-15, locked & loaded,
Ready to do harm,
What followed, to me,
Was like a video game,
Shooting you as a target,
Not knowing your name,
Or the others, all victims
Of my anger and shame...

Party’s Over

A rare happy event,
That chance will send,
Occasionally, and you
Don’t want it to end

Beer Zen

No need to go out
Just watch and wait
Embrace the null  of
One’s chemically altered state

Decision Point

Now and then
It’s better to stop
And start things over again
The key point
Is knowing when

Memorial

A big stone keeps
Memories in chiseled words,
On top, a stray cat sleeps

Consequences

Sometimes you just
Need to be strong
Suck it up and
Admit you were wrong
Then deal with what
Comes after it’s done
Retreat from the battle
Till the war is won...

Relief

Among the jolts a day can bring
The absence of pain
Is the very best thing

Supermarket Inspiration

Among the radishes and beets
Dreaming-up a verse
Grandpa in the produce aisle
Things would be worse

Sunday Afternoon

Lie very still
Float in a void
For dreams to fill

佐野八幡

Past the Torii gate
The absence of sound
In the Shrine yard
Is stark and profound
Spirit wind whispers
Across the holy ground

Equestrian

The cavalry comes over the hill
Charging with sabres
As cavalries will
On horses oblivious
To who they kill...

Humpty Dumpty

Back to the nice way
Things were before
Time can repair
But not restore
Pieced together
With patience glue
But the cracks
Still show through

Somewhere In Switzerland

A place called Davos
Is where they come to meet
The rich, the entitled,
The economic elite,
Preening in the empty light
Of each others’ stars,
To me, they might
As well be on Mars...

Eternal Life

As a memory
In some other’s head,
Is how you will exist,
After you are dead...