Simple Joys
With voices loud and shrill
They scream at whatever they will
The sea and it’s waves roaring
The birds, slashing and soaring
The fish beneath the churning seas
As well as playing-chasing puppies
They scream for sheer joy
For a box they’ve made a toy
For stairs or hills and gravity discovered
Or for something they’ve dug and uncovered
And their joy echo’s in eager hearts of old
With long-forgotten simple joys re-told
Climbing
As I climbed a mountain
With a treacherous and uncertain path
I found too few rocks of interest,
I found too few flowers of scent
I was exposed to the day and night
I was aware of birds and critters
That passed me during exertion.
I knew of others on the climb
Those that led, sometimes made a path
Sometimes made me stumble with loosen stones
As I did for those that followed me.
I felt big and successful nearing the top
For then I slowed, noticing for the first time
That the world had many mountains
In a distance I could see
And the stars were close and bright
And there were rivers and lakes
And so much more I’d never known
And then I knew I was small
But happy to know that I was
October Morning
I arrived just in time
To see an echo of sunrise
Trying to brighten a cloudy sky
The water was up, waving
And the breeze strong and air cool
The coffee was warming
And a peacefulness reigned in me
Despite the turmoil of a windy morning
And struggle of a sunrise on a new day
Our Table
We dine at an elegant table
A bounty, a harvest of riches
We imagine that we all are able
To enjoy and sample these dishes
But the table is far from stable
And some unfortunates are holding up
A legless-comer and are not able
To partake, never sipping from the cup
Of plenty and tasting fruits of the vine
Until someday they drop their support
They’re no longer there as we dine
Because of our imprudent deport
Of those that held the table steady
And the dogs will dine on the scraps
As they are always there, at the ready!
Dark Money
A shadow moving across the land
Sowing a crop of bitters for a harvest
To feed something monstrous and dark.
For, if it was pure of motive
Pure of intent, it would not hide
In the shadows, choking the fruits
Intended for innocents,
Who surely will go hungry.
I’ll Be You
I’ll be you, you’ll be me
Then we’ll know and see
What you mean to me
And I mean to you
So we may love each other’s
Unique perspective and view
And knowing what it means
When I’m you
And You are me
Long Poems
Long poems are not portable
They require a wheelbarrow
And multiple trips
To dump them in the backyard of your mind
By the time you feel their meaning
They weigh too heavy on you
I promise never to write long poems again
For the sake of your back
And for the sake of meaning
Migraines are rare these days, but they still happen for me… this one came as the baseball game was just starting… and the field and view was distorted, and it came unraveled in short order… here is how I think of it, and a way to explain what happens…
Two People, One Mind
One is in control and rational
One is childish and irrational
One knows all is wonderful and fine
The other, lives there too, but barely
Co-existing, while playing around
The corners of my mind each day
Until seemingly unprovoked
A tantrum it must throw,
Shattering windows
And making a mess
Giving no peace between us two
For five hours of irrational hell
… If I only knew what sets the little shit off…
New Replaces Old
A new one arrives
Packaged in remarkable efficiency
Showing that it was not born
Of craftsmen,
But rather engineered
Everything in its packaged place
So this means the old must go
The disassembly begins
The air of life is let out of it
The wrestling away the pieces
As the old, still with luster and shine
Vainly tries to resist, but loses
And becomes a carcass
Stacked in the garage…
The new is assembled, she of a modern style
The new functions no better than old
The new just sits there and looks pretty
As we breathe life into new
And wonder what to do with old.
If I Could
If I could find the quiet word
Never thought or even heard
If I could live with spirit lifted
So all felt loved and gifted
If I could be a source of happy joy
And never, give cause to annoy
If I could find the rhythm and rhyme
I would sing it out loud all the time
If I only could …. I certainly would…