The only difference
Between today and yesterday
Is that there is a permanent record
Of one's stupidity now

Blue Jay Blue Jay
You're so very blue today
Did your loved one leave you
Has she gone astray

In the crisp October air
With the falling leaves everywhere
I catch my breath that stretches
Out in front of me in vaporous plumes

It's been one hell of a life
I'm glad to be along for the ride
It seems the older I get
The less I have to hide

And we went down to see
What the commotion was
There were all types of people

They shared the same blood
They shared the same bone


We smudged, the smoke, the smell
You don't take it for granted
When you're so far from the well

Forget the seven-year-itch
Life can be a *****
You can pound your fists
When the whole thing gets you ******

Took a ten mile drive
To the Bay of Fundy

The tides out for miles
We climb down the loose shale

On the beach we can hear the tidewater rushing
The red clay hills feel like a dream

The beauty of it all, wholesome and true
I could baptised my self in the muddy murky red

Not swearing on my life, bad mojo, Hoodoo, strange Voodoo's
Not suggesting there are people twisting the thumbscrews
Pleasant people, pleasant thoughts, no unwilling Cards playing 3D checkers.  Did you know there are byrd's they call, woodpeckers?

That cursing curse taking hard-earned dollars out of my purse.
And what is worse...  finally carried off in a Hearse. I best marry a nurse, wait now, I did marry a nurse but she ditched that job.
Stressed-out she followed her heart and took education to work with preschoolers until the course took her off course

Teaching the children not so well, pushing ideas, propagandizing thin-privilege.  Children, it's okay to be that... that rhymes with you know what, it rhymes with fat. She left that stuff leaving her student debt and you can bet she'll pay in off in record time.

Cheap rugs all over the place, cheap rugs all over the place
Cheap rugs in time and space... I bought new sneakers, they're the type you lace. Two-faced discovered to me a disgrace only they too are part of he human-race, causing peoples to be displaced.

The Curse, it might be the first, probably not... praying the bad luck is the last. I want to leave this place, leave real fast. Move on through to that other side. Morrison had his faults leaving a lot in the vaults. Now he's free, the tub scene in the Morrison movie I don't buy, I could tell you why but that borders gossip and a lot of people would flip (out). Not 'fly'.

So, what's it all about, it's not the wordsmithing that I flout
Just me avoiding 'the' gout, getting sick, I'm having my doubt
I'll be taking another route, no matter how many people may pout
Reading tea leaves, drinking green tea, the cup holding posies, showing me I'm free, not only to survive, it's to 'I' am that I thrive

I lost a beloved friend a few years back...
The big 'C' got him, thankfully it took him fast.
He died around this time four years passed,
it truly feels like yesterday that his spirit was here,
blessing the ground we both walked upon.

He was a real funny ****, always with the quips.
He'd send me texts and call them e-quips.

Once while shopping at The Great Canadian Tire Store,
we bantered about how it came to pass that the black culture in the western world used slang terms to denigrate the white. Calling them ****** and *******. The latter referring to the slave master's whip braking the speed of sound on the back of a family man stopped from even a pleasure of a good read.

My friend said to me "*******": I prefer "saltines". To our surprise we had come to understand the term '******' derived when white 'John's' would cruse black neighbourhoods to solicit prostitutes.

They would signal they were prospective clients by honking their horns. For they feared leaving their vehicles under an assumed threat of physical violence.

These days I feel I am channeling my dear friend. For me, it's always with the quips and puns and non sequiturs. Some end up as titles for this work I produce. Like, for an example: Are Plastic Surgeons Recyclable.

Although you may not, I just have to laugh at my self. Some say my jokes aren't funny, they are an irritation. To which I state, that is the optimal effect, my true aim.

                                      Pat Two

At his funeral, his brother delivered his eulogy. Telling the childhood story of the family pet, a housecat had gone to the basement and Dave stood at the top of the stairs coaxing "Here Kitty kitty, come here kitty".
His father says, "Call him louder", and without missing a beat or changing his tone or volume Dave says "Here louder louder, come here kitty".

We shared puns and jokes that in this day-and-age, some would deem offensive. To be honest about the matter, some were. But... to qualify, maybe to justify. The jokes were always in jest, never meant to harm. It could be me, in the attempt to excuse poor behavior. Perhaps it's so, that is to say I don't know for sure. I've yet to make up my mind.

                                         Part Three

The point being, for I have strayed and I digress. The love I have for my friend still lives on and perhaps will never end. If it is David that I channel, so be it! I feel blessed.

Although I have, I never had to say good-bye to my dear friend Dave. For he never really left. He lives on in the hearts and minds of his chosen friends. And will continue to long after the day of my demise.

For the life of me, as I sit in the corner on a crooked chair, flanked by a lamp and a potted plant on an end-table. The end of this year approaches quickly and I wonder to myself, when will I again meet-up with my old friend.


end

When at times
It's just people are gone
I stop and think awhile
Wondering did I do wrong
I can't help that
When at times
I live life like a child
Sometimes fearfully
Sometimes wild
I can't help that
Sometimes I'm Judas
Another the Christ
I can play the Tempter
And I can pay the price.
I can't help that  
Sometimes I'm living
And then again I'm dying
Sometimes I'll hurt you
Without even trying
I can't help that.

fully in this moment
when you feel it
and you know that it's really real

and you bow your head to that great spirit

we come here and we are here
it feels so heart stopping
we clutch at greased straws

greased so we slip into that stream
that runs through the stars

zipping past lights
hugging the whole
where you are born

a fantastic show of love and light
that blanket of lace and fire

pushing on and out and through
loving every total in its small and huge

whirling around some centrifuge
spinning out of chaos calmly

forgiving, forgiving, forgiving.

Trust, flung
to the ground
by a horse named
Riddled Doubt
with a broken leg.

They shoot horses don't they.

Standing in a field
with big blue sky,
while the rain threatens
the children on their playground.

Swiftly my thoughts,
charging from here to there
and back again,
it isn't a matter of relaxed.

Slow poke in the ribs
that knocks the wind
across the open field,
moving towards the horizon.

Play is an unforgotten
movement that pushes me,
and who is to say
what is or isn't play.

Hold out your hand
to receive this bleeding heart.
Time to move to where the wind blows
over the horizon, if that can be done.


irving2006

Curses to those who judge
it's an experience you have to have
but need not endure

In this wordy worldly wordless whine
you'll find I'm not that kind
who flies by night
not looking for the sight or the foresight

Entangled in twine
not following
the road signs

Kissing your clothes behind
time to unwind
standing for
the  okay
from those so inclined

you never know
when he's just going to lose it
the smallest thing can set him off

when he approaches
he's wearing a smile
on the outside he looks fine

say the wrong thing
and his eyes will glaze over
you get to feeling on guard real quick

his demeanour is full of loathing
a hatred of self and others
leaving and acidic taste and an air full of stench

you don't want to cross his path
see him and you take another street
violence or the threat of keeps one in their place

Bobbing on the ocean
Thrown to and fro
Always going under and clawing
upward toward the sun
For just one more gasp
I am naked, clothes too heavy
Not to discard
Cold, no warmth of love
Just a sinking feeling
That is becoming like an old friend
Turning their shoulder to you
As they give you an evil eye
That you never thought existed
in any bone or muscle of your beloved gone compadre

Lately I have
being doing
next to nothing.

I watch others
hurrying
this way and that.

Off to work
out to play
out to claim
that they enjoy
the day.

I stay put
on the sofa
and count my
chickens
way
before
they hatch.

What's it
to you
how I choose
to pass my time.

the point is
life isn't always grand

sometimes you sink
so slow and low
  
it's agonizing and
you lose control

the point is
to be a seasoned veteran

fly oh  so high
when life's driving wild

mark it up to experience
wanting to experience

as much as I can
watching from the

sidelines cuts it
sometimes

but after a rest
I jump back in

in it to win knowing
sometimes you lose

it's been said before
keep your eyes on the prize

Living
an idea,
the idea
expressed
through me.

Getting
lost in thought,
wrapping
my head
around this,
around that.
Finding out what
can and cannot be.

Pushed
into a dream,
a world full,
twisting,
turning
winding,
pulling.

Expanding
lungs
finding
a voice.

Crawling
walking,
talking.
All the while
discovering
this matter
of choice.

In the
twilight,
fragile bones,
dwindling
tones,
blue grey shading,
the last breath saying,
I'll be coming home.

Out in space on the other side of the earth
Where the world of water  blocks out the sun
You look outward to see the stars burn bright
Without earth's atmosphere, they don't flicker
They shine bright and strong
And the total darkness calls, God calling to your heart
While the Milky Way is a band of white leading to where?
Perhaps back to the garden
Here on earth, between these ears, where the battle of the soul rages
And the *disease of conceit grips you
With two hands, by the shirt you will try to run
You run away in any which direction
Or maybe you just give in and sit in that ****
While a legion of devil brethren whispers in your ear
The Hounds of Hell, they're not satisfied with a biscuit shaped like a bone
They want to gnaw your bones to pulp
They lift their legs and **** on you and you stand there shaking
Shaking like the leaves on the trees
And you know that your only hope is to bow your head
And get down on bended knee
There where you are carried away to the Cross
And from the dirt, you look up to the figure crucified
That paid the price, the God-Man sent to fight the battle for you
All you had need to do was ask.
Go to your closet and in the darkness of that small room
With its four walls within arms reach
And with all its old ghosts still there, permeating your pores
Let your spirit pray, pray as your tears roll down to your breast
Pray, 'till your eyes puff red. Pray to be saved, rather than not
As you have been the Devil's play toy for so long
Choose the way of faith and instruction in the way
For it is that instruction which gives you freedom
God will not just move on being sure of another soul He knows wants saving
God has time for all'  He calls it grace, the innocent child we are inside
Knows this Grace Is stronger than that thoughtless sinner that we had become

I started out east
Just a little at a time

Before long
I was out of my element

Tossed about
By the sea

Obscured by
The salty sting

My self telling me
My treasure was

Off in the distance
Just beyond the hill

Water under
the bridge,
rolling and tumbling,

kissing
the rivers' edge.

A *****
strikes the earth,
overturning the
crawling nights'
light lunch.

A bottle of ***
shared by two
who steer clear
of a fires' orange fingers...

fingers to fry
the catch
under a mid-nights' sky.

Angel drives so well
she'll let you go against the flow
driving with one hand
she's got nerves of steel

A labour of love is her job
it can move you heart and soul
but when a labour of love is all you got
it can put you in a hole

Angel does the dishes
she'll do the laundry too
at the drop of the hat
she'll cover your back

Angel she wraps her wings around
and sometimes I miss my queue
then it comes at the speed of sound
she was only passing though

When my baby's web of whispers
              screams I love you in my ear
  it echoes through my cranium
                       sending messages ear to ear.

My synapse snapping
       and gravity collapsing,
    a host to the sensual,
         multi-dimensional...
                 no such word as fear.

                    It really slays me
                       when I see it disappear.

When we make love my ego burns in effigy
     sending naked stars to fall, it's a natural born lovers ball.


Candles kissing the air, flickering flames of release, total ecstasy,
    it's not just *** to me,                    a forgiving rush of peace.
                                                I stand in wait, waiting for your call,
                                                   oh will this feeling never cease....

                        No four-way flashing, not only fore-play happening  
                                              no yield sign to stop me now.
                                     Like a gold mine, she'll be tappin' me.
                    Yes,     right in the kisser,     POW!

My baby is drama free... if anyone creates confusion,
               well that would be me.

Everything is oh so fine,
         yes, I'm hers and she's mine.
                          It is one slippery shift
                                  on into the sublime.

That is the way I want it,
     not exactly everyone's cup of tea,
                          still, she brings it on just for me.

no closing the eyes
no looking to the left and right
no more no territory

yes it's clear
yes to no fear
yes to eating steer

no to the enth degree
no to uncivil society
no to not being a you and me

yes to no monopoly
yes to no decree
yes to no tom-foolery

If you're going to shoot from the hip make sure you're not firing blanks.

Didn't think of it for you
Hardly  in line with me
Took me to the brink
Everyday is one to live
The less you think the more you give
I found a way out, it's on the inside
I tire  blown-out, lets hope the donut ride
A pound of flesh beats some metaverse
I found the thrill, no blueberry hill
Perhaps a matter of a Will
Can't catch it, bury it with the hatchet
Maybe an old movie, True Grit
Freedom hides in words

I waited for you
You never came
I headed back home
Wondering who was to blame

I called you on the phone
Your voice mail was full
I scratched out a note
And posted it just the same

We rely on one another
For all the wrong things
I don't know why I bother
We're going down in flame

When we started out
We really kicked ***
Over time though
Neither of us garnished any fame

What did we expect
There wasn't a pair of ears to hear
Our best laid plans were tom foolery
We had the right tools for the wrong game

For a moment
I wished that I was
sailing  over the ocean.

Far away from land,
far away from the earth.

But I thought again
and I remember that
I don't like water,

Hardly to drink,
maybe to mix with scotch
but then, only in its frozen state.

What's
pain
is pain
and
what's not
is not

Turn
to find
sometimes
nothing
is all you got

If it gets you
that natural cause

It's sure to be met
with dull applause

***** what I can't do
I'll see what I can do

I don't want to die
in my living room
the stereo
blasting
the Stones song
Doom and Gloom

close to
being something
so far.

in the end
closer,

not always
better.

four become
two become
one,
closer.

love doesn't
matter
about anything.

you just
hold on
remembering
it is always
better.

© 1999

I open the pantry door
And stare blankly
My arms start waving
Fingers pointing

Out of the corner
Of my eye
I notice my wife

I break into
Tai Chi moves
To make it look
Less like a man
Who has
Temporarily
Lost his way

Last night before the sun went down
I was walking along the pathway
By the train tracks around the  trains station's depot holding area
Graffiti catching my eye
I passed a deer not five feet away
I said 'hi' and the doe just watched me walk by

last night
I lost the best friend
I ever had

On the bad days, anxiety comes in waves,
they lap at what once was a solid shoreline.
The sands turn to mud as they roll back to the sea.

On the good days I can hold-my-own,
feeling I belong and if I don't, I at least, fit-in.

Those days when the moments are stitched together,  
creating a hand-spun tapestry and life feels well worth it,
as I greet friends and the strangers that I haven't met before, alike

Can I really be free
Staring at the back of my eyelids when I rest
Thought age would give me a leg up
Little did I know it wasn't the flight of any bird I live
Phoenix or not at times I still tie my ******* in a knot
I crucify my ownself in my mind's marination
Lifting my skinny leg to **** on a tree
The apple doesn't fall far and you can see it in the lines of my face
******* away any freedom that could be had
Can I really be free.

when I was a boy
everything was all brand new
now I am a man

In the summer of love
I was fourteen,
I did the acid
And I tripped that trip.

My hair was long and wavy
And my body was lean.

I could look in the mirror
And say 'you're a lean mean machine'.

Sometimes these days
I hear myself saying that
I'll turn my thoughts to the grave.

When I came
Face to face
With my additions
I could see how I misbehaved.

One day the light came on,
I knew I was my master
Not my ****** slave.

There is a season,
Like it says in the good book.
I couldn't find my bearings,
The ground beneath my feet it shook.

I've lived a life and I've broke my heart
I've twisted up sayings like
You have to start from the start

Now why do you want to say that,
That I just come from a squirt
That's gone and left me with my feelings hurt.

It's almost time to lay my head to rest,
I want to say I gave it my all,
Nothing short of I have done my best.

the tube
on a synch
remedy for sickness
a kitchen sink
government says
stay at home
wink wink
for the most
part
the situations' stink
left here
to take
hold my drink
newsman says
this is what
to think
neighbour
peeking
through their curtain
turns into
another fink
love that
was all
around
gone in a blink
your finger
broke
searching
yet another link
we take nothing
with us but
our soul
think

I hold myself
in contempt,
or I don't.
Either way
my day is spent
doing what I want,
wanting what I do.

Dive in,  off  the high board..
       zooming toward a tear drop..
           which side of the line are you on....
    when you disobey the rules...

A fist full of Canadian Tire dollars
and a bucket full of small talk
all about a certain something, somewhere
being a once in a life time long shot

( I'm getting old and I can't play)

That fight between the ears,
between love and war...

when love loses
and hatred oozes.

You've gone and lost control.
Your ego is on a
I Me Mine trip.

Let go
and do your back flip.

You kind of
feel like crying,
it has been
a long ride home...

Why don't you
roll up your sleeves
and dig in the dirt.

Go and repair the damage,
now that wouldn't hurt.

Oh Lord,
I'm a ******
for your junk..

so go and plunk your junk
right down beside me.

Forget about the grief
it doesn't really matter.

Don't hold
any cards up your sleeve.

Listen to the washboard,
guitar and harp.
All that banging on
the piano, it sounds so good


Just go on and get free
any way you can...

Come on if you want,
that's the way it's supposed to be.

Now I'm not lying
and I am trying
but sometimes it's
one step forward two steps back

So many mistakes, let them go,
just smoke up the smoke stack.

Where to go, where to go,
you have a beginning
and a middle part
but you can't
see the end....

My wife and I
we talk about all
the good times we've had
and about what good times
tomorrow will bring
When we see others
not understanding
what a gift life is
we hang our heads and cry

They think they have us fooled
With all the laws and regulations
But we see clear enough to know
That the militant leaders aren't ready
To just turn over power.

We all need arms, and a well stocked arsenal
But why?

We don't want to be dominated
We don't want to be in debt.

We take a job to play the bills.

It's got to be the only planet
That has you owing  from the get-go.

Freedom is one thing that has to be imagined
And brought into fruition. Freedom and the right to remain so.

How can anyone stop the madness
Maybe we all could by changing ways, ways they call all out are ours'.

Stiff stiff I like them stiff

Stiff stiff the fife and drum

The Irish knew and so did the Jews

Shine shine those diamond mines

The America's twist is to starve them

Stiff stiff I like  them stiff

I want to
go back to the days
when they let us sing
in the fields
while picking cotton
in the blazing hot sun.

you say you quit me
that much is true
but we never danced real well
so i guess we're through

Tree leaves
Dancing
In a light
Breeze
Soft rain
Clings to
Branches
Before falling
On the ground
The season
In change.

You know those days
where you can't seem to do
Anything wrong.
Those days
When the ideas keep coming,
And they are all good ones.
The days where serendipity
Harbours you and favours you
Every step of the way.
Those days when you have the answers
And you can apply them where needed.

Well, this ain't one of those days.

Cashing out
at the grocers

I complained,
boy these prices
are really going up fast.

The cashier spat out:
It's the Russians, Russian oil-

We human beings can be a sad and sorry lot.

rubbing my chin
my mind takes me
takes from me

the ability
to be free
of the ego-maniacal

tyranny

*****-deep
in some fantasy
with some self-absorbed  

me


rather live a dream
than be 'woke'
and un-free


unholy


tears of fire
rain down
on me


thanks to those
who came before
and to those

that even the score

I was thumbing
through some vinyl
when all of a sudden
I had to go home
to take care of some
serious business
so I grabbed some
Taj Mahal
and hit the road

Later the same day
I put on my costume
of an old blues man
an blew some folks away
then I packed up my gear
and was home by 9:00

You can run roughshod over our language
Mangling it making it hard to comprehend
You can put your faith in some ultimate higher being
Choosing some far out law that allows you to be mean

You can kiss either a conservative or a liberal ***
Letting them add to their larder that's already overflowing
You can play any style of music and try to force it on others
Driving around town with the windows down

smoke
rings
in
the
breeze
spokes
upon
a
wheel