I sometimes live life as monk
In solo solitary reflection

Put yourself in public and
Your past can parade by

A surfeit of friendships
Stopped to chat today

As I labored to finish a fence
Something there is that loves it

A confluence of friendship
With a past that is now

Reminds me of a child’s rhyme :
“One is silver but the other’s gold”

Amy ant ambled but
Bobby baboon bounced ‘cuz
Cathy cat caterwauled as
Dougie dog dawdled then
Ellie eel embarked while
Freddie falcon flew–
Gerald grasshopper gamboled and
Harold J. Harold hare hopped!
Izzy iguana immigrated.
Jessie June bug jumped when
Katie kangaroo kicked-it with
Larry lizard leaping left because
Moe marmoset merely meandered.
Norbert numbat just sat.
Ophelia oyster oozed while
Peter penguin paddled and
Quinton quail quivered but
Rosy raccoon ran 'cuz
Sasha salamander sashayed!
Tariq turtle tumbled as
Uooley urchin ushered
Vinny the vulture to visit
Wally walrus who waddled with
Xander xerus through the xystux;
Yasha yak yacked it up to
Zooey zebra who zipped it to:

The All-Species-Day-Parade!
And EVERY ALL had tons of fun!

Once, a
Pangolin
Met a
Penguin
North or
South of
The Equator
You’re bird?
You’re mammal?
You’re funny!
You make me smile!
One waddled away
One rolled away
North or
South of
The Equator

THE END

FAKE NEWS is not new;
Fantabulism populism:

SHRIMP, BOY!
Mind the clause!

BEARDED PERSON!
Absolutely Ordinary!

ZIPPY THE PINHEAD:
Are we having fun yet?!

Scapegoating 101
Always wrong

Feeling good by
Blaming someone

Nice for you
Justice for no one

I slipped gears
No drive
No jive

It’s good though
Just chill
Be still

Watch grass grow
Paint dry
Be wry

LIBERTY:
freedom from arbitrary or despotic government or control.
—dictionary.com

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses
Yearning to breathe free,”

(But not your children;
They’re coming with me)
Not free.

"The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless,
Tempest-tossed to me,”

Then what?
Toss back to sea? Fate
Worse than Walmart?

What have we become?
…?!?
Who do we want to be?

HE: do you want huevos rancheros?

SHE: we don’t have tortillas

HE: no problem; we have tricolored tortilla strips!

SHE: we don’t have salsa

HE: no problem; we have cherry tomatoes. We have onion. Half an avocado

SHE: we actually have fresh cilantro

HE: we have salsa!

SHE: fresh eggs of course

HE: thanks, girls

SHE: beans?

HE: yes! Left over from February; when I turned 60. Thank you, freezer

(Half hour later)

THEM: those huevos: yum!

Creepy dolly thingies like
Chunky Chucky upchucks

Melody box ballerinas
Mesmerizing, hypnotizing

Rat-a-tat-tats splatter spats
To the music of sax and violins

Little ******’s pursing lips
Seducing the sinner in me

Or ending it all at the end of
The barrel of a long, ferric gun

A thought thought
Is then thunk

Good idea! But
Think and drink

Too much thought
Thunk drunk

Might really stink
Reconsider, sir

Not under boss of anyone
Soon that will be me

Freedom from everyone
But my spousely vows

Freedom is just another word
For third world adventures

I’m a mouth
With a sphincter

Stuff comes in
**** goes out

Words out:
Sometimes witty

Unfortunately sometimes
Fraught with farts

I mean, I don’t
Want to be mean

Sometimes,
**** needs to be said

Constipated comments
Contribute nothing

Di Niro’s dump:
“**** Trump!”

Not: "Down with…” but
“**** Trump!”

This food tube agrees
Wait. Gotta take a dump.

Darling, I sit poised
In interregnum

Good for me?
We’ll see

Spaces between
Serves reflection

What an *******!
Tug of war with credit card?
Accosting probable provost?
“Don’t ******* a yeti!”

Three decades in
Day out, day in
Doing my job well enough
I must tread lightly

(I want to SHOUT!
Throw a shoe at the speaker;
Wear purple [or a big] hat
Maybe a big purple hat!)

No. Slow down. Head down.
Know your place
Just one more year
Then the world: my oyster.

(BTW: I hate oysters
Allergic to shellfish…then…
“Shnick!” Take my helmet off;
Finally free of toxic environment!)

Just watched last interview
With A. B. with love and disdain

Smart guy, funny guy, vain
Vanity is earned; he did that

He grew as a humanist
Absolutely a humorist

My cooking confidential:
Be on time. Be organized.

Be forceful but kind
Clean your wheel quickly

Restaurants taught me much
Travel taught me more

And Anthony, you SOB
Your lessons will stay with me


https://m.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=vUEFdWAKpf0

I am so happy sad
I could explode
Like unexplained
Unexpected
Unknown ordinance
In Laos

The way out
Is to go
Not there again
But over there when
Out of comfort zone

Meet and greet
Eat what is
Reciprocate smiles
Miles from home

When I retire
I will follow my cats
I will go where they go
Their shadow
Inside, outside
Upstairs, downstairs
On the bed, on a rug,
Special: freshly folded
Warm laundry basket
While away the hours
Naps? Yes please.
When I retire.

Yesterday, the day before
And of course, today
Temperatures markedly different

First, no solace
No place of peace
Hiding in strange places

Second, remorse
I behaved badly
During third incident

Third: incident
3 X recently
Feeling quite differently

Anxious dread?
Too much caffeine?
Electrolytes?

I’ll figure it out
By doing and being
Which involves accepting

Yesterday, I was not a nice person
An entire episode of that

Apologies being crafted
Strategies hopefully drafted

A. Bourdain?
It was a trigger

Why I love travel
My best times with you

Showed us everywhere
Bonds we all share

Crass, adorable, unlikeable
(Self reflection there)

I didn’t suffer loss well
A man behaving badly

I was awful to my travel companion
No excuses; apology?

I know when to post
And fortunately not to
What’s next is surprise

Mr. B;
Tony,
Anthony—

Why?
The hard part:
Unknown.

I’m angry
Mr. B
Stories untold

Every moment
We can be a hero
Not without risk
Fraught with risk

But to be a hero
To do the right thing
To care about something
Without risk of reward

Every moment we choose
Nothing or everything
Toss the dice, win or lose
Toss the dice—

The drone’s angle
Cauliflower green

Obligatory overhead
Forest scene seen

Filming automated
Droids watching as

Camera slides, smoothly
Overhead drama meme

Copter tracking
Story told between

I’m thinking about here now
Being then when rescinds

Present becomes
Future past

Pondering what
Begins

Love, love, love
It’s that simple

There is only one ingredient
Do I have to say it?

Love, love, love:
Lil’ Draculina to baby

Ms. Black back from
Outside to in

Fred into
Well, Fred

Buddy boy served it up;
We got “Love, love, love!”

I try to live it:
Goodness not godless

It bears repeating:
Love, love, love.

Problem ****
Floats right there
Odious, obvious

Truth was it was
Hard to push out
Complexity compacted

Elephant in the room
Restrained stain
Stirred words

From the land of fog
We drive through big island vog
The hot breath of Smaug

Pele's hair falls, tears drop
Seething red rage
Shoots high to sky
Black earth roils

Sign of end times?
History fissures?
50th ****** at 45th?
Or just fiery creation?

I saw from the sky
Dragon’s sulfur breath
Shoot two hundred high from
Black cheeks through cracked teeth

What a time to be on the big island
And witness such destructive creation
True wonder,  true jeopardy
Nature fierce in its orange display

I am right
With the world

If it all ends tomorrow
No sorrow…

I am right with the world
Here, now.

I kind of know
What I don’t know

What to show
And not show

Unwritten rules
Hidden jewels

Need that eight?
Make a straight?

Hand dealt to me
Reality

My big brother just
Called out of the blue as

Sun shown through a
Week-long grey mist and

I love the feel of blue skies but
brotherly love—far more important

I might be seen as godless but
We both believe in goodness

It’s my job to grade them
Tough ****, that
Praising one young person
And another their ****-up.

I love heaping praise not
Conveying bad news
Blackboard, fingernails, chalk
One more year and I walk

What a job!
Hearing young ones talk
Then the first stanza
Judgement.

I want there to be a last stanza:
Did I help you? Did you learn?
It is a sincere concern as I
Vacate my accidental career

rye fphitter waht two…
What?

myie whust cheich punum
What?!

tessha bidda fikum…
I CAN’T HEAR YOU!

Ok I’ll kreshit bid it dit
What?! I’m

Honey, I can’t hear you…
Could you please speak up?

Yes!
mmimble schumble com

I thought it tomorrow
Awaking from nap

But it was yesterday
A chance for another play…

Safe? Everything again?
Hold the door a little longer?

Who might come through?
What might I left unsaid?

Or have done
And won?

A day off
Stillness declared
I’m not in right now
But I’m home

Leave a message:
Bweeeeeep!
May or may not
Return your call

The dew rises
Sublimation
Water to vapor
Metal to rust

There is a time to acquire
A time to retire
A time to release
I hope I’ll know to

Let it go;
Exhale
Sigh
Slow

Thank you,
Black Lives Matter

Thank you
#MeToo

Thank you
Justice for Josiah

Sister Fatima

Sojourner Truth

Tina Fey

MLK

LBJ

Pete Seeger

Malcolm X

Thank you all, you
Supersheros and heroes
Of social justice

My white privileged
Pimply *** is better
Due to you

I’ll do what I can
In words and deeds
To thank you

The hummer hovers at
Giant’s window
Because it tastes good

The cat cradles
Twixt giant’s legs
Because it feels good

The dog’s faux pas of
Nose in giant’s **** is
Because it smells good:

Animal instincts on
Doing what seems right
Teaches us to trust

Off course
By thirteen degrees west
Level the mainsail

Apology correction
Eight degrees right
Agree to digress

**** shouting
In a **** storm where
Nothing is heard

Wave spray intense
It’s nonsense
Useless direction

Sometimes this world is
Devastatingly beautiful
Puffy whales
Swim in azure sky

Tabby tiger turns and
Enters spotlight shaft
Rectangular stage, an
Orange explosion

Hummingbird swoops
Thrumming through spring
Arc de Triomphe
On a nectar vector

A rhody in full bloom
Another just past shy
A debutante ball
In red and pink and lavender

Brave men bonding
While mending
And tending
To truth-telling

Tears welling
Laughter bubbling
Working, cooking, eating
Together

Beyond story
This work we do
In the crucible circle
Authoring integrity

It’s still spring…
With a hint of summer
Guess I’ll call it Sprummer

Actual opposite of ******
This seasonal fecund trend
The great greening of the world

Blossoms still coming with some already gone
Trees leafing fully with some still nascent
Every abundant hue of green in view

Festival of chirping; birds flirting
Copious coos of doves in love
Swooshing thrums of the hummers

Morning rain
After noon sun
Evening pending

Axis tilt-a-whorl
Wobbly earthiness
Glorious, wonderful transition!

Welcome, SPRUMMER!

Every micro-gression
Drips into the
Bucket / depression

***** girded
Lines drawn; it’s
****-show WWD again

As you sink into it
Mine your mettle
Find your spine

Remember:
WWD is cyclical
Even when biblical

Lost in space
Is a crucible
Inconsequential sloughed
Tested mettle

Lost in place
Reproducible
Insatiable urges scoffed
Regrettable

Hiding place
Reprehensible
Excuses always one-offed
Still, fixable

Saving face
Commendable
Excruciatingly tough
Be flexible

I’m NOT writing this poem
Though I FEEL it and NEED it

It’s something I HAVE to say
But you WILL take it wrong

(It will HELP ME
But it will HURT YOU)

Words of such tremendous power
Leaves this poem unwritten

I want something
I feel it deep in my bones
I feel it sometimes
I think it sometimes
A hunger, a longing

Akin to anxious
An unknown known
A dispersed urge
It’s important
In concealment

Just past dusk
A whisper before dawn
It’s under my skin
Something I should do
Begin what when?

it’s inevitable
what came before
was

I saw it a million
minutes previous
when

never happens again
but is there then
now

Take a day off
Stay in your bathrobe
Watch a movie

It’s a rainy day
Perfect for a vacay-stay
Let’s make some Cinnamon rolls…

There’s a low below WWD
A kind of neutrality
How low can you go?
Lower than flow

Quiet

Breathless

Present

Still

But…
We go as we go

Lost in place, a
Childhood displace
To TV infinity and beyond
Past Jupiter, too

Series recreation
With post-modernist twists:
Lost in a marriage carriage
Family dysfunctional launches—

Mom Maureen resolute
PTSD dad always mad
Danger ranger Will creative
Penny dreadful has her thoughts of

Sister “Judy, Judy, Judy!”
Reimagined, toughened
Age stage softened
Sibling competition

From the abyss, Dr. Smith
Zachary fakery; survival snake
Blending genders
Misogynistic Smith transforms

Less family than familiars
Enter on spot alien Robot
Alien. Robot. Friend, “Will Robinson“
With algorithm compunctions

And the rest?
Wait for West
His function?
He saves the chicken

Or does the chicken
Save him?