Saturday, December 26, 2020

A Walk in the World

A Walk in the World


I once took a walk in the woods
To learn what the world might teach me.
I roamed in nature’s neighborhoods
Where none ever heard of Nietzsche.

I listened to the songs of birds
‘Til I thought I caught their meaning.
From their chirps, tweets, and warbled words
The birds’ knowledge I started gleaning.

Then came chatters from the tree branch
As squirrels offered opinion;
Such cussing words to make me blanch,
Asserting it's their dominion.

A patrolling buck gave a huff,
And nesting duck an angry quack.
The porcupine was very gruff,
And the chipmunk just turned its back.

We might be welcome for a stroll,
But eavesdropping is not polite.
Quiet refresh is a worthy goal,
But do not Dolittle, alright?


Thursday, December 17, 2020

Ponytail for Christmas

Ponytail for Christmas

(tune: I'm Getting Nuttin' for Christmas)


I broke so bad all my habits
Corona’s gotten to me
I lived like cloistered abbots
Corona’s gotten to me
I hunkered down in my house
Just me and my patient spouse
Precaution let nothing us rouse
Corona’s gotten to me

     Oh, I’m getting a ponytail for Christmas
     My hair has grown way out to there
     I’m getting a ponytail for Christmas
     ‘Cause I haven’t seen a barber all year.

I sat all day in my easy chair
Corona’s gotten to me
Active as a sleeping bear
Corona’s gotten to me
I watched TV as in a trance,
Gave no risk the slightest chance,
Saw the world with a passing glance
Corona’s gotten to me

     Oh, I’m getting a ponytail for Christmas
     My hair has grown way out to there
     I’m getting a ponytail for Christmas
     ‘Cause I haven’t seen a barber all year.

I had no reason to groom
Corona’s gotten to me
When I never left the room
Corona’s gotten to me
But, wait, my wife is ready to flip
With scissors in hand to neatly clip
From my head my locks to strip
Corona’s gotten to me

     I’ll not get a ponytail for Christmas
     Nor wear my long hair in a bow
     I’ll not get a ponytail for Christmas
     ‘Cause my wife is my barber now.

Up On Your Rooftop

Up On Your Rooftop

(tune: Up on the Rooftop)

Up on your rooftop snowflakes fall
Piles up maybe two feet tall
Down it comes all day and night
All the weight overhead
Homeowners fright

Chorus
   Ho, ho, ho
   Who shouldn’t go
   Ho, ho, ho
   Who shouldn’t go
   Up on the rooftop
   Think, think, think
   Don’t slip off shingles like
   A skating rink

First comes the frostbite
In the wind
Oh, hot cocoa
Blood has thinned
Chilled to the bone
You start to shake
Muscles then rebel
And back to ache

Chorus
   Ho, ho, ho
   Who shouldn’t go
   Ho, ho, ho
   Who shouldn’t go
   Up on the rooftop
   Think, think, think
   Don’t slip off shingles like
   A skating rink

Next comes dizziness
In your head
Oh, uneven slope
Beneath your tread
Balance is challenged
As slowly you creep
It’s just one misstep
And down in a heap.

Chorus
   Ho, ho, ho
   Who shouldn’t go
   Ho, ho, ho
   Who shouldn’t go
   Up on the rooftop
   Think, think, think
   Don’t slip off shingles like
   A skating rink

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Trumpy the Conman

Trumpy the Conman

(tune: Frosty the Snowman)

Trumpy the conman
Was a dark and hateful soul
With a twisted lie and spit in your eye
And his heart made out of coal.

Trumpy the conman
Made his partners pay to play
And were they surprised when
Before their eyes
From their deals he walked away.

There must have been some power
In those mean tricks that he played
For reality warped in his head
As his own truths he made.

Trumpy the conman
Was bigly great so he thought
And his cronies bowed
And his foes were cowed
As all honesty he fought.

Trumpy the conman
Thought politics might pay well
So he said let’s run
But somehow he won
And started our descent to Hell

So down went all standards
He callously swept away
Rampaging here and there, everywhere,
Saying what can I wreck today?

He led us down just like a clown
To the very lowest places
And he never paused a moment when
He threw mud in our faces.

Trumpy the conman
Lost his reelection bid
But he won’t say goodbye
Saying I’ve lies to try
And don’t care what voters did.

Trumpy, trump, trump,
Trumpy, trump, trump,
Listen to Trumpy lie,
Trumpy, trump, trump
Trumpy, trump, trump,
I won’t miss that guy!

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Ding Dong! The Trump Has Lost

Ding Dong! The Trump Has Lost



Americans (at 51% of them):
   Ding Dong! The Trump has lost.
   Which old Trump? All the Trumps!
   Ding Dong! The MAGA Trump has lost.
   Wake up – clear your head, rub your eyes, he has lost.
   Wake up, the Mean Old Trump’s been tossed.
   He's gone, must leave the show, Off to Mar-a-lago.
   Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out.
   Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
   Let them know -- The Mean Old Trump has lost!
Pelosi (to Biden):
   As Speaker of the House, In the Country of the Land of US,
   I welcome you most regally.
Guiliani:
   But we've got to verify it legally, to see
Pelosi:
   To see?
Guiliani:
   If he
Pelosi:
   If he?
Guiliani:
   Has morally, ethically
Ellis:
   Spiritually, physically
Powell:
   Positively, absolutely
Americans:
   Undeniably and reliably Lost.
SCOTUS:
   As Supreme Arbitrator we must aver, we thoroughly
       examined this.
   And he has not only merely lost, he has really most
       sincerely lost.
Pelosi:
   Then this is a day of Independence
   For all the Americans (at least democrats)
Biden:
   If any.
Pelosi:
   Yes, let the joyous news be known
   The Nasty Old Trump at last is gone!

Sunday, December 6, 2020

Shopping Visit with COVID

Shopping Visit with COVID

Thanks to Clement Clarke Moore for the poetic bones


‘Twas a month before Christmas, we were stuck in the house,
Nobody out shopping, just me and my mouse;
The stockings were unstuffed, limp in their hooks,
In hopes that we could fill them from our PC notebooks.
The children were oblivious of the changes this year,
With heads full of excitement that Christmas was near.
But mamma with her wish list and I at my screen
Were settling down with a large pot of caffeine.

We fired up the laptop and started its browser,
Mamma the navigator and I the clicking mouser.
Up flew the windows full of treasures and trash,
All available for a few piles of our cash.
The glow from the laptop upon our faces
Added to the allure of the digital showcases.
I feared I would be an all-night web hopper,
When up popped an online personal shopper.

An animated avatar with a gleaming smile
Was eager to complete our shopping profile.
As rapid as bits and bytes of data could fly,
She compiled the info she needed to buy.
“Now Macy’s, now Ebay, now Target and Costco,
On Amazon, Etsy, and on The Home Depot.
Into the online cart! Onto your credit card!
Holiday shopping does not need to be hard.”

As snowflakes are entrancingly tossed on the breeze,
Costs mounded with taxes, shipping and handling fees.
So up to our credit limits, the purchases grew;
Gifts for children, parents, and the mailman, too.
With sounds of coins tinkling, I thought of my bank
And how quickly then my account balances sank.
As I shrugged and watched her continue to shop,
I wondered what on earth could make her stop.

She was drawn on my screen as small lively elf,
Resembling somewhat the imp on our shelf.
A clipboard of our data she held in her arm,
With sprinkles of glitter enhancing her charm.
Ages, sexes, sizes, and dietary restrictions
She spun together for purchase predictions.
She knew all the sites where to find the best deal,
And when she found one, she gave the cutest squeal.

Gladly, she auto-filled the forms for each order,
Arranging the best terms the site would accord her.
With a check off her list, she moved on to the next,
Confirming the details recorded in the specs.
She took such joy fulfilling each requested task
With so much verve, we clicked “yes” when she would ask.
A wink of her eye as I watched her fudge it,
Soon made me trust she would stay within our budget.

Without a pause, she did our whole shopping list,
Each gift bought, shipped, and electronically kissed.
She asked if there was more she could do today
And requested we complete the company’s survey.
We thanked her profusely and saw her pink blush,
And with other users waiting, she needed to rush.
As she faded from the screen, I thought I could hear,
“That was a blast! Let’s do it again next year!”

Friday, December 4, 2020

Dreaming of COVID Christmas

Dreaming of COVID Christmas

(tune: White Christmas)

I’m dreaming of COVID Christmas
Unlike any I’ve known before.
Where joy seems trying
And we’re all sighing
To rue changes we can’t ignore.

I’m dreaming of COVID Christmas
With every card I write tonight.
May your house be safe and airtight
And may you get this card alright.

I’m dreaming of COVID Christmas
Like I hope we’ll not have again.
We hope to see your smiles
When we can travel miles
To share a happy refrain.

I’m dreaming of COVID Christmas
As a bygone and faded memory.
May we get through this and be free
To gather around next year’s tree.

Monday, November 30, 2020

If You Take My Advice

If You Take My Advice


If you take my advice, stop listening now.
But if you will not, then pay attention.
Those who follow see the butt of a cow,
Heeding the bell without comprehension.

Advice, even when so kindly given,
Points a path that may be unsafe to tread.
Bad advice ignored might be forgiven,
But does not guess better what is ahead.

Good advice, for which you want most to seek,
Often sounds the same as any other.
Without thought, the odds to part them is bleak;
Should you always listen to your Mother?

Saturday, November 21, 2020

COVID Thanksgiving

COVID Thanksgiving

(tune: Over the River)

Over the wifi and through the net
To Grandmother’s house we go.
Let Zoom show the way
To stay safe today
And limit CO-VID’s flow.

Over the wifi and through the net
Oh, how the plague does lurk.
It rides on air
And goes anywhere
As precautions we shirk.

Over the wifi and through the net
Is how to safely play.
On camera smile
And chat a while.
Be safe on Zoomsgiving Day!

Sunday, November 15, 2020

Opposite of Tradition

Opposite of Tradition


Customs of our parents and those before,
Passed along to inform us what to do –
Traditions give us the knowledge of yore,
But what were these habits when they were new?

Thesaurus mostly list what they were not;
Un-accepted, un-orthodox, and such.
It is doing something you were not taught,
To free oneself, right or wrong, from past’s clutch.

How will our society judge the break
From the “tried and true” traditional norm?
Some future year may into custom take
What today kicks up a condemning storm.

Saturday, November 7, 2020

Trump Concession (?) Speech

Trump Concession (?) Speech

(tune: Leaving on a Jet Plane)

All the votes are cast
And I won bigly.
I’m standing here in my victory
I do not have to hate to say goodbye.
But the dawn is breaking
It’s the next morn
They’re still counting,
Margins being shorn.
Already I am so angry
I could sue.

So, stand by and cover me
Tell me that you’ll fight for me
Hold me like you’ll never let me go.
I ain’t leaving, you can’t make me,
Won’t go, I’ll be in charge, you’ll see.
Oh, no, I will not go.

There’s so many times you let me down
So many times you called me clown.
I tell you now, I don’t forget a thing.
Every place I go, I’ll get you back,
Every speech I make, you’ll get a smack,
Now I am back, you will kiss my ring.

So stop the count and bow down,
Tell me I will get the crown.
Hold me like you’ll never let me go.
I ain’t leaving, you can’t make me,
Won’t go, I’ll be in charge, you’ll see.
Oh, no, I will not go.

Votes are miscounted against me
All is stolen
You all miss me
Don’t close your eyes
As behind you, I crawl.
Dream of the years I gave us
When I alone could fix the muss
About the times when I ruled it all.

They did not stop, oh disaster,
Too little from the postmaster,
You didn’t hold me, you let me go.
I ain’t leaving, you can’t make me,
Won’t go, I’ll be in charge, you’ll see.
Oh, no, I will not go.

But they’re coming to drag me out
I go with kicking and a shout,
Oh, no, I will not go.

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Vesper Flight (& counterpoint)

Vesper Flight


Join with us now on our vesper flight,
To soar aloft to discerning height,
To rise above common earthbound sight,
To average each wrong to choose right.

If voters thought as a flock of birds,
And could perceive beyond the blitz of words,
And reconcile choices of jocks and nerds,
What decision would then lead our herds?

Perhaps that is indeed what we do,
To electively sort so much through,
To together sift from clue to clue,
To reinforce our social glue.

Thanks to Helen Macdonald for the inspiration

View From the Ground


All too often it is our sorry plight
That so many wrongs do not make it right.
No math we know works with even just two,
Yet seldom we stop at only a few.

A swing left evokes return to the right,
Past plumb center on its opposite flight;
No pause in the compromising middle,
A leap into fire from the hot griddle.

So why entrust our fate to public vote
And cede our opinions on which we dote?
When herd mentality leads to a cliff,
Won’t you prefer to follow your own riff?

Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Political Seesaw

Political Seesaw


I go down when you go up,
But I will rise again.
Now you play with your line-up --
I’ll seek to end your reign.

But when I’m up and you’re down
We will still play the game.
When my promises go aground,
You will take all the blame.

Sunday, October 18, 2020

More Carols for Halloween

Chilly Bones

(tune: Silver Bells)

Chilly bones, chilly bones,
It’s Halloween in the city.
Rattle-clack, hear them crack;
Tonight it is Halloween.

Spooky walkers, eerie stalkers
Dressed in festive costume.
In the streets there’s a horde of monsters.
Children begging, people paying
With candy to consume,
And with every house stop, parents feel:

Chilly bones, chilly bones,
It’s Halloween in the city.
Rattle-clack, hear them crack;
Tonight it is Halloween.

Bags of treasures, future pleasures,
Jiggling bits of candy
That the beggars rush home to indulge in.
Hear the leaves crunch, dreams of sweet lunch,
This is the kids’ big day,
And, as they head for home, parents feel:

Chilly bones, chilly bones,
It’s Halloween in the city.
Rattle-clack, hear them crack;
Tonight it is Halloween.



One-Ghost Haunted House

(tune: Jingle Bells)

Sneaking through the leaves
Past the one-ghost haunted house
Tiptoe-ing like thieves
Quiet as a mouse.
Winds howl in the trees
Waking up the ghost.
What fear and fright our hearts seize
Thinking what scares us most.

(Choris)
I dare you, I dare you,
Go up to that house.
I bet you won’t ring the bell
At the one-ghost haunted house.
I dare you, I dare you,
Go up to that house.
I bet you won’t ring the bell
At the one-ghost haunted house.

A day or two from now
It will be Halloween.
Soon past that house we’ll plow,
Hoping to stay unseen.
The house waits in the dark,
Mystery hides inside.
At the town’s spooky landmark,
Around it we go wide.

(Choris)
I dare you, I dare you,
Go up to that house.
I bet you won’t ring the bell
At the one-ghost haunted house.
I dare you, I dare you,
Go up to that house.
I bet you won’t ring the bell
At the one-ghost haunted house.

A day or two goes by,
We’re out to trick-or-treat,
Slip past it we will try,
That old house on the street.
But my little brother
Asked me why I am scared.
That brat is such a bother,
And this is what he dared.

(Choris)
I dare you, I dare you,
Go up to that house.
I bet you won’t ring the bell
At the one-ghost haunted house.
I dare you, I dare you,
Go up to that house.
I bet you won’t ring the bell
At the one-ghost haunted house.

Now none know what passed there
In the one-ghost haunted house.
I’m sure I do not dare
To see what the bell would rouse.
‘Though Little Brother taunts
I swear I’ll not go there
To see what in that house haunts
And gives us such a scare.

(Choris)
I dare you, I dare you,
Go up to that house.
I bet you won’t ring the bell
At the one-ghost haunted house.
I dare you, I dare you,
Go up to that house.
I bet you won’t ring the bell
At the one-ghost haunted house.



Eerie Wonderland

(tune: Sleigh Ride aka Winter Wonderland)

Doorbells ring, are you listening?
On the stoop, children are questing.
A frightening sight,
They’re haunting tonight,
Begging in an eerie wonderland.

Gone away their cute faces;
Masks are now in their places.
They call out their threat
If no treat they get,
Begging in an eerie wonderland.

In our homes, we could go into lockdown
And pretend that we are not inside.
They’ll ask, Got some candy?
We’ll make no sound,
But they'll keep ringing
Even if we hide.

Later on, we’ll peek out,
As we suppress our doubt,
To face unafraid
Small monsters on parade,
Begging in an eerie wonderland.

Just hear those doorbells ring-tingling,
Ring ting, tingle-ing more.
Come on, it’s the weird season
When we answer the entreating door.

Outside the children are calling
Out their insistent trick-or-treat,
Come on, it’s the weird season
To pay ransom with candy to eat.

In our homes, we could go into lockdown
And pretend that we are not inside.
They’ll ask, Got some candy?
We’ll make no sound,
But they'll keep ringing
Even if we hide.

Later on, we’ll peek out,
As we suppress our doubt
To face unafraid
Small monsters on parade,
Begging in an eerie wonderland.

To face unafraid
Small monsters on parade,
Begging in an eerie wonderland.


Howling Lycanthropes

(tune: Tumbling Tumbleweeds)

Hear their howling moan,
Sending chills down your backbone,
Moonlit, with fur they have grown,
Hunting for you are the howling lycanthropes.

Kids roam tonight ‘long the street,
Begging for a little treat.
Beware, werewolves need to eat,
Hunting for you are the howling lycanthropes.

I know when the sun goes down,
Trick-r-treaters out on the town.
When full moon the sky does crown,
There’ll be monsters all around;
Listen for that chilling sound.
Hunting for you are the howling lycanthropes.

I know when the sun goes down,
Trick-r-treaters out on the town,
When full moon the sky does crown,
There’ll be monsters all around;
Listen for that chilling sound.
Hunting for you are the howling lycanthropes.


Monday, September 28, 2020

Vaccines Are The Prez' Best Bet

Vaccines Are The Prez' Best Bet

(tune: Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend)

In Wuhan they may die for Mao –
They are very cunning, I say.
But here, so I have heard somewhere,
We prefer to go our own way.

A mask on your face
Is overtly cautionary,
But vaccines are the Prez’ best bet.
Masks are a disgrace
And look so ordinary.
They muss my fine hair
And dull the flare of ties I wear.

Sick grow cold
If they are old
And we all lose our lives in the end.
But reviewed or warp-speed
These shots are what I need.
Vaccines are the Prez’ best bet.

Pfizer
BioNTech
Moderna
‘Zeneca
Talk to me Misters Johnsons
Tell me all about it

There may come a time
When a Prez needs a lawyer,
Then pardons may be a good bet.
There may come a time
When enough angry voters
Think I’m not-so-hot,
But with the shot, then they will not.

I’m your guy
When stocks are high,
But pay no heed to growing debt.
When hardship arouses
And some lose their houses,
Vaccines are the Prez’ best bet.

I’ve heard of measures
That are safely science-based,
But a Prez needs to trust his guts
I can take pleasures
In those doctors I abased,
I know more so,
To end sorrow, give them chloro.

Time rolls on –
Many are gone
But all will vanish eventually.
But bad cold
Or bad flu
Vote for me or I will sue.
Vaccines are the Prez’ best bet.

Vaccines
Vaccines
I don’t mean lockdowns
‘Cause vaccines are the Prez’ best bet.

Sunday, July 19, 2020

Ode to Older Brother

Ode to Older Brother


Look out ahead, there goes Older Brother.
Blazing the trail before any other.
For us, we can follow on the same path.
But we cannot surpass his aging math.

First to be born and first to grow older,
First out the door, his steps seem much bolder.
When people ask, “Well, yes, he’s my brother” –
In his shadow of fame, here’s another.

To not be compared, we may try new ground;
In our own arena, our strengths are found.
To complement instead of to compete,
He led us to our own challenges to meet.

So, thanks, Brother, for your role in my life;
To beckon me on, to lessen my strife;
To clear a path, with more room to the side;
To set a pace, for me to find my stride.

Friday, July 3, 2020

Frozen in Time

Frozen in Time


Oh, woe to the statue frozen in time,
No way to answer now for a past crime.
Perhaps it was legal when you did live,
But by today’s laws, some will not forgive.

You, living citizen, may speak your mind –
Our rights are the same, you truly should find.
You may offend me, and perhaps enrage,
But if so, no gripe, if I too engage.

Majority may rule, but not suppress
Ideals of others they need to express.
You need not replace my ideas with yours –
We should resolve this without starting wars.

History of conquest is that of crime –
Both winners and losers harmed for all time.
Bloodied by evils never to erase;
Peace halts the action, but not the disgrace.

And later they may try to reconcile,
After years and regrets build a sorry pile.
Victors offer losers some platitudes
And ask both to change their old attitudes.
.
They ask to be forgiven their success
And past mutual vengeance to excess.
Let bygones be gone and go on from here –
May not be what the others want to hear.

I have seen statues, silent in the park,
With no idea of their long deceased spark.
Perhaps a plaque to tell me their name,
Maybe a few words about their past fame.

I have never seen their worst faults proclaimed;
Virtues are extolled and vices left unnamed.
But if you know enough of history,
You can launch into angry sophistry.

You may argue with that cold block of stone,
But it will not answer, never atone.
It is not a he (or she) anymore,
Just an expression, inert on the floor.

That’s right, it is an idea, just not your own –
You may object and request to dethrone.
But tolerance of your thought and ideal
Arise from your caring how others feel.

If you strike out with angry destruction,
Some understand frustration’s seduction.
But the mob’s cheer isn’t the vote of support
To persuade in public opinion’s court.

So, let’s you and I talk and decide this
And leave the statues in their uncaring bliss.
We might forgive what we may not forget,
And reform a future, with the past set.

Sunday, May 31, 2020

Deadly Farce

Deadly Farce


He would rather be wrong than uncertain
As he leads us through future’s dark curtain.
So he practices wanton imperfections
Loudly broadcasting his misperceptions.

Some say he is an obsessive liar,
Cannot speak truth even with pants on fire.
He allows no facts to cloud his vision,
He gets it wrong with pinpoint precision.

And yet some still cheer, “He has spit and spunk.
We do not care if he spews so much junk.”
They too see everything as so wrong –
They are so angry they will go along.

Perhaps it might be treated as a joke --
Roll with the laughs (and ire) his words provoke.
Do not drink bleach or pop unproven drugs –
Ignore the nonsense with dismissive shrugs.

But when his words make America grate
And when lives are lost and risks elevate –
It is hard to laugh at or ignore it –
What he breaks – will we ever restore it?

Sunday, May 17, 2020

The Unbelieving Optimist

The Unbelieving Optimist


When you look through uncertain haze,
Is it pessi- or opti- mist?
What will come in the future days –
Things to be wished or to resist?

I tend to think all will work out,
With problems I can overcome.
But in gut feelings, I have doubt
And fear things may turn much more glum.

Should I believe what logic tells
Or let emotions have a vote?
Do not ignore the warning bells,
But worry not ‘til their first note.

Monday, May 11, 2020

Masks for the Masses

Masks for the Masses


It’s not that I would not like to see
Their many faces smiling back at me.
But until this current crisis passes
I will be making masks for the masses.

Plucked down at my handy sewing machine,
I sew the masks to ease the quarantine,
To help us all go outside safe behind
A simple mask, each with its own design.

So, when I pass you on the street someday,
‘Though I will be at least six feet away,
You can know even when nobody asks,
I am happy you have one of my masks.


Dedicated to my sister, Amy, the mass mask maker

Her reply:
There’s a woman in our community
Who sews every day inscrutably
Obsessed with the task
Of making face mask 
To help with Covid immunity.

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Xenotopia

Xenotopia


In the place with no two things the same –
Xenotopia may be the name –
Live many people from far and near,
Although not even one is from here.

You will wake each morning to new sights –
You decide if they’re frights or delights.
Nowhere you will find old friend or foe;
None can guess where overnight they go.

No sense of balance there to be found –
No well-known anchor on which to ground –
All points of reference are too dull
To catch on a bias in your skull.

Without a knowledge of commonplace –
No luxury of old thoughts to trace –
You must learn everyday anew;
You think that is something you could do?

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

COVID-19 Soliloquy

COVID-19 Soliloquy


To mask or not to mask – Is that the question?
Whether ‘tis nobler in public to suffer
The inconvenience of government orders,
Or to bare face before a sea of people,
And by opposing risk them: to die, to weep;
No care; and by this act to say we end
The sacrifice and thousand irksome pangs
That we were subject to? ‘Tis rebellion
Selfishly to be wished. To endanger,
Perchance to kill; aye, there’s the rub,
For in pain of others, what guilt may come,
If they shuffled off this mortal coil,
Should give us pause. Is there respect
That makes sacred and dear all human life?
For who would demand their whims and comfort,
Their vanity’s relief, their free man’s choice,
The encouragement of a stranger’s smile,
The religious shelter of their beliefs
That neglects other unblessed heathens,
When they themselves might our safety protect
With mere cloth mask? Who not the burden bear,
To care and think beyond their selfish want,
But that the fear of endless quarantine,
The undetermined future, chafes kindness
To its most slender and close dimensions,
And focus on the more immediate
Than feel for others that we know not of.
Thus unease slightly loosened begs for more,
And the strength of our forced resolution
Is weakened by the thought of its return,
And social efforts of import and merit,
With this failure, their purpose goes awry,
And lose the rank of hero. Lo, watch out,
Here are the police. Cop, in your handcuffs,
Be all my breath exhaled.

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Coded Message

Coded Message


There are those who write code
To make instructions clear.
Others’ messages are slowed,
Crypted in wording queer.

I have written in both
With varying success.
Computers fine in troth,
But people in distress.

Knowing what to explain
May help my clarity
And tell my roving brain,
“Combat perversity.”

But rarely I set out
When scribbling in verse
Knowing what I will spout –
By rule, rhyme drives the hearse.

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Occam's Electric Shaver

Occam's Electric Shaver


Well, that seems simple enough, I have heard,
Quite elegantly said and maybe true.
But, in mystery, I like some absurd
To consider with the obvious clue.

What remains with all fantasy trimmed off
Is an imagination held in chains.
Scandal of naked truth should make one scoff
At the lack of challenge to idle brains.

Twist my path and lead me further astray
As I explore my wide world of wonders.
A simple game may be easy to play,
But I might learn much more from my blunders.

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Sliding Down the Rainbow

Sliding Down the Rainbow


It takes both rain and sun to form
A rainbow across the grey sky.
You must wait through the soaking storm --
Then it's gone ere the ground is dry.

Seize the moment while it is here,
Though not the most convenient time.
Too soon chances will disappear,
Not again your doorbell to chime.

Sunday, April 12, 2020

The Lonely Rabbit

The Lonely Rabbit


The lonely rabbit sits in his hutch
Wishing to go out for work or fun.
It is so long since he’s been in touch
With family or friends or anyone.

He had plans for this upcoming spring –
Many places to go and things to do.
With treats, baskets, and presents to bring
To hide in nooks where nobody knew.

And now he’s told to stay at home,
As a non-essential worker.
No more allowed streets nor fields to roam,
He feels that he is such a shirker.