Thursday, January 31, 2008

The Eagle is Tired


This old bird is looking mighty frazzled,
Talons worn down from too many tangles;
Proud, dominant form that once could dazzle,
Needing all of the monetary help it can wangle.

Hundreds of billions owed around the world,
Peoples' futures squandered on fruitless wars;
When latest peace initiative were unfurled,
Our own mistakes, failures were abhorred.

When those smiling, confident Republicans parade,
Across public stages and places in front of cameras;
Remember, they launched these financial charades,
Bankrupting the country with these terror chimeras.

Please, vote for Change this year in the White House,
Before our tired old eagle is reduced to a sick mouse!


I have this feeling that B. Obama will take the nomination - he
definitely will get my vote, a vote for Change!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Surprises in the race


John Edwards dropped out of the race,
Deciding to yield to history's blaze;
Now it is down to just two faces,
Which candidate will his delegates raise?

John McCain sweeps to victory again,
Becoming front-runner, winning key state;
Mitt Romney drops to second, losing early gains,
It is obvious who may head Republican slate.

Guliani dropped out, throwing support to mcCain,
Edwards telling his supporters to keep fighting;
Remaining campaigners straining to lay claim,
To a job that, to me, would be frightening!

Super Tuesday is coming, make or break time.
Lucky two will win, a victory sublime.
With a thousand delegates in the pocket,
Their campaign will take off like a rocket.


Wonder who will face the former POW, the A-A or the Woman?

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Clobbered by weather

Enjoyed the balmy January day,
Highs in the fifties, a sweet surprise;
The next day, clobbered in a nasty way,
Bitter cold temps descended by sunrise!

Walking into work, one day enjoyable,
Tortuous the next, the cold wind biting;
Ventured out later, weather was horrible,
A fifty-degree temp drop can be frightening.

No matter how joyful one's state of mind,
Nor how optimistic an attittued feels --
Bitter cold, blowing snow renders one blind,
Outdoors spreading icemelt robs job appeal!

Wild weather gyrations increasing winter frustrations,
Want to flee, escape these climactic perturbations!

Monday, January 28, 2008

Traffic woes

What will I face driving home today?
Cellphone yakker pulling out without looking?
Wait, is that a train blocking my way,
Potholes jarring my car, prompting swearing.

Brain feeling tired, eyelids feeling heavy,
Not easy paying attention when feeling drowsy --
Despite tailgaters pushing, trying to keep steady,
Those slowpokes ahead are the ones driving lousy!

Yet alternatives exist to all of this aggravation,
Riding a metro transit bus is one possibility;
A scooter can be fair-weather transportation,
Conserving gas, cutting pollution all a responsibility.

Any way you slice it, it is not easy to get around;
I need to find alternative ways to get into town.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

South Carolina

Hillary Clintons' latest politics,
Have an unsettling amount of dirty tricks;
John Edwards' relentless attacks,
Cannot seemingly prevent his falling back --
Seems like only Barack Obama,
Stirred them up in South Carolina.

A new, different, minority President,
May indeed indicate popular sentiments!
If so, then godspeed, Mr. future president,
Hope you can get us out of our economic predicament.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Accellerate learning!

A Fiery-eyed young entrepeneur,
Product of the staid American Midwest;
Boldly launches his venture, seizing the future,
Helping area youths become their mental best.

A new approach to brain improvement,
Raising peoples' I.Q. with personal trainers;
Students can reach new levels of achievement,
Maybe could help Iowa restrain a brain drain.

These optimistic youthful risk-takers,
Skip competitive brawls by leaping ahead;
Old benchmarks shattered by new standard makers,
Re-firing an economy that looked nearly dead.
The higher power must really be feeling beneficent,
Geniuses helping us escape our economic predicament.
-
-
Poem sparked by article in the Des Moines Register about an
entrepeneur and his new venture, called LearningRX .
http://icanhascheezburger.com/


This website has loads of cute animal pics.

Some harmless fun on a Saturday morning *grin*

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Just watched the national news today, and some hilarious events prompted this sonnet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another day in the Presidential campaign

The wild campaign circus is under way,
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton trading charges;
Hillary needs to find out how to hold Bill at bay,
His sound bites, and star power, looming a bit too large.
-
Dennis Kucinich decided to transit out of the race,
Mike Huckabee finds himself sliding to third place;
Repubs hoping McCain can occupy White House space,
Guliani and Edwards struggling just to keep up the pace.
-
Whether betting it all, or transiting out,
Sicking Rambo on Walker, Texas Ranger --
The remaining contenders are all hoping for a rout,
I don't think I've seen an election year stranger...
-
Whomever manages to be the last candidate standing,
Had better help our US economy make a soft landing!



-----We can only hope----------

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Lets just skip it.

United States is spending more and more on defense,
Paying for wars and revamping old technology;
China and Russia building up arms in reaction to Us,
We in turn react and build up even more.
-
Wait, I have an idea: Lets skip it.
Lets just skip the inevitable world war.
How about if we do something different this time around.
Try international peace on for size.
Look at all the advantages of skipping another world brawl:
We can jump ahead to new scientific advances,
We could skip right to surging economic recoveries,
Consumers revamping their whole households.
No war reparations need be charged or paid.
No giant reconstruction projeccts for the losers.
Because there would be no baby boom,
Like there have been after other wars,
We would be keeping the population under control.
-
I know it is a radical concept, but
we should all wage peace upon one another!
Join in united efforts to wipe out disease and hunger,
Colonize the Solar system,
Develop new sources of clean energy,
Save our fragile spaceship Earth from global warming destruction.
But we'll probably do the same old stupid things we have always done --

(We never seem to learn. *sigh*)

Just this once, I wish we would try peace instead.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

John Lennon

Was he more popular than Jesus?
In his heyday he was red-hot,
Was sure tragic he had to leave us,
His last released album really hit the spot.

Starting out as one mophead among four,
Put in his years of hard, grueling touring;
Skillful and unique songwriting came to the fore,
Knocked American groups from top 40 moorings!

As the Sixties progressed, the hits kept coming.
Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts;
Lennons' creativity had the longhaired fans really loving,
Everything the Beatles produced, until they split apart.
John, with his unique voice, was the 60's utimate freak --
His music and activism helped our culture really peak!

Writtten for John Lennon contest on Allpoetry.com

-
Up Your Attitude

My ancestors were enslaved by white people,
They gave everything to this bigoted nation --
Three hundred years of abusing black people,
Our human rights were on a permanent vacation.
-
So now I ask, 'why should I work?'
'Why sweat it, why give a damn, I don't care' --
'Aint gonna prop up a country for any white jerks!'
'Think I'll chuck it all, live on permanent welfare.'
-
But the time for retribution is now long past,
Dr. King would have us working in harmony,
If this multicutural nation is ever to last,
We, all races, need to pull together, in unity --
Selfish, angry, lazy attitudes will lead us to anarchy.
We must rise, rise above our hatreds, work for universal prosperity!

- written in honor of the principles and memory of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

En memoriam - Bobby Fischer

64 years, one for each square --
Time advancing more stealthily than enemy pawn;
No more hostile press stares,
Last great match played on heavens lawn?
-
Eccentric, yet brilliant to the core,
Defeating all comers with aggresive attacks;
His international matches were never a bore,
Took out grandmaster after making comeback.
-
For a moment in time he was the king,
Travelling the world, mental games' hero;
Not sure why, afterwards, he didn't do a thing,
Post-victory chessplay reduced to near-zero.
His attainment of chess highest honor no mystery,
Will always be remembered throughout history.


(A Sonnet to honor a great chessplayer. It is a shame he had to become so embittered in later years. He lived 64 years, one for each square of the chessboard - ironic)

Friday, January 18, 2008

Rare Winter Treat


Brutal Mother Nature doing her worst,
Numbing cold, heaping snow, howling wind;
Just when we recover, we get another burst,
Wintertime, we're really taking it on the chin.

Deep-frozen mornings, trying to start the car,
Brushing off and scraping windows if it does;
Spinning, sliding and fishtailing, near and far,
Winter commuting as bad as it ever was.

Yet same cruel dame put on a show today,
Bright morning sunshine illuminated ice --
Numerous twinkling flashes, crystals at play
Fluttering outside windows, looking quite nice.

Benumbed, cold-weary soul today got reprieve,
Brilliant sparkling show gave hungry eyes relief!



1-18-2008

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

The ending that wasn't
-
Was telling a friend the other day,
Relating a dark yet funny movie,
The ending went a certain way,
Bad guy was stopped in his tracks.
Surprised when my version was disputed,
Alternate ending was verbally conveyed.
Then I saw the movie again,
Discovered my erroneous memory firsthand.
-
-
Why did I remember this and not that?
Brought home the need to check and verify,
Now I can no longer trust my memory,
Capricious and intermittent in its ways.
Beginning long downward trek to Alzheimers?
Or is this is just middle-aged Sometimers?
-
-
More and more information pours over me,
Via books, email, Internet, movies...
If I can hold onto less and less,
The need to be selective is great!
-

What was your name again?


- gold trophy winner on Allpoetry.com a couple weeks ago, thought I'd share it.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Wrong Place, Wrong Time
-

Turning onto Dean Avenue,
Tired from work, ready for bed;
Suddenly bright flashing clouded my view,
Spinning lights, reflecting blue and red.
-

Police car! I pull over and stop,
Turn signal on, roll window down;
Hand license over to a polite cop,
"A store just got robbed in this part of town!"
-

"You are in the wrong place at the wrong time,"
I was informed solemnly,
"We don't think you did this crime."
But my car was still searched, thoroughly.
-
No contraband found in my little black car,
So I was set free from inside the squad car!
I hope they catch those robbing crooks,
And let us black coupe drivers off the hook!
-

Very tongue-in-cheek, but it was an interesting experience:-)
(heck, it inspired a poem.)

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Blame Star Wars
-
-
First time I saw it I was only 19.
The lightsabers, the color, the technology.
The Force. Ahh, the Force.
All so magical, so different from what came before it.
I was captivated.
-
Over ensuing years, I moved, changed jobs.
Fell in and out of love.
Became poor, became well off, became poor again.
Lukasfilms would release another gem every so often.
Enthralled once again, I retuned to that wondrous
Magical oh so convenient-tech Star Wars universe.
Robots did your bidding unasked,
Doors glided open with compliant hisses.
Antigravity conveyances were everywhere.
-

Leaving the theater, faced with ugly 20th century reality.
It was never the same.
I always had to eat, urinate, defecate or have sex.
I always was afraid, or cocky, or misreading someones' intentions
I would misinterpret, or be paranoid, or a host of other frailities.
I _was_ a stranger to The Force. Still am, for that matter.
-

Did Star Wars and all its sequels ruin me?
Can I blame failure to achieve financial orbit on Vader, the Wookies, the Jedi?
Was I misled into thinking that everything could be solved
By a swish of a lightsaber, or a leap, or a well-placed kick?
That is why I'm now 50, broke, tired and facing bleak career.
It is all the Bounty Hunters' fault - he had a rocket pack.
All I have is bowel gasses, and then not always that.
-

Maybe if I had watched Little House on the Prairie more...?

Saturday, January 12, 2008


My Sweetheart today
.
.
.
.
.

Snick
.

She is poetry in motion,
A song that grooms itself.
Tufts of fur sticking out every which way,
Color and shape dependent on how she catches light.
.

Compact container of multitudinous meows,
Perpetual noise machine that follows me.
I begrudge her soft cat food,
She begrudges me affection --
We seem to tolerate each other pretty well.
.

My little sonnet with flickering tail,
Daddy has another treat for you today --
Come land on my lap, you short story with claws,
We'll entertain one another warmly this January day.
.
.

Friday, January 11, 2008

*disclaimer* The following post in no way intends to be a true prediction or description of the Jerry Springer show or any of it's principals, owners, assignees, etc, etc. it is only presented as a humorous observation of our society today and in the future. *end of disclaimer*

Jerry Springer 2008
-
A juggler hovers on side of the stage,
Spinning plates, balancing on a ball, and juggling pins.
A midget with no legs walks around the stage on the palms of his hands.
Sometimes smiling, sometimes grim, he leans on a guest;
Tugs at their pant leg, smiling - audience laughs.
Guests recount relationship problems;
Other guests are brought on, and the fighting begins.
Girls and girls, guys and guys, girls and guys -
Wildly swinging, flailing away, ripping off clothing.
Sound effects include a 'dinging' like at boxing matches;
Pulling hair, calling names, punching at each other.
Audience shouts instructions, like "pull up your shirt!"
Girls (and guys) pull up their shirts, showing breasts.
Sometimes, a guy shows off his thong - and then flashes the audience.
Showing everything. Raunchy - but at the end, all are smiling, and no blood is drawn.
-
-
Jerry Springer 2012
-
-
A knife-thrower plys their trade just offstage.
Guests come at each other, screaming, punching, pulling hair.
Hard contact can be heard as punches land home.
Security makes little effort to separate them.
At end of each segment, one or both of the guests is bloodied.
Security wears headguards.
Guests show everything, taking off clothing at a whim,
Egging audience on as audience hoots, in some cases stripping too.
Some fight naked, and get cuts and bruises.
Fights break out in the audience.
There is occasional urinating or defecating on stage.
Animals are brought out on occasion.
-
-
Jerry Springer 2020
-
-
There is a medic on scene.
Jerry is showing his age, has an apprentice helping him.
Guests begin tamely enough, then produce weapons and attack each other.
Knives, clubs, sticks, whatever. But no guns.
Soon they are beating the tar out of each other, and smacking security on occasion.
Blood is everywhere. At the end of a segment, more often than not, someone is Carried off stage. More aggresive animals, like pit bulls, are held offstage, Sometimes allowed to bite the fighters. Fights break out in the audience also.
Tallies of broken bones and injuries are shown on the show.
-
-
Jerry Springer 2025 - end
-
-
Jerry allows small guns and machetes; then, shortly is shot in a "freak accident."
Body count is tallied at end of each show.
Guests have gunfights in an enlarged stage.
Sometimes the audience is shot, or fires back, or fires on each other.
Blood is everywhere, carnage rampant.
The show runs one more year, then is cancelled.
They could not get any more "guests", or audience members, to visit the show.
Trailer parks nationwide saw a significant decrease in population.
-
-2025 or thereabouts
-
-
Soon, "Springer parties" began occuring before and after sporting events.
Groups in the crowd would produce knives, clubs, machetes, small weapons of every description. They would riot and maul each other until exhausted, or beated senseless, injured too severely, or in some rare cases, separated by a well-armed and armored security force. Welcome to the new Rome. Killing the new national pastime, Springermania took over the United States. And the rest, as the say, is history...

*big grin here*

Wednesday, January 09, 2008


-
-
- ICEBALLS
-
-
-
-


Grey, ugly-looking fierce thing,
Just dropped off a passing car;
Rolled edgeward, sides glittering,
Impregnated with dirt and tar.
-
How strong it is to roll this far,
Kicking it renders toe a numbing blow;
Facets of white reflections marred,
Streetlights still making it glow.
-
As long as winters' subzero remains,
This tough surviver will linger;
Pedestrians, motorists will refrain,
Lifting them and chilling their fingers.
Sharp-edged feral survivors these,
Remaining all winter, no matter who is displeased!
-

Tuesday, January 08, 2008



FUN STUFF

Hillary Billary Dock;
Contenders ran up the clock;
The clock struck one,
The race was run,
Clintons tumbled off the clock!


---------------------------------------------------------
There once was a woman named Hillary;
In the past her husband was pilloried;
She forges ahead without fear,
Though occasionally shedding a tear,
This ice queen may win nuclear armory!

----------------------------------------------------


There is that Senator from Carolina,
Supporters declare theres none finer (fina),
Although Obama is roaring in from Illinois,
And his backers are makin' hellacious noise,
Edwards will persist, he is not no whiner!


--------------------------------------------------------------------


New Hampshire Primary


New Hampshire Arena, Main Event,
New American Gladiators in the ring;
In this corner, Hillary, will try and prevent,
Obama from swiping any Presidential Bling-bling.

-
Romney lacing up the boxing mitts,
Gonna take hard jabs at Huckabee,
Pollsters and pundits are having fits,
Watching jostling of these wannabees.

-
Whomever takes home the prize,
May think twice when they occupy,
The Oval Office, target of world's eyes,
Any lesser mortal would be terrified.
Thousandfold problems weighing on their chest,
Whomever wins this contest will get no rest!

Politics is sooooo much fun!


Sunday, January 06, 2008



FRAGMENTS

Tight corners of converging realities,

Realizations of fragility, vulnerability;

Frightening rapidity of acceleration of time.

Grasp, grab at those fleeting moments of pleasure --

The delightful tunes, the shared laughter of a joke;

Illumination of beautiful morning scenes, eye pleasures,

Rapidly speeding over towards the afternoons...

Dusk finally setting on one's hopes once again.

Tomorrow arrives soon enough to repeat the process!

Saturday, January 05, 2008

TRUE COLORS

Pontificating about the surge in Iraq,
Promising energy independence;
Opponents not experienced, they attack,
Continuing to offer Terror War's vengeance.

Yet their true characters were revealed,
Our country's malaise affirmed --
Rule-breaking difficult to conceal,
Network television cameras confirmed.

Flowery language offering new solutions,
Earnest demeanors on every patrician face;
They offered up proposals in profusion,
Yes, anything goes to win this race!

Their Achilles Heel revealed to all,
Speechifying on, though time limit called.
Suited gentlemen reveal primitive archetypes,
Animals underneath showing their true stripes

(originally sent as a letter to the editor on December 17, 2007).
by me.
Dumbing down


The friendly chatter, the wholesome smile;
Chatting amiably about things military and civilian.
Teasing banter, twinkling eyes. Our buddy,
Back from a long absence, with us again.


Soon, the controversy begins.
Positions taken contrary to our own.
Preposterous theories advanced.
These stated in terms that are soon dumbed down.
Sprinkled with truisms and simplistic anecdote.
The religious agenda reveals itself gradually,
positions taken and beliefs advanced.
Camoflauged with simpleton banter,
Still the bigoted beliefs peek out,
Just enough to be spotted and id'd.


Truly we sat down with a zealot type,
Indeed the wolf in sheeps clothing.
Too bad for him we are too sharp,
Try as he might to sink in his bite,
He snaps at air only -
We are quick and away!
Exitement exitement
Throngs of people jamming into the tiny school library.
The same two ladies running everything.
Tonight, a couple of helpers jumped in to expedite the process.
The head count was confusing.
The sign-in was a mess.
It was chaos - but somehow, everyone got signed in.
Everyone got counted -although the count was off by three.
Close enough, everyone decided - lets move on.
Envelope was passed around, money got donated.
Everyone took their places according to candidate of their choice.
Then, count was taken of supporters of each candidate.
The top three, Edwards, Obama and Clinton got to divide the rest of the people -
The ones not viable were divided up, or in one case opted to leave.
Then, each group chose delegates and alternates to the county convention.
After that, we were free to go, or to stay and listen to other Party business.
I had been standing for over an hour, so I decided it was time to go.
A fascinating process, my first time in a caucus.
I was able to speak at one point, an interesting feeling to be sure.
Soon, it was all over...
Quite the night - the Iowa caucus of 2008.
One I will not soon forget.

After all those months of noise, it is finally over. Now they are slugging it out in the media, in New Hampshire. Good by, good luck and a twinge of good riddance...
We will see if our front-runners can hold, or get beaten back. Until next time in 2012.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

DISPATCH FROM DES MOINES.


You can tell that we are at ground zero for something big. The candidates are swarming all over the place, getting in those last handshakes and hugs. One candidate even vowed to do a 36-hour marathon - go John Edwards! The Satellite trucks are moving in, barricading off spaces, setting up their dishes. ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN - they are all here in little ol' Des Moines, Iowa. A fascinating spectacle for sure. My feeling is that, if these people expend even a fraction of the energy running the country as president, that they expend rushing around day and night as candidates, most any one of them will do a pretty good job! And all for a humble few votes here. Makes me (us?) feel downright special.


Come January fourth, we will be standing around like the bride holding the wilted flowers, wondering where the groom and photogs are. We will be like the flowers wilting in the cold shadows in October, wondering where that Sun went. But...not for long! Then we will (or at least I will) be exulting in thoughts like "No more political ads on TV! No phone calls. No flyers in the mailbox. No more blocked off streets or strange cars from Michigan, no more odd trucks of every description, displaying company names that could only have been created for the occasion." The it will be three Hurrahs and a loud "Good Riddance!" Until next time, that is. We are not dummies, after all. Why else would we move the date back to the 3rd in the first place? The bars and restuarants, and other businesses, will be happily counting the cash registers for awhile.


In the meantime, I think I'll go caucus. My one chance to bask in a bit of the limelight, to grasp at the soiled brass ring of politics, to feel a smidgen of importance. My chance to participate in this giant, imperfect but still functioning democracy called the United States of America, by trundling off to the school library in subzero cold and making my voice heard, and my one meager vote count! Here goes nothing *grin*.

Avoid Nuclear War

  Ever since I’ve been alive, all I’ve known is the nuclear sword poised, hanging over us all, ready at any moment to fall and send u...