High Summer Time

 

July 15, the middle of summer, high summer.

Outside temperature to match – mid 90's F.

Steamy humidity and foul tempers go together;

It is also a summer of war.

Ukraine and Iran are smoldering with hatred and heat,

one can smell burning bodies from a long way off.

Leaders yell and bark orders, and more

young people die in many senseless ways.

At home gas prices follow thermometer readings up,

but various local events try to give us a bit of joy.

Every time happiness promises to creep in,

some seething hatred always spoils the day.

People just can't help but inject misery into life.

It is high summer,

and folks are out on the water,

on the recreational trails,

in their yards working on projects.

Bitter winter cold is a distant memory.

No season lasts forever, and change is

always in the mail, arriving harshly later on.

It is high summer,

and there are some good memories,

oh, to bring them back to life.

Oh to create some new wonderful memories. . .

But that gets more difficult every year.

It is high summer,

but youth is a fleeting memory,

and joints never work as well as they should.

Still, a walk can be forced,

a social event planned,

a pleasant conversation enjoyed,

a tasty meal savored.

It is high summer,

and I'm determined to enjoy it,

no matter what anyone says or does.

Here's hoping that you can too!

Sustaining the Earth

 

Some of these ideas have been around for decades.

Drive with care, no rabbit starts and slam on the brakes;

Use less assisted technology of all kinds.

Turn up the AC and turn down the heat thermostats.

Recycling has taken off in recent times;

Yes, toss those twist-top plastic jugs into

the blue bins, cover and all.

No, not the plastic bags, nor the aluminum foil.

Clean cardboard is recyclable -

food-coated pizza boxes or plastic-added boxes: NO.

Aluminum cans and milk jugs – yes, recyclable,

and so is glass. But plastic berry containers are not.

The main point here is to just try to do what you can.

If we all try a little, it will matter a lot and make a difference.

These steps will save us resources, and protect the environment.

Read up on how to protect the environment,

because the same steps will help you save money in some cases,

'and benefit our children, and their children . . .

meaning more clean water and air will be around for them.

If one takes a walk along a pedestrian trail,

one can see firsthand the good and the bad.

The trash of all kinds left behind,

and the decorative plantings or landscaping.

The care and the carelessness -

often right next to each other!

What a beautiful world we can have,

if we all just try a bit harder to care for it.

Chicago Memories

 

Every time I turn around

I bump into another person.

Masses of humanity,

ongoing sea of people all over.

Crossing streets full of honking cars,

a milieu of sights and smells,

appealing or disgusting.

This mighty megacity is overwhelming.

Even inside a hotel room I hear

a constant din of horns and sirens,

even voices yelling out about something important.

The 3 AM truck deliveries to Trader Joes

have to go on so they don't run out of stuff.

Just wish it wasn't so close to my window!

Oh well, this is life in a very large city.

I was happy on the boat tour,

marveling at all of the skyscrapers

that spoke with each other through design.

No surprise that many others also want to see

the wondrous constructs of our second city.

It was a good time to forget about all

the problems that exist in society,

and celebrate our triumphs for once.

The problems will not easily go away.

But we can at least give ourselves a

pat on the back on occasion.

But be sure to watch where you step around there,

there are moving obstacles all over the place.

Fly Landed on a Hedge Fund

 

What does the fly know about a hedge fund?

The Catbird calls, but not to his broker.

A robin sings melodious tunes,

enchanting listening ears but not the SEC.

One can plod along a woodland trail,

and tolerate temporary drudgery

much better than one can walk a prison yard,

and just try to stay alive intact one more day.

Financial shenanigans are multitudinous,

just like needy, desperate, greedy people.

Some are luckily able to avoid all the schemes,

and count what is really meaningful in life.

Enough.

Enough to eat, enough to live and sleep and stay

indoors or outside even.

Enough, and no more.

In fact, the less the better.

Throw greed out the window,

Cast ambition to the wolves.

A simple life can be the new rule,

Let other people get trampled under hooves

of rampaging Wall Street beasts of all sizes.

I'll take the drowsy sunlit garden

with a free banquet of shapes and colors.

It Just Is

 

Just Nature being beautiful,

as it always has been and will be.

With no external tokens of partisanship

or symbols of patriotism, or any other

markings placed by humans.

Nature needs no suggestions of left or right,

just knows how and where to place streams

and rivers and mountains, just so, to look stupendous.

Wonder is engendered without political agendas.

Of course she can be dangerous to humans at times,

in the course of being herself.

Nothing is meant by this, it just is.

And is up to us to adapt or flee as needed.

It is so refreshing to escape the accusatory

noise and take in the wonders of Nature.

For Nature brought about humans and

by extension, the practice of Rationality,

evidence-based decision making – the

very best gift ever given,

in my humble opinion.

Unreality in the Air

 

So many things are off kilter;

Mass European navies headed to the Strait

of Hormuz, while Iranians are sinking cargo ships.

Trump is declaring Xi Jinping a good friend,

one whom he can work with a lot.

The US economy is stalled out,

high gas prices choking off growth.

But the stock market is hitting new highs,

share prices breaking records.

Someone out there is sure making money.

Topsy turvy news items pepper the streams;

Whales attacking ships, viruses appearing

on cruise ships and coming ashore.

When will that next epidemic get going?

Will we survive this one like we did Covid?

So many good people removed from the military,

tough, smart LGBT warriors taken out because they

are different – but don't we need more warriors, not less?

In a violent world, where so many despise us?

Foolish, shortsighted decisions based on old codes

and antique modes of living will doom us all.

But at least the weather is nice this morning,

and I'm able to get out of bed, up and around,

out in the yard, on the Internet and into the world.

When all seems lost, sunshine, birdsong and a cat

remind me that most of the time, all seems well here.

The Nature of a Ghazal

 

The Nature of things.

I always enjoy going out into the world of nature.

Greeted by flowers, shrubs, trees showing their true natures.

When immersed in community crowds hiding my true nature,

against judgments and scolds that my kind is against nature.

But at home the hormones surge and I wonder amazed,

even at my age the body still seeks various calls of nature.

Friends will laugh and joke and tease each other;

I try to participate and enjoy and be good-natured.

What is the mark of maturity in an older person,

a defining marker of coordination with forces of nature?

The rabbits and squirrels all seem to know what to do,

nature flows out there, unlike inside me, indecisive in nature.

I huff and stomp and cuss and hate and grunt,

always seeming to struggle uphill against forces of nature.

Sometimes my easy chair grants a doze of reprieve,

Where dreams suffuse me with happier visions in nature.

Upon awakening I turn on the TV, a mistake for sure.

Governments all over commit many crimes against nature.

Does humanity deserve to survive and thrive in this world,

with so many cruelties and assaults on the rest of nature?

The author unfortunately has no good answer,

himself merely another flawed product of greater nature.