They Never Stop Trying

 

“Sorry to see you go!

We tried so hard with you…

So you are no longer with us?

I’m humbly asking…

I’m begging you, Mike!

Without your help, all is lost.

So you finally gave up on us.

We never gave up on you!”

The fundraising appeals never stop,

they know my pointer hovers over “Delete”

have only seconds to grab my attention –

tug my heartstrings,

yank my guilt tendons hard.

I’ve seen them all so many times before,

I rarely hesitate to wipe them off with one click.

And yet I still need to read each one,

however briefly,

to see if it is a “real” email from a friend or loved one.

So much time used up nowadays to scan electronic media,

so many devices to siphon off our precious minutes and hours,

the one thing they can’t make any more of, even in China.

But what can one do? Go back to 1964?

I don’t think so.

I hear another bleeble – where is that damned phone now?

(Your time spent reading this blog rant is deeply appreciated)

Stonk Market Haibun

 

Some upstart game company is about to go broke, the stock tanks. But wait! A bunch of bloggers decide it looks sexy, place buy orders. Stock value soars. More jump on the bandwagon. Pundits yell “sell!” the buying frenzy just expands and explodes. A few fortunes are made. Time for an intervention by the market makers, those god-demons of finance. They do so, and the value melts away like butter on lava. Many lose a fortune. Just another scenario in that insane, rampaging beast known as the securities market. Stocks, bonds, derivatives, hopes, dreams, greed and fear. Each new generation will learn the hard way. Savings accounts rule – securities markets are for fools.

Just one opinion,

it is your money to lose;

Go get em tiger!

Two Haibun

 

A sunlit morning along a wooded path full of greenery. A placid river reflecting clouds and trees. Lonely heron swoops down and lands, walks some, takes off again, disturbing the water. There I am, taking it all in as I walk the trail. Then I see a grassy path ahead, and take it to a small sandy beach. Walk out and snap photos of the calm water reflecting life. A black dog appears out of nowhere, and snuffles up to me. I hear a voice call out, and turn to see a woman, Tall, slender and ponytailed, she greets me and I return the wave. We talk about the dog, she throws sticks into the river and Bubba runs out into the river to fetch them. We thus share a small but delightful moment on a gorgeous fall morning. When I return along the trail, I feel enriched.

A sunlit morning

Black dog leaps into river

splashing consciousness

Infinity sits in the middle and knows, humans dance around in a ring and suppose. We draw geometric globes and inside out spheres, theorize about galaxies and stars. Energies reach total entropy, then come right back to form apples again. In the mental world of theory, the infinite is just another human cipher, we make infinity our b**ch, like we do everything else. Perhaps humans are god, infinite, life in an ultimate expression. But we will not be here forever. Our bodies, or lives, our nations and alliances are not infinite. Our concept of infinite is finite – only lasts as long as our brains still function. Yet within our finite minds, infinity goes on forever. Until the last human turns to dust, then it cannot be expressed in symbolic form. But it will still go on – forever and ever.

Another math show

blows this bystander’s mind

infinite pleasure

Three Line Emotes

 

the sun rises late,

flowers cram in that last bloom 

almost October

summer memories

flutter like last butterflies

fall is marching in

new resolutions

enter with a new season

as sunlight fades out

The Queen is Dead

 

Long live the King.

A dynasty continues,

royalty perpetuated.

The scepter is passed on.

Primer Ministers come and go,

Labor and Tories do the same.

Regents will stick around longer,

but, being human, they die too.

So much history is recounted,

and many public tears are shed;

some “good riddance” muttered too,

Then life and Royal Houses go on.

We say we want democracy,

yet some tolerate dictatorships,

and we lament passing royalty –

while ruled by corporate oligarchies.

Humans – humph!

How long will it takes us all to be

relegated to the “dustbin of history?”

Only for some succeeding entity to know.

Age and time

 

Got the hair dyed brown again today,

now youthful for another month or two.

Took a walk with another sexagenarian,

compared places we have been and seen.

The days rush on by in pleasant fashion,

one certainly cannot complain too much;

Must remember to practice compassion,

with all health and good fortune present.

Watching young Spaniards cavort on TV,

wondering if things are really that casual

these days – freewheeling hookups and fun.

A respite from disappointing looks in the mirror.

Health and mobility, outdoors and fresh air

reassure me that good times are still in store.