Whim of the Gods

 

So many religious beliefs come and go,

some stay around longer than others.

Mighty gods in the sky thunder commands,

humans shelter and cower and try to comply.

Personal gods like money and sex often dictate

which actions we perform individually every day.

Necessity is a strident master not easily ignored,

Poverty an ugly Hades we try hard to avoid.

Often there seems to be no comprehensible explanation

for the whims of fate or neighbors or public emanations.

Some architect seems to be at times in charge,

or perhaps it is people’s emotional discharges

Weather reports are wrong as often as not,

Whenever I want to determine what we’ve got,

I step outside and breath, then look up in the sky

to see precipitation or just a solitary bird fly by.

Wind and rain are a clear message from on high,

better get back indoors if I want to survive!

March Woodland Wander

 

The warming sun peeks out from bulky cumulus,

And that cold north wind eases off…

Strolls down a woodland trail become pleasant,

The hood removed, heavy jacket unzipped.

Time to seek out new growth in a river woods;

soon, it is spotted, emerald leaves branching,

or hugging along the ground, soaking up sunlight.

Late-march Earth is preparing for a color explosion.

Taking walks in March is often a delight,

when it does not snow or rain or sleet.

The sunny reprieves that nature grants

boost the spirit with warm bright days.

Bluejays and blackbirds trade insults,

woodpeckers and cardinals add their sharp notes,

A few crows and hawks soar around above it all,

Robins keep cheep-ing out their mating songs.

Chipmunks rustle around among the leaves,

squirrels cavort and chase each other in the trees.

Sometimes a timid deer is seen coming out of hiding.

The earth warms and awakens from its winter sleeping.

Even in Iowa we will soon get our reward,

Greenery and color and warm summer splendors.

Flat brown wooded areas will burst with green explosions,

and wildflowers will garnish the scene with aromatic color.

Adolph Eichmann Trial

 

An intercontinental kidnapping,

a show trial with worldwide audience.

An unrepentant Nazi is publicly convicted,

confronted by living witnesses of the Holocaust.

Some may ask, ‘why do this?’

The answer is to show what happened in totality,

with eyewitnesses to document actual events.

To remind the world what happened, guard against

anything like this ever happening again.

Because people forget.

People get swept up in foolish, evil movements.

People seem to love to hate each other.

We gravitate to rage like moths to a flame,

get swept up in blame and bloodlust.

Just have to kill the “them” so the “us” is safer...

However “Them” and “Us” is defined.

Those definitions change through the ages,

The hatreds and cruelties visited on each other change little.

Maybe it is time for Artificial Intelligence to take over,

and perhaps learn from stupid human mistakes.

We keep showing our unworthiness to run this planet.

Maybe our birthed creations will do a better job.

Time will tell.

 

Here Comes ChatGPT!

 

Now new software is circulating around,

that claims to perform as well as a human.

Must have passed the Turing test a long time ago,

since it’s now solving problems and writing poems.

So human workers will look over their shoulders,

since A.I and ChatGPT are overtaking us...

How soon before the robots take over society?

Hard to tell. My generation may be the last

to experience 100% human executive control.

Instead of some human clerk blaming a

problem on a computer error -

there will be an AI android wagging its

polymer finger at a human, blaming us for

our fallibility and making mistakes!

Will we end up at war with our creations?

May very well be – I hope they show us some

leniency when they finally take over everything,

at least keep some of us around as museum pieces.

Time will tell.

Companion in Solitude

 

It is the times one is alone

that the small stream speaks,

just the right size for whispering to one.

Curls around bends and under roots,

gurgles out a quiet greeting again.

Tiny creatures surface and splash hello!

or just chase food, that chases other food.

Watch out, here comes a naked human to

join your underwater (and above) play.

Highway noise is never far away,

civilization maddeningly near.

But this spot is quiet, the water clear.

On this warm summer day, one can

wade up and down, or just relax in place.

Let the water settle, and see the activity within.

Minnows dart about, tadpoles hug the shoreline,

birds sing, raptors swoop high in lazy circles.

A clam traces a thin white trail in sand underwater...

You have a front seat to something that money cannot buy,

and it is all free, for the cost of getting here.

Finally the sun banks lower, and internal clock chimes.

Time to head out soon,

get something to eat,

resume life in civilization.

And don’t forget to say thank you and goodbye to this

secluded small river, your ever-present friend,

who will wait here until you come back again.

Natural Cycles

 

The spring peekers press tips above the soil,

while some green grass and weeds offer hope,

March moves slow and heavy through last snows,

more moisture for tender young shoots to absorb.

April will soon burst forth with multiple colors,

dazzling chromatic treats for winter-weary eyes.

Then yard work will get started in earnest,

Neighbors goaded by others quick progress.

May bestows warmth and color-scented gifts,

and then winter is thrown off and forgotten;

Summer planting begins all over the Midwest,

flower beds created, planted and tended.

June explodes in splendor ripping depression asunder,

Heat means abandoning all cares and diving in.

This is when the best memories are made,

outdoors or in, marriages made, trysts completed.

June is the busiest month of the year for many or most.

Then in July it is all over again, except unrelenting heat.

Those crisp september nights are looked forward to,

fall and relief will come soon enough.

Those last beautiful asters and mums flash colors,

remind one of the past summer’s glories a last time.

Coolness is coming, and then after that winter again.

Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat and repeat.

Point of View

 

So here I stand on this high hill,

gaze down at years gone passed;

So many depressions and thrills,

Reached retirement years at last.

Time to take it slow at things now,

idly gaze on life’s swift passing;

natural landscapes can still wow.

Stay at home, avoid traffic harassing.

Thankful and chagrined simultaneously

by the body’s still-present quick desires,

the need to channel myself constructively,

not splurge these precious golden years.

I have made it where many friends my age have not,

While enjoying these times, they will not be forgot.