Movements

 

People hurry about, shuffle here and there.

Events and things going on everywhere.

How to keep up with it all of the time?

Pleasant to step back from the active lines.

Take a moment, take a breath,

slow down and gaze right and left.

Survey the scene and take measure

what really gives one true pleasure.

The deeper rhythms and vibrations

penetrate awareness with revelations;

temporary jolts and jisms disappoint

ultimately leaving a gap disjointed.

Youth will spring forth and blossom loud,

Aged can sit back watching and feel proud.

A Grand Blue Time

 

Runners of all skill levels and ages

trot across the finish at end of the race.

10-year olds and their fathers both cross,

young through to elderly come in exhausted.

Loud percussion and crowd conversation

punctuate the human throng processions.

Joyful booths attract clumps of people

shifting their gazes all over the place.

“Well done!” yells the announcer when

runners cross the blue line once again.

Hurrahs and clapping hands from onlookers

encourage gasping but grinning family members.

After multiple races and close contests,

crowds and competitors head home to rest.

Another Grand Blue race has come and gone,

just wait for more coming Drake Relays fun!

April

 

April sky shining so bright,

show me an Aurora flickering tonight.

A shooting star perhaps, or satellite

plodding across the luminous delight.

The Moon waxes pristine white

as Jupiter follows close and tight.

Triangle asterisms lurk nearby,

stars wink in red and blue light.

Summer heat is coming, but not just yet;

this April night feels cold and sharp in height.

For now, I can enjoy a starry-studded show

at 9:30 PM and still make it to bed by ten.

And lay in bed watching stars in my head,

regrets, urgent needs, reminisces and ideas

parading across my brain-itarium, until at last

they fade and I enter another universe entirely.

In the April mornings it is time for a walk,

ripe to enjoy rising sun on greening shrubbery.

Robins cheep and woodpeckers tap in unison,

‘Alert the trail! Here comes a human!’

This human soaks it all in with pleasure.

The world is coming alive again after that frost,

last bit of snow and cold is winter’s parting shot.

Or so we all hope, these many creatures and I.

My plans number more than the twigs in cardinal nests;

Good weather helps us all attain our budding quests..

April sighs “Happy Springtime” to the northern latitudes

dropping winter’s last excessive baggage,

before May seduces us with scents and beauties.

It is right around the corner, any day now…

Sprouting Time of Year

 

When so many things are emerging at once.

Green sprouts breach the air and unfold,

financial markets move ahead feeling bold.

Relationships blossom and find new ground.

Private space programs launch new fleets

of relay and radar and research satellites.

Orbital reefs are proposed and discussed,

many designs taking shape on busy screens…

Spring and summer plans shape up and proliferate,

warming temps bring out joggers and bikers en masse.

Post-pandemic economies surge ahead despite any

inflation or recession warnings from Federal Reserves.

Everything is looking pretty good nowadays,

if only the waiting viruses and diseases would

not have to also emerge and claim their due.

Sick or not the world moves on,

and so do we,

so do we.

Prey-ing for Peace Again

 

Once upon a time in 2003,

many congregations knelt,

prayed for a peaceful resolution.

Heartfelt appeals were made to

those in power both here and in Iraq.

All of the appeals and prayers failed

to stop the shock and awe destruction.

Many innocent people lost their lives,

Our service people suffered

physical and emotional damage.

Other wars came along,

there were songs and marches and rallies,

Wall Street was occupied for a while;

Salvos of speeches and prayers launched.

All of it in vain.

Brushfire wars popped up in the Baltics,

ISIS took the place of Al Queda,

More US troops deployed overseas,

more rotations of our national guard.

International embarrassments followed…

Afghanistan was home for some of our

military for two decades – but the Taliban

took over rapidly the moment we left.

The latest savagery is happening in Ukraine,

as Russia takes their turn being World Pariah.

Lots of prayers, peace marches, supplications.

They seem like a gentle breeze on faces of leaders,

who just keep ordering up more wholesale

death and destruction.

Praying for peace feels good,

the right thing to do,

humanity at its most noble.

But on our way back home,

pity the poor SOB who cuts us off

on a major thoroughfare in town.

If dirty looks or thoughts could kill…

Peace will always remain a noble and wonderful ideal,

even if we foolish human beings just never quite get there.