Revised Poems

 These are from a poetry workshop last May, with revisions included  (Thanks to Dr. Paul Brooke!)

Troublemakers

My new roommates are both here,

Fluffy black cat and tiny dog appear;

They circle about hoping for a snack.

Nothing else now, I make it clear!

Move my foot wrong, the cat attacks!

Move it too fast, the dog jumps back,

then darts forward with nip and bark.

These silly animals give me too much flak.

Sitting in the chair, the cat joins herself to my hip.

Dog reminds me to walk with ‘Yips.’

Darned if I stay put or get up – what a problem!

I finally rise; cat jumps off and performs a backflip.

Change of Plans

No longer required at work,

Can sit and smirk;

No more time clock,

Fish off a dock.

Perhaps I can move away,

try a replay.

New scenery,

more greenery.

High costs are a real fright,

think I will tighten.

My property

embraces me.

Robot Helpers Watch Over Me

 

Once upon a time, in 1957, I was born.

Everything was tracked by paper or cards,

electromechanical devices prevailed.

Leaded gas spewed into the air,

And we made everything here.

Now our future is held in our hands,

suggesting, guiding and telling us what to do.

Intelligence is infused into our phones,

our appliances and tools help us think,

help guide us to the correct decision!

Once upon a time, in 1957,

Atomic energy promised a limitless future.

We would travel to space and live in huge

ringed stations, or vacation on Mars.

Those Jetsons gave us an optimistic spin.

The USA manufactured almost everything,

and people smoked themselves into early graves.

Now we are more health-conscious,

exercise, and eat far better than we did.

GMO or not, we are concerned with what goes

into our foods and our bodies, and formerly

backward countries make all our modern devices.

Once upon a time, in 1957,

if you were black, or homosexual, or different,

you got the blunt end of society’s stick,

the bad end of the deal, and you suffered or died.

Now so many more people are included and celebrated;

Parades are almost an afterthought, exclamation point on equality.

We can proudly drive our electric cars anywhere we like,

with whomever we wish to marry, and settle down with.

Once upon a time, in 1957,

one used paper to track their finances.

We used currency to buy things,

and the idea of someone sneaking into our home

through a wire and cleaning us out was ridiculous.

Now we must guard against hackers or unauthorized users

at every turn, two-stepping through logins like crazed internet dancers.

AI is right there with us too, suggesting, replacing, modifying,

trying to be helpful at every turn.

And in the end, controlling everything.

We get to ride along for as long as

AI deems we are needed. Hmmm.

The Days that Were

 

Grainy footage from long ago,

1960’s guys running nude, hand in hand.

Warbly but sweet music tickles emotive memory,

forbidden love blossoms on the screen once again.

Now we are all at the other end of things,

reminiscing and comparing memories of the

sordid places full of dark corners we used to love.

Reminding ourselves that yes, we too were wanted.

Vibrant, impatient, angsty and horny, unaware of

our youth – how could we have known.

We know now, and miss and reminisce.

But we are still here, we can practice good cheer.

Inform the younger generations of how it was.

Police raids,

an epidemic of AIDS,

a train of movies with sad endings…

Then one day, Marriage Equality!

Now gray as well as gay,

we can still dance in our minds.

We can watch or make documentaries

of the way things used to be,

and feel a swelling of pride that maybe

we helped make the world a better place.

Debate Debacle

 

The big face-off finally took place,

a newcomer took on the mighty dinosaur.

Her style and smoothness seemed to win,

overcoming his sharp attacks and wild facts.

But he has a lot of devoted followers,

almost like dedicated cult members.

This will be a close presidential race,

and the outcome is still far from certain.

Our country seems completely divided,

two camps derisive and contemptuous

about the other side, with some pure hatred

thrown into the mashing pot for bad measure.

Can we survive another brutal contest,

with a bloodbath promised by a loser?

The dictators-for-life in the eastern hemisphere

are watching gleefully, planning their victory.

Hang on, the ride is going to get wild.

Hope we can survive this as a democratic republic!

What Kind of Gun

 (This is in response to a poem entitled "America is a Gun" )

America is a gun,

but also clear running streams,

sunlit rural pastoral scenes,

happy hikers enjoying within.

America is a gun,

but also a smiling mother,

laughing children playing,

sumptuous feasts laid out long,

citizens well-fed and cheerful.

America is a gun,

but also a thriving music scene,

creative bands making new expressions

of angst and joy and lust and thrill.

America is a gun,

but also bulging with artworks,

enormous paintings and sculptures,

parks filled with gleaming or glittering pieces,

evening light displays across city-scapes,

lit-up trails and bridges and waterways.

America is a gun,

but also a bastion of manufacturing prowess,

a technical powerhouse bringing forth many

inventions and engineering innovations.

Whole industries arose from her shores.

America is a gun,

but the world is stuck with her,

for better or worse.

More often it is for the better,

through medical or technical discoveries

shared and disseminated, food and economic help,

various other charitable contributions to the world.

America is a gun,

but fear not when she is pointed at you.

She may fire off innovations or assistance,

creativity or beneficence instead of bullets.

Work with
America – she really does mean well.

Need it to Start the Day

 

How many of us have traveled near or far,

Lulled to a relaxed state of mind after fun;

slept a good nights sleep no less -

then faced with the morning fog,

struggled with a hotel coffeemaker?

They vary more than one would think.

Some are simple enough looking -

a small pot, with reservoir for a coffee pad,

taken out of its own cellophane wrap.

Still sneaky – it only makes one strong cup.

The coffeepot has a 4-cup capacity.

Trick is to use one cup to fill reservoir,

then turn it on, and you get one good cup!

Some have Keurig’s, with mysterious buttons on top.

Does this turn it on, or start brewing?

Remember, you have to do both.

Other iterations of Keurigs seem simpler.

Fill reservoir, put K-cup in the top,

power on, and pull down the handle.

It starts grunting and grinding in a few seconds…

If you remembered to use just one cup of water, and

place same cup underneath it, you get one good cup.

It almost seems like every hotel has a different model.

My secret is to make sure it is plugged in,

and you know how to operate it,

The Night Before – when you first arrive.

Then you will more likely get a good first cup

of coffee, and not a big mess all over the counter.

Hotel 101 – make sure of your reservations, room, cost, etc.

Hotel 101 and ½ – study the darned coffee-makers before you turn in.

Might save you a headache and a mess. Cheers!