Half-price off at the (printed) word sale

 

Perfidious hordes scatter across Europe,

bearing the dominant religious standards.

Business 101, dusting off your shelves,

arranging your products, hanging out the sign.

Snaps – commentary on modern culture!

Hobbies large and small, cheap or expensive.

You can find it all here, and more,

at the local printed word sale -

just over there at the Fairgrounds.

But be ready to dodge and weave through

a lot of traffic, vehicular and human too.

It is so worth it.

Treatises from the early 1900's intermingle

with Lee Iococca autobiographies,

fantasy epics and scientific war volumes,

cookbooks your mother would have loved,

stitching and weaving and collecting,

every human endeavor, dream, fantasy or wish

is probably sitting somewhere on a table –

or more likely, in someone's tote bag.

One can go vowing to “just look around”

“Maybe pick up one or two”

Yep, they have heard that one before.

And before one knows it, there is a stack of books

between the arms, with the eyes scanning

around for an empty shopping bin or cart.

Then, after enduring the line to pay up,

you get to lug your treasures out to

a distant pasture to load up the car.

When you get home, it is time to dig in,

see what goodies you can't wait to skim.

Another fun year at the local Printed

Word Sale.      Life is complete,

until they all get read.   

then it is

time to re-donate them!

Automatic War - Version Now

Drones kill silently from the air,

robots slug it out on the ground.

National strategies pursued from afar,

Collateral damage scattered all around.

Us human beings will never learn,

instead impart war ability to cyborgs.

A peaceful time is what many yearn

for, but then give in to baser hormones.

What values are either good or evil?

Which side is ever always right?

It is always our religious and civil

philosophy vs their reason to fight?

Yet in our abodes surrounded by loved ones,

we set aside conflict, a brief peace hard-won.

(Reprint - Originally published in Lyrical Iowa 2021)

For the Mechanics

 

Some operating rooms take up more space than others,

they may even need dedicated buildings all their own.

Those huge city trucks, lumbering apparatuses,

Go out in the hidden places and take care of us,

all manner of vehicles to sweep our streets,

pick up our recyclables and trash,

maintain light poles and manholes and traffic lights.

But sometimes our caretakers break down;

then they need some delicate doctoring

and loving care themselves.

So they lumber into a huge garage,

open giant maws up to the mech techs.

Tilted-over cabs, or raised fronts,

side accesses, or raised up on lifts.

Missing tires as axles are massaged,

reconstructed gearboxes, transmissions

opened up like any given heart surgery.

Could an operating room show as many

bared innards, exposed gear guts?

Fluid pans all over, oil dispensers

hover in thickets on cables and pulleys,

ready to dispense some life-giving elixir,

just the liquid to give a tired motor a lift.

Surgery finished, they are piloted out of

the operating theater and parked nearby.

Now repaired, refreshed, and ready to roll.

With an engine roar, a squeal of brakes,

some assorted rumblings (of gratitude?),

they all head out to do their duty,

our dirty work – and we are glad.

Stake out your Regolith

 

In olden times they had the trading posts,

where furs were exchanged for food and drink;

the settlers followed, working for their hosts,

new lands and vistas to make dreamers think.

The military led the way with their log forts,

settlers and pony express, then towns were born.

In a span of time that now seems fairly short,

territories got settled, then states were formed.

In modern times we chafe in crowded metropolises;

some look skyward  --  new worlds beckon with light.

Time to establish a human presence away from this

tired old Earth, declare outer space life a human right.

Though it will take us much effort and struggle to do,

history shows that humans always find “a better view.”

Conflicting Things

 

Morning coffees, brunch meetings,

church services and poetry clatches…

So many things going on all over,

and I just can’t seem to attend a one...

Because I have many other things to do,

chores and tasks and projects galore.

Tend the lawn and paint the house,

pull the weeds and clean up the backyard.

Clean indoors as well, bathroom, kitchen,

living room and then vacuum everything.

Off-kilter work hours don’t help the situation,

evening shift overlaps many weekday events.

Sleeping in is enjoyable during the week,

but missing so many things leaves my knees weak,

and my friends have to “turn the other cheek.”

Someday I’ll be retired, I think,

someday I’ll be able to do so much more!

But retirement is supposed to be restful,

not mad rushing around everywhere.

Temperance and moderation will be

more important than ever before.

Enough musing, enough writing,

correcting typos, cussing the computer.

Time to go out and run errands -

because no matter how well I plan,

I always seem to need one thing more…

make way, cat, I’m headed out that door!

Everything but the, and that too

 

The ever-present excrement

of old government scandals

is finally overshadowed

by an inspirational space mission.

Football rivalries play out again,

some made happy while others made sad.

Seasons change and weather finally cools down,

for a while at least.

Fall has dropped on us,

still hotter than hell too often;

But there is some consolation:

that next snowstorm is only a few months away!

Thoughts drift and spin like snowflakes...

Almost every person will at some point

“stab a friend in the back” or

talk about them behind their back,

not always in a complimentary way.

Yet we still keep on, because what else can we do.

Retirement promises a life of leisure,

beckons, tempts, lures with longing...

A gamble involving hopes, health, and luck.

It will be here before we know it,

and then we will mourn the passing of

our career life and youth.

Some things never seem to change.

With a mind as devious as mine,

the fingers will never be innocent.

And yet, even at an older age,

amazing, incredible things still happen.

Outdoor nudity, hiking by moonlight,

sex under the stars. Sensual gifts still lurk,

with much gratitude felt by older folks.

Still, you never know when sometime you

could be riding along on your motorcycle,

and a car comes out of nowhere and flattens you.

Anything can happen, and often does.

Gender identities can not hold back

our environmental obscenities.

But anything that makes us feel better

during our short ride on the Earth

is highly welcome nevertheless.

Humanity will drift out into space,

more complete spores carrying lore.

Scandals, drama and upheavals are

carried along – pity the poor cosmos,

exposed to dirty detritus of its offspring.

How long will it take a kitchen sink to

orbit the Sun?

Should old acquaintance be forgot

 

Another steamy summer has passed,

good riddance to the miserable heat.

Hurricane season is off to a big start,

the Eastern US takes another pummeling!

The seasons flow past, time and sand

coruscate along in winds of uncertainty.

Youth and school days dwindle in memory

to pinpoints, as that uglier end looms larger.

One has to grab good memories before they

rush past us, like they tend to do so fast.

A wedding here, a graduation there,

holiday celebrations and shared moments.

A definite focus on positive times that flicker

in the wind, to will oneself to feel good -

and it can happen, one can still feel that glow.

Age can be a Waterloo or a Hiroshima,

but it can also be triumphant, top of Everest,

raising the flag at Iwo Jima, dancing on the Moon.

I made it so far, when others did not,

fortunate enough to have this long view now.

Oh please let me have more decades, I think,

but I’m grateful for whatever I receive.

Each morning a celebration of good fortune,

grateful for launching out of bed upright,

walking under my own power, appetite

and will and hormones still functional.

Hope to see my dear family

at the end of this decade too;

Good luck, best wishes, and long life to all.

Summer Segue Fantasy

 

“I nap below the raspberries,

wait for the sun to go down.

Cooler evening breezes will

bring me out again…

Moonlight illuminates my way

to explore, hunt, and perhaps to play…

The foliage shields me from the heat,

protects me from predators, but not insects...

provides some shelter from the heavy rains.”

Native Peoples and early humans must have

started like this, fashioning shelter from natural

growths, burrowing underneath foliage,

then modifying with additions.

We took from our environment,

made ever-larger shelters to survive,

modified surroundings in order to thrive.

Now we are too successful,

wiping out most natural surroundings.

Taking three steps back,

we try to mitigate the harm,

repair our earlier damages,

recycle and reuse the resources.

Only time will tell if we are successful.

But today I muse and pick fresh raspberries,

marvel at their explosive growth,

their shaded under girth that provides shelter…

And feel very thankful that they

are still around for me to enjoy.

Make it our last Stan

 

One last stand at the Kabul Airport.

Another foreign power tried to

remake a tribal society, and failed.

So the list grows – one more country,

We sent the Army over to achieve some

nebulous goals so clearly stated.

Some accomplished at a trillion per…

Here is hoping that we wait a very long time

before sending so much blood and treasure

on another wild goose chase.

Those geese cost too much!

Honor and respect other nations to “be,”

without endless meddling to force our ways.

Besides, we have plenty of messes to clean here.

Forest fires, floods, homelessness, climate disruptions.

How about a mission to improve and remake the USA?

Make us energy-independent with emphasis on renewable,

build small homes and villages for all of the homeless,

re-build cities after flood and storm damages;

There is certainly much that could be done here.

Let the Stans stand on their own,

render aid and help to Americans!

Now you know where I stand;

wave goodbye to the Taliban in Afghanistan,

let’s help the United States reach for the stars.

Help scrub the atmosphere - no effort required!

 

A few years back, I was wondering what to do with the back portion of my backyard, about the last 1/3 of the lot. (It is an area approximately 20 ft wide by 25 feet deep.) Since there is always something in the news about the ongoing deforestation of different areas, and climate change in general, it set me to thinking. Why not just give up a portion of my yard to CO2 sequestering? Let the grass grow tall, and any weeds in there grow as well. So I did. The lawn will grow, weeds will grow even more, with No Effort At All on my part, other than to not cut it down. The earth will do the rest.

It is amazing how fast the grass and weeds grow. And all of those plants are sweeping CO2 out of the air, and putting oxygen back in as part of their normal respiration process. In other words, the plants ‘breathe’ or take in carbon dioxide, and ‘exhale’ or let out fresh oxygen for people and animals to breathe. It is a natural cycle that has been happening for millions of years.

I felt good at how my backyard has grown, and how it is helping in some small way to clean the air that I and others breathe. But it made me think, what if others did this too? What if many millions of homeowners all across the US marked off a part of their yard, and just let it grow? They don’t even have to water it. The grass and weeds will grow in time, and they will take in more carbon dioxide, and give off more oxygen. Presto – a significant help to reduce pollution, and offset the greenhouse effect, in one summer!

I do do a bit of maintenance. I cut down anything too woody that gets growing, like small trees. I try to keep it to just plants and maybe shrubbery, and cut down or yank out any obvious trees that start to get growing. But if someone else wants a tree or two, go ahead – everyone has different wants for their yards.

I’m just thinking, what a simple, fast way to offset CO2 pollution and help clean up our air. You would also be creating mini-ecosystems for native plants and animals to thrive. It would be like humans giving the Earth a second chance. Definitely something to consider – and so easy to do. Just mark off a space, and let it grow. Something to give due consideration to, for sure.

     Those with allergies may not want to do this - or at least make sure your space is far back from the house.  This is not a perfect solution, but I think it could help.

 

Another Return to Normalcy (sort of)

 

Here comes the parade of campers,

the formation of fifth-wheel vehicles,

a torrent of air-conditioned horse-trailers...

Everyone, get your yards ready:

Plot out those spaces,

get the signs all made up,

the Fair is coming again,

time to get busy and cash in big!

Over at the fairgrounds they are erecting

partitions and rides and pens,

food stands lining up, plugging in,

stocking up with all manner of things.

The din is increasing, along with anticipation.

Soon eager crowds will pour in,

people and cars, animals and exhaust.

Those of us who live nearby will witness it all,

many parking cars and cashing in on the fun.

(Some of us just want to get through another one.)

Another August ritual has started up again,

after the worst of the pandemic recedes -

Have fun, but keep the masks handy!

Olympic Wonders 2021

 

The bodies could have come off an assembly line,

finely chiseled and cut, perfect muscular forms,

the start tone sounds, now we can witness 

a world-class performance.

Despite all the turmoil in the world today,

a small fraction of humanity is participating

in a pageant of wonder, a ceremony of splendor.

The very best of the best, the finest athletes are

competing for that very top spot in their sport.

To see these sculpted bodies pirouette and somersault,

spin and twist, jackknife and penetrate water,

or leap, twirl, head over feet, to a perfect landing…

It is a visual treat to watch these athletes,

even knowing the exhaustive practices, the pain,

emotional upsets that they must often endure.

Their preparatory time is measured in years, until

for a few moments they stand on a platform,

their national anthem played, their supreme

accomplishment enjoyed for a brief moment...

Soon another Summer Olympics will end,

and then we will have to wait until the Winter Games.

Do not worry, they are right around the corner!

A Shot Felt Around the World

 

Polio didn’t ask for a communist card,

or anyone’s current voter registration;

It just struck people down, took their kids,

crippled you up, put you in an iron lung.

Tuberculosis never waited for a verification

of anyone’s political aspirations;

rather drifted through the air into your lungs,

and that was it, the clock was ticking,

you were basically done for!

People saw others getting sick, then

were alarmed into trying to figure it out.

They studied it, took steps to help the afflicted,

and then built sanatoriums all over the country.

No one in the late 1950s argued about

whether the Salk vaccine was republican or democrat,

they just lined up and got the shot,

avoiding crippling disease and painful deaths.

Antibiotics are apolitical,

they cure everyone,

no matter what their beliefs or religion.

People of the opposing political party

may wonder if you deserve it or not,

that does not matter one bit to me,

just get your damned Covid-19 shots!

Always Stuck on Overdrive

 

What a crazy, silly, offbeat, whacky web we weave

when looking for relationships, friendships, and sex.

We hang out with a close personal friend,

yet look over their shoulder at that other one.

“The grass is always greener on the other side,”

even if the grass on our side is plenty green already.

We want that perfect, joy-filled relationship

that fills every single need imaginable,

but will still understand when we get bored

and want to stray and wander near or far away.

Websites sprout like crabgrass to meet our needy

wanderlust, or just plain sexual lust.

We spend untold time and money venting

our fantasies, getting our hopes dashed,

returning over and over back to square one.

Unless you are that rare human being who

manages to find that one special person,

who fulfills every need now and forever after,

and you never, ever need another one.

You are indeed a rarity, the envy of most

of the rest of the human race.

Congratulations!

As for the rest of us,

we’ll keep obsessing, sifting, whining,

wondering, searching, striking out,

scoring the occasional Big One,

hunting, tripping and stumbling our

way into the old age home, or the grave.

Darned sex drive anyway -

what an over-rated adaptation!

The Earth Knows what to do...

 

When it gets up to ninety-seven,

heat indexes climb without mercy,

the Earth knows what to do.

Throws up weeds all over the place,

faster than people can pull them out.

They give shade, respite, and even a bit of food

to wildlife from around the neighborhood.

Cut a tree down in the yard,

that baking sunlight also nourishes,

mulberries and assorted plants spring up,

sheltering tiny animals, and larger houses too.

Among lots of changes, Nature knows what to do.

She has seen many changes before and always seems

ready with another ‘game plan.’

Tear one thing out,

another takes its place.

Trim one shrub down,

another sprints upward.

Pull one plant out,

some other lurks in soil,

waiting for its chance in the

solar spotlight,

When humanity reaches the 10 billion mark,

the Earth will probably know what to do then too...

and we humans may not like it at all.

Bring on the Heat

 

The thermometer is climbing past ninety-two,

inside the couple on TV are getting steamy too.

Hot air shimmers off the well-baked yard,

I remain camped inside, pretending to be a bard.

High-class people cheating on each other,

getting hurt and then complaining to mother.

Mad chasing around, proposals risked and spurned,

New schemes and plans emerge as hormones surge.

Television seems hotter than any outside temps,

with all the broken promises and crazed attempts.

Makes one glad to be single, unencumbered, free;

Still occasionally miss that noveau amore glee.

Time for some cloud-based notification?

one single male, a possible outlet option;

Comes with a full suite of skills and features,

clean and well-bred, not just an average creature.

Toss the hat into the ring, the penny into the river,

will I get a nibble, flirtations to make me shiver?

Naw, they will just ask for my Snapchat or tik-tok number,

not realizing that I’m older and not even a member.

So glad for my loving cat, up-to-date payments and freedom,

Someone else can endure all of the relationship conundrums.

Happy dating navigation everyone,

hope you have GPS, and also, some fun.

How Many Nudges

 

We tear down entire forests,

grind them up to fire power plants

then wonder why our air is not fit to breathe,

our temperatures keep going up and up.

We launch egomaniac wars,

and slaughter millions.

Torture more, for what?

The ‘panic of the day.’

Corporate statements of responsibility

cover pages and pages,

but we still force sweeteners down the throats

of our unwitting offspring, fattening them up,

condemning our children to Diabetes and miseries.

We choke the landscape with mini-SUVS,

crowd roads and highways so more are built.

Splendid visions of tomorrow require the

removal of hundreds of mature trees today...

(oh but it will be worth it – really?)

It goes on and on and on,

no wonder the Earth is in continual spasms.

Climactic upheavals perhaps try to nudge

the foolish human race towards corrections.

Question is, will the nudges be enough?

Fewer and fewer left says the countdown

 

Thank goodness for the quiet moments,

the interludes, spaces, pauses – these are more desired

than the loud events and occurences.

Those in-between times where one can take a breath,

Surely valued moments indeed.

When one gets older these are discovered,

cherished and valued as much, or more, than any big pop;

One has seen so many big to-do’s,

they blur together after some years into one giant mess.

Enjoy now the pauses and sighs...

But best record those special events too, in pictures, videos

and maybe even recorded mementos.

Some bitter cold January day, might be fun to look back on them.

One Never gets enough happenings, or pauses...

Hope that we get a lot of both before departing this existence forever,

and finding out if there is any truth to the next.

Happy Independence Day 2021!

Fragments

 

Those 1960s icons have just about disappeared,

even those who followed them thin away.

Gamer culture, terabyte touchscreens, and

angry memes now permeate our society.

Change, the malevolent relative that

will not leave us alone, rather goads us on

to greater achievements and scarier heights.

The present just a wisp to be savored before it,

too, evaporates into the realm of memories.

We struggle to make meaning before

meaning (or mincemeat) is made of us –

Is it worth it? Has to be, it better be;

Or the word may get out, that all is lost.

Future spaceships will propel colonists outward,

multitudes of new worlds be discovered and settled;

Restless, boundless humanity will scurry out into

the galaxy, no matter who or what stands in the way.

All the while hoping that ultimately it is worth the effort.

Golden Saliva

 

Forget your routine shopping data,

never mind your income demographics;

Been denied promotions at work?

Gotten fired, or never even hired?

That stuff is all so last century.

Now the big companies want

your very DNA material –

Your essence, your family tree.

All hoovered up by corporations

both small and large – even by

governments from East to West.

Nothing is off-limits anymore.

Never mind charging for our

personal data analytics – time

for consumers to control our helixes.

And time to charge them a ton

for the right to analyze our latest gob of spit!

Real or Virtual - You Decide

 

Flights of fantasy can soar to the stratosphere,

you can build worlds, fight empires, rule galaxies.

Eventually have to come back to earth,

return to the dull world of the real.

There to be refreshed, recharged, renewed –

your body stretched, fueled up and readied for action…

Once again you jump into the enormous battle going on.

Your team goes for it all,

surges to victory,

takes another trophy home.

Where is home these days?

Reality seems to be dissolving,

crumbling before our eyes,

thick textbooks crammed with facts

morphing into websites packed with links,

physical abodes wired and wireless-ed into

a network inter-meshed thicker and thicker.

Are we the wires, or what is on the wires?

Some say that we are in a simulation,

that reality itself is implausible,

unlikely at this point in galactic time!

Difficult to say for sure,

everything is up in the air,

this cypher-body is done typing,

I’m going to wash my hair,

then go to bed, and dream of electric

everything.

Good night.

Again

 

Here we go – again!

A five-hour summit in some remote land,

two world leaders warily shaking hands.

An exchange of ambassadors happens again,

Hostility’s hard ice begins to thaw - once again.

A part of me is relieved – don’t want to see WW III occur.

Another part is aggravated – how many times do we play this?

At least they talked, and seemed to agree to ‘cool it’

with the cold war rhetoric.

But there was no back-slapping goodwill like

the Reagan-Gorbachev years, no sir.

Just hesitant word-dancing by Mr. Putin,

mostly deflecting blame back at us.

Despite our decrepit infrastructure,

the United States is still capable of destruction

on an immense scale – they ignore us at their peril.

Why can’t the world just get along?

People never get along –

we are always fighting over something.

Just a matter of can we hold off on

destroying the world,

at least until our kids grow up.

They can repeat the nonsense,

but at least we won’t be around to see it.

Again.

Rather have one in a glass

 

Better make sure kitty has her rabies shots,

distemper and feline leukemia too!

Must keep our animals a healthy lot,

So they can drink our water and eat our food.

People, too, need shots to stay healthy,

Chicken pox and measles, and diptheria,

tetanus and meningitis and hepatitis,

whooping cough, polio, mumps and rubella;

and all the other -itises and -ellas out there,

at least the ones we know of...

With more of these nasty bugs appearing,

we need to keep getting stuck again and again;

Wonder how onerous these constant shots will get?

Maybe someday we will require a daily infusion

of antibacterial, anti-viral soups to help us survive.

Since people are mostly a collection of bacteria,

this is mainly a war of microscopic proportions,

and we are just “along for the ride.”

How to get the upper hand?

How will we ever know?

They probably control our brain too!

Good luck out there, and get your shots :-)

Back to Normal

 

The ballpark is once again full of crowds,

excitement roaring, Bright colorful lights, fireworks,

the bat cracking a hit, runners fleeing basemen.

Outside the park crowds circle and mingle and chatter.

The bars have full patios, folks mill about laughing,

cars cruise by, music booms and voices holler.

The whole city once again springs alive in the evenings.

Humanity exits from hiding, and comes together in joy.

We may have just beaten this horror,

this formless terrorist that held us prisoner for so long,

this cursed Covid-19 crap.

The highways are full of holiday drivers as well

as big rigs delivering new supplies for everyone.

You have to have toys to party with, as well as drive

to whatever party you seek.

Restaurants are swamped, stores are full, help-wanted

signs are sprouting up all over the place.

The economy is booming along once again.

Someday, another epidemic could arise,

and we should be wary of that.

In the meantime, party and enjoy, everyone!

We sure as hell deserve it after the last 15 months.

May one and all have a happy, festive and delightful summer!

Skating thru Dimensions

 

People of all ages move and mill around;

some skate with passion, flying over rails

and jumping curbs, zip up inclines and across barrels.

They leap, land, stop fast or sometimes fall down.

Stately male forms pose in motion, hair flying in the breezes.

If only one could capture that perfect human form.

Some cameras attempt this often.

The youth, the beauty, splendor of perfection,

golden mean, heavenly ratio of form -

to just be near it, and bathe in its radiance.

That one young adult likely obsessed at some point

over facial imperfections or acne or something.

He has little or no idea of just how perfect

his form and essence actually is.

Hopefully those who do will tell him or her

how beautiful they really are, so someday they

can look back, decades later, and think,

“yes, I was once that way too.”

Humanity ebbs and flows,

circulates and coruscates.

Grows up, grows older, grows oldest.

The cycle never stops,

only perception can pause it at times.

Thank goodness for the many windows,

doors and corridors of the mind to take it all in,

and gaze satisfied at the mental take over a lifetime.