Lofty and mundane


Reading science fiction, watching science fact,
Brain cells illuminated with remote possibilities;
Mind travels back and forth, across factual tracts,
Landscapes of ascendant technological probabilites.

Then one comes crashing back to Earth.
Got to get chores done, get a damn haircut;
Meet society's expectations, prove one's worth,
Clean house, clean car, pay bills, make the cut.

Forced to intermingle with judgmental beings,
Needing, requesting, paying for their services;
Fighting traffic, struggling with computers, seeing
That yesteryears' miracles are todays nervousness.
As I slog through daily trials with bitches and glitches,
Lofty predictions of futuristic ease leave me in stitches!


Another sonnet about the shitskies of daily living.

Everything is Tentative

Life is so ephemeral,
Fleeting like the wind;
One day you are a juvenile,
The next struggling to get thin.

Those long, endless days of youth,
Afternoon hours stretching sunnily,
Little thought given to status or couth,
Traversing moments, hours, days happily.

Another friend passed away the other day,
Commonality, acquaintance all too brief;
Add him to the list, those who have gone away,
Building ever larger my internal store of grief.
A seven-month battle with cancer, Randy finally lost --
I still live, older, having survived fate's coin toss.


In Memory and honor of Randy Van Hosen, who passed away recently.

Financial Gyrations


Markets swinging up and down,
Moving to latest buzz or news;
Business analysts smile or frown,
Pontificating latest Wall Street views.

Federal Reserve pumping money in,
Inflating hopes and stock prices alike;
Cutting interest rates, hoping to win
Economic battle, aiding banks plight.

Foolish lending standards started it all;
Giving money to poorly-qualified borrowers;
Bad loans led to subprime mortgage freefall,
Housing defaults burning bond insurers.

Stocks of banking institutions tumbled,
Losses and red ink multiplied;
Freezing effect left CFO's humbled,
Stock, derivative traders petrified.

When, how will this all end?
Recent Fed actions seem to help;
More positive signals to send,
To battered consumers needing help!

Those struggling with high prices,
Scrounging to pay for gas;
Giving up treats and vices,
Slogging through economic morass.

Future looking bleak for common folk,
Outsourcing, plant closings crushing blows;
Endless Iraq warfare diminishing any hope,
Sapping U.S. commodity and oil flows.

Alternative energy our only glimmer,
Single bright spot on the horizon;
Motorists forced to drive slimmer,
Give up those giant expeditions!

Trade in SUV's for compact transportation,
Cut back on usage of heat, lights,
Welcome to 21st century consumption,
Everyone affected by Fossil Fuel plight.

Possible that citizenry will come out ahead,
May well be that USA will be far better off;
Clean enviornment, energy independent,
Our hopes and dreams once again aloft!



Lets hope so anyway. (c) 2008 Mike Wilson

Lunch with friends


Ate lunch with friends today,
Managed to fire off some words,
Personal experiences, opinions --
Listened to their offerings,
Soaking in, savoring hot,
Tasty food and juicy information.

Saw an old ex-employer,
Had lost his legs, sat in a wheelchair,
Wounded in past, wasteful conflict...
Now just another burden on taxpayers.
But their table seemed happy, too.

A romantic interest was there,
Invited me out Saturday night --
Good, something else to anticipate,
Circus of life continues to revolve,
in a not-too-unpleasant fashion.


This was actually written yesterday, after a Sunday lunch with friends.

Spring


Sun escapes continual cloud cover,
Bursting forth in blinding brilliance;
Air feels balmy, like arms of a lover,
Ice cover melting, leaving wet translucence.

Birdsong begins pervading the air,
Flitting shapes colonizing awakening trees,
Blades of grass segue into green, here and there,
Bitter colds' harshness yields to warmths' ease.

There is promise of better days ahead,
Despite drumbeat of dire financial news;
Surviving hard-frozen winter dread,
Summer plans, hopes begin to fuse.
Made it through another dark, harsh Iowa winter,
Lighthearted, longing for rewards of warm Summer!



Cannot wait until summer vacation this year!

Another Beach


Another medical problem appears,
Pain, palpitations, or passing out;
Bodily health, once again in arrears,
As latest condition rears its ugly snout.

As Dad gets older, crosses boundaries,
He keeps encountering new conditions;
Sturdy body still presenting quandries,
The ex-Marine commences another mission:

Another beach to hit, positions to take,
Another objective to reach, fort to breach;
Enemy Gunners relentless, hot lead rakes,
Lobbing Anyurisms, Strokes, anything within reach!
This determined Marine, today, surely will prevail...
All the other beaches he has taken, how can he possibly fail?



For my father in Florida, now facing more health issues in the hospital.

Reading is vital


Reading is important, for the whole person,
Illuminate your mind with possibilities;
Planting multitudes of mental seeds,
Sprouting into future potentialities.

Aside from the present benefits,
Granting mental release and adventure;
Brain made fertile, nutrified with ideas,
Providing future knowledge nodules.

High school, college classes alike,
Tap into, interconnect the nodules.
Even as more reading is required,
Then writing assignments, summaries.
Early reading fully prepares mental soil,
For rich harvest of ideas, knowledge later.
Older adults, too, can keep their minds sharp,
Bathing in flow of information, soaking in ideas.


In honor of local reading programs, and for Susan.

What the hell?


It started with persistent pain,
Down deep within my lungs...
Not a muscle pull, this was sustained.
Asbestos, Cancer fears swirled, unsung.

Then the cough, sore throat began.
Was hoping it was a minor cold;
Pain and cough meds lent helping hand,
Flu-like symptoms making me feel weak, old.

Ironically, rest of life is going well,
Finances holding steady, writings published.
If could just get through this flu hell,
Life become a banquet, to be relished...
Cruel, subminiature strands of DNA,
Robbing me of time to live, work and play.


Just when I thought I'd make it thru the winter without catching another bug, comes this....Yuk.

CanUSAda


Two monumental nations, vast resources,
Shared dedication to democracy;
Frontiers tamed with wagons and horses,
Pioneers escaping rule of aristocracy.

Two entities facing common tests,
Energy, global warming, immigration;
Terrorists, other enemies will not rest,
Keep trying to provoke conflagration.

Perhaps an all-encompassing solution,
Novel, cheeky, bold new proposal:
Merger of equals, ending any confusion,
On who is the most powerful nation on Earth.
CanUSAda, the new collossus formed,
Leads the world to a bright new morning.


We should do it, the sooner the better.

Bragging Rights


While friends struggle to get employed,
An acquaintance quit over salary dispute;
Meanwhile I'm feeling somewhat bouyed,
Although holding a position of low repute.

The economy is sinking into recession,
Unemployment rate creeping higher;
Foreclosures spiking, engenders depression,
Situation is beginning to look pretty dire.

But, I stuck it out through early years,
Now have seniority and higher wages;
Good rapport with office eases fears,
Retirement security for advanced ages.
By sticking it out with a good company,
Am safe and sound, even in a bad economy!



Was feeling pretty good (at least most of the day) after our FBG ESOP celebration last Saturday. Too bad I cought a minor cold somewhere along the line as well - s--t happens I guess.

Moving a Mountain


Multitude of wheels, all turning, synchronized,
Eighteen windows, peering with empty gaze.
Company's goal, developers' dream realized,
Soon, on High Street, moving building will amaze.

It was constructed in 1902 as elegant living,
Murillo Apartments, grand three-story edifice;
Condos attempted there, markets unforgiving,
New office project finally pushed it over precipice.

Now, it is time for the old dame to travel,
Better that, than face the wrecking ball --
Condominium dreams having unravelled,
Will be basic housing, a roof and four walls.
Finally coming to rest just a few blocks away,
New Sherman Hill place to live, work and play.


Moving a large, old apartment building, the whole thing, a few blocks to make way for a new Insurance building in downtown Des Moines. Weighs something like 500 tons.

Kabookie Dance


Funding for Space
Difficult at best,
In a conundrum.

Shuttle program ending,
Orion still in development,
Astronauts soon grounded.

Should we buy more Soyuz craft?
Could we rely on civilian Transports?
Some unfunded capsule by Boeing?

Congress grilling NASA,
Administrator struggling,
At a loss for answers.

Unless US astronauts
Magically sprout thrusters,
They will be stuck on Terra Firma.


- with apologies to all involved, watched the congressional hearing today on NASA-TV,
when the congressman said "Kabookie Dance" I just had to write something about it *grin*.

In praise of prose


Free prose diction from form of fiction,
Set yourself off in a new direction;
Let loose one's poetry from restriction,
Explore virgin worlds without protection.

Shakespeare waving wand of discipline,
Petrarch insisting on romantic minglings?
Milton inscribing formalistic epistles,
Even Lear formatting Limerick jinglings --

Rather, launch creative verbiage outward,
String sentences in various combinations;
Focus one's mental seeing eye inward,
Document resulting fascinating revelations.
Savor novel essences of unique verse wines,
Liberated from formal prison of meter and rhyme!

How about that, a sonnet about not writing sonnets.

Petrarchian playground


Writing poetry in Sonnets is fun,
Whether preferred form is Shakespearean,
Or if your pleasure is Petrarchian,
Can cover any subject under the sun.

Close, intense battle between Clinton, McCain?
Continuing warfare, bombings in Iraq?
Other worldwide extremist terror attacks?
High gas prices driving one insane?

Just get out pen and paper,
No reason to hesitate --
Cast out all your emotions...

Writing passions never waver,
Use the medium to initiate,
Deeper, thoughtful human convocations.

An experiment in alternate sonneteering.

Unquenched desire for springtime


Cold, grey snow crunches underfoot,
Air steams out of my aching lungs,
Knives of chill assault exposed skin,
Breathing ragged, head faint, hurrying inside.

Another brutal winter morning,
Headed into work, no choice,
Would so much rather stay in bed,
Warm, saturated with pleasant dreams.

Dreams of sunshine, warm green grass,
Birdsong, kids playing outside, flowers.
Masses of flowers swaying and scenting
Balmy breezes, caressing ones hopes,
Sweetening vision, magic summer skies.

I make it inside, relieved --
Gasp for breath, momentarily thankful
Just to be alive. Rapidly, though,
Fantasize warm, beautiful springtime,
Evanescing through my busy workaday mind.


Hope the weatherman is right about a coming warming trend!

$100.00 Oil


We rise each day, struggle to get ready,
Hustle any kids to school, hurl selves to workplaces;
Slog through assignments, keeping tempers steady,
Bosses, kids, daily requirements put us through paces.

Prices keep going up, wages lagging behind,
We take another job, tighten our financial belts;
Home heating products price continues to climb,
We watch our financial hopes and dreams melt.

Amidst our struggles, shadowy traders lurk,
Bidding and selling oil futures, deriviatives;
Keep buying, driving up crude prices, the jerks,
Causing drivers to pay more, spew out expletives.
These greedy, criminal trading entities,
Causing an American economic catastrophe.


Time to go shopping for a bicycle.

Below Zero


Global Warming is coming, Beware!
So the refrain is yelled and screamed;
Every nation, pay attention, be very scared,
Real change, not just an enviornmental dream.

Air pollution, fossil fuel overconsumption,
Obviously a bad idea. Renewable
Energy technology neccessary, valid assumption,
Need for some change is not debatable.

But, our roads are coated with snow so cold,
Icemelting chemicals do not even work;
Bitter winds cutting through anyone so bold,
To venture out to job, store or church!
Seems like we could use a dose of Global Warming,
Because here in the Midwest, we are really freezing!


Come on already, Springtime, and hurry!

White s--t


Heavy, wet stuff, clumping and coagulating,
Some sticking on shovel, some sliding off --
Some light, some heavier --
Perfect snowman construction consistency.
Brilliant flashes of sunlight break, glimmer.
Wind a persistent gale, constantly groaning,
Telling me, Do not even think about leaving today!

But, the neighbor made it out okay...
Damn them anyway,
I mutter, hefting the shovel.

Relating to, "But Outer Space" by Robert Frost.


Personal Spaceflight around the corner,
Bigelow and Rutan building new ships;
Paying passengers cross Khazak border,
Ride Soyuz craft for their ISS trips.

International Space Station coming together,
Shuttles visiting, adding more components;
Europeans Columbus vessel making it better,
Pleasing space habitation proponents.

All this noise and hullabaloo,
Generates exitement and adrenaline.
If one could live a century or two,
Could see some of it come to fruition.
Reality is agonizingly slow progress,
Fits and starts, and occasional successes.


-written for a poetry contest, so I put it here too.

Shrinking Thinking Machines


One human generation ago, computers were mainframes.
Hulking core memory, transistored, tubed goliaths.
Giant rooms, air conditioning tonnage, thick cables;
Operators, Programmers, acolytes serving a machine-god.
Common folk saw only printed invoices, punch cards.

Suddenly, first Personal Computers emerged.
Radio Shack, Commodore, Apple I, Altair;
Tiny memories, limited abilities, huge prices.
First, one had to program them, and then run them!
Cellphones and Internet were still laboratory infants.

Big Blue waded into the fray, IBM PC appeared.
Standardization, some useful software, increased deployment.
Industry shakeout, smaller players dissapearing.
Commodore, Radio Shack perservered, struggling...
Memory and disk capacities increasing, displays improving.

Cellular phones propagated far and wide,
First bricks, gradually giving way to flip-phones.
Rudimentary cellular datacommunications appeared;
Multimedia PC's, CD-ROMs, Modems made their debut.
Windowing software, mice made them easier to use!

Finally, worldwide Internet made universal appearance,
WWW and E-mail taking the world by storm.
PC and Macintosh hardware capabilities increasing,
Moore's Law confirming their assault on Mainframe power.
Cellphones became handheld multimedia entertainment centers.

Today we live in a wired, wireless world.
Audio-video entertainment over IP networks,
Discretely-switched copper yielded fast,
Enmeshed with soft-switched optical grids;
Terabyte-tweaked reality now straining wetware brains!


One human generation, many machine iterations :-)