08 February 2019


Abundance Independence

23 January 2019

I feel fulfilled and good,
Keeping promises of my childhood.
Someday, maybe someday; 
I'd dream and say
"Things'll happen one day."
Over time circumstances have changed
And my life's been rearranged.
Now I have the time and means
To give life to my dreams.
I no longer have to live in scarcity,
Lacking resources to overcome adversity. 
Pulled up by my own bootstraps,
I'm the one setting improvement caps.
Shifting paradigms have lead to abundance,
Empowerment, choice and independence.
I don't have to do as others will.
I get to choose my own nectar or swill.
In choosing I evaluate the odds,
Is it nectar of swine or swill of the gods?

26 December 2018

Dnieper Rapids

I'm in the middle of writing a historical fiction short story. The plot is about a British teen who is enslaved by Viking raiders, then taken to Kievan Rus'. Along the way a skald sings about rapids on the Dnieper River. The place names I've only seen in print and never heard pronounced. I hope they rhyme.

From the Valdai Hills, the Dnieper River flows.
Mostly south to the Black Sea it goes.
There are rapids all along with twists and turns.
The count is nine rapids where the water churns.
Most are quite a fall. Only two are navigable
And the rest of them only spell trouble.
"Don't sleep!" at the first named Kodatsky. 
"Island Waterfall" is the second at Sursky.
After that Lohansk's quite a zinger.
Dzvonesky's a real bell ringer.
Nenasytec's very naughty and violent.
At Vovnyzky the waves are turbulent.
At Budylo be sure to rouse
Or waves'll splash over the prows.
The term "rapid" is superfluous at Lyshny.
Finally, you're free at Vil'ny.

08 November 2018

Cry Awry


Cry Awry

21 Sept 2018

You're losing sleep.
Cancer's the reason why.
The hurt runs deep,
So go ahead and cry.
Your life's been sideswiped
And it's direction has altered.
As you've been stereotyped,
Perhaps your step has faltered.
There's a new normal starting now.
You're not sure of what will be.
You'll manage to get by somehow
In spite of all the ache and misery.
Unexpectedly life's different.
You're mourning the way it was.
Living has a new battlefront.
You don't care about dramas.
People around you voice opinions.
Regardless of what splatters,
You stick to your guns
And focus on what matters.
The pain and hurt run deep.
For some relief, go ahead and cry.
You're losing way too much sleep
And cancer's the reason why.

19 September 2018

Detracts And Facts


Detracts And Facts

13 Sept 2018

From the way some people declare
Frank unsupported statements,
There's no way to say they err
And point out how to make adjustments.
Frequently underlying conditions aren't stated
And little proof is asserted
So nothing can be debated
And counter arguments can't be inserted.
That's the way people communicate
About politics and religion.
There's no effort to educate,
Not even a smidgen.
The expounders come across as propagandists,
Not open to a different point of view.
In the end they become sadists,
Bleating my eardrums in two.
Convictions are intense opinions.
Their energetic claim detracts
From logic, and the companions
Of faith and belief aren't facts.

23 May 2018

Overdue #metoo

#metoo

Overdue #metoo

21 May 2018

It used to be you could
Blame the victim.
Male privilege would
Hand out the dictum.

Now we're claiming
Our worthiness by naming
The perps and reframing
The situation by proclaiming
An end to blaming and shaming.

Giving credit where it's due
And shining light on the issue
With the hashtag #metoo.
It's a topic that's long overdue
And talking about it's not taboo.

As victims we felt all alone.
Today we're setting a new tone.
Old ways are being overthrown.
Patriarchy isn't carved in stone.
We're showing some backbone.

Nostalgia doesn't cut it anymore.
No going back to the way it was before.
Our movement is too big to ignore.
We're fighting with words; and more
We're voting to make our voices roar.

05 April 2018

Ring The Bell


Ring The Bell

16 March 2018

At the end of chemo or radiation
They call it graduation.
All staff and caregivers congregate
With the patients to celebrate.

The young Mademoiselle,
With more meaning than she could tell,
Cried as she rang the bell.

No polite decorum for me.
It's not about dignity,
Nor preserving serenity.
I'm making the most of this opportunity.

After weeks of nausea hell,
With a rebel yell,
He grabbed the rope and rang the bell.

Let the bell of hope ring loud and long
As we celebrate becoming strong;
Strong enough to face cancer as beginners
And come out the other side as winners.

Hoping all would be well,
For quite a spell
The child rang the bell.

15 March 2018

Shoes Blues



Shoes Blues

11 March 2018

Holes in the soles of my shoes
Has me singing the blues.

After looking at the selection
Of shoes in the store's collection,
Each with its own appeal,
I chose a pair close to my ideal.
At first I liked the look and feel,
Then the flaws started to reveal.
Holes in the soles of my shoes
Has me singing the blues.

Cracks appeared where the uppers flexed.
I didn't see what happened next.
The tops seemed to go unchanged,
But the bottoms were becoming deranged.
That went unnoticed until it rained
And the wetness I felt was unexplained. 
Holes in the soles of my shoes
Has me singing the blues.

Much to my dismay, at home I looked at
My shoe bottoms and could see that
The soles had a crack across the ball.
That's why my socks were wet and all.
I'll have to buy some replacements,
Adding to my money disbursements. 
Holes in the soles of my shoes
Has me singing the blues.

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Personal note: There's been a lapse in my postings. In December 2017 I got a sore spot on my tongue that made it hard to talk and chew, so I went in to see the doctor. On the 2nd January 2018 the doctor called to say I had medium squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. On January 21st I went to the hospital and fell among the surgeons. They knocked me out, yanked a tooth, cut out my tongue and slit my throat. The doctors were having such a good time they slit my throat twice, in front and down the side. After a week in Medical Intensive Care and 3 weeks in a skilled nursing facility, I came home. In the SNF I recovered enough to start talking again. On March 12th I started chemotherapy and radiation that will go on for six weeks. I get most of my nutrition thru a feeding tube. I can't wait until this is all over and I can come up with a funny way to tell my dramatic story.

04 December 2017

Heart-warming And Charming


Heart-warming And Charming

28 November 2017

Your beauty welcomes me.
Your visual appeal touches me
And goosebumps manifest
To make me feel blessed.
Good looks come from symmetry, 
Proportion and repetition,
Like in the marble parquetry.
All three are done to perfection.
Everywhere, underfoot and overhead,
Is elegance and loveliness.
Prettiness and grandeur are wed
Into luxury and courtliness.
The paucity of my treasury
Prevents me from staying long.
My enjoyment must be momentary,
Short, like I don't belong.
The fleeting moments are stowed,
In my memory where they won't corrode,
To warm my heart with grandness
From the sparks of beauty's flame.
In times of poverty and blandness,
I reflect back on your lovely acclaim.

16 November 2017

‘I Want To Write’ Rewrite


‘I Want To Write’ Rewrite

27 October 2017
Original by Margaret Walker

I want to write, not just anything.
I wanna write the songs of my folks.
I want to hear them singing melodies in the evening.
I wanna record the strains rising from their throats
As they form their dreams into words; their souls into notes.
I wanna catch their sunshine laughter in a bowl
As they fling dark hands to a darker sky and some
Reach to fill their hands full of stars.
Then they crush and mix such lights until they become
A mirrored pool of brilliance in Mason jars.


I Want To Write
by Margaret Walker

I want to write
I want to write the songs of my people.
I want to hear them singing melodies in the dark.
I want to catch the last floating strains from their sob-torn throats.
I want to frame their dreams in to words; their souls into notes.
I want to catch their sunshine laughter in a bowl;
fling dark hands to a darker sky
and fill them full of stars
then crush and mix such lights till they become
a mirrored pool of brilliance in the dawn.

29 October 2017

Guidelines Road Signs


Guidelines Road Signs

27 October 2017

While traveling on vacation,
Anywhere across the nation,
Look for signs high and low
So you know where to go.
Hoping that by using GPS
You’ll avoid getting lost,
And steer clear of any mess
That would add to the cost.
In an unfamiliar location
It’s easy to misinterpret
The guidepost’s indication
And decide the right gambit.
In cities with multiple lanes
Sometimes it’s hard to see
Which way is right and pertains
Or leads to missed opportunity.
One wrong turn and suddenly
You have to get back on track.
The map app helps certainly
When you’re out of whack.
Still it’s a traffic matter 
Of being in the right place
So you don’t go splatter
From being in the wrong space.