28 December 2014

Peace Piece

Peace Piece
25 Dec 2014

Two men in a quiet place
Arm in arm, face to face,
Caught in a tight embrace.
Their touching slowing its pace.
Peace pervades their space.

Two diplomats in a quiet space,
Arranged meeting face-to-face.
Caught between a rock and a hard place.
Hostilities slowing their pace,
Peace negotiations take place.

Two nations in a quiet place,
Friendly nations on their face,
United by trade’s embrace.
Negotiations happen at their own pace,
Peace is present in this space.

30 November 2014

Shower by the Hour

Shower by the Hour
29 November 2014

I swear the gas bill’s going up
And the water bill, too.
It’s all from Al showing up
To shower and shampoo.
When the water’s just right
He doesn’t know he’s over the top
And the water just runs in spite
Of the costs going on non-stop.
He turns around and around
Under the water’s warm spray,
Dancing naked and unbound,
Acting like it’s time to play.
He’d turn the water off
If he had any common sense.
It’s time to towel off
Instead of testing my beneficence.
I fervently hope that he
Cooperates and understands
Instead of leaving me
Just wringing my hands.

19 October 2014

Embracing Pacing


Embracing Pacing
18 October 2014

While visiting my nephew
The baby wailed and bawled.
What on earth should I do
So he no longer squalled?
I picked up the wee one
And held him in my arms.
From experience in person
One way to silence his alarms
Was to walk the floor,
Pacing around and around.
Going outside thru the door
He stopped making any sound.
In a moment of reflection,
I realized he wouldn't stay
At this stage of perfection,
An expression of his naivete.
He'll be small enough to carry
For just a little while more.
This stage is just momentary
Then he won't be a baby anymore.

27 September 2014

Fall Aerosol

Fall Aerosol
26 Sept 2014

Not high summer's floodlight garish blaze
Nor the tepid temperature of a solstice,
The September sun casts its own glaze
Of autumn tone and illumination jaundice.
The afternoon feels pleasant.
As the seasons turn in sequel,
Each with its own feel. At present
I sense that recently Fall fell.
The seasons are turning their annual wheel.
As much as I want to hold onto summer,
Autumn beckons with its own appeal.
Gone is the worrisome sunburn bummer.
Now I worry more about getting chilled,
But there's a jacket in my closet if I need.
The trees are putting on their fall gild
And my behavior best change at a speed
That's been impressed and instilled,
And by the season's pattern decreed.

25 September 2014

Autumn Totem


Autumn Totem
21 Sept 2014

Let there be an end to the day
And its activity.
It's time for sleep to stay
In all its passivity.
It's a time for changing gears,
Taking life at a slower speed
And laying down, my dears,
To let my pace match my need.

Autumn has come at the roots
Of summer's growth and commotion.
It's time to enjoy the fruits
Of the production and promotion.
Fall has a unique feeling
From the lower temperature
And slowing down, dealing
Nature's distinctive signature.

I've matured into my golden years.
Sometimes I sense it's time
To slow down, shifting gears
To enjoy life at its prime,
To reduce duty and participation.
Gently braking until my last breath
And that feeling of emancipation
When I shall finally taste death.

28 August 2014

Estuary Sanctuary

My muse has me channeling the blues.


Estuary Sanctuary
17 August 2014

Let me tell you what happened,
Share my story, if you're willing.
While over visiting a friend
We were laid back, just chilling
When suddenly the cops busted in.
Somebody must have ratted on us.
A slimy traitor we trusted in
Turned all snitch and dishones'.
To me it was just a little toke,
Just a wee puff of weed.
To the cop it was no joke
Tho justice was miscarried.
I'm running from the law
In the state of Arkansas.

While visiting shirttail relations,
We started playing stud poker.
I thought I knew the regulations
Even tho my cousin's a known joker.
You know how the talk goes around
Dissing each other while gaming,
Trying to outdo each other's putdown.
A misunderstanding led to my framing.
Now I'm on the lam
In the land of Alabam.

In the region of rice and beans
I found refuge in New Orleans.
In that jazzy city
Finally somebody had pity.
There among the Cajun queens
Using cagy ways and means,
My hard efforts do the trick
To make a living by sucking dick.

25 July 2014

Published by The Australia Times

One of my poems was published by The Australia Times (TAT) in their poetry magazine. I'm totally blown away, they used my photo and gave me a two-page spread. After clicking on the link below, in the lower right corner of the screen, you can enter page 62 to skip directly to my poem.
http://www.theaustraliatimes.com/magazine/poetry/issue/215/

15 July 2014

Not Tasking, Basking


Not Tasking, Basking
9 July 2014

Among the abandoned mines,
We look at the summer sky.
Relaxing in the pines,
We watch three hawks circle by.
Sitting on the porch swing
Listening to the birds sing,
Swatting occasional flies,
Not doing a darn thing,
Just swapping true lies.
Together, my friend and I
Watch the evening sunset.
As the time goes by,
Life is good, you bet.

23 June 2014

Nightfall Overhaul


Nightfall Overhaul
10 June 2014

Good night, Paul, good night.
Time to turn out the light.
As you sleep tight,
I wish you sweet dreams.
In the glow of moonbeams,
May pleasant be the themes
Of the scenes in your mind.
As sleep helps you unwind,
Relaxation is assigned.

17 June 2014

Morning Jog, Day's Prolog


Morning Jog, Day's Prolog
12 June 2014

Leap, run, run
Is my cadence
In the morning sun
Near my residence.
The sun on my skin
Feels warm and good.
A touch of silken
Breeze cools the neighborhood.
I wave at the neighbor
I see as I run past.
It adds to the caliber
Of my day's forecast.

12 June 2014

Cream of Self-Esteem


Cream of Self-Esteem
9 June 2014

The old uptight me
Is now loose and free,
The way it ought to be.
After years of agony
I've broken from tyranny.

The tyranny of group think
That was way out of sync
So I felt like a rat fink
And brought me to the brink
Of almost no more pen and ink.

Pen and ink let me fully express
My inner self with success,
Without having to repress,
Confess or be a mess.
It's been a long process.

A process of listening and reading,
Uploading new ways of thinking.
By baby steps proceeding,
Getting results, not misleading,
Old ways gradually receding.

28 May 2014

Touch As Such


Touch As Such
23 May 2014

Your hand on my knee
Generates the calm
Of skin on skin.
The sensation pleases me,
To feel the palm
Of another human.
Let me soak in our alchemy
And focus on the balm
Of the touch vitamin.

11 May 2014

For Mother's Day


Honor On Her
10 May 2014

As soon as she's pregnant
A prospective mother dreams.
Most of them are poignant
As she plans and schemes.
She has very high hopes
As she suffers and copes.

On this day we honor the women
Who labored to give us birth,
Who gave their all for our beginnin'
And fostered us on this earth.
The name I value above any other
Is the sacred name of Mother.

19 March 2014

One Horseman's Son


One Horseman's Son
16 March 2014

On paper my father was a farmer
But that's something of a misnomer.
Although he spent time pulling plows
I never knew him to own any cows.
Proving as a groom that he was a generous gent,
He gave my mother a horse as a wedding present.
Around the time I came along
His horse herd was a dozen strong.
Among canyons and hills renowned
For expansive outdoor spaces,
Were acres and acres of playground
And an all-around view of faraway places.
I grew up riding horses on our days off.
We would see the them from a ways off
And approach with grain in a pail,
Shaking it to make the sale.
With their noses in the bucket, distracted,
It was easy to slip a loop around their neck
Before they caught on and reacted.
Just reins were all you needed, by heck,
To ride bareback and race with the wind.
Nothing more fun could be imagined.

How pleasant to wallow in the sentimentality
Of remembering youth in less than its totality.
I now live hours away in another state.
Growing up on a ranch didn't determine my fate.
My current lifestyle is different from then,
Very different from what might have been.
Hoeing beans and getting sunburned.
Was the very first money I earned.
I carefully accounted for every penny that came.
The values learned then are now lived the same.
Yes, much has changed over the many years,
But I'm still the horseman's son, my dears.

10 March 2014

Rhyming Dictionary

I haven't posted any poems lately because I've been concentrating on compiling a rhyming dictionary. Here're some words I worked on today. Do they rhyme for you?


Al
owl
foul
fowl

Hal
howl
Cal
cowl

corral
chorale
Val
vowel

This is a glaring example of English words that sound the same, but aren't spelled the same. Maybe English spelling needs to be revised or reformed.

10 February 2014

Published in Australia

One of my poems was published by the Australia Times, page 53.

http://www.theaustraliatimes.com/emagazines/poetry/issue203/#p=52

17 January 2014

Cyberspace Interface


Cyberspace Interface
17 Jan 2014

Let's rejoice in our day of liberation.
We don't have to wander as strangers anymore.
Glad tidings are resounding thru each nation
Around the world from Livermore to Timor.
With the internet to connect us together
At all hours, be it daylight or midnight,
Regardless of the seasons or weather,
Bush inhabitant contacting urbanite.
It's fairly easy to find others who
Have the same interests reported,
So we don't have to muddle thru
Feeling all alone and unsupported.