Hooligan

You cannot barter or disdain

This flesh-eating hooligan, this devil, this saint.

Disguised as he may be in hooded robe,

Distant in shadows he strikes his prey.

 

By day you may know him again and again

As he changes his mask to suit purpose and cause.

But light from above pales sinister eyes

That strike like daggers impaling the heart.

 

I was the foolish one, innocent victim,

Giving in blindly for promises made.

Never conceiving deceit in the bargain,

Never foreseeing the price I must pay.

 

Woe be to you who sets caution aside

When the hooligan bastard touches your sleeve.

Better to look into fire-wielding eyes and

To know who your enemy is from the start.

 

Dilly Dally

So easy to let little things

Turn into vague meanderings,

Distractions of attractions

Unconnected to reality.

 

Possessed to dilly dally as

The time begins to tally

To a late last minute rally

Built on inconsistency.

 

Focus? Not a large concern

As seconds tick and hours turn,

Precious lessons all but spurned

In addle-minded youth.

 

So much for hard persistence in

This muddled-up existence

Ever widening the distance

Between fantasy and truth.

 

Time keeps moving forward,

Never thinks to hesitate,

Will not hold your place in line,

Will not negotiate.

 

Kaleidoscope

Crank up all the colors just to 

     Mesmerize my eyes as the

          Fleeting, flowing, free-fall

               Sends my senses in a spin.

 

Simple shapes selected, then

     Reflected one by one by one

          In a multi-layered mirroring

               That doubles back again.

 

Turn the tube to view the show

     Of sequined, sparkling shapes.

          Find designs of every kind

               As light sublimely bends.

 

Even though you know the show 

     Is shy reality,

          It’s glee to spin, then spin again,

                And easy to pretend.

 

Praying for a joyful trek,

     A grand kaleidoscope.

          Riding boldly with my eyes,

               Enjoying to the end.

 

 

Flirtatious

It could be as simple as

A batted eyelash, hardly noticed.

Or perhaps as subtle as a

Head-tilt, hair-flip with a wink.

 

Oft times just the slightest gesture

Lends its’ hint of openness,

Body language shouting loud

Before the mind has time to think.

 

One brief moment she is princess

Dazzling the haloed room,

All your childhood fantasies,

Your Cinderella dressed in pink.

 

Though your vows are aged with ivy

And your will is hinged in stone,

She will use her winsome wiles to

Graze your armor, find the chink.

 

Now reality grows feet.

Was her wink designed for me?

Must be my imagination

Falling hard to break the link.

 

Jezebel

There is danger in these eyes,

Tempting as their lure may be.

A darkness of deceitful lies

Casts shadows surreptitiously

To hide behind her supple limbs,

Kiss the sunset of her lips.

Taste the magical delight

Dancing from her fingertips.

 

There is little to forewarn as

She lies stealth in her disguise.

All her wiles come into play

Offering herself as prize.

 

Gleefully he takes the lure,

Sets the hook deep in his jaw.

Weakened by his carnal urge,

Lust becomes his fatal flaw.

 

Who would know you, Jezebel?

Who would heed your siren’s call?

Mind is strong but flesh is weak and

Eyes cannot foresee the fall.

 

Lament

His was a battle of untold proportions,

Unknown, unsung by anyone else.

Sharing the burden was never an option,

Squaring his shoulders so no one could tell.

 

Stoic and Spartan, this faceless emotion

Stored in a vault, never lending a key.

Asking no favor, giving no quarter,

No hint of pain by the slightest degree.

 

Now that it’s over, his journey complete,

A calm settles over his battle-scarred face

As if to remember a time before anguish

Became his obsession, quickened his pace.

 

We who remain will be charged to bear witness,

To ever be mindful his memory survives.

Tasteful retelling of his brave heart story,

Grateful reminder as he claims his prize.

 

Gregarious

She glides on air, this flittering bird,

Mere inches above the flickering footlights

That sparkle and sway as she swishes about

In butterfly fashion, charming the crowd.

 

Stealth is her enemy, whispers unwanted.

Best to gain conquest of every ear.

Accent promoted by flirtatious gestures.

Senses of subtlety never allowed.

 

Friends who adore her cling to each word.

Strangers are friends who she just hasn’t met.

She is the magnet, the shining example

Too fit, too humble to ever be proud.

 

So, hum little hummingbird. Sing to the masses.

Kiss every petal that brightens the room.

There is no sentinel tracking your purpose,

No reason you shouldn’t shout out loud.

 

Recitation

Speak the words in multi-tonal

Resonance so all can plainly

Hear each beat, each syllable

Passing over knowing lips.

 

We have heard a thousand times or more,

It makes no difference.

Every time is like the first,

Refreshing as the rains in Spring.

 

Tempted as we all might be to

Join the game in gleeful chant,

We don’t dare step on your stage.

Settling to mouth the words.

 

When it’s over everyone

Applauds your grand accomplishment.

Plaudits flow as freely as

The rush of mountain waterfalls.

 

You sit calmly and relaxed,

Almost embarrassed by the praise,

Thankful that you made it through.

Lesson learned.

Memory made.

 

Neanderthal

Take your elbows off the table.

Pinky up when sipping tea.

Ladies first, so hold her door.

Magic words: thank you and please.

 

Must you be so primitive?

So crude? So reactionary?

Boldly flaunting every rule of

Etiquette to be contrary.

 

Can you pass the social graces?

Fill your host with gleeful pride?

Or will your behavior send her

Looking for a place to hide?

 

Will you learn? Will you improve?

Leap into this century

So you may present yourself

In light of gentle company.

 

Momentum

Gathered in a silent warehouse,

Banking off of subtlety,

Building thrust on borrowed feet

To stand, to walk, to jog, to run.

 

Sprouting wings as if to fly on

Whiffs of light angelic air,

Climbing to the jet stream where

Her boundless energy can ride.

 

Now the flow cannot be quelled.

Now the air can only bend

Concentric circles one on one

To wrap around, around again.

 

Trapped inside this angry vortex,

Miles and miles from hearth and home,

Seeking merciful protection,

Waiting for the rage to end.

 

Wrangler

All you cowpokes gather round

The bangle, dangle, jangle sound

Of booted spurs that click the ground

As Wrangler saunters into town.

 

Pocket full of month-end cash,

Suited up and talking trash.

Lady-killer, unabashed,

Looming large with daring dash.

 

Does she see through his disguise?

The innocence behind those eyes

That beckons with hypnotic rise

To underscore the hidden prize.

 

Is our Wrangler more than play?

Will he own the ranch someday or

Is he simply molded clay?

Will he cling, or run away?

 

Shish kabob

Life is just a shish kabob,

Little this, little that.

Skewered, seasoned, marinated,

Grilled and eaten on the fly.

 

Finger food to tempt the tastes of

Every epicuric yen.

Flame-fired fuel on a stick

To please the palate and the eye.

 

Savoring the flavoring as

Drippings splatter on the coals.

When it’s offered up to you,

You take it without asking why.

 

Tiny tidbits.

         Eat this… skip that.

Pass those on to someone else.

Compliment your gracious host

Before it’s time to say goodbye.

 

Absentminded

I was gonna, honestly!

Sidetracked temporarily.

Wasted brain cells foolishly

Detract from what is meant to be.

 

Freakish how it’s there, then not,

Vapor vanished from the pot.

Apparitions cold and hot of

Things remembered, things forgot.

 

I’ll get to it. Write it down,

Every adjective and noun.

Planting feet on solid ground to

Stay alert to sight and sound.

 

Might just need a helpful hint,

A nudge until my mind is bent

Around the central element of

What it was, where it went.

 

Where’s the trick? The finger twine?

The one sure thing to help remind?

Hopeful that a cure I’ll find to

Remedy this absent mind.

 

Blather

All this foolish blathering

A constant melee of dismay,

Seeps and creeps from hence to whence,

A spicy searing sausage bite.

 

Tantalizing tempting taunts to

Hypnotize, capsulize,
Mesmerize and cauterize these

Burning, bleeding bogus eyes.

 

When will logic realize the

Waste that walks on thunder-thighs?

That leads astray the senses and

Explains away with alibis.

 

Keep your senseless blather.

Hold your restless tongue at bay.

Save it for another.

I’m not listening anyway.

 

Epiphany

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Dawning sun lifts by degree

Rising out of tragedy,

Blazing into ecstasy.

Poets find epiphany.

 

 

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Meanderings

Would you make a sagging willow

Weep from lack of sunlight?

Tear-stained earth her pillow as

She cowers in dismay.

 

Rivers ramble rakishly

Between her hills and highlands,

Stumbling and bumbling

She knows no other way.

 

Flying high above the fray

Through multilayered billowings,

With eagle eye that seeks to spy

On details rarely seen.

 

And willow hugs the riverbank

To watch the ever-constant flow.

Peaceful her meanderings

Among the meadows green.

 

Will you give your gift of life?

Service those who patient wait.

Quench the thirst of all in need

Before it is forever late.

 

Word Prattle

Its only words,

         But beware of their strength.

Words to make mountains

         Come tumbling down.

Loud confrontations,

         Bold conversation

Where blanket cessation

         Of reason abounds.

 

Droning in monotone,

         Boring the furniture.

 Singing in baritone,

         Thrills for the soul.

Spreading the news so

         Exciting, inviting.

Broadcasting views to

         The suffering folds.

 

Beaches awash in

         The white sands of history

Seeking to separate

         Sane from absurd.

Time prattles on

         Without judgment, unruffled.

Destinies turn

         On a single word.

 

Zeal

The fiercest spirit that I’ve ever known

Stood five foot four,

Weighed a buck twenty-five

But filled with such gusto

That everyone round him

Was thrilled with the prospect

Of being alive.

 

Every chance an eager adventure,

Every errand a passionate test,

Every task approached with intensity

Fueled by the fervor of

Unabashed zest.

 

Would that I could find

This spirit and zeal

That magnifies intensity.

Life would be more of

A carnival thrill for

The gypsy who dawdles

And dwells within me.

 

Wisdom

I’ve been waiting such a

Long, long time for

The wisdom they promised

Would come with age.

All that sage intuition of

Gray-bearded elders has

Somehow escaped or

Refused to engage.

 

“You’ll understand someday,

Mayhap when you’re older.”

It felt like a covenant

Back in the day.

And though I keep biding,

Awaiting epiphany,

Reason absconds like

A scared castaway.

 

But time is a traveler,

Patient and shrewd

And experience is a

Tutor of worth, 

And maybe if I can

Just live long enough

I’ll know what I wish

I had known from birth.

 

Understanding

So many leaves on this cabbage head

I simply cannot comprehend.

I try to peel them one by one

To get down to the core.

But only find the crux to be

A bitter disappointment

That vexes every rationale

And leaves me want for more.

 

I try to be compassionate,

Show empathy in kind,

Be patient and forgiving and

To keep an open mind.

But the art of understanding

Is a mammoth bugaboo,

And the cagey fox of acumen

Is scarce to share a clue.

 

So, I will strive for tolerance

And grant an open hand

And hope that when the facts are in

I will finally understand.

 

Trustworthiness

Lord, help me find

That sweet spot in my mind

Where veracity musters and never retreats,

Where principles stand under

Steadfast demand and

Honesty knows no defeat.

 

You may be sure

My intentions are pure,

My devotion unfailing,

Staunch and secure.

Dogged integrity

Rises to rush me a

Stream of fidelity born to endure.

 

Whatever endeavor you pursue

I will never lie to you.

I am the soul on which you can depend.

Genuine through and through,

Best in your retinue

I am forever your trustworthy friend.

 

Trust

Hard to find someone to trust

In a world where trust is a foreign saint.

Would that I could have presumption of proof

With clear confidence and certitude.

But time and experience

Preach a hard sermon

And logic steps sideways to lodge its complaint.

Then alternate facts only add to confusion

And bristle the brisket of new attitudes.

 

The journey moves forward,

Decisions wax weightily,

Mocking conviction,

In need of a friend.

But who holds the promise of

Strength and reliance?

Who can I turn to and

Trust in the end?

 

Tempt me and fill me with oceans of hope

Until faith wears the mantle of grit, 

So I may seek counsel with steadfast assurance

And never look back in regret.

 

Tranquility

Oh, sweet contentment, bide within

To still the storms that purloin peace.

Nestle soft in quietude

Holding hearts in hushed repose.

 

Staid in stillness,

Bathed in midnight,

Lost in unabashed release,

Pleasure pure and senses sure

As petals soft upon the rose.

 

Calm breath breezes overhead to

Warm the placid glacial flow

From mindful plains of conscious study

And unbounded reverie.

 

Playful in its pose and posture,

Lounging in the afterglow

With respect for restful pleasure

Winging metaphorically.

 

Fond to know when said and done

The mind knows what the heart can see

When harmony immerses all

In oceans of tranquility.

 

Toughness

Are you tough?

Are you rough?

Are you really strong enough?

Or are you so much frill and fluff?

A namby-pamby powder puff.

 

If you really know your stuff

You could even run a bluff.

Just toss a comment off-the-cuff or

Mumble like a grumble gruff.

 

But if you run off in a huff

You give up claim to your rebuff

And could wind up flat on your duff

When you find out

You’re not so tough.

 

Tough guys don’t stand up and fight for

It is no matter of might.

 

Toughness tarries deep within

In silence,

Like a trusted friend.

 

Tolerance

Youth is not a fruitful season for

Open-minded tolerance.

The liberal creed of leniency

Is not an inbred social trait.

 

It’s more of an acquired nature

Summoned through experience,

Although it seems some never grasp

The aptitude to watch and wait.

 

Stumbling through my tender years

I felt the angst of restiveness,

Engaged in animosity with

Bickering and baleful brawl.

 

And though I made it to adulthood

With all my teeth, I must confess to

Trying much too hard to

Run my raucous race ere I could crawl.

 

And still I find it difficult to

Turn deaf ear

Or suffer fools,

I’ve made a point to find the wrench of

Tolerance among my tools.

 

Thrift

Some may scoff and think me cheap.

I choose to call it thrifty.

Prudence courses through my veins

And nourishes my simple brain.

 

While skimp and scrimp and saving form

The essence of economy,

Tis only pure parsimony

That owns to keep me wholly sane.

 

Never been a gambler,

Never pressed my luck to strike it rich.

Rather save my pocket change for

Days beset with pouring rain.

 

And no one claims it requisite

To suffer in austerity, or

If you dock in poverty,

In poverty you must remain.

 

Many plague me with advice on

How to ride the treasure train,

But I have everything I need.

Little to lose, but

Less to gain.

 

Thankfulness

We set aside one day each year

To celebrate our thankfulness;

An admirable affirmation of

The blissful grace we savor.

 

A prayer for all the bounty and

The blessings, softly offered up,

Before a feast of plenty gives me

Cause to seek His favor.

 

Grateful for the joyful comfort

In this crazy, karmic world,

Hopeful for a bright tomorrow

Fanciful with filigree.

 

Crazed to praise the hand of fate

And faith that makes things possible,

Knowing that the love I give will

Find its way back home to me.

 

Makes me wonder wistfully

As I saunter life’s highway.

If ‘tis comely once-a-year,

Why not be thankful every day.

 

Temperance

“Everything in moderation,”

Cites the model of restraint,

Dubbed the perfect archetype of

Self-denial and temperance.

 

Admirable, this stoic manner,

This symbol of sobriety

Sacrificing satisfaction for

Excessive vigilance.

 

In the mastery of forbearance

I confess a fatal flaw that

Leaves me less than perfect

In the realm of prohibition.

 

I am no teetotaler

Pledged to master and abstain,

Though I fall far and fair removed from

Blatant breakout exhibition.

 

Finding absolute control and

Tempered-tough discretion is

More than just a pastime.

It’s a permanent progression.

 

Tact

It isn’t always what we say,

But how we choose to say it

That stokes the fire and

Raises ire to levels meteorical.

 

A careless choice of adjectives,

An ill-advised inflection,

A query spit in anger and

Regarded unrhetorical,

 

Every situation, conversation,

Clash or clumsy quarrel

Wields a double whetted sword

On puzzling possibilities.

 

And prudence pushes pause if

We are anchored analytically to

Find the peerless pressure point

Where every advocate agrees.

 

So, I will parry not to judge,

But gently speak with suavity,

Conversing with my fiercest foes

In echoes of diplomacy.

 

Steadfastness

Staunch and steady as we go,

No matter how the gruff winds blow,

We cruise the archipelago of

Intimated dreams.

 

Steadfast to a certainty

Befits the peerless pedigree

To claim the crown of loyalty

In pattern, plans and schemes.

 

Where will your devotion land when

Time grows nigh to make your stand?

Will your veracity withstand the

Test of ice and fire?

 

Shall constant vigil rule the day

And swift allegiance show the way?

Or shall temptation carry sway

To curious desire?

 

Faithful to the very end

I vow to be your fervent friend.

Worldly, wary, tried and true

We waltz the streets of Xanadu.