Let’s Keep it Going

What have we learned through

All of these trials?

Are we better or

Worse or

The same?

Are we wiser in deliberations and

Consideration of folly and fame?

 

Will tomorrow show promise or

Will doubting Thomas step up to

Dash hope for the obvious truth?

Shall I tell you a story of

Victory’s glory with all of

The vigor of passionate youth?

 

That passion whose fire betrays subtlety

Is not easily banked or subdued,

That rises from embers on wings of

The Phoenix

Alive, revived and renewed.

We are but a moment…

Though ages it seems.

Forever tomorrow

In this world of dreams.

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Music

Soothing… rousing… reveling…

Musing, amusing, uplifting or sad.

Music is the mood,

The moment,

Music is the moving

Lilting language of simplicity.

Lyrical and loving,

Loud and luminescent,

Teasing time with tentacles

Of tasty, measured morsels

Hastening the heartbeat with

A frightening flame of frenzy

Dancing to the deep delight of

Mirthful melody.

Lift me up, sweet music,

When troubles labor at my door.

Fill my heart with gladness when

Life’s sadness beckons me.

Dance with me your winsome waltz

To fill the world with gladness.

Please my soul and make me whole

With treasures from your vaults.

 

Music… the sweet bread of life,

Come feed my weary soul.

Be my comfort. You are

What I need to make me whole.

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Now

Planning for the future is

Always sound advice,

Even though those plans may run awry.

Things happen as events unfold,

Circumstances change with

The mournful often left to wonder why.

But tomorrow hasn’t happened yet,

In truth, it never will,

And yesterday is a fallow field

With furrows left to till.

Only one place left to be,

Though I may not know how.

Father Time abandons me

As I find myself in now.

Now is where I need reside,

Now is all we have.

Now can slip so easily away.

Now cannot be vilified

Or broken into this or that

Like some poor potters’ mound of molded clay.

 

You may want and wish and plan

Or mourn the past with sad regret.

Muddle if you must in musings but

Live for now.

It’s all you get. 

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Finding Tomorrow

Where do you live, my fine fettled friend?

Why can I never find your domicile?

It has been said you don’t really exist,

That you hide in the mist

Of some fantasy isle

Filled with the drama of Avalon’s dreams

To give hope new cause,

To let time run astray.

Dashing ahead while today is on pause

I reach out to touch but

You just run away.

 

Whatever the truth

(As truth may be told)

Whatever the ransom that

Needs to be paid,

I swear I will find you

To garner your gold,

Quaff your sweet wine and

Rest in your glade.

 

Oh, restless tomorrow,

So distant,

So free,

I follow your promises

Endlessly.

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Tattoos

“Body art” some call it,

“A statement of one’s inner self.”

I get that

Even though it’s not for me.

When pressed or teased

To bow to pressure

I just shirk and shake my head

Politely indicating, “let it be.”

 

Often the result of pressures

Spurred on by misguided youth.

Clouded judgement fostering regret

In later days.

Morphed to vague obscurity

If one must know the truth as

You squint your eyes

And turn your head sideways. So,

 

Think a little,

Think a lot,

“What tattoo should I get?”

Then, go ahead with head held high

And live with it without regret.

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See You in the Funny Papers

Newspaper drops and out I go

In pained obedience to retrieve,

Hopeful that the news it heralds

Does not cause my heart to grieve.

 

Disappointment follows as

My slumber-ladened eyes behold

The headline scoops from yesterday

Staring back in gaudy bold.

 

Kidnapped – mine trapped – hurricane -

Markets crashing in disdain -

Hunger – panic – pestilence -

A total lack of common sense….

 

But buried deep within these ink-stained surfaces

A treasure waits to

Fill my morning with delight

And all my qualms alleviate. 

 

And though it is not quite the news

There is no reuse among these capers.

So, I will laugh and be amused to

See you in the funny papers.

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Predictions

No crystal ball in which to gaze.

No oracle to show the way.

No odds-makers with points to shave

On wagers only fools parlay.

 

What futures hold, no one can know.

Can only guess the high and low

And try to keep an even flow

Avoiding all the undertow.

 

Outcomes are a guessing game,

Reap the bounty,

Share the blame,

Claim on top of counterclaims, 

Blasts of bluster fan the flame. 

 

One might guess or acquiesce

To thoughts that others may express

On forays, failure or success,

On who will come in second best.

 

I would not venture to predict,

Prognosticate or blindly pick

An outcome ere the tock is ticked.

To do so would be derelict.

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Break the Cycle

We don’t mean to be evil by intent,

It’s simply in our history,

Learned from a childhood environment

And taken for granted as meant to be.

 

Often the lesson comes late in life

Arising in golden epiphany

Causing us to overcompensate

So we might take pride in our legacy.

 

But what if we were to be gently taught

From our earliest lessons at mother’s knee

That goodness stems and kindness grows

From a fervent belief in equality.

 

I am no better and

You are no worse,

And there is no us or them, just we,

All living together on this mound of marble

Lost in the struggle of humanity.

 

Letting go is the secret to happiness,

Awakening to commonality.

Breaking the cycle that keeps us apart,

Delight in the light that will set us free.

 

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Moonface

Who is that roly-poly visage

Staring down with vague intent?

Following my every move

As if I mean to do you harm.

 

You with your thousand oval eyes

Watching the freak show of humanity.

Peeking through windows

And fences and trees

Afraid you might miss what my folly ensues.

 

Gossiping with a billion stars

Though silent they sit in a restless sky.

Making your journey with pinpoint precision

So I may stare back at your affable face.

 

Waning and waxing, I only assume

You are scanning the galaxies in your own time.

Soaking the wisdom of all you survey

Storing the secrets deep in your core.

 

Oh, strident moon with your face brightly glowing,

Mystical revenant stalking the night,

Witness to aggregate human endeavors,

I seek your counsel

But you never speak.

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Lucky Me

So proud to be the lucky one

Who has your hand to hold,

The one who walks beside you as

Days mystically unfold.

The first to greet each morning

With a smile you never hide, you

Wake my humble heart each day

And fill my chest with pride.

 

Your gentle tender-hearted touch,

So warm upon my skin,

A sweet refrain of downy fluff

Tickled on a mandolin.

I touch your flawless honey hair,

Drink the scent of your embrace,

Fall into your glistening eyes

As time dissolves to endless space.

 

Come, take me to your wonderous world,

Lock the door and lose the key.

Let me revel in my great good fortune.

Lucky me.

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Swallows Song

Swiftly darting forth and back

Across my field of view,

I scarce can follow your brisk path

And wonder where you’re rushing to.

There is no reason I might know

For you to be in such a rush

Scurrying from hither yon

Among the crowded underbrush.

 

I would not, could not follow

As my eyes are wracked with age,

And even if frustration vexes

I’ll not yield to fits of rage.

Content to be a witness to

Your fleet, complete dexterity,

I marvel in your certitude

As you approach your apogee.

 

Share with me your star-crossed story,

Sing your plaintive sorrowed song.

Know that in your darkest moments

You are not alone

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Folding In on a Lonely Sky

No need for moody melodrama

When skies come crashing all around

And feral winds blow this way, that way

As the rains flood on the ground.

 

Peaks and valleys hold no challenge to

The bold adventurer who

Seeks to know the golden sun

Obscured beyond the bleary blur.

 

And I am you and you are I,

And we together harmonize to

Open pathways to a bright tomorrow

Beneath friendly skies.

 

The clouds that purloin bliss and joy

Are naught but vapors on the wind.

The masquerade of a blithesome sun

Anxious to spread joy again.

 

Infinite heavens have no measure

In our limp insipid eyes.

Dreams of hope and happiness

Live beyond the lonely skies.

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Old Habits

Hard to break, or so they say,

These horrid hazard-ridden quirks.

Some betray you.

Some can slay you.

Some just make us feel like jerks.

Not to say that all are bad

Or sordid or sad. No, not at all.

It’ll make you sigh

Til you want to cry.

It will drive you up a blasted wall.

 

Fruits and veggies, so they say,

Can help you keep the Doc away.

Balance out your work and play

And brush your teeth three times a day.

Never fall into a rut.

Don’t pick your nose or scratch your butt.

Keep away from midnight snacks

And never fall for cons or quacks.

 

Habits good or habits bad,

Proclivity or just a fad,

Lofty deeds or shameful blot

Performed without a second thought.

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Rooster Crowing

Something quite refreshing in

This restless reveille;

Again, and then again until

All quarters are aware.

There are those who are annoyed by

This constant caterwauling,

While others sleep right through it

Dreaming castles in the air.

 

And I am somewhere in between

When he embarks his aria

Counting up to twenty for

His mantra to replay,

Knowing that the morning dew

Is forming on the meadows

Welcoming the dawning of

A shimmering new day.

 

Fortune shines a million suns

On those who stretch and yawn

Prepared to greet the new day

When the rooster crows at dawn.

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Laughing Out Loud

Ever laughed so hard and long

Your sides would start to hurt?

Felt so happy you could cry,

Just go rolling in the dirt?

Launch from shy and quiet to

A total extrovert

Unafraid of losing all control?

 

It’s so easy to forget the joy

Of simple childhood play.

Dancing, joking and cajoling

All throughout the blithesome day.

Growing up and growing older

Getting in the way of

The simple bliss so vital to the soul.

 

Puns are punny.

Farts are funny, and

You can get better than even money

That pratfalls and cat-calls

And crazy crossed eyeballs

Can jelly a belly from

Daybreak til nightfall.

And nothing lifts spirits

And brightens a crowd

Than the viral contagion of

Laughing out loud 

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Hard Work

I have never been a stranger to

The ethic of hard work,

A trait instilled by parents

Who taught it by example.

They learned it from their parents

As a practice, not a perk.

One that can’t be pillaged

And time’s feet can never trample.

 

There are those who sit and grumble

As others do the heavy lifting.

Let it all pile up and mumble

In their sleep as they go drifting.

There are those who smirk

And those who shirk

And some who are just plain lazy, 

Those who think they’re privileged.

A few are bat-crap crazy.

 

But there are worlds to build upon

From dawn til long past setting sun.

So, God bless those hard workers

Who strive to get things done.

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Petting Puppies and Kittens

“Soft” is the first thought

To enter the mind when

Touch yields sensations

Eyes hardly perceive,

And weariness withers as

One is inclined to

Feast on a pleasure seldom achieved.

 

Gentle to fondle with playful designs.

A purr or a whimper, sniff or a taste,

The brush of a paw

Probes the level of trust

Until all apprehension

Is quietly displaced.

 

Play begins almost immediately

As laughter is sure to ensue.

And for a brief moment all fears disappear

And everything feels bright and new.

 

And I am transformed

And I am delighted.

In fact, you might say I am thoroughly smitten

And no type of therapy

Offers more promise than to

Play with a puppy or kitten. 

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Broken

I do not want to be broken,

To be broken anymore…

Let no words of wrath

Be spoken,

No more evening the score.

Let the truth of love and light

Be spread

That I might calm explore all

The wonders of creation

Waiting just outside my door.

 

Bent and broken I have wandered

In the shadows of the past

Thinking I could not be mended

Since the die had long been cast.

But the play must be rewritten

And the company recast

Til tomorrow is tomorrow

With new questions to be asked.

 

And this I vow as daylight breaks and

I rise up off of the floor.

I will not be broken…

Not be broken anymore.

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When We Make Love

Velvety caresses on a soft and supple skin.

A gentle brush of lips on lips

Arousing wells of caged desire.

Building slowly, every movement

Orchestrated carefully to

Breathe with passion,

Rising, falling,

Floating free from cloud to cloud.

 

You are my unique obsession, the

Seven wonders pale in contrast,

And I swift seek to satisfy

Your every whim, your fond desires

Else I might fail your frenzied fervor

Falling short to quench your thirst.

 

And you, my angel, lithe to please,

With nimble touch and deft caress

Make seas and mountains step aside

Til all the Heavens intercede

And we, as one, our souls intwined

Are spent and sated

Where we rest

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Puzzles

Tiny pieces scattered on

A tilting tabletop

Seeking interlock with mates

To make the puzzle come together.

 

Jumbled letters scrambled

Hither tither in my harried head

Til pieces find their fitting

In a field of fragrant heather.

 

Riddles riding roughshod through

A misty muddled maze,

Twisting unpredictably,

Uncertain as the weather.

 

And though you find fruition

In your wise and witty ways

Another puzzle plagues with sinewy

Jaws as tough as leather.

 

Still the puzzle baits me

With a cajolery I hate,

Until I find the answers

The rest will have to wait.

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