Friendly Fancy

I’m in a daze
your lofty praise
has set my cheeks a glowing,
I fear that soon
like a balloon
this head will start a growing.

My paltry plume
well versed in gloom
has tickled your perception,
but you’re a scribe
with your own vibe
that captures the attention.

With luck our word
will soon be heard
or read or maybe spoken.
A lovely dream
that makes me beam—
Oh damn! Now I’ve awoken.

Befriend

No words could say
how much they mean
or nod repay
support unseen.
One so true
is hard to find
but friends like you
make me that kind.


***I can’t tell you how much it means to me when people leave comments and suggestions. I know I haven’t reciprocated much but I do read all the blogs in my links regularly and greatly appreciate any readers I may have. But one person above all has never stopped showing interest in my ramblings, and is my most enthusiastic supporter – Shirley over at Whispers in The Wind. I can still remember when she blindly Emailed me through another site I post on with some great comments years ago, and we’ve been inspiring each other ever since. She recently highlighted one of my poems which I am publicly thanking her for right now, but also penned a lovely verse about friends which has prompted my own response. Please go visit her site and let her know how talented she is and also her new baby, Word Catalyst, a magazine for creative expression which she runs. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the world is a better place with people like you in it dear. Have a great New Year!!***

Spent

Like ever I procrastinate
then purchase in a frenzied rush,
precariously navigate
the whiny, aisle-blocking crush
while hackneyed carols resonate
until you pray for them to hush—
I’ve mumbled my last expletive
there’s truly nothing left to give.

Holiday Break

The same old spot gets cleared again and all
those boxes full of ancient tinkling glass
are hauled from musty spaces; silver grass
like snakes survey the tree on which they’ll crawl.
Reflections multiply, illuminate
with sentimental whims as flashing lights
adorn each bushy branch, the smell ignites
a crazy urge to loudly celebrate.
Mementos stored in cardboard vaults invoke
the need to journey back, beyond that point
when vows became the stony walls of pride.
But fragile trinkets jostled finally broke,
their healing balm no longer to anoint
as chilling snow accumulates outside.

Liability

For all the pomp and circumstance
it’s just a clusterfuck
entranced by the reptilian glance
of one vindictive cluck;

I was told the magical degree
negated foolish flight
but doctrinaire duplicity
ensures that nothing’s right.

Hack

My candor is my armor
and though the shine is gone
it’s shielding when you’re wielding
that pitted sword you’ve drawn
so go ahead and whack away
your dullness keeps the edge at bay.


***Hi all! Well back here I talked about a sharp blade, but today encountered quite the opposite. Unfortunately I was reminded how a quick clean cut is usually less painful. Oh well, can't wait to see who takes a swipe tomorrow.***

Not So Hot

"Sssssstay with me," the fire hissed
"We’ll sizzle everything,
I’ll help you cook your food
and keep away the bugs that sting."
But in the distance I could hear
a cleansing presence sing
with pure unfiltered tones
that brought me back once more to Spring.

So I threw an extra log upon
the pit and bade goodbye
"I must be off my ardent friend
before the sun’s too high
to find that distant melody
which makes my mouth feel dry,
I should be back eventually
endeavor not to die."

A pissy little pop proclaimed
"You know you need my heat
but go and look for paradise
until you bruise your feet
I’ll be waiting hungrily
for class to be complete!"
Then silence smoldered smokily
throughout my swift retreat.

Around my camp the forest spread
as far as eyes could see
with pines and birches towering
above the shrubbery
I walked with care but no one there
barked or seemed to be
too rankled that I trod upon
their former family.

I angled towards that bubbly sound
a vigor in my stride
excited to explore despite
the slowly burning chide
for how could one so self-consumed
appreciate the ride
we all must take to find new vistas
somewhere deep inside.

Ahead the forest thinned a bit
more sunlight sneaking through
I topped a ridge to come upon
an unexpected view
a river wide and powerful
that split the woods in two
delivering the draft of life
without which we can’t do.

The bank beneath me gently curved
to form a little cove
as sunshine sparkled on the waves
like gems in someone’s trove
I watched a group of waterbugs
defined within their drove
and knew how I resembled them
when hesitant to rove.

I gauged the course the current forged
with unrelenting grit
and realized I’d be a fool
to try traversing it
so I sat until a numbness started
where I tend to sit
then stood and stretched, resigned
that my new height was but a flit.

Conflicted as I stumbled back
across the trail just made
relief infused me when I found
my cozy little glade
but then the truth exploded
like a fully armed grenade
as I realized my wanderlust
was another masquerade.

So I stirred the coals reluctantly
and stoked them for the eve
they roared to life voraciously
saying "Now do you believe?
You wear your languor openly
upon your rayon sleeve."
Then I warned it "Do be careful
for there’s much I must relieve."

Bent

Without, The Raven mocks me
as monotonous wails beseech
to never get too cocky
with presumptions that I preach.

I crawl beneath my covers
to alleviate the chill
but like unholy lovers
we begrudge each other still.

Pick Your Poison

The fastidious alcoholic pours
exactly what’s required
to nullify the anguish
of existing uninspired.

The undecided dopers smoke
whatever they can buy
in order to facilitate
accepting someone’s lie.

The sanctimonious seek reward
to root them to this rock
but who can say who does more harm
within the sheepish flock?

Juxtaposition

I

Uprooted when the cold wind blows
revolving like a hapless leaf
we end up where no sunlight goes.

In tranquil groves creation grows
but leeward plots are often brief.
To tumble when the cold wind blows

and gyrate in contorted throes
of stormy overwhelming grief
and land where sunlight never goes

regardless whether weed or rose
will ruffle even stout belief.
Uprooted when the cold wind blows

alighting someplace no one knows
beyond redemption or relief
to shrivel where no sunlight goes

and wallow in depressing woes;
you can’t deter this craven thief—
uprooted when the cold wind blows
we drop where sunlight never goes.

II

How fragile is the fleeting spark
whose incandescence helps assuage
the grimness of the night so dark,

an emptiness so wholly stark
we battle it with fiercest rage.
How fragile is the fleeting spark

bequeathed by a propitious lark
which drives us to forever wage
our fight against the night so dark;

regardless if we miss our mark
inciting courage to engage.
How fragile is that fleeting spark

whose finicky precocious arc
reveals a way to flee the cage
that holds us in the night so dark.

With bold defiance we embark
upon a quest to somehow gauge
how fragile is that fearsome spark
emblazoned in the night so dark?

The Politics of Wedlock

I don’t care what the President said
there is a recession – it’s on my head!
Inflation is rampant across the beltway
and strict domestic policy keeps me at bay.

—A. Punnedit—

Nonconformity

Acceptance of the obvious
is not a sign of weakness
succumbing to the timorous
should not be seen as meekness
remaining ever frivolous
will seldom garner sleekness
depending on the devious
you’ll never find uniqueness.