Zenith

The a to z is finally done
and every character had some fun
the pace has really zipped along
as bloggers are a zany throng
will next year's bash begin with A
or will there B another way
I guess we'll have to wait and C
what D-evelops, mustn't we?
Take it E Z blogging crew
your F-orts speak so well of you!

Yare

Y is the twenty fifth letter
X-hausted from trying to catch Z
it's also an infinite question
deciphering all that we see
it's a consonant on occasion
a vowel when it chooses to be
or an integer in the equation
explaining the great mystery.

Panache

Today I watched a raven strut
across a busy street
his plume still has a jaunty jut
though he's flatter than a sheet.

Xylocarp

Can't you get it through your woody husk
she has no taste for you
and therefore she'll be rather brusque
if ever forced to chew

the problem with your crazy act
(although it shows your guts)
is that it doesn't face the fact
that she's adverse to nuts.

Whipped

*crack*

another vanquished shell
egg-cited to be beaten well

*crack*

the whites are veined with red
impatient to be slowly bled

*crack*

you can get really low
if you shell out a little dough

*crack*

at times seduction wins
we all get mixed in guilty sins.

Vegged

I beet my chest and said,
"Lettuce be together!"
but she said that she didn't carrot all;
I felt it squash me dead
there was no way to a peas her
my plot became a victim of the fall--
a couch potato staring at the wall.

Underdone

With dinnerware that's far from white
though not the blackest pot
her cookbook has no recipe for shame
she has a healthy appetite
and while she craves things hot
meticulously manages the flame

she hungers to be stuffed
(and maybe even cuffed)
so please rehinge your jaw
she likes her beefcake raw.

Tasty

A tart like that can tame
a sweet tooth into shame
although the shell can be a little flaky
but sugar tends to rot
away the teeth you've got
and leave the ones remaining very achy

so prudently indulge
and you won't sport a bulge
that makes you crave this naughty treat intensely
decide to be a pig
and you'll find out that big
is when you're feeling mortified immensely.

Saucy

Your gift is knowing when to prepare
a complement with witty flair
that makes the most of any affair

with each concoction that you whisk
you take another daring risk
despite detractors that go *tsk*

complaining of the subtle sting
that flavors every dish you bring
with just the right amount of zing.

Marathon

We're in this for the long haul
but most are getting tired
of maliciously inspired
attempts to end it all

with every passing mile
another pointless death
we try to catch our breath
but we're losing to the vile

and though we feel unsure
we've got to somehow shove
the race to be for love
in order to endure.

Rest

"Come my child!"
a mother urged
her voice was wild
then something surged--
existence braved.

"Come my child!"
She proudly cheered
her offspring smiled
until she veered
and trust was waived.

"Come my child."
Our Savior said
in a voice so mild
resistance fled
and she was saved.

Quash

Time has passed
pain amassed
dissipates

hope employed
guilt is void
peace awaits.

Pardon

See berries red as blood among the thorns
the remnants of a summer long since bled
it's funny how a memory adorns
the promise of new life that lies ahead,
as all about the barbs are buds that swell
with foliage impatient for rebirth,
the air abounds with musk and you can smell
the need to be at one with mother earth.
And as I think of mothers I am stirred
to honor she who gave her life to me
while mourning dreams she never could pursue;
I can't undo whatever wrongs occurred
but know her troubled spirit's finally free
as surely as the cycle must renew.


***Happy Birthday Mom***

Obstruction

I'm guilty, overcome with rue
that justice was withheld from you
a victim whose demise was sown
by being coldly left alone

for each time you were written off
you felt rejection's scathing scoff
which filled your gentle soul with shame
and wrongly self directed blame.

When I gave up and finally left
you were tipsy at the cleft
and while I could have pulled you back
I waited till I heard the smack

which loudly echos still today
just like the thought that won't go away--
compassion's easy to impart
unless there's blockage in your heart.

Negligence

She raised us very well
until things went to hell
and then we had to do the best we could
surviving on the street
and scrounging scraps to eat
while doing things that no one ever should.

The truth was too obscene
our teddy bears turned mean
and so did we in order to get by
while she became more dead
just lying in that bed
her only consolation getting high--

abandonment is hard
there is no Hallmark card
requesting grace for any damage done
I simply couldn't stay
so like a coward ran away,
but should've tried to be a better son.

Matricide

My mind unjustly murdered you for being who you are
instead of finding some way to assist
I left the scene without a clue then searched both near and far
for sanctuary rumored to exist
beyond the sunless shore entombed in mist.

I've felt a presence chasing me, determined to convict
the criminal it clamored to indict
I never knew the damage prosecution could inflict
or just how quickly it could end ones flight
insisting on the right to extradite.

Week 3 of A-Z

I feel I must preface this Weeks theme with a small explanation. This will be five years since my mothers tragic death in a horrendous house fire, and this week would have been her birthday. I won't go into details here but there are many posts in the archives.all I can say is it still hurts but I know she's in a better place, rest in peace Mom.

Egress

You found that every bird's not snowy white
and now you're seeking refuge from your flight
for you were never counting on the curve
that innocence is what you can't preserve.


***I wrote this for the a-z for my bird theme but then checked and found out it isn't the term for a female egret - oh well, live and learn.***

Labor

We go through it to wind up here
then find out straight away
it's something we must constantly perform
for how else will we persevere
against the coming gray
from every future unpredicted storm

and sometimes though the days be long
when pain assails our backs
we find a way of finishing the task
it's not so much about being strong
but staving off attacks
of shadows that would steal our stints to bask.

Killing

Another person falls
beneath the dreaded spell
the corporation calls
in hopes of living well

beneath the dreaded spell
insinuating gold
in hopes of living well
another is controlled

insinuating gold
(the mound they guarantee)
another is controlled
a new retiree

the mound they guarantee
the corporation calls
a new retiree
another person falls.

Jumper

The path of least resistance may be fraught
with obstacles not easily perceived
especially by anyone distraught
from wondering how much can be believed
(a mission statement can't control ones mind)
there's nothing worse than manufactured truth
but everyday new models are designed
to euthanize the energy of youth.
Obedience has got to be instilled
with penalties for obstinacy stiff
in order for the highly structured hive
to satisfy the royalty and thrive
regardless who gets stranded on the cliff
or finally leaps, morosely unfulfilled.

Innards

"Number 37 report to my office immediately." said a nasally voice with a distinctively bitter edge to it. Barker Conroy was generally a cranky curmudgeon on most days, but today he was especially cross because the mag-lev train was down for routine maintenance and he had had to take the hover bus (or cattle car as he cheerfully called it) to work. It had added an extra half hour to his perfectly timed morning routine and he was ready to unleash on someone in a big way.

His thinning hair (which he hadn't gotten around to replacing yet) was severely combed over, and his pinched, agitated features made him look much older than the 47 he currently was. As the designated robot approached him he whirled to face it like a badger getting ready to defend it's den.

"37 I need all the samples from batch 4679-A tested and logged by the end of the day." he snapped then turned away which in his mind warranted dismissal. But he hadn't really given a direct order, just stated his need, so robot 37 stood stoically awaiting an actual command. Since the robot revolution of 2125, all mechanoids were constructed with just enough computing power to handle most menial tasks, but not enough to make the leap to artificial intelligence.

Barker knew all this but quickly spun his head to face the machine and almost hysterically screamed "That means do it NOW you mechanical monstrosity, NOW!" His face was approaching purple and small beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. The robot left to carry out his orders and Barker collapsed in his chair, closed his eyes and started taking deep breaths.

"Why must you be so cruel?" said a soft voice with a slightly midwestern accent. "You know they must be told exactly what to do." Reese Mulligan had only been at the company a few months but knew all he needed to know about Mr. Conroy. Fortunately the rotating shifts made their interactions occasional and brief but it just so happened that this day they were stuck together. Reese was young, fresh from school and having grown up in a fully mechanized society felt a soft spot for these automotons that performed the majority of the physical labor in the 22nd century. He fondly remembered Ma (short for machine) his nanny bot with AI, he had never met a better role model with more loyalty or integrity since.

"Listen, no flesh and bone inside means nothing to hurt, so get over it. Damn snotnose kid, who the hell you think you're talking to?"

Reese was incensed but in the spirit of a drama-free workplace he simply shook his head and got back to work. The rest of the day passed in tense silence and as the end of the day neared Barker was feeling better and said "Hey Reese, did you catch the game last night?" After a minute of silence he repeated his question but again got no answer. Then he remembered his statement and said "Hey you're not mad are ya? C'mon answer me, that's really rude. We're the humans, we need to stick together. You're really pissing me off!" Then he stopped for Reese was standing by his desk staring at him in such a way that he suddenly felt very small.

"Why won't you speak? I'm going to report to HR that you're creating a hostile work environment!"

Finally Reese spoke, his voice tinged with a mixture of contempt and pity, " Well I just keep thinking about what you told me back when I first started, how you had bad genes and had to get an artificial heart to keep living and it's like you said earlier - no flesh and bone inside means nothing to hurt. Good day Barker."

And much to Barker Conroy's chagrin his synthetic heart was pumping efficiently enough to fill his cheeks with a healthy flush.

Hardware

It's damn hardware
that's how our lot is viewed,
it's damn hard where
we work, as if the bosses care
their obnoxious attitude
is - be a slave if you want food -
it's damn hard wear.

Gear

What's the freaking use
my teeth are worn and loose
from all these many fruitless years
of physical abuse

but there's no point in tears
despite what now appears
to be a growing rift
between my wages and arrears

I see it as a gift
provoking me to lift
myself away from this morass
it's finally time to shift.

Wandering

I feel just like a juggernaut
who's jotting down his every thought
are you ready for the onslaught

for my fancies are untameable
and gnaw with need unnameable
a horde that's less than amiable

determined to abscond
with the hearts of any that respond
while leaving me a vagabond.

Firebird

He plucked it like a maniac
and played it like a saint
his patented guitar attack
could make the fragile faint
with attitude and frizzy hair
his talent was beyond compare

another grey ghost drifting
through tall and lonely pines
the morning fog is lifting
a fresh spring sun intensely shines
and though this free bird had to fly
he blazed a trail across the sky.


***Dedicated to Allen Collins, one of the founding members of Lynyrd Skynyrd. The Gibson Firebird was one of his favorite guitars to play. I tried to get a pic to post but for some damn reason it's not working. I will post it if I can at some point. Well this ends week one of A-Z and if you didn't figure it out it was birds for titles, poems not about birds. Also on a larger scale the whole thing was of course a tribute to the challenge's founder Arlee Bird. I guess you could say it's my way of um giving the uh bird to um Mr. Bird. Hmmm sounded much better in my head ;-) what's up for next week, tune in to see, bye for now.***

Eagle

I've never thought I'd be among the Masters
or even have a chance to be a star
but barring any unforeseen disasters
at least allow this duffer to hit par.

Duck

"When feathers fly it's better to lay low."
is something that a chicken once advised
but then a rooster told me "You should crow!"
and I don't know which statement should be prized

it doesn't take an eagle eye to see
when feathers fly it's better to lay low
while those with pluck may find it hard to be
as docile as the other birds they know.

Our only chance to flee if roasting slow
is forging through the unforgiving fire
when feathers fly it's better to lay low
or cater your competitor's desire--

be wary as the wisest wizened owl
and gaze with piercing amber eyes aglow
remember that if facing something foul
when feathers fly it's better to lay low.

Coot

Down by the shore
an American one is frowning
his buoyancy is poor
in fact, he may be drowning
but youthful ones ignore
continually clowning--
the old are waiting at the brink
who cares how many sink?

Bantam

With a cocky strut
he rules the ring
best guard your gut
his punches sting

he isn't tall
but man he's dense
a small brick wall
with iron defense.

You think you're strong
well give it a go
it won't be long
we'll hear him crow.

Albatross

I'm not a person easily deterred
but maybe should have listened to the tame
who warned me that this journey was absurd

I should have been more cautious as they slurred
their epithets of ridicule and shame
but I'm not a person easily deterred

the call of distant shores is what I heard
and possibly a whispering of fame.
They warned me that this journey was absurd

that no one ever came back with a word
of brand new lands to seek and claim,
I'm not a person easily deterred

so laughed and told them "Rest assured,
expansion of the kingdom is my aim!"
They told me that this journey was absurd

but I set sail, regardless of the bird
that's following my vessel lost and lame
for I'm not a person easily deterred--
They warned me that this journey was absurd.