In Order

Tomorrow the trauma begins
he thinks as he secretly grins
excitement exudes from his being
he's always enjoyed A to Z-ing.

Surrender

Care too much - I'm burned
not enough I'm spurned
and thus at quite an early age
I subsequently learned

that space does not suffice
it takes a heart of ice
to stay alive as mortals wage
their war of nicey-nice

the smiles on their lips
gigantic to eclipse
the pitted swords of petty rage
that dangle at their hips

but lifetime as a grunt
has taught me to be blunt
and the stratagem at this stage
is forfeiting the front.

Altitude

For every graceful butterfly
that guilds the yawning sky
there's an earthbound warty toad
that's oh so shy
and glumly wonders why
it doesn't have the gear to fly

but as it mopes around the moor
and takes a moment to mature
it finds another mode
better than before
then understands for sure
you don't need wings to soar.

Bluster

It takes more and more dye
to further the lie
and there's more to deny
to keep downing the rage

it's no secret why
we're less and less spry
as winter winds sigh
and rattle the cage.

The Floor is Yours

It may seem odd
but life is chance
it's patron god
is circumstance
so why just plod
when you can dance?

Messy

She called him a hunk
More like a punk
I quietly muttered
my shoulders sunk

and then I slunk
away in a funk
why is life cluttered
with frustrating junk?

Rundown

Scavengers aren't quite as sleek
as predators you see
for muscle tone need not be peak
when carrion is free
although you'd never hear from me
that anyone is weak
because I'd never want to be
accosted by a sneak.

"I see!" said the Blind Man

It's strange, but as my eyesight wanes
my focus reaches all-time gains
compelling me to try and learn
the discipline I chose to spurn
when I was lacking brains

a dizzy, tousle headed kid
with crazy dreams beneath the lid
that grew into a graying grouch
determined not to be a slouch
and make an honest bid.

On the Rocks (again)

I thought that slab of ice
would escape the eddy's embrace
it twirled around altogether thrice
remaining in its place

but then I heard a loud ker-plunk
and listened for a scream
until I saw a heart-shaped chunk
go bobbing down the stream

Sounding Off

Am I one among the sheep
another mindless bleepity-bleep
a scruffy, bleating quadruped
confused unless I'm being led?
consumed by all the vain pursuits
conceived by butchers in cahoots
who know the cheapest way to kill
is let the greedy have their fill
on most days I'm resigned to blah
today I simply utter "Bah!"

Song and Dance

There's nothing more unjust
than unrequited lust
just ask the one whose hopes are bust

but that's the lovers bane
uncertain bids to ascertain
the length of the refrain

Context

We're all a bit mad
as we journey through hell
most dealings I've had
have not ended well
and while I feel bad
my worries dispel

for even though pettiness stings
it's pointless in the scheme of things

Hmmm

That wispy arch of cloud
is like a fluffy brow
and thus the moon's endowed
with a look that says 'Hey now'

Azimuth

The crows commute
their morning route
traversing pointless toils
and like this crew
I'm searching too
for any signs of spoils

and while they caw
I set my jaw
determined to contend
with hopes my flight
attains new height
before I must descend.

Spare

Moving machines were made to move
so please proceed and help me prove
that mass in motion means you're free
(at least that's how it's meant to be).

Some go fast and some go slow
too many seem to need a tow
regardless of our rate of speed
we never quite outrun our need.

Scoop

There's nothing wrong with compassion
it's something we all should share
but watch for reporters that fashion
a reason they think you should care

by artfully shooting the issue
with emphasis on the oppressed
until you cry out for a tissue
while they walk away unimpressed

it's all about being awarded
an Emmy for changing our view
regardless how much they distorted
the facts with shovels of poo.

Reading You

We're much too jaded to be
enamored with poetry
preferring to watch TV

than listen to some old goat
unpretentiously promote
some drivel that he wrote.

Mousy

We're all disconnected
by high-def displays
and badly infected
with viral malaise
we've smugly rejected
the outdated ways
which fostered communion
that strengthened the union.

Mean to Do It

We wouldn't want anyone to think
our indiscretions were planned
unless of course (nudge-nudge, wink-wink)
a blunder becomes something grand.

No Object

You know you're sick
with naught to show
the coin goes quick
you're sick you know

you've dug the pit
with each new shrug
and you can't quit
the pit you've dug

the farm you buy
may have its charm
when time runs shy
you buy the farm.

Neigh

Please don't make me idle
I'll sputter and I'll spit
but never bite the bridle
so you might as well just quit

instead, let's work together
and perhaps we'll get a chance
to disengage the tether
of a stagnant circumstance.

Grand Slam

Orion is at the horizon
or wait, is that Babe Ruth?
"He knocked that moon outta here!"
I can hear them shout from the booth.

Finite

Every sunrise sparks a thrill
that maybe we could yet fulfill
a destiny of grand design
forsaking hate as we refine
the art of learning not to kill
when others cross the line.

Every sunset stirs a twinge
of wonder that we still impinge
upon the vacuum dark and vast
which seems to be expanding fast
as we attempt to binge
on seconds much too scant to last.

Well Played

Please don't fret
for no one should
I'll live on yet
within the wood

and every time
you touch my neck
the strings will chime
with every peck

and though your pain
may make you wail
the love you gain
is off the scale.

Compromised

The floor will heave
the structure grieve
whenever frosty barbs deceive
a level spot
ensuring rot
contaminates a placid plot.

Call Me Pontius

If Jesus came back
as a strung out heroin addict
shuffling along
in such a drunken stupor
that you'd swear he was leaning
at a forty five degree angle
and looked at you
with tears streaming down his face
and mumbled about
needing seventeen dollars
for a bus ticket to Virginia
with so much pain in his voice
it hurt to listen
on one of the coldest nights
in recent memory
then asked if he could come in
to warm up,
what would you do?

I ran inside and started pouring coffee
while my wife most prudently
called the centurions
who showed up rather quickly
and subsequently took him away
to be persecuted
until they investigated
and found he was from Utica
but had a warrant in Buffalo.
They didn't want him,
apparently no one did.

Buyout

I cashed in my liesure
to cancel a siezure
and keep things all toasty inside
a standard procedure
for slackers beleaguered
by duties they shouldn't have shied.

Workout

Another painful episode
of unexpected stress
no wonder the obsessed explode
when cleaning up the mess

but once I'm finished with the crud
I put away the broom
and save myself a pointless flood
of self-inflicted gloom.

Misleading

I saw four robins today
that ruffled their orange and gray
absorbing the lengthening beams
despite the frigid extremes
and then went on their way
for spring is no closer it seems.

Plant One On Me

Lavender's soothing
Violet is nice
Petunia, so vibrant
and Lily? No vice

Daisy's a looker
and Rose has her hips
but who's that young blossom
with luring red lips?

Sedatephobia

The howling winter wind is drear
and I can barely battle back the gloom
but soon the silence will be here

that settles after every storm is clear.
In later days one thought will loom:
the howling winter wind is drear

will I be blessed with someone near
to hold me when I face that doom,
the silence that will soon be here

that sidles closer each new year
despite the hopes that also bloom?
The howling winter wind is drear

it fills one with a certain fear
like parents watching children groom,
that soon the silence will be here.

We struggle to stay cavalier
as evanescent moments zoom;
the howling winter wind is drear
but soon the silence will be here.