Zeal

Aggravated again
by petty little men
who got their shot allowed
next one I walk, proud.

Yinyang

The sun will create
the dark devastate
so what is the fate
where we habitate?

Regardless of gain
or possible pain
we've got to maintain
a balanced domain.

X =?

The jets keep streaking by
constantly expelling
their wispy lines across the sky
geometry most telling
but still the jetset types deny
the poisonous pervasion
of fumes that never solve the Y
in this complex equation.

Flotilla

For every ship gunmetal gray
that sails before the sun today
I'll engage a word in play

and since there's such a massive fleet
denying that distracting heat
I'm really filling up the sheet.

Willies

The night was dark and subdued
I felt I was being pursued
but I couldn't tell
if my tail meant well
or if it should be eschewed

Resisting the urge to retreat
in fear was no easy feat
my nerves were so frayed
I shook as I prayed
my shadow and I wouldn't meet

I heard the snap of a twig
my squinting eyes grew big
and then I jumped
as my heart thumped
it's own alarming jig

that was all that it took
I stood for a second and shook
and then I ran
like a crazy man
afraid to even look

I made it to my lawn's sweet blades
flew inside, pulled the shades
and started to intone
a vow to never walk alone
through those dark and daunting glades.

Value

It's more about the code to which we adhere
in regards to the matter of worth
than any possession we hold dear
while doing our time on this earth

in regards to the matter of worth
we can pile our toys to the sky
while doing our time on this earth
but even the wealthiest die

we can pile our toys to the sky
like altars to honor our greed
but even the wealthiest die
consumed in the end by their need

like altars to honor their greed
the shiny possessions held dear
consumed in the end by our need
the code to which we adhere.

Universal

Life is life
or so they say
but are we truly alive,
are constant strife
and those who prey
prerequisites to survive?

Across the vast
and silent night
is everything the same
are races past
and poems they write
all part of one big game

an endless test
to grow and learn
what everyone should know
to try our best
and always yearn
for peace before we go.

No Release

I try to stay young
but my latest rung
is starting to bring me down
my ambitions are small
yet constantly stall
which spawns a perpetual frown

I'm casting my lines
while nature designs
some deepening grooves of her own
but no point in tears
for none of those years
can ever be sportingly thrown.

Sidetracked

Is interest accruing
or are you now ruing
the fact that you stopped
to see what I'm doing

my verses are chopped
and traffic has dropped
but I just keep posting
my sentiments sopped

with humor worth toasting
and yes, empty boasting
so thanks for the read
continue your coasting.

Rudimentary

How long can we maintain a crumbling bluff
aware that more erosion will ensue,
how long before we sigh and say "Enough,
I'm leaving now, my efforts here are through."
It only takes one unpredicted storm
to weaken structures that were once robust
a violent heave to drastically deform
the clay that all too soon returns to dust.
Endeavor to construct cohesive bonds
regardless of your ultimate pursuit
for this is where we find the most support,
a blooming rose may have resplendent fronds
but needs a sturdy well established root
or else it's fleeting flourish will be short.


***Well, since this is the third full week of A-Z I am doing a throwback week. You see, I've been posting here almost ten years and there are a lot of older poems that go unread, also I've been so busy since my promotion that my writing has been more terse than usual. So I'm solving two problems at once (see I really was intended for management ;^P) There shall be links back to other poems this week (hopefully 3 per post) so enjoy some extra mediocrity compliments of yours truly, Average Poet. Later!***

Gnarly

How quickly buds appear
when the sun returns each year
from it's protracted stay
so far away from here

but as the daylight dims
the creaky moan of weathered limbs
reveals the frigid way
of winter whims.

Quality

Are your goods any good?
Was the well drilled well?
Is that speck within spec?
Isn't tolerance hell?

Production

They're hoping you'll (by
virtue of a missing spine)
mindlessly comply
(forgetting you've a right to question why)
and follow the design
accepting every cheesy line
they're hoping you'll buy.

1%

A hundredth of a million
may not seem like much to some
but to many it would be a precious gift
for each unneeded billion
earned through pampered tedium
there's someone barely making it on shift

If one in a hundred makes a stand
perhaps a change will sweep this land
existence being equalized
for families they've fractionalized.

Nonprofit

They toil for naught
so others gain
from birth they're taught
to gulp disdain
unwillingly caught
in a cycle of pain

this common class
is bred to work
to serve the brass
and never shirk,
the right to pass
their only perk.

Machinations

You can hear that monster wailing
by the river to the south
with smoky tendrils trailing
as they issue from its mouth

the early morning sun's reflected
off its gleaming hide
denied to those protected
as they're taken for a ride

There are no knights or wizards
to slay this chugging beast
which gorges on our gizzards
as we blindly fuel the feast.

Lent

What's it like to build a house
and be the first one in
or drive a car that's so brand new
the wheels have yet to spin?
I wouldn't know, I've never made
a profit off my sin
existing on the hand-me-downs
of those that do and grin
increasing their possessions
when penance should begin.

Virtual Crack

I need another hit
to nail the boss's chin
way too hooked to ever quit
who will really win?

Those that write the code
are calling all the shots
but I don't care how much is owed
my stomach tied in knots.

Kicker

A guy behind a cow
will likely find out how
sopranos hit that note
(once he clears his throat).

Jury Rigged

An eight inch piece of wire
can keep the farm alive
when handy types aspire
to dabble and devise
it's easy to admire
their stubbornness and drive
no circumstance too dire
for those that improvise.

Irrigation

When blessed waters flow
commodities will grow
and sometimes they're let go

remember to conserve
amassing a reserve
to face a coming curve

security's a sham
and will expose your scam
unless you give a damn.

Homesteading

Cut too deep
a scar is all you'll reap
your unproductive toils
in a lumpy jagged heap

sow too soon
and you won't have to prune
your estimate of spoils
as arid as a dune.

Grain

It's waving in the wind
on stalks of golden brown
rising up triumphantly,
and prized upon the floor
by those that like to walk
all over it,
sometimes it's but a tick
that tumbles much too fast
within a glassy cell,
and often it gets rubbed
by those that always choose
to go the other way.

Furrows

We were borne
through fields of corn
by tan but tender feet
three young boys
just making noise
and eager to compete

we would run
just for fun
and sometimes we would race
but no one cared
how they fared
for we were in our place

our country home
where fertile loam
and gnarly limbs of wood
could nurture us
without much fuss
we really had it good

till roots were torn
and ties were shorn
and we were forced to move
from innocence
to indigence
an age inducing groove.

Upturn

The sediment is borne
by currency released
when crystal bonds are shorn

as bullion from the east
compels the process on
prosperity's increased

and everyone will don
the vibrant hues that mean
the summer's over yon.

Expressionist

At times I'm too subjective
distorting the perspective
but all I've ever sought to do
is share my own distinctive view
with every composition

The canvas can be greedy
the medium too needy
absorbing every single dot
the cursed exhibit as they plot
a way to reach fruition.

Dadaism

Children bring us endless joys
except for when they choose
to stomp around in angry little rants
but if you can't handle it with poise
and be their win or lose
then keep it firmly packaged in your pants.

Cubist

Perpendicular partitions pen
a dedicated denizen
that's mousy miniscule amid
the grinding, grueling, greedy grid
where bobble heads obey—
why are we confined this way?

Baroque

Baby tone it down
you're so bedecked in bling
you look like you might drown
in a sea of shiny things

outlandish doesn't even start
to possibly convey
the spectacle as you depart
and all your bangles sway

your fashion is a failure dear
a gaudy little flop
attempt instead to be austere
not way beyond the top.

Abstract

If I said I hurt
would you know where?
or claimed to speak truth
would anyone care?
or said it was cold
would goosebumps occur?
Specific details
I shall strive to proffer.