Solid?

The pond has icy skin
but no one dares to skate
it's far too frail and thin
and will not tolerate
the slightest bit of weight

just wait a few more weeks
until you know it's set
the wind will sting your cheeks
but you won't get wet
and glide without regret.

Fresh Bilge

A sudden storm can doom
a vessel bound to fail
when gales abruptly loom
we gurgle or we bail.

Blowing (Up)

I watch my neighbor try to blow wet leaves
through the fence he had erected
like trying to stuff big hairy legs in sleeves
they simply get rejected
and I laugh at the ironic web life weaves
but he looks less collected

Proceeds

I think of all the things I'm thankful for
and realize the list has really grown
but respectfully I plead for something more
the time to make my gracious thank yous known.

Optimization

I've been a bit too distracted
just doing the things I must do
with prepping and cleaning
and crazy careening
to possibly pen a protracted
attempt at prose for you

but today I've had time to ponder
between each unshakable task
and moments for jotting
or playfully plotting
the thoughts of a mind prone to wander
in search of new questions to ask.

Protesting

Belay your excitement
we all face indictment
for biases learned or innate,
to those so offended:
what fence have you mended,
and tell me, what color is hate?

All In

Scour the muck
you may have luck
get dirty to see
what treasure might be.

Visited

It started as summer was ending
a duty we couldn't defer
contorted, but never done bending
we keep going back to the stir

to comfort a child convicted
of breaking the law of the few
and suffering what was inflicted
by lying enforcers in blue.

Carry On

There isn't much to say
but no one's worried anyway
for silence isn't hard to misconstrue
and so I'll be a sport
remembering to keep it short
we all have other things we'd rather do.

Tsk

You can see it on the face
of those that stare into space
and think ignorance is grace.

they drool just a tad
but I can't ever get mad
for it is simply sad.

No Fare

Preventive measures never ranked that high
upon the list of things I had to do
we can't forestall the fact that we will die
but maybe we can help reduce our rue
and with this in mind I'm making a vow
to forego the crispy fruit of the sow.

Slumming

I rant
to my aunt
whose cares
are scant

she shrugs
and then bugs
my cuz
for drugs

once high
she will lie
for a buzz
even die.

Greener Pastures

Shadows swoop across the fields
as clouds go drifting by
the endless wonder nature wields
is pleasing to the eye
the golden patch where men have sown
is interlaced with green
and, from where I stand, alone
it's achingly serene.

Doldrums

Distorted moaning laughter howls
outside my window pane
the mid-november skyline scowls
with swirling gray disdain

the bony trees with wrinkled skin
are now completely bare
and clatter, so withdrawn and thin
like skeletons everywhere

this tired year is almost through
it's slowing to a crawl
I long for brilliant skies of blue
as snow begins to fall.

Oh Yeah!

In a land without labels
how would you be hailed
and would innuendos
still be thinly veiled
and heated exchanges
or pitiful shame
might never exist
for we'd all be the same

identical, yes...
that's the way we should be
so perfectly programmed
there's no flaw to see
and if we get lucky
we won't have to think
I hope you like kool-aid
the national drink.

Silent Majority

It's not about what's best
but who can say they're right
while banging on their chest
and furthering the fight

that propagates the myth
that voting is a choice
till finding on the fifth
we still can't find our voice.

Gossamer

The tenuous thread which binds us here
is finer than a strand of silk
that sparkles from a sheath of dew
when morning is still fresh and new
and hope sustains our ilk
on tenuous threads that bind us here.

My Pal

A tree just gave me a peace sign
it's crazy but it's true
the limb extended to the side
the ending split in two
it even seemed to wave at me
as a warmer west wind blew
and I'll never look at other trees
the same way, how bout you?

Abstain

Forgive my lack of fervor
but passion is a murmur
when strident voices strive to prove they're right
in any open forum
the keyword is decorum
so learn to have respect or leave my sight!

Dodging the Assassin

The last leaf clings
as coldness stings
but in my ears
redemption rings

for there's still time
despite the clime
to make arrears
before the rime.

Word Keepers

If you had unhealthy stiffness
would you seek a law firm
or made the silence pregnant
would you take it full term
if you failed to trim the bushes
would you say you had hedged
if you shatter every promise
were you wrong to have pledged?

Molting

A crooked line of geese flaps by
and undulates across the sky
as though a snake had learned to fly

exploring wispy curls of gray
that pass for clouds this autumn day
while winter surely heads our way

if only I could somehow wake
and levitate just like that snake
oh what a grand escape I'd make

beyond the land of living dead
where I can shuck this shameful dread
a mottled skin that must be shed.

Killjoy

Who buys Thank You cards
but doesn't send them?
Who picks up the shards
but doesn't mend them?
Who pursues a dream
but ever stumbles
the same who longs to beam
but ever grumbles.

Sickening

Viruses are colorblind
but what about the cure?
contract one and you just may find
you're not considered pure.

:-O

The moon is tangled in some branches
looking pale and frightened
as though it feels
perhaps it won't escape
but soon it wrestles free to rise
and shine across the sky
inciting every hair to stand
upon my nape
as I stand there agape.

Fodder

I don't need to note details
as long as I keep repeating
the terms that indicate I really care
a needy creature often wails
and I have heard your bleating
you crave idyllic fields? I'll lead you there
and feed you all the buzz words you can bear.

Cob Job

Look at you old man, they've shorn away your ears
as you stand gaunt and crooked midst the remnants of your peers
a weary husk too withered to be healed by shedding tears

yet unapologetic for the furrow that you walked
refusing to be swayed when someone favorably talked
a victim of the soulless scythe by which we all are stalked.

Finale

We were so inured to waste
we couldn't even see
or hear or touch or taste
the end that had to be

and now it darkly looms
the doors will soon be closed
belief in bullshit dooms
despite the plot proposed.

Super Sighs

I donned a new shirt
then bought a cold shake
and my just dessert?
A sticky mistake!

Off Screen

We're all so connected
we've grown out of touch
our duties neglected
distracted too much
far from perfected
but thinking we're such
the plan we've selected
a crumbling crutch.