Sluice

All you can see is the spray
from the car that's leading the way
an occasional glimpse of a line
your only chance to divine
the lane in which you must stay

everyone's done for the day
forgetting what they did for pay
the downpour dampens their drive
they focus on staying alive
and navigate the gray.

Outgunned

Must life be a team sport?
No, but it's hard to hit the boards
when you can't even reach the court
against opposing hordes.

Proven

Uncertainty insinuated
I wasn't up to snuff
Scrutiny intimidated
So severe and gruff
Tenacity reciprocated
I still got the stuff.

Screwy

Ever tightened something down just to learn
you went too far and then the hole was stripped
but still you gave the screw another turn

in hopes that somehow threads securely gripped?
Although the truth is easy to discern
we seldom see it till the switch is flipped

and we've done things for which we'll probably burn,
despite how far away our soul has slipped
we still will give the screw another turn.

Remanded

I felt my focus dimming
until I acquired a job
and now my thoughts are swimming
with What’s this thingamabob?

careening towards September
I forfeited the key
and soon I won't remember
that I was briefly free

Stepping it Up

A rhythm can be simple or complex
the challenge is to get out there and move
ignoring all the stagnant types that vex
your chance to get into the perfect groove.

On the Line

Yes you must assess
how much to undress
and how much of the mess
to address

aye it takes a good eye
along with fingers that fly
and a propensity to pry
to rise high.

Erect

Don't stall
Plan well
Your rig
Stand tall
Give hell
Build big.

Conundrum

How quickly a year
can just disappear
it leads me to believe

that time is a lie
and facts we deny
are chances we cannot retrieve.

Night Vision

Though the sun's begun to sink
it's not as late as you may think
despite the darkness day's not gone
until we see another dawn.

Packaging

How many have to die
in order to get wi-fi?
just ask the cable guy

they will cancel every tree
for spotless boxes are key
when tweaking receptivity.

Keeping It

I keep asking myself What is real?
then try to touch but never really feel
and when I look I never seem to see
a shadow of the man I used to be

but then the doorway opens and two joys
come running in and make a lot of noise
embracing me so hard I say "Gee whiz!"
and then I realize what real is.

At The Ready

The water casts reflections in the window where I sit
and watch for any type of sign that tells me not to quit
I've led a life more ordinary than I care to say
because I never had the guts to make a decent play

so now I'm tethered to a desk, a doggie on a chain,
it beats constructing boxes but I struggle to maintain
an attitude that's positive while waiting for the crack
I'll hear before the corporate whip makes mincemeat of my back.

*gulp*

The clouds are an ominous hue
as dark as a venomous brew
a witch would cook up
and serve in a cup
to turn someone's insides to goo.

Trouper

It was just another job
and he was just another slob
they paid a petty wage
that Uncle Sam would rob

performing on the stage
like a monkey in a cage
while swallowing derision down
along with dormant rage

awakened by the clown
that sports a would be crown,
but he just taped another box
and tried to hide his frown.

Commute

If I can maintain my current pace
I will arrive in the time of grace
but if I drop my rate of speed
a mark on my name is guaranteed
and no amount of schlepping will
alleviate the ink they spill.

Stoic

I'm anti-people prone
but not in a dangerous way
I simply like to be alone
what more need I say?

I've had my share of being hurt
or better yet ignored
condemned to eating dirt
ever since they cut the cord

and so I glumly left
to wander far away
marooned beside a growing cleft
what more need I say?

Heavy

There once was a lighthearted fellow
just brimming with laughter and joy
until he became less-than-mellow
in a despicable bastard's employ

he found out that loyalty mattered
to only himself it would seem
and once his beliefs became shattered
he also lost sight of his dream

there once was a lighthearted fellow
who should have stayed happy and free
but he was too feeble and yellow
and now he's a man of misery.

Qualification

The simpler types
don't have many gripes
and seldom (if at all) take any vicious swipes

and thus they're assigned
the tasks oft maligned
by those who'd have failed and incessantly whined.

Boxed

The walls are made to circumvent,
their purpose is quite evident:
containing that which must be shipped
or one with pride that needs be stripped
of every shred they have inside
so no command will be defied.

Tall Order

Boxes mount
I lose count

Muscles ache
I won't break

Time drags
Life has snags

Never bend
Shifts will end

Making It

It doesn't matter what you were
when gauging who you are
the past is just a distant blur
a long forgotten scar

it's what you do today that makes
your life what it will be
so disregard those former aches
and manufacture glee.

Belabor

I simply tuned everything out
and focused on what I must do
it's pointless to grumble or pout
my collar will always be blue

I taped and I taped and I taped
I stacked and I stacked and I stacked
my arms were all dusty and scraped
my fingertips tender and cracked

the bottom is where I must start
while proving my talents anew
but I have a journeyman's heart
my collar will always be blue.

Con

With so many sins from which to choose
you could swear you have free will
but any way you play you lose
and thus your choice is nil.

Double Back

The artificial clouds have made the sky
as white as an old dog's blind eye
and that's how I've been feeling by and by—
I've never found the path to any truth
and often mutter tell me why!
just like in my foregone youth.

Abetting

Once you baby the bleak
you’ve got to coddle the weak
along with all the oozing slime
that think their sloth is sleek

so designate each dime
to those who take the time
to try and reach a higher peak
or else it's just a crime.

Fresh Meat

I'm back in the gears
where machine and man mesh
deep in arrears
for my portion of flesh

I'll go and perform
like a good little tool
and try to stay warm
as competitors drool.

Runoff

I listen to another round
of early morning rain
it's such a pleasant fluid sound
I hope there's no refrain

there's drumming on the window sill
and every noisy splash
is like the sound the cymbals spill
a chill inducing crash

I feel the gentle rhythm lull
me softly back to sleep
until I'm pestered by the pull
of vows that I must keep

Citizenship

They promised me money
then took it away
and said, "It's not funny!"
when I wouldn't play
it used to be sunny
and now it's just gray
no dairy or honey
unless I obey.

Sourpuss

There are uninspired times
when I admit to feeling glum
what's lamer than my rhymes?
the pointless songs I strum

and though my brow will never be
one on which a laurel drapes
it still is my proclivity
to be quite fond of grapes.