Motley

The clouds look like a painting
A pastel place of peace
Unsullied by the tainting
Of swarms that never cease
Releasing toxins everywhere
A true depiction of despair.

Sellouts

For the love of gold
The corrupt comply
Their hearts turned cold
Just so they can buy
Into the big lie

Overcome by greed
A sullied soul
May feel the need
To lose control
Despite the toll.

Tail of Terror

The moon was round and low
And lent a spectral glow
To anything it’s silver rays caressed

An amber pair of eyes
Caught me by surprise
A fearsome beast that seemed to be possessed

So carefully, I crept
But suddenly it leapt
A crazy cuddly canine, who’d have guessed?

Bad Rep

They’re not noble, they’re not even nice
Selling this country out for any price
Representative of everything vindictive and vile
Grinning like hyenas all the while—
But those who smile widest often hide
The blackest hearts of evil deep inside.

Destination

The emerald hills are glowing
In the late September sun
I feel excitement growing
A new journey is begun

My first step through the doorway
I feel my heartbeat start
To quicken on this foray
Into autumn’s vibrant heart

I seek a new perspective
With a breath suspending view
As I follow one directive:
Be compassionate and true.

Ups and Downs

I tried an elevator
But it really let me down
Then an escalator
But I must’ve missed a step
Then an excavator
But no one dug my frown
So maybe I’ll just see you later
‘scuse me while I schlep.

Loss

He slimmed down so much his goatee
Looked two sizes too big
And his skin flopped around soggily
Like gelatin doing a jig

I asked him if he was okay
He awkwardly boomed “You bet!”
And then someone told me today
He died before the sun set.

Prime Mover

They asked him, “Have you ever lied?”
He nodded his assent
“Outstanding, you are qualified!”
Then made him president,
Amused at all his ramblings
What mattered was – who pulls the strings.

Unlimited

Why must all reduce their speed
For those innately slow?
It’s not a matter of hate or greed
But some are built to go

So if you know you’re in the way
Please kindly move aside
Then we can all avoid delay
And each enjoy their ride.

Theoretical

The last day of summer began with a note
Of minor regret, so haunting, remote—
I searched for a tonic to help me resolve
The endless progression in which we revolve.

Exercise

The frequent assault of our feet
Has beaten a path through the grass
To the lot at the end of our street
Where the street cleaner empties out trash

It’s there that we’re likely to find
A candid conclusion or two
Or three if I’m in my right mind
Though outings like that are so few

The dogs tend to sniff all around
While I let my brain wander free
And sometimes they scratch at the ground
As I’m digging deep inside me

Occasionally I set the course
More often I’m just dragged along
Which could be a cause for remorse
But that’s how you learn to be strong.

Hostile

My freedom’s at stake
And your worst mistake
Is thinking I’ll forfeit control
I will not relent
And force you to vent
My head with a large bullet hole

I’ve lived this life my way
And won’t do what you say
Despite innuendos of death
I don’t want a war
But push a bit more
And I’ll fight to my very last breath.

Misty

The world is getting blurry
A sight I can’t unsee
But there’s no need to worry
The view is not for me
My mind is looking to and fro
At memories from long ago
And soon I fear I may remain
Where sentimental visions reign.

Caregiver

I remember feeling poorly as a child
And my mother, acting such the perfect host
Told me to lay down and lovingly smiled
Then came back with delicious cinnamon toast

And as I grew, whenever I felt bad
I toasted up a steaming slice or two
And that memory, of feeling loved and glad
Would always be enough to pull me through

Now it seems it’s time for me to be
The perfect host as I retrieve my wife
From where they give her chemotherapy
And then employ my trusty butter knife.

Amends

When everything you do
Is met
By endless boo and hoo
You get
A little testy

If you had only known
Would you
Have set the deal in stone
Should you
Regret being so zesty

When things are not ideal
Is there
A way to recapture the zeal
And share
Contentment with your bestie?

Flighty

A butterfly
Got very high
From landing on a plant nearby

One whiff and I
Am certain why
This fella felt the need to fly.

Snag

It seems the more I share
The faster my traffic declines
It’s a good thing I don’t have to care
To keep on casting these lines
Maybe I should read some books
To help me craft much sharper hooks.

Changing Room

When it’s time for something new
Make sure that it’s the style you
Prefer

We all have the capacity to
Become someone other than who
We were.

Reclamation

I will not glorify their crime
As some type of noble cause
They’d kill their mothers for a dime
But we let them write our laws

And now they claim to have a cure
For a disease they paid to make
How much more can we endure?
It’s time for us to take

Our freedom and our country back
From those whose only goal
Is tyranny, so never slack,
Don’t let them take control!

Torch

Bittersweet September
The die-off has begun
And not-so-subtle hints are everywhere

Like little whiffs of musk upon the air
Or the smokiness from an ember
Of a fire almost done,

Although, there is another one
That’s fueled by deep despair
For the fallen I remember.

Derail

The liar-in-chief
Kept it brief
Because his train of thought
Is a lone caboose
Broken loose
And a nation is distraught

He railed at those
Who simply chose
To not proffer their arm
To hacks who could
Be doing good
But seem intent on harm

A mild bug
A toxic drug
Do one and one make three?
You have a choice
So use your voice
Remember — YOU ARE FREE!

Reciprocate

Whatever they pull
Pull back
Whenever they push
Push back
Whoever they sell
Send back
However you take
Give back.

Alluring

I linger in the shade to contemplate
If I have been a willing tool of hate
Or hapless pawn refusing to relate

And as I watch the insects congregate
On roadside flowers fragrant and ornate
Impulsively I must participate.

Evaluation

I see all the stains on my soul
Like ink blots I cannot define
Though I try to be good as a whole
The times I’ve crossed over the line
Have hampered my link to divine

Revelations of truth,
And everything I thought I knew
Dissolves, like my long distant youth,
But I’m praying for strength to pull through
And maybe a write-off or two.

Caution

An arrow that’s green
Does not always mean
It’s safe for you to go
So warily wend
Or your journey could end
Before you even know.

Nova

Beneath the sky
Three would-be stars
Released a searing burst
A noble try
Despite the scars
Of physics at their worst

These proto-suns
Were circled by
The type that like to spin
A dance begun
With fire high
A resonating win.

Bygones

The keening, omnipresent buzz
A fully alert cicada does
Could qualify as summer’s sound
When it is sadly outward bound
But in the end, it’s ALL what was
Forgotten remnants under ground.

Ousting

Whatever they tell you to do
Is not the best option for you
And things beneficial to all
Are rapidly labeled untrue.

How can these shysters commit
Such fraud and be seen as legit?
Their media lackeys have gall
As they are the ones who transmit

The ills that are plaguing our race
They must be dismissed in disgrace,
If not, our chances are small
For a future we want to embrace.

Ante

When it’s your time to choose
Be mindful what you lose
For nothing’s more enlightening
Than duly tendered dues

Regardless how you stall
You’ll finally face a call
And show your cards, chest tightening
In your bid to have it all.

Better Off Than On

A couple grasshoppers on a weed
Got jumpy when my puppy peed
But luckily for them he missed
I’m pretty sure they would’ve been pissed.