Diligence

Sometimes your vocation
Is different from your dream
But don’t waste an occasion
To make delights that gleam
The path to transformation
Curves more than it may seem.

Precautionary

Simply feeling regret
Does not absolve your soul
You have to pay the debt
In order to be whole

You’ll never have to owe
If one thing’s understood
Wherever you may go
Always do good.

Rough Road

They’re ripping this town apart
The backhoes are hungry it seems
And being devoid of heart
Remain unmoved when Earth screams

All of the beautiful trees
That stood by the side of the road
Are victims of impotent pleas
To machines that mangled and mowed

But things will be better they say
Once they can add some more lanes
To the highway they use to convey
The products their plotting profanes.

Pouring it Out

I wish folks preferred
My freshly prepped words
Instead of the greasier fare
I’m hired to produce
Oh what’s the use
Hey, you need ketchup over there?

Full Strength

Does pain become less potent as we age?
Depends upon the reason for the ache
Familiarity obviates the rage
Of rotting in an ever shrinking cage
But certain stabs are more than we can take

Like those from blades we thought we could trust
For they go past a simple patch of flesh,
Or when someone we love returns to dust
And suddenly our hearts begin to bust
As every memory makes the wound feel fresh.

Narrativity

When’s a dozen ten?
If two are cracked, that’s when
Or if a hungry cook decides
They have to taste again

But numbers aren’t the only way
To quantify what we relay
Beware the phony that divides
With lies they’re paid to say.

Unquestionable

You can’t bicker with The Boss
About how you’re assigned
Or things He has designed
Without Him getting cross.

Plots

I stroll as daylight dims to dusk
The clouds are gray and brooding
Then catch a wisp of spring time musk
And hope that it’s alluding

To warmer days and bluer skies
As tender buds are showing
And we amidst the compromise
Seek fertile sod for sowing.

Emancipation

I was sitting at work
When the first bomb dropped
And everything started to shake
I felt the earth jerk
Then it stopped
Enough for me to finally make

My way outside
Where the sky was aglow
And the city was as still as a grave
I made it to my ride
Figuring I would go
Home and see if there was anything to save

But then I knew
I had to shed
The chains I'd worn since birth
You can’t renew
The living dead
With ghosts of former worth.

Ooh Mommy

It’s salty and it’s sweet
And it’s spicy all in one
Ooh your little tongue
Is going to have a lot of fun
Umami, umami
A moment on the lips
Forever on the hips
Umami

Be careful when you’re hungry
And you want a little bite
You could pay forever
For a second of delight
Umami, umami
You’ll never gain an inch
If you work it in the clinch
Umami

Wise Crack

Everybody has one
No buts about it *wink*
The trick is not to be one
And if you are, don’t stink.

Grateful

Nine one four on four one nine
It’s time to jot another line
A week ago I aged a tad
But altogether it wasn’t bad
With every digit hence I see
Cherished as a gift by me.

Belated

How I miss you mother dear
And send with all my love
A Happy Birthday from way down here
To you in heaven above.

Reverence

Did I see snow
On Easter? Oh no!
Why must it be so?

It’s time for rebirth
Of wisdom and worth
For all on the earth

Forgive your foes
And rest your woes
On He who rose.

Bamboozled

Those that serve the dark lord
In hopes that their reward
Is never being damned
Have really been scammed

Not only will they get the worst
But their master will be first
To make sure pain is all they feel
After all, a deal's a deal.

Bout

Bunch your hand into a fist
Squeeze your knuckles tight
Bare it there above the wrist
So willingness to fight
Is advertised for all to see
Get ready for round three!

Ethic

I tried for a while
But now I’ve had enough
Don’t like my style?
We all got it tough

I do what I must
And I do it quite well
So leave me or just
Go straight to hell!

Adulterated

Whatever they exaggerate
Is their attempt to imitate
That which they can never be
Regardless how much therapy
They force their bodies to endure
For plastic’s fake, but truth is pure.

Remittance

Who would take a tree that respires
Fell it, skin it, drape it with wires?
Sounds like something the greedy sort
Would force on those they'd soon extort

The moguls that designed the grid
Have made so much from what they did
That now they feel they own us all
It’s time to make some towers fall

These endless lines conveying juice
Could be repurposed for a noose
And every pole along the road
Would help us give them what they’re owed.

Unbearable

A germophobic polar bear
Couldn’t pole dance, wouldn’t dare
Too afraid of what he'd catch
For massive claws to ever latch
Upon that stainless rod and jeer

The Eskimos tell ancient tales
Of hunting walrus, seals and whales
But they could never quite foresee
A future where a bear would be
More afraid of microbes than a spear.

57 Sauce

I deal with dread
As it draws near
How time has sped
Another year?
But I won’t shed
One single tear
Let’s try instead
An ice cold beer.

On Deck

The outfield looks just like a lake
The diamond, a daunting moat
I hope the boys of summer make
Sure that horsehide can float.

Unnatural

Silicone reins
Pull on our brains
Making quite sure the machine maintains
Control of our lot
Oh, you think not?
Has your device asked if you’re the robot?

Data defines
Dulls the designs
Of those who are bred without spirits or spines
Until they replace
Delete with no trace
Every last vestige of God’s saving grace.

Mode

If your ears control your hands
You’re someone who understands
That discipline and heart are key
When seeking virtuosity.

Bang

Are any of us as deft
As we dream ourselves to be
Encumbered by the heft
Of our hung humility

Whenever we fall short
We reach again despite
The damaging report
From a shot that just pulled right.

Volumes

Turn it up some more
My windows haven’t shattered yet
For someone billed as poor
The price of your gear would put me in debt
And best of all it’s in your car
So you can blast it near and far
While cursing America, who'd have guessed
It must be tough being so repressed.

Edgy

Those that scream to decide
Aren’t the best people to pick
Petty purveyors of pride
They’re not confused, just sick

It seems the more ailments you list
The more you’re entitled to rage
There’s a reason that margins exist
So everyone fits on the page

We can’t base our everyday norms
On the whims of the mentally ill
A mindless fanatic conforms
The logical fight for free will.

Relevance

This is where I am
This is what I’m doin’
I never gave a damn
If my life fell to ruin
And it shows

I laugh at where I was
And what I was thinking
Amused with myself because
I didn’t have an inkling
So it goes.

He's Friendly

It was freezing at dawn:
Chico chased a Robin off the lawn
He barked until it was gone
I hope spring has not withdrawn.

Growing Season

When tulips are red
They plant in my head
A kiss reminiscent of spring—
It’s fragrant and warm
Enhancing my form
With the promise that winter can’t bring.