Foible

“Do you have to analyze everything?”
She exasperatedly snipped
“Just what are you insinuating?”
He ever so snarkily quipped
As sarcasm dripped

She rolled her eyes and grabbed his face
Playfully between her hands
She could have put him in his place
But love not only trades gold bands
It understands.

Contemporary

I'd never paint
Myself as a Saint
Due to my glaring lack of restraint

A much broader brush
(the bristles so plush)
Would not coat my conscience enough times to hush

This whisper inside
Which continues to chide
A postmodern puppet of impressionist pride.

Realistic

The portrayal falls flat
He thought as his cat
Rubbed up against him and purred
While snippets of slang
From the neighborly gang
Displayed the dilemma they’ve blurred

The TV displays
Such likable ways
That all you encounter will act
But come face to face
With those lacking grace
You could wind up dead – that’s a fact.

Shelter

I dwell beneath the wings
Of He who made all things
And won’t fall prey to fear
My refuge always near.

Make it Happen

Remember: if your life is bleak
At least you’re still alive
And though you may be cold and weak
You still can somehow strive

To overcome the circumstance
That’s causing you to hurt
It all can change with just one chance
And effort you exert.

Getting Better

Sustaining mediocrity
Is not the best of tricks
But a passage of infirmity
Can really dull your licks
The key to virtuosity?
Stay steady till it sticks!

Unhooked

We work our lives away
Just so we can pay
For vices that reduce those lives
By more and more each day

They really charge a lot
To get the stuff they’ve got
If we can dodge those lethal knives
We just may have a shot.

Dangerous

I don’t want to lead
Just go my own way
A proponent of speed
There is no delay
Between what I think and do
Although for most this isn’t true
If only they'd stay in their lane
Collisions would be sure to wane.
They used to require
A license to drive
But now things are dire
Just swerve to survive.

Impressions

They said, “You’ll do great things!”
He floundered in the wings
Detecting deep duplicity
He shut down, and it stings

He wished they never said
Those fantasies, instead
Humanitarian humility
Should have filled his head.

Nonsensical

You don’t want to hear a word I say
But get angry if I don’t say one thing
And this is why nothing makes much sense today—
Women and the nonsense they bring.

Underestimated

The sun became so dim
Nocturnal creatures made their din
Until they suddenly grew
Still and everybody knew
Whatever incident was due
Would more than likely soon begin
And it was looking mighty grim.

A wizard with the whitest beard
Whose wand was made from magic board
Began to moan and pant
Then intoned a chilling chant
Although the odds were scant
He sacrificed himself to save the horde
Despite the fact that he was always feared.

Nuisances

This morning I could hear the crows converse
And to me it sounded slightly terse
For all we know they could be averse
To humans and be telling us “Disperse!”

Rooted

The trees will creak
they’ll groan and squeak
but if it’s empty
words you seek
just tell the world
you’re poor and meek
a shyster
will be sure to speak
or tyrant make life
harsh and bleak
so when you hear
talkative teak
sit down for something
quite unique.

Specificity

You need sustainability?
My contempt qualifies
I’ll always loathe pretentious fools
And their self-serving lies.

Now let’s talk inclusivity
Remembering what’s true
If you’re habitually breathing
You’re part of God’s plan too.

And if you hear diversity
Be wary of the game
For what they want is everyone
To think and act the same.

I leave you with one final word
A mantra for the free
To find contentment with the herd:
Individuality.

Rapt

Cicadas screeched
As summer reached
A blistering crescendo
The symphony
Played heatedly
Right outside my window

The crickets sang
And whistles rang
That sounded so exotic
I could have danced
But sat entranced
The melody hypnotic.

Getaway

You tried to pierce my armor
But never quite got through
I sprouted with the Farmer
A stoic tried and true

Who focused on organic
Options to survive
Without a hint of panic
If yields began to dive

So take your malice elsewhere
I’ve chores I must complete
Some may say I’m ‘out there’
The truth is my retreat.

Commanding

Why are people so anxious to fall
Behind someone who claims
To represent one and all
While pushing their own aims

No one, save for God alone
Should spark your loyalty
An ancient platform set in stone
To guide humanity.

Clouded

Pastel puffs populate the sky
Immune (as they meander by)
To our chaotic earthbound mess—
Can’t compassion coalesce?

Liminal

Inside, outside
Smile, frown
The upward staircase
Takes you down
The corridor
A long cocoon
Where wings
Will be bestowed
To fly to valleys
On the moon
Where lunar
Rivers flowed.
A stage is someplace
To perform
Or just another phase
The perfect band
Despite a storm
Still sets up and plays.

Archaic

Running over lines in my head
Not being the poem instead
Regretting a mind that’s closed
I’ll never be composed.

The fate of the fatally terse?
Victims of villainous verse.
A soliloquy will seldom assuage
The gen of the digital age.

Blocked Chain

If palms have hearts,
Do heels have souls,
Can you be impaled by broccoli spears?
When dinner starts
We stuff our holes
But have no beef as food disappears.

Redefined

The people aren’t too happy
Their lives are kind of crappy
We need something snappy
A peppy kind of cheer

The problem with a geezer
A windy worn-out wheezer
Is they aren’t much of a pleaser
They simply play by ear

When news speak gets outrageous
It can be advantageous
To call the putz courageous
Now don’t you find that queer?

Deviants

Everyone goes a different way
Regardless how worn the road
That ends where they’d prefer to stay
We all have our own load

And sometimes, you just have to veer.
Everyone goes a different way
Although directions are clear
Distractions make the straightest stray

A panorama can really sway
Those in search of cleaner skies,
Everyone goes a different way
The path will dip and likewise rise

It’s more about the journey right?
Well that’s what I’ve heard others say
Before they’re gone from sight
Everyone goes a different way.

♾️

Eight eight
What a date
A double dose
Of cosmic fate
Infinity
And it’s mate
Eight Eight
What a date.

Unseat

When someone impolitic
Does what their kind does
The masses get acerbic
And thus it was

A jester is forgiven
People pity a poor fool
But with a king so driven
It’s time to end his rule.

Charitable

Remembering those moments when I knew
That I was loved, and though they’re far too few
I treasure every instance more than gold
And hope I’ve given others some to hold.

Unstoppable

The monster is huffing
As it drags it’s brood along
The scraping and scuffing
A matron’s favorite song
And there is no snuffing
Her spirit – she’s strong!

Sorrowful

Within the fertile valley
I learned such vital things
But in the final tally
I spurned them, and it stings

Beside these walls of concrete
I surfed a mindless crowd
Assimilation incomplete
Estrangement not allowed

Before the hallowed pulpit
Is where the truth first shone
As pride, the foolish culprit
Demands that I atone.

Lesson

Does memorizing lies
Told by snobs with ties
Make you more smarter than the rest?
The ‘Land of the Free’
(to a certain degree)
Is struggling (gee, who’d have guessed?)

Mobility

I watch the train advance
And envy what I lack
Upon a second glance
I see the same old track

Restricted movement breeds
Contempt for structured life
Which ultimately bleeds
One quicker than a knife

But there’s no point in jealousy
Our fate is self-designed
Thus none of us are truly free
Though some seem less confined.

Romp

You’ll make way when you’re ready
Or you will sail no more,
Negotiate the eddy
Or swirl without an oar,
Keep your rudder steady
Or stay upon the shore.