Fried

When you don’t have the strength to respond
Will they think that you’re feeling maligned
Or maybe that you’re not too fond
Of your fellow humankind?
You’re much too tapped to play nice
Gratuity not included in the price.

Downsizing

I crave routine with no schedule
If that makes any sense
And non-religious ritual
To strengthen my defense
Though error is eventual
I know I’m sounding dense

Confounded by contradictions
That complicate the test
I contemplate what situations
In which I should invest
And eliminating expectations
Is always best.

Viability

A falcon harassed by some crows
Flew faster than you may suppose
Predation seems viable some say
That is until they are the prey.

Stoolie

The satisfying crunch of snow
That packs beneath my feet
Doesn’t quite drown out the crow
That’s yakking down the street.
What it says? I’ll never know,
A murder tends to be discreet.

Cobbled

I'd conjure shoes
Of buttery hide
A mage would use
But my tongue is tied

Not quite enough
That I can’t feel,
I may be gruff
But not a heel

Perhaps you'd be
Less forlorn
If you lend to me
The shoes you’ve worn.

Apropos

There’s a little known area
Called the Hunu
Which I wasn’t aware – a
Were you?

Half Full

You never planned
To work so much
The cook was canned
And prices are such
That you can use the bread right now
Despite the pain you disavow

The grill is hot
And free of grease
You are not
And as for peace
It’s how you view the glass you know
Unlike your tank, which is getting low.

Portion

I get twenty five burgers from a tube
But what if it came in a cube?
Ten pounds is ten pounds either way
I'm hungry for beefier pay.

Cold

Despite a train
The crows remain
I sneeze and cough
They all take off
An ebon cloud
That seems to shroud
The sky from sight
But no gesundheit.

Goalpost

I tried to go double
But ran into trouble
The moment I had to attend

To the tedious matters
Of living on tatters
With limited ticks to expend

If there’s stuff I can’t table
I’ll do more when able—
Adjustment, my only true friend.

Payback

The reckoning approaches
As darkness encroaches
Like black winged scavengers borne
From turbulent shadows
That creep across meadows
This chilly and ominous morn

The mood is unsettled
When endlessly nettled
By loss to the fiends we allow
To sit in high places
And judge with smug faces
We must demand recompense now!

Food for Thought

While working in the kitchen
My mind
Will pick on existence like
A rind
And feast upon whatever flesh
I find.

Assimilation

The equity you crave
Cannot be decreed
So step right up and earn

The rights no one should waive,
Contribute to succeed—
It really isn’t all that hard to learn.

Down to Earth

She was in the geology field
They called her very grounded
Her fertile mind was in a different place
For once the evening sky revealed
The stars, she was astounded
And dreamed of fossil hunting out in space:

Imagining a cratered moon
Or asteroid in passing
Guiding probes to sift through dirt and stone
Beneath a crystal studded dune
And carefully amassing
The goods to prove we've never been alone.

Vortex

I'm trying to type but my thumb
Has gone completely numb
I thought global warming was here
Now how will they foster fear?
Beware the narratives they spin
Which find a way to suck you in.

Building

A structure isn’t always that
Which time proceeds to fell
Sometimes it’s a habitat
For those who like to dwell

And other times it helps connect
The distant or estranged,
For every causeway left erect
Direction can be changed

Every girder, every bolt
And every white-hot spark
That comes from a constructive jolt
Is a life transforming arc.

Tepid

Did you ever turn on the cold
And wait for it to get hot?
Well unfortunately, like me
Your brain may be shot

I wish that I could tell you
That some remedies exist
Trust me, I’d be one of the first
On the waiting list.

Quaternion

A brand new age is only years away
The one behind the scenes was heard to say
So spoiled it believed itself divine
In search of weaker types on which to dine.

It echoed in his mind, a tape on play
A brand new age is only years away
This politician had a speech to give
Instructing all the sheep how they must live.

The anchor woman stared into the lens
To reinforce the script to docile citizens
A brand new age is only years away
Are those who trust so easy to betray?

The average person watching their TV
Must question everything they hear and see
If people make the perpetrators pay
A brand new age is only years away.

Banger

Annoyingly piercing
Or piercingly annoying?
Either way it sounds like something
You won’t be enjoying.

Oh Balls

Survival is a multitask
You do it or you don’t
And you may get help if you ask
But oftentimes you won’t

So learn to be a juggler
Or life’s a trying span
If not, perhaps a snuggler
And find someone who can.

V̅

When you fancy round numbers
And your fervor's wholehearted
You may forego slumbers
For one where you started.


***Well, as you can see from my archives to the right, my 20th anniversary of blogging here will be next year. I am rapidly approaching 4000 posts and would love to hit 5000 on November 17th 2025. Since I took a break for a while from daily posting, the only way to achieve that is multiple posts in one day. The question is, can I keep up that pace? Stay tuned!***

Cellular

Is anything real on the internet?
Well here’s one truth on which you can bet
The ardor that prompted these words to flow
Is not a hoax or innuendo

It streams from somewhere deep inside
Transmitted through every nucleotide
Creative content without a price
From my cell straight to your device.

Millennialism

I have moral superiority,
I don’t need brakes
According to the television
I never make mistakes
All I have to do is just
repeat whatever they say
So take your bumper and go boomer
You’re ruining my day.

Raise the Bar

If your soapy isn’t sudsy
It just may be a dudzy
Forgive me for the trouble
If I’ve gone and burst your bubble
Perhaps some rubzy dubzy
Could make your lather double.

Liberating

The song of a bird
In the morning, when heard,
Is that what first stirred
The need to be free,

Was it wind in the hair
Or a burst of fresh air?
I think it’s quite fair
To say maybe all three.

Deep

“Oh no, not the rain!”
He gasped as he began to feign
Paroxysms of pain
A truly Oscar worthy bit

Her eyes became grim
Looking sternly over the rim
Of her glasses at him
“Hilarious you little shit!”

Then he took her hand
While smiling at the reprimand
No surface dwellers understand
When love becomes legit.

Progenitor

You gave me
The best of you
A sapling tree
That only grew

Well or ill
Good and bad
You loved me still
Happy birthday Dad!

Solicitations

What do you think is odder
Using failure for fodder
Or satire as solder?

As long as someone’s reading
I'm fine with conceding
(don’t make me start pleading).

Way to Go

If you view life as an adventure
You can’t wait for the next chapter
Where you’ll go
Who you’ll know
While chasing what you’re after

The mundane turns fulfilling
That is if you are willing
Take your shot
Fill your plot
With a climax extra thrilling.

Chiseled

Foolish old men
Should never think young
Or say, Well, back then…
If they hate being stung

By the candor of youth
That flows so carefree
Revealing the truth
For those who won’t see

The sucker beheld
In the mirror each morn—
Delusions dispelled
By reflections of scorn.

Grind

Does coffee fuel compromise?
He pondered watching ringlets rise
Above his steaming cup of brew
Maybe in a sip or two

Though bitterness can complicate
A chance for people to relate
Enjoy your quibbles and caffeine
With one you love, know what I mean?

Almost

New year
Same old temptations
One beer
Absolves reservations
So near
The best of situations:
No fear
Or expectations.

Pro-Vanity

When rinsing out the color just applied
I laugh about the depth of human pride
Disguising what took decades to accrue
In hopes that someone says, “Well look at you!”

Bridge

It takes you to another place
A long forgotten time
To get you past the droning signature lag
An interval of lilting grace
Beyond the grief and grime
A shortcut to escape the latest snag

Conveying sentimental souls
Through dark uneven ways
A portal to that lost idyllic Then
You touch the radio controls
Remembering that blaze
The span you wish you could traverse again.

Wild

A peacock is a flamboyant flamingo
Or so I heard somebody say
And my dog most resembles a dingo
When he eyes me in that hungry way.

Undeterred

As the new year began
He pondered his course
A reticent man
Well versed in remorse
But never a plan

For such involved trust
To help counteract
The setbacks that must
Perplex such a pact
And his faith was just

So-so as of late
Existence had been
Much harder to date
Than way back when
But hope was innate

And as the sun rose
He shielded his eyes
And said, “Who knows
if it’s foolish or wise?
We'll see how it goes.”