Appreciation

I have many boxes of books
that I never get to read
while battling that worst of crooks
with ticking hands of greed

a minute here, a minute there
until there’s none for me
this fiend has crept throughout my lair
the dust of what could be

thank goodness for the jackets on
these precious tomes I’ve stored
perhaps someday when I’m long gone
someone else will prize this hoard.

Throwing it All Away

I saw a styrofoam cup
spin round, flip over, stand up,
the wind was making it dance
and seem to playfully prance
like a little white-haired pup

performing for a taste
of scraps amassed through haste
by those without a clue
the damage that they do
there's nothing cute about waste.

Gift

Isn’t it odd
when blessed with an unforeseen wad
how rapidly we trod
the shore of Me-Me-Me?
we can’t wait to go on a spree
so selfishly
ignoring those we know
that need some help to grow
and thus I go
with a determined air
to gladly share
as much as I can spare
and thank a gracious God
for giving me
a chance to humbly show
how much I care.

Capitol Punishment

Such tireless effort is spent
to straighten the beaks that are bent
that no one accomplishes squat
but rapidly draining the pot

they squabble about pointless things
while living like queens and kings
indifferent to those they’ve abused
or how many sockets are bruised.

Opening

I thought about truly playing the part
with wardrobe and makeup and all
then gauged my interest with a chart
and found it was laughably small
(aware it could demean my art
to mask my impoverished pall)
I took the stage (despite my fright)
with every wart in plainest sight

the audience seemed to be buying my shtick
delivered with confident ease
despite the fact that I felt sick
attempting to stifle my knees
which kept on knocking (click-click-click)
Oh let it be over, please!
Then after a dramatic pause
the sweetest sound of all - applause.

Self Evident

Mr. Nelson Mandela
now there was quite a fella,
he didn't start a holy war
to leave a legacy of gore
or found some new dictatorship
deluded by a power trip
he simply waited for the weight
of truthful words to validate
what he knew was meant to be
we're all created free.

Hooked

It's getting harder to reconcile
the disparate people I am
I'm overdosing on denial
but wish I had one more gram

to pacify the angry me
or thrill the me that's bored
or give the me most problem free
an undeserved reward

I guess I just don't have the will
to finally grow up and quit
all I can do is hope to kill
my pain with another hit.

*snarl*

When things start to blur
we get lax
but can't bunch our fur
without facts
well, we can but
no one will care
they'll rudely say "What,
bad day for hair?"

Going Both Ways

If I could travel through time
I'd surely go back to the crime
and stridently chime

but I remember me back when
I never listened to anyone then
and wouldn't again

perhaps I should journey ahead
to tell the older me "Live now instead!"
before I'm dead.

Debilitation

Seething
Tirades
Really
Exacerbate
System
Sickness

Easy As

One can't be squared
Two should be whole
Three may be shared
For Love is the goal.

Peckish

There are frozen drops of dew
where butterflies once flew
as all the flora sparkles ghostly white
a flash of red, then blue
a bluejay and a cardinal too
are foraging for berries free of spite

can't we flock together
without a ruffled feather?

Heroics

They stole from the stygian steppe
like shadows and blent with the night
an arrogant army adept
at snuffing the legions of light

their weapons were honed to an edge
that could slice through the hardiest mail
which made grizzled veterans hedge
and even the bravest souls quail;

it poured cross the land like a flood
a horrid, unstoppable force
that clamored to taste mortal blood
destroying all hope at the source,

but there was one person alive
whose valor withstood any blow
who struggled that we may survive
his blade downing many a foe.

They called this man Ravager Rex
though he had earned many more names
his sword was endowed with a hex
engulfing his victims in flames,

he'd once worked behind an old plow
until the marauders had killed
his family, provoking a vow
that every last one would be stilled,

his hatred of evil was fierce
his sword-arm unmercifully strong
and every foul heart he could pierce
meant one less among the dark throng.

The Lords of the balances plot
their intrigue as time disappears
while champions honor their lot
to guard the profusion of spheres.


***Well this is officially my 2000th post. I had hoped to make this a bit more epic but life has been a disruptive dilemma lately which seriously hinders my ability to muster the focus necessary for a long piece. Please enjoy!***

Scuffed

I saw the old sole
its tongue hanging out
as though it were trying to scream
about every hole
that's starting to sprout
the thread barely holding each seam
we all have a role
while running about—
for glory we forfeit our gleam.

Sinking

The river is gushing to tell me
about its long trip to the sea
but I couldn't absorb it completely
my pores are too clogged with debris

these sediments swirl in the eddy
a vortex that no one can see
which is pulling me down slow and steady
while watching that water flow free.