Zeal

Aggravated again
by petty little men
who got their shot allowed
next one I walk, proud.

Yinyang

The sun will create
the dark devastate
so what is the fate
where we habitate?

Regardless of gain
or possible pain
we've got to maintain
a balanced domain.

X =?

The jets keep streaking by
constantly expelling
their wispy lines across the sky
geometry most telling
but still the jetset types deny
the poisonous pervasion
of fumes that never solve the Y
in this complex equation.

Flotilla

For every ship gunmetal gray
that sails before the sun today
I'll engage a word in play

and since there's such a massive fleet
denying that distracting heat
I'm really filling up the sheet.

Willies

The night was dark and subdued
I felt I was being pursued
but I couldn't tell
if my tail meant well
or if it should be eschewed

Resisting the urge to retreat
in fear was no easy feat
my nerves were so frayed
I shook as I prayed
my shadow and I wouldn't meet

I heard the snap of a twig
my squinting eyes grew big
and then I jumped
as my heart thumped
it's own alarming jig

that was all that it took
I stood for a second and shook
and then I ran
like a crazy man
afraid to even look

I made it to my lawn's sweet blades
flew inside, pulled the shades
and started to intone
a vow to never walk alone
through those dark and daunting glades.

Value

It's more about the code to which we adhere
in regards to the matter of worth
than any possession we hold dear
while doing our time on this earth

in regards to the matter of worth
we can pile our toys to the sky
while doing our time on this earth
but even the wealthiest die

we can pile our toys to the sky
like altars to honor our greed
but even the wealthiest die
consumed in the end by their need

like altars to honor their greed
the shiny possessions held dear
consumed in the end by our need
the code to which we adhere.

Universal

Life is life
or so they say
but are we truly alive,
are constant strife
and those who prey
prerequisites to survive?

Across the vast
and silent night
is everything the same
are races past
and poems they write
all part of one big game

an endless test
to grow and learn
what everyone should know
to try our best
and always yearn
for peace before we go.

No Release

I try to stay young
but my latest rung
is starting to bring me down
my ambitions are small
yet constantly stall
which spawns a perpetual frown

I'm casting my lines
while nature designs
some deepening grooves of her own
but no point in tears
for none of those years
can ever be sportingly thrown.

Sidetracked

Is interest accruing
or are you now ruing
the fact that you stopped
to see what I'm doing

my verses are chopped
and traffic has dropped
but I just keep posting
my sentiments sopped

with humor worth toasting
and yes, empty boasting
so thanks for the read
continue your coasting.

Rudimentary

How long can we maintain a crumbling bluff
aware that more erosion will ensue,
how long before we sigh and say "Enough,
I'm leaving now, my efforts here are through."
It only takes one unpredicted storm
to weaken structures that were once robust
a violent heave to drastically deform
the clay that all too soon returns to dust.
Endeavor to construct cohesive bonds
regardless of your ultimate pursuit
for this is where we find the most support,
a blooming rose may have resplendent fronds
but needs a sturdy well established root
or else it's fleeting flourish will be short.


***Well, since this is the third full week of A-Z I am doing a throwback week. You see, I've been posting here almost ten years and there are a lot of older poems that go unread, also I've been so busy since my promotion that my writing has been more terse than usual. So I'm solving two problems at once (see I really was intended for management ;^P) There shall be links back to other poems this week (hopefully 3 per post) so enjoy some extra mediocrity compliments of yours truly, Average Poet. Later!***

Gnarly

How quickly buds appear
when the sun returns each year
from it's protracted stay
so far away from here

but as the daylight dims
the creaky moan of weathered limbs
reveals the frigid way
of winter whims.

Quality

Are your goods any good?
Was the well drilled well?
Is that speck within spec?
Isn't tolerance hell?

Production

They're hoping you'll (by
virtue of a missing spine)
mindlessly comply
(forgetting you've a right to question why)
and follow the design
accepting every cheesy line
they're hoping you'll buy.

1%

A hundredth of a million
may not seem like much to some
but to many it would be a precious gift
for each unneeded billion
earned through pampered tedium
there's someone barely making it on shift

If one in a hundred makes a stand
perhaps a change will sweep this land
existence being equalized
for families they've fractionalized.

Nonprofit

They toil for naught
so others gain
from birth they're taught
to gulp disdain
unwillingly caught
in a cycle of pain

this common class
is bred to work
to serve the brass
and never shirk,
the right to pass
their only perk.