May nature always remind me of You, O God, whether it’s

Ants scurrying industriously,
Bees pollinating flowers indiscriminately,
Cats luxuriating in the sun lazily,

Dogs romping together enthusiastically,
Elephants trumpeting triumphantly,
Foxes slinking sneakily,

Grapes in my mouth, bursting deliciously,
Hay drying aromatically,
Icicles sparkling brilliantly,

Jaguars pouncing energetically,
Kangaroos carrying young tenderly,
Llamas wearing dinner ties sportingly,

Monkeys screeching gleefully,
Nuts roasting over a fire temptingly,
Opossums pretending death silently,
Pandas chomping on bamboo incessantly,

Quail bursting from cover explosively,
Rabbits multiplying rapidly,
Snakes eating prey irreversibly,
Tigers snarling viciously,

Underwater springs burbling unceasingly,
Vultures circling patiently,
Wasps defending hive notoriously,

X-rays enabling bones to be seen easily,
Yaks chewing placidly, or
Zebras running wild and free, beautifully.

One day a cowboy was asked by his mystified neighbor how he’d gotten his herd to grow exponentially, seemingly overnight. The cowboy generously provided another detail about the phenomenon: “Whenever I get upset, my herd seems to multiply.”

Sleep.
Easy to spell.
Easy to write.
Easy to say.
But hard for the insomniac.

Sleep deprivation.
Hard to spell when hallucinating.
Hard to write with eyes closing.  
Hard to say while decomposing—a rare case, it’s true.
But easy for the insomniac.

Why is it so difficult to:

    Stop for the night,
    Leave entertainment behind,
    Ease body in bed,
    Elude conscious thought, and
    Peacefully rest
    ?

specters of my past rise up en masse
sweeping my feet and hard-won ground
out from under me

is the battle worth refighting?
dare I rally instead of running?

I cannot live with defeat
I must hang on to hope

muscles trembling, I rise again:
some say I tilt at windmills
others liken it to Sisyphus

it matters not
I cannot let myself give up

Knowing I am yours
Making your desires mine
Finding happiness

Emptying one’s wallet for the family fee,
Joining in linear solidarity with the crowd,
Dripping profusely under the blazing sun,
Creeping forward as if slower than a snail.

Arriving at the moving beast’s head,
Receiving envious glances from the tail,
Stepping boldly forth at last,
Following instructions.

Strapping oneself into place,
Shooting forward like a rocket into space,
Spinning endlessly until quite dizzy,
Screaming with sheer delight and fear.

Dropping back to earth,
Speeding faster than a thought,
Leaving stomach far behind,
Enjoying the absurdity of its apparent disappearance.

Exhilarating, yet much too short,
Seeking to repeat the thrill,
Joining the waiting horde,
Staring impatiently from the queue’s tail.

20 techs working all together
10 scientists reviewing all their work
2 techs gone for questionable behavior
3 techs lured away by lucrative positions
3 scientists went on to greener pastures
1 scientist promoted into management

Two-thirds the work force—extra work for all.
Management decrees that:
Worker shortages are not sufficient cause for revenue shortages or excess overtime.
Lunch breaks are mandatory and not to be worked through.
Invite all your friends to work here—isn’t it a wonderful environment?
Just think, we’re getting a new building in 3 years and will double in size.
All your woes will be solved then, if only you survive.

Like a moth to flame,
Lured by the unknown,
Will it brighten my way?
Or singe my wings?

Avoid potential loss by never seeking,
thereby ensuring never to gain?
Accept the risk,
in the hope of finding and being found?
Or forever dither upon the precipice of longing and loss?

Will my choice fill me with ecstasy?
Or burden me with regret?
Lead to a fulfilling relationship?
Or an early grave?

I guess I’ll never know,
Unless I try.
But then it might be
Too late.

Longing for a message.
Talking to fill the gaping hole.  
Regretting the existing canyon.

Knowing it’s not spiteful.
Accepting it’s a fact of life.
Railing against reality.

Seeing a brief text from him.
Soaring upward with happiness.
Dreading another long wait.

Beginning from a speck,
Based on promises kept,

Growing slowly through risks taken,
Fed by secrets shared, but not abroad,

Budding gradually into solidity,
Fertilized with love for one another,

Blooming incandescently,
Outshined by nought, not e’en the sun,

Producing fruit which blesses all,
Admired even from afar,

Sending its seeds abroad,
Landed in distant fields they may,
one day,
bloom as well.

Consecutive dots
Here and then gone in a flash
When will I see text?

Questions rattle round,
Amplified inside my head.
Pacify me, please?

Landscape cleaned to perfection,
Sparkling in pristine white,
Studded with sparkling crystals,
All this, without a moment’s work from me!

Wind whistling gleefully,
Sleet pelting rhythmically,
Fire crackling sporadically, and
Friends sharing excitedly.

Warming hands around hot chocolate,
Toasting toes before the fire,
Burning marshmallows on skewers, and
Snuggling under comforters.

What a terrible world it would be,
Without winter!