A confident man feels not a need to speak
on all things with which he does not agree
Though in the proper time and place
he is not afraid to assert his way

And though his words at times cause spurn,
he will admit when they are out of turn
Fearing not the inevitable mistake,
but rather owning it too late

Caring and feeling without hesitation
and not for reciprocal adulation
Emotions are expressed appropriately;
either subtlety or rationally

As honest with others as with himself;
recognizing what he does and doesn’t do well
Claiming to know what he does know
and asks when he don’t

Pursuing tasks for their benefit and or joy
rather than status or fleeting ploys
Those latter things are often great fun,
but worry of them yields none

While in his mind there is good thinking,
he is more occupied with good acting
In order to have concerns of the ideological,
requires labors that are practical

On his confidence, he does not ponder,
as neither he or anyone wonders
of whether he truly possesses it.
We know it.

They say the world ended
In Grandma’s backyard
On a sultry October noon
When Eve, then two, tripped
Over her own sneakers trying
To get to that perfect red apple
When Adam, then two, saw
Eve’s demise and stepped
Over in his cowboy boots
Sunk his only tooth into that
ripe tender white flesh and
that satisfying bone crunch
Before throwing it away into
A pile of dried dead leaves

*** is like fruit
I love fruit
Crisp and refreshing
But also at times
Bitter or overripe
High in sugar

An apple a day
Gets extremely boring

If *** is like fruit,
My heart is a tomato

Maintenance man she's needing
     From her high-rise condo perch
          With its view of the lake.

I stood still as she's feeding
      insults to besmirch
          me without a break

"I shouldn't be pleading
     do you know what I'm worth
          for heaven sake"

Even in the Garden of Eden
    a paradise on earth
         lived the snake.

Inside my house atop a dresser is my goldfish
Destined to live his life in a small bowl
That bowl is his whole world
I suppose that bowl is all he knows
I wonder if he wonders what’s outside of that bowl
Or maybe he does not care

Inside my house off in the corner is my bird
Locked away eating seed all day
She has wings but they’re of no use to her
Because that bird cage is all she will know
I wonder if she wonders what the sky is like
Or maybe she does not care

Outside my house lives a feral cat
She is referred to as everyone’s cat
She bears kittens every few months
She has the freedom to go where she pleases
I wonder if she wonders what domestication is like
Or maybe she does not care

Outside my house is a coyote
He howls all through the night
He eats my trash till his stomach might burst
He has no regard for property lines
I wonder if he wonders what a home is like
Or maybe he does not care

Inside my house, outside my house
I have legs to take me anywhere
I have freedom to go where I please
I could walk the earth a thousand times
But I will stay inside my room
Because I do not care