Imagine
17 June 2021

Imagine a life without imagination

Monotone colours of  life relations.

*** only for procreation.

Missing the best sensations.

Dull flags for empty nations,

Cheese and pasta saturation.

Recreation swings not slides,

Only seeks without hides.

Teeter totter,, no mouth wide squatters.

Worse not doing what we naughta.

Imagine not  gives me fright.

Seeking nothing out of sight.

Dreams without Alpine hills,  

Movies without monster thrills.

Credit cards, no monthly bill.

No whoopee catch me pils.

Story books of history,

Without what could be.

Imagination should get more credit,

There, glad I said it.

24 December 2021.

Inevitably, comes,
At an unsettling pace.
Time for the beach.

Inheritance
28 December 2022

An old metal toolbox, lock broken, dented, streaked with paint,
Sitting on the corner of Dad’s worn workbench.
Precious beyond measure, those old wrenches, altered, trusted.
Some twisted and bent, others ground, origins faint, rusted.
Years spent working, an old wooden garage behind the house,
Rented for ten dollars, a pit hand dug in the dirt.
Home shared, long late hours with an occasioned brown field mouse.
Dad worked a second job, late at night, second job, curing auto hurts.
Traded to his own sclerotic back, arm wrenched.


There was little treasure, little gold to measure.
Little wealth reflected in the obituary notice, not much,
Home drawn art, poetry, love letter, photos, Dad’s touch.
Little a banker could value.

I eyed that toolbox.
My inheritance he carried every day,
My reflections on years spent in his care.
His songs, his pain, his ability with a baseball, a horseshoe.
Good, bad, success, failure, unmountables, uncountables,
Keeping us safe, fed, loved, together, in historic time.

My inheritance was the ragged edge of that 75 year toolbox.
My treasure, his gift. Mine.

Insanity
24 March 2021

A world of insanity reins,
For some, no constraint.
Thriving the Crazies,
Live in the hazies.

Intelligence (Haiku)
31  March 2023

Intelligence waits,
Unseen by the ignorant,
Host seeks its true home.

Co Authored ChatGPT and BTW

25 June 2021

There stand the brave, the ordinary,
Courage, strength, determination,
Prepared for worst, the extraordinary,
Centre of every nation.

Mothers, children, fathers strong,
Holding values right from wrong.
When it seems none can win,
Their love shines over noise and din.

When you feel lost, left alone,
These folks make your home.
Honor those who stand so tall.
Tend their graves, when they fall.
They're not rare, after all.
Moms and Dads hear your call.



Selfless giving all they have,
With nothing left staying brave.

Intimacy
17 February 2023

In the photo, sepia blood,
One of nine still here.
Eight were lost, queerly stood.

Here or there, I ponder,
Suddenly disappear!
Where is it I wander?

I pray to you, stay.
24 September 2023



Eternity, flash in the dark.
Life, a spark, desperate,stark.
Love mystery, beyond the stars.
Passion chain, no bars.
Intelligence worm, squirming grass,
Finding peace that never lasts.

Like gift wrapped Christmas toys,
We press ourselves, en suite of joy.
All horizons missed, we found our way.
My mystic treasure, I pray,  to you, stay.

BTW

Not your fault
5 March 2022

I saw your courage.
I saw your pain.
My prayers are not enough.

Italian Morning.

Naked, shivering by the door,
Cold rainy mist hides the sands,
The stir of restless beaches, old souls ever drifting.  

I feel the warm bed nearby.
Your eyes in sweet surrender.
Where have the overnights taken you.

Love anchors me in Lee shores,
By palm trees at the foot of grace.
I reach our for strength lost in time.

Are these tears in these drops,
Yours, or mine

I used to be here
27 June 2021

I used to be here.
Most days wanted to stay.
Conversation with friends.
You seemed far away.
Now I am there.
Hard to defend.  
See how it wears.
Nobody really cares.
I used to be here.  
Now I am there.
Kind of weird you stare.

Joy
1 February 2021

You bring such beautiful joy,
You bring love and peace,
You bring life and happiness.
Thank you.
You bring such beautiful joy.
And that is not the least.

Lately
28 September 2021

Feeling I've been late lately.
Changes happening too fast.
World not looking greatly.
Wonder if it will last.

Leave Me In My Corner
19 June 2021

Every prediction always off.
Even close there’s a loss.
I can’t keep you boss.
When my future easy toss.

I can’t see all your way.
Some days I need to stay,
In my corner, keep
away.
Have yourself a lovely day.

Left in the forest
1 January 2023

There he felt safe.
Trees held his fear,
Distant.

I Left You There
22 July 2021

On that cold and broken wooden bed,
In that old cabin we called dread.
No more years left ahead.

I cried to sleep the day before,
Kneeling on that splintered floor.
Winter years showed the score.

Knew one day you’d love someone,
Your lips be for another one.
Darling hon our day was done.

You let me have that final kiss
Gentle, sweet , I’ll now miss.
I heard that leaving hiss.

Today I’m on my way.
No longer could delay.
Bowed my head said goodbye.
Now in that old cold ground you lie.

11 September 2021

THOSE you loved would hurt you.
THOUGH you loved them, not forgive them.

THAT you would hurt one you loved.
THEY would not forgive you.

THOSE you loved,  loved you.
THAT you did not know everyone who loved you.

THAT when you thought you didn't have enough strength, you could do more.
THOSE who loved you, found a way to care for you.

THOUGH you were not loved enough, you were loved more than you thought.
THAT love you gave, came back doubled.

THAT love caused trouble.
THAT love troubled you.

THOSE you loved would not be here..
THAT you would have so little time.


THERE would be SO little time.

15 February 2021

“Cold outside” I said.
“Don’t think get out of bed.”
“These old legs filled with lead.”
Bedside, held my hand, gently smiled.

“Babe I feel depressed a while.”
“This is not my normal style.”
“I feel old, my life held cheap.”
So did I careless speak.
She held my hand, kissed my cheek.

She looked at me, “I Love You”.
“Darling lucky man, you are true.”
“Hold me, I need your hand.”
“Time to stand, you are my man.”
Hugged me, “Count our blessings.”
“Our love will stand life’s wrestling.”

Funny when times are tougher,
We forget that others suffer.
Lighthouse spouse in times of trouble.
Carries her load, my fog, my struggle.
Her pain and tears are my testing.
Make space, count her blessings.

I  have little reason to like you.  Where did this love come from?
I am but a leaf on a fallen tree.

Angels
7 April 2021

How did I find an angel?
Her smile and gentle gaze.
Every day enlightened, her amazing ways.
She loves me, shows every day.
How did I find an angel?
I’m living in her grace.

Login?
14 April 2021

I would love to climb Mt. Everest
Conquer storied  seas.
Login never gives peace or rest.
Seems I am never me!
Who in the world do they see?
Login never set me free.

Logistics of Social Cost
Thoughts of my morning.
24 May 2021

It costs so little to set aside the commodities of prejudice and prejudgment.
Yet we all carry the burden and the expense of their weight.
They are a specific inheritance from suppliers, including our ancestors and history, that we need not treasure. They are not ours. They are weapons developed by others. We have all felt their pain, seen their power, triaged the damage to our common good, counted the increasing prevalence of use today.
Moments of reflection on how we negatively assess the actions of others using those stereo judges, would save us from distributing hurt, anger, and pain to others. Who sent us our pain? Why did we buy it? We can be more diligent with the “goods” we sell and keep on our self shelf.
Who stole our laughter, our peace, our humanity, our care, our tolerance, our forgiveness, our respect, our acceptance of difference? Traded them for anxiety and fear?
This is the time and opportunity to examine our values and to share love and respect. We have the tools. They are also commodities. They are being misused.
Let’s spend less on protection and more on prevention.
If you’re not sure how, follow a child or a puppy.
Such a low cost for such an amazing reward.
Love you.
Not hard to say.

Sitting Alone
14 July 2021

Sitting alone, early morning.
Early sun, my deck,  stroking each leaf.
Warm tea still waiting, it’s own zen moment.
Unstirred.
My chair rocks starting unwakefullness.
Distance thunder holds an oil by Manet.

I, sit alone, early morning.

12 December 2021

Cold early morning.
TV weather warning.
Often a shadow at dark.
No room at the park.

Moon hungry eye,
Lonely enough I sigh.
Most quickly pass by.
We'll do better, July.

Christmas time lies near.
Left only one beer.
Cards still hang from last year.
I hear that old carol song.
Where I somehow went wrong.

Only one smile is my wish.
One dollar in my cold dish.
Here each day is a loan.
Nothing i have is my own.
Crowds packing gifts all go home.

Once I  had a name.

16 April 2022

It's been a long, snowy, cold winter.
Spring has been reluctant, slow.
Peeking in on my life then hiding.
Rainy dark, early morning days.

When is long enough, to satisfy those,
Who prefer, rather than pleasurable shortened times,
Prolonged hours with  friends in garden, park, or mutual consort.

Somehow I find all this focus on weather depressing.
Perhaps I am stretching things too far,
Spending time on the breadth of the tropic.

Looking Ahead
18 December 2022

Not much point looking ahead.
Plans are the younger’s futures,
Comfort blanket for aging beds.

Speculations interrupted.
Unexpected erupted.
Reality abrupt ed.

I have no time for ‘wasting’ things.
The monitor rings,
Live in this moment.

I hear you have my plan.
I heard it’s concise.
Precisely.

Loss
Haiku
17 February 2023


Hold on,
To the wind and fog.
Lose yourself.

When you are lost
4 June 2022

When you are lost,
Far from home,
No one there you’ve ever
known,
Nothing left to call your own,  
Angel comes to fill your horn

Years have gone since things were right,
Days filled,  fear, nightmare frights.  
All your life  played it tight,
Shared your dreams, lost your might.  

Hungered wolves now pound your door,
Meat and bones their meaner score.
Old and worn, you ‘ope the door,
Give them what they’ve waited for.

Comfort smile on your chin,
Hold that paper wrinkled thin,
Your name scribbled ink and pen,
Never will, be writ agin.

Lessons left in poem and rhyme,
Lost with you in never time.
Partner came from nowhere known,
“You’re not lost, you’re going home”.  

“Peace you sought,  never found,
In past years, local town,
Stark  and bare, sing love and grace,
Leave your goods, find your place”.  

“Other dress up in your clothes,
Play your music, hold your pose.
Now they’ll wander, on their own.
Wonder how, you stood alone.”

“Your strength came not wealth and gold,
Not from simply growing old.
Gifts from others, wise and free,
Lift you up, for truth to see.”

Love Conditional
4 September 2021

Because I am your father,
Or your lover, two.
Your marriage partner.
A friend who's always true.
The child who is my daughter,
The man who is my son.
The shelter that I rest in.
The titles I have won.
Sacrifices well taken,
The wives I married due,
I loved every one.

The father working hardy,
The host of that last party,
The mother in the sun.
Puppies in a manger,
Kind hand of a stranger,
Clowns out making fun.

Love without condition,
Least likely to be found.
Whatever my rendition,
You are on solid ground.
No end, the river that I run.

Love of a child
Sept 2024

Poetry innocent scratched frosted pane ,
Twist and curl of a candy cane.
Reaching cookies birthday plate,
Mom dress to celebrate.

Photos felt folder pages,
Three candles, birthday cake.
Ice cream, wide eyed face,
Pure white silk and lace.

Balloons post wide and near,
Red, white grandma’s tears.
Mom and Dad always late,
Hugs, kisses outside wait.

Perfumed tower, face soft.
Whispered lovetalk, morning walk.
Hand offered uncertain clasp,
Smiling teacher first year task.

Three years, already passed,
Child’s love, never last.

Your hope is my guide,
In rough seas and calm, we sail—
Love's anchor holds tight.

Love is the art of saying the unsaid,
Touch, smile, an embrace,
Celebrations of quiet.

When I am near you, I feel warm,
At night as you stand by our bed,
Comforted, confident, certain.

Mornings are best, we are rested.
A beautiful new day welcomes us,
Together, holding hands by the window.

Sometimes it is the unexpected,
A past due chore discovered completed.
A piano cleaned, and being played.

Sharing past pains, broken stories, no lies.
Facing every truth of love, loving.
Accepting my failings, my time, my age.

Now it seems contained in all you do,
The nectars of happiness, passion, joy,
I see you. I quietly love you.

Love Worn
21 August 2023


Saved you in the summer,
Lent you in the fall.
Lost you in the winter
Spring miss you most of all.

Lullabies
10 June 2021

Sing my lullabies at dawn with the sparrows.
Flirting, chirping awaiting listeners to my song.
Perhaps one will respond.
Words don’t matter.
Only Ares arrow.

Mature
19 July 2021

Maturity, nostrils of sweated horse,
Cloistered tight grain silo.
Owlets from oaken corse,
Wandering, none ready to **.

Meadow
17 April 2021

In the quiet meadow lay a tiny child.
Murmuring softly, left here in the wild.
She has no name, no one to call her own.
Here in the meadow, she has her only home.
Shadowed by the brush and grass,
Life will never last..

Somewhere in the valley, stands a mother free,
Her child has passed, buried by that tree.
Emptied by pain and loss, we all can bemoan.
Such a hunger, when you are alone.

3 October 2021

Time Fall. Hold, recover old memories, primal loves.
Pine needles, maple syrup, red wines, velvet leather gloves.
Noon canoe paddled, sudden ****** splash, spilling your smudged glass.
Damp firewood logs leaning a rusted axe, mushroom patios, dandelion blossom, holding back the last day's tasks.
Twigs and leaves curling smoke, blurring tired eyes, staining last year's denim worn clothes.
Saline thoughts wet, layering corners of times, people past.

A broken cottage window screen will wait another year,
Glass green shatter, under that old deck, held fine malt beer.
Righteous melancholy lays bare, naked, true north centered.
Cold wind bides future flakes, mixed sun, frost, winter's bite.

Gentle hands we held, love sweatered, lain in heaped marker,
Walking that country road, looking for family stone date etched, shiver alone.
Reminded in sepia photo, leather album of hot home-made Friday's bread, **** lemon butter.
Sudden scents we once marked, raise again ancestral homes.

Biding grey-rose tinted sky, last hour of today, we head to our stoop.
Warm cider sits on edge, steam rising into this fading night.
Pause, feet, ankles, in the lake, ice needles loop our toes.
Then, a stalwart bluebird alights the cedar stump cornering the forest edge.
Nostalgia sits beside him, feels right. Morrow's fledge.

Mistaken identity
22 July 2022


Orange juice on my fly,
No sleep in my eyes.
Scotch spilt on my shoes,
Reading last week’s news.

Coveralls, oily wrench,
Catching lunch park bench.
Lip kissing my best friend,
“Oh! He’s one of them”.

Left my keys at bar,
Breaking into car.
Checking a back seat,
Now I’m peeking Pete.

Naked in the dark,
Cop says nasty lark.
Holding the water hose,
Sprayed on my own clothes.

Food left on my face,
Shoes still unlaced,
Shirt ripped and torn,
Mistaken? Lots of scorn!

Candles on my cake,
Heirs can hardly wait.
Writing this sad poem.
Should’a stayed at home.

Money
11 Sept 2023

Keeping track is a challenge.
Money is not your own.
Bills and banks are back.
Money is not your home.

More (Haiku)
20 April 2021

More to poetry,
Than the words spoken,
Not necessary.

More than words can say
5 July 2021

I will hold your hand.
You will never be asked to let go.

Music Can Make Me Cry
26 Januarys 2023

More than poetry, art, stone sculpture,
A violin, a piano, flutes,
Hold me.
Higher than I can climb on my own.
Deeper than I can reach with these arms.

Love songs cry.
Clear, not words,
Music,
Melody, overcome me.

Lifted beyond today,
To a place,  no pain, no fear, no loss.
Children, family, friends,
You are here.
Warmer than camp fire, flame under a star-lit sky.
Over snowy berms, valleys, pebbled lanes,
Opening wheat fields, endless expanse.
Peace.

Music live.  
In the woods, in the cities.
One tiny bird brings an opera.
Reedy waters, symphony.
From each meadow, divas, a tenor.
Forest, choir, spirits, ghosts.
From Dad’s workbench, voices of angels.
Mom’s eyes, heaven.

Under the streetcar rides my soul.
Clopping hoofs, rhythm, my heartbeat.
Rain drops, my breath.
Ocean waves, my birth, my being.

Today’s sun, tomorrow’s promise, yesterday's memories.
Thunder, creation.

My love, you bring each sweet tone.  
You gift my pedestal.

Sometimes music, can make me cry.

Music from the night.
24 Sept 2023

“Dance with me”, she said.
This morning, we be wed.
Dance with me. Our day flower fed.

Dance with me. The call of summer trees.
Hold my hand. Move to set me free.
Dance with me.  I am as the wind.

Dance with me. Music sways our mate.
No guarantee, I stay another date.
Dance with me. Before it is too late.

Peace from throbbing violins.
Let our love begin.
Dance with me.
Our last mortal sin.

My Bucket List (My Renewal)
29 August 2021

Time for review.
I find I can reprioritize as past,
Substitute, renew, those satisfied.
Continuing those most relevant.
'
Most of the past, largely complete, not yet finished, ongoing.
Is anything ever truly done?

Continuing.
Making a good living, getting an education.
Raising a family, being true to former commitments.
Promising less, attempting more.
Finding partners, friends in love and trust.

A+
Reducing the burden, I am on others.
Being unconditionally thankful.

AA+
Inspiring myself with the beauty and miracle of life.
Ignoring my pain, forgiving my mistakes.
Accepting changes, losses, and failures of age.
Accepting all others as they struggle to be their own.

AAA+
Becoming the man I admire, my Dad.
Striving for the impossible being possible.








.

09 September 2021

This morning trees speak of fall coming.
Leaves are changing in the sun and tilt south.
A grey squirrel sitting saucily on the highest twig,
Looks for more tasty nuggets, some already amouth.

Cooler winds now ripple my still fresh blossoms,
Pink in basket, soon to be stirred with frost.
A noisy flock of geese overhead heading like flotsam,
Calling unsettled direction, all loudly following the lost.

Many will return in the spring to continue their lives.
Buds will break through into early rising light of new days.
So many will be reborn, and thrive.
My fall is coming. I feel the flame. I am ablaze.

Naked
8 July 2021

Walking in the crowd of naked,
You move worthless.
None notice your pride standing.
Your soulless hanging.

Metaverse
4 March 2022

Yesterday, I stepped, fell into yours.
Some chapters were inspiring possibilities, health, happiness, no pain.
But it seems you haven’t realized any of them!
I didn’t stay long.. Too many other better offers.
Rather you, like me, had abandoned your ideal.
Misled by the thought of a tangible reality?
Overwhelmed by the book of others?
Acting on the fear of demons?
Welcome to mine!

Never again
25 June 2021

Breaking rules of life inhuman,
There’s always evil doing.
Vowing stay this evil plight,
Truly terrible, common frights,
We moan, speak the game,
Never, never, weak again.
History, context set the bar.
Action of change and war!
Back then, we knew best,
Today still, some hearts rest.
Feel the pain of our past,
Damages forever last.
Once again, new in news,
Injustice, power choose.
I doubt we can truly change.
Stand up, hmm, feel the pain,
Is it ever, “Never again”,?

Never give up your hope.
Your strength that holds me together.
Keeps my world afloat.
Never give up your hope, my dreams are also live.
I found a life together, with blessings everywhere.
Ever, give up your hope, a future we all share.
Each day of the week I see, how much you mean to me.
You are the hope I held when I was at Sea.
Never give up your hope I’m standing by your side.
Try my best to be your loving guide.
Others may take your shoulder hold upon your arm
Always it will be your hope, that will be your charm.

27 April 2022

My night sky anchors me.
Infinity of stars , song of crickets.
Frogs crying in next yard pool

Surrounding me in gentled darkness,  
Promising light of the next day.
Orion showing the righteous way,
Moon glow.

Scented taste of newly mown
A gown of dewed web shimmering passes,
Awaiting realty of our primal existemce.

Another sound, deep and unwavering.
An owl blurring unnoticed,
A human’s cough and shuffle.
I’m grounded in my insignificance.

Whence comes comfort and stirring?
My belonging celebrates itself.