The dew rises
Sublimation
Water to vapor
Metal to rust

There is a time to acquire
A time to retire
A time to release
I hope I’ll know to

Let it go;
Exhale
Sigh
Slow

I’m invisible

Corporeal,
Physical but

Invisible

I can’t be seen

I’ve left my mark
My scent
My ***

My words
My works

Still,
You don’t see me

HE: do you want huevos rancheros?

SHE: we don’t have tortillas

HE: no problem; we have tricolored tortilla strips!

SHE: we don’t have salsa

HE: no problem; we have cherry tomatoes. We have onion. Half an avocado

SHE: we actually have fresh cilantro

HE: we have salsa!

SHE: fresh eggs of course

HE: thanks, girls

SHE: beans?

HE: yes! Left over from February; when I turned 60. Thank you, freezer

(Half hour later)

THEM: those huevos: yum!

Ameliorate:
To make better

Asked if we could
We knew that we should

We said yes and
Plum blossoms blossomed

Welcomed ambitious souls
Into our lives and home

Oaxacan students
Changed our course

Family extended,
And we, forever bettered

Extraño mi perro
Extraño mi padre
Extraño mi madre

I don’t miss my friends
I long for them, puedo
Keep them close

“To miss” is a powerful verb
Missing a lovely mystery
Being missed is wistful

Our familia
Are familiars

Alliances abound with
Conundrums around

There is love, true
But quick to misconstrue

And misinterpretation
Creates red frustration

Then misplaced anger;
And malplaced angst

Siblings feel betrayed—
Untrusts, untruths replayed

It’s a Punch and Judy show
It plays out mean and slow

A sad, but vibrant
Painting by Van Gough

I am so happy sad
I could explode
Like unexplained
Unexpected
Unknown ordinance
In Laos

The way out
Is to go
Not there again
But over there when
Out of comfort zone

Meet and greet
Eat what is
Reciprocate smiles
Miles from home

It’s still spring…
With a hint of summer
Guess I’ll call it Sprummer

Actual opposite of ******
This seasonal fecund trend
The great greening of the world

Blossoms still coming with some already gone
Trees leafing fully with some still nascent
Every abundant hue of green in view

Festival of chirping; birds flirting
Copious coos of doves in love
Swooshing thrums of the hummers

Morning rain
After noon sun
Evening pending

Axis tilt-a-whorl
Wobbly earthiness
Glorious, wonderful transition!

Welcome, SPRUMMER!

No.
Not without evidence it won’t

No.
Without assurance I won’t

No.
No.

We won’t be fooled again

I am tired of mendacity
Tweeting mansplainingly
Daily weekly repeatedly

True is fake while
Making it Great
Only to the base

Stop fake news
Choose
Vote

Ergo I am
Sham, eye yam
Green eggs and spam

Ego flim-flam
Partizan
I am what I…

And that’s when Larry arrived. Sheila freaked and dropped her tequila. We tried not to noticed but then Juan chortled as most of us feigned indifference. It didn’t help matters that the shattering glass made Sheila’s Pomeranian yelp in a distinctly manic manner. Others tried to suppress giggles but soon we were all laughing. We couldn’t stop. When the Roomba from its niche tried to sweep up the glass, it was over. Time out. Sheepishly, Larry dropped to one knee. Before he could propose, Elsa, the Pomeranian, bit his hand, hard. Yeah; it went into the Roomba.

Mr. Nixley, last chance to negate the process.

No, I’m ready. She pushed me away you know.

Pardon?

I reached over—and was pushed away while she opened the covers to let the cat in…

Mr. Nixley?

Yes; I‘m ready.

Do the straps hurt?

Not really.

OK. There will be several sensations. First your body will tingle. Then, and this is the hard part, you will feel consciousness slipping away as if going to sleep but different. Fear is natural. To you, no time will pass but the process will take 20 minutes. Ready?

Yes.

OK…
.
.
.
.
.
.
Mr. Nixley?

Rrrrrrrow?

“What was your card?”
“The queen of hearts”
I tossed the withhold deck and
palmed her as she squirmed.
The cards fluttered as my hand
crossed my face it
landed between my lips.
I plucked it forth with a flourish
and pronounced,
“This card?”

There were sounds of astonishment
and tumultuous applause.
I felt sick as I bowed and
left the stage, dejected.
The tiny queen squirmed in my pocket.
A sulfur stench assailed me
as I entered my dressing room.
He sat crossed-kneed, red, scowling,
the end of his barbed tail thumping.
“Not good enough. Try again .“

I think I’m a Bhuddist
Because I’m catholic
Look it up

I think I’m humanist
because I’m sympathic
It’s what’s up

I think I’m a pugilist
Fight the fight fantastic
Loving cup

Everyone in this room
Came from a unique womb;
A mother to another—

As we intersect
We’ve laughed, shrugged
Shared stories…

The bond common
Place and time summoned
We reconnect

If you had fun, I won!
Complete ___  to compete;
Prance!

Thank you all!

Today I lost my ****
I did; that’s all is it?
Older and bolder?

No, just lost my ****
Not bolder,  just older
Not good with it

I lost my ****
This is it
I’m old

Scapegoating 101
Always wrong

Feeling good by
Blaming someone

Nice for you
Justice for no one

What? I’m aghast!
S/He doesn’t have a podcast?

How do we knows
Which way s/he flows?

I like what s/he says
Should really be prez

But w/o social tweets
Who truly competes?

Tell me, tell me Facebook
Which way should I look?

Lockstep in totality
In our virtual reality

Common space vs.
Personal space vs.
Marriage space—

I waited for you to…
“No, I waited for you, too!”
No, I wanted from you to…

I thought we both want…
I believed we both should…
I thought we both might…

Dance

It’s a tango:
Slip, slide, dip,
Marriage is a wild ride!

We are roommates
But no longer lovers
As we once were though
Thoroughly married still

I love her, my not lover
Who does not share my bed
Even as we share our dreams
For the rest of life it seems

We will conquer the world
Traversing indifferent distance
Always returning home
To hearth home and them

The cinders of eros cold
We both grow old
Gnarled vines entwined
The fruit makes good wine

There is in control and
There is out of control
Then there’s no control
And then just the thought of it

Our bodies teach what we lack:
Older, stranger; put the coin in the slot
Lemons, Oranges, 3 of a…
DING! DING! DING…

Or not.

We still-ill-want control
But, that sum-um times
Elludes us. Put another quarter in…
Hope for Elysian dream

Is our future faith-based or
Freak fate?

Eternal kingdom or
Just dirt?

Is it really nature versus
nurture…

Or is that a false choice and
It’s both.

Nature is fecund and nature is
fetid.

We begin then end contemplating
Beyond.

We were right all along while we
Were wrong.

Masters
Of illusion
Is that a ——

I see before me?
Or glue-gun
Construction

**** death camp ledger?
Oh! kay…
Guns, too?

******* battering ram?
And swords and helmets?
Ok.

We are making
A redwood grove?
A spiral galaxy?

A multi-platform space
Suggesting the
Heinous oppression of…

And what is in their hands?
What thing belongs there?
The colors again?

Hey, Mikki,
I miss you
And the work.

Knight’s Queen to Bishop three
The ignorant king decreed
Knowing not the board nor game

Irritated red, readily arrogant
He lets cawing crows fly
Their screech a presage of war

We need balance and check,
Mate; a jester gesture at least
Righteous pawns invoking Hoyle

There are rules to the game
Denied, defied not checked
End in shame and blame

A chicken sits to think
While sitting lays an egg
No joke, there’s a yolk
Ensconced in membrane

Outside the albumin
Called white when clear
Humpty Dumpty smear
All still in calcium shell

Layers of understanding
Sometimes cracked open:
Is the yolk on you
Or is it white privilege?

I want to give you
******—
not sarcasm

Marred love
from married love
to scarred love.

I need touch to
bridge the chasm
don’t you?

Monarch butterflies
Go back and forth
Mexico to Northeast US

To Alaska
From Baja swim
Great blue whales

Hummers, flycatchers and warblers
Orioles, and swallows seasonally
Fly their North-South routes

So do people
All the world over
Fleeing oppression

How do we treat them?
Less than human?
Better than butterflies?

Traffic whines as
Trucker chaos decides
With or without earplugs

Subliminal rumblings
Traffic stumblings
Above and below

Up here, it’s obvious distractions:
******* lane changes
Big-rig disruptions

Down here it’s subtle diffractions:
Kaleidoscope differences
Elysian needs

Wait for it
Hope for it
Refreshed release

Just let go of
Pandemonium
Forget regret

And then one day it happened.
Not one gun was used, nor knife.
There was not a mass shooting;
no one was killed.

Not s car hit a pedestrian,
not even by accident.
No deaths by heroine overdose
nor by fentanyl were recorded.

No one committed a ****** crime
against anyone.
Doors opened for indigents
and immigrants.

It became more strange:

Truth was spoken everywhere,
even on Fox News.
Corrupt leaders abdicated—
get this—even Trump!

Acrid air cleared, waters too
and salmon swam upstream to spawn.
The earth cooled half a degree,
over the rainbow.

What goes around
Gets dizzy

All’s well that
Isn’t bad

A fool and his money
Has a lot of fun

Early to bed early to rise
Has no night life

A stitch in time
Is a temporal rupture

What doesn’t **** you
Raises insurance rates

When life hands you lemons
Open a fruit stand

Actions speak louder
With a PA system

The apple doesn’t fall
In outer space

You cannot judge a book
Without a lawyer

The grass is always greener
With fertilizer

An apple a day
Costs $250 a year

We’re not laughing at you
(Yes, we are)

There’s no such thing
As a unicorn having lunch

Money is the root of all
Capitalism

A spoon full of sugar makes
Diabetics

Misery loves
Therapists

Better safe than
In danger

All that glitters
Sparkles

Ignorance is
Trump

The screech was unimaginable.
Forget fingernails on chalk,
this was far worse.
We hunkered down
behind concrete slabs
as skëūäįęßás screamed above us
as dïønš scanned with flickering florescence.
I glanced to Diego hoping he’d get it.
Chick-schlick-pa-pa-pa-pow!
He did.

Exhausted, I slid down,
as the spent clip clinged away.
We were safe for another day.

White as white can be
I miss your bright
polka-dotted plastic wrap

Add a slice; baloney
Individually wrapped
Orangey faux cheese

Yes, please!
Squirt on the mustard!
Mayo? Yes, buster!

Side of chips, potato
Paper plate, if you say so
Good lunch or just snack, natch!

Take me back, back, Tang to
A way-way-back machine
To my own personal 70s show!

Me and you
We provoke
Bespoke

Poked begets
Stroked: pushed
Buttons goes to

Blaming flaming
Serving  none.
So…

Begin to begun

“A yam is a yam” said Sam
As I am who I am

And I am what I can, I said
“A good scam!” said Sam

Overcome the span
If maybe we can

Slap it, cap it
Snap it, trap it

Then we began
The save it plan

One.
Might be fun…

Two.
Might be you…

Three.
Be with me?

Four:
Ask for more.

Five,
Combined lives.

Six;
Pick up sticks.

Seven:
Life unleavened.

Eight—
Navigate straights.

Nine:
Leave all that **** behind.

Ten.
Then.

I want something
But I don’t know what; an
Unscratchable itch

Urges deep percolate
That I can’t articulate
Fait acompli? Or No?

Wait? Or tempt fate?
Do, and invite regret?
Heads or tails?

Crap shoot, poker game
**** the zit or not
Spin the wheel…

Now the hard part begins
Living with a hole in our hearts
While digging a hole in the yard

"Just a dog” some would say
But if he liked you ten years ago
He’d be happy to see you yesterday

Buddy boy endured five different cats
They bugged him as they loved him
Their fierce protector in Freshwater

6AM and 6PM
He didn’t understand daylight savings
His stomach kept time

Happy to see us
Worried when we‘d leave
Of that now, we are bereft

Sweet boy, we will miss you
Biggie boy, you biggered us
With your unconditional love

I was falling apart
Distracted distanced disconnected
WWD was settling in
(That’s world war depression
for the uninitiated)

Then I did something unexpected
Answered an ad in the Northcoast J
And drove two hours to a beautiful nature nook
With a weekend of brave brave man

I think it saved my life

Realities revealed
Truths needing challenge
Connections not expected
Community with men rewarded

Flame on, men, flame on

https://www.northcoastmensgathering.org/

Persistence insistence
Serendipitous stupidity
A repetition rendition
A mumble stumble

I did it again, friend.

Sorry.

Coincidence incident
A million to one fun
Reliving long past moments
At years end

We find similar photos
Millions of moments later
Hundreds of miles apart
At tears end

Non-believer conundrum?
Mathematical non-sum?
Chance happenstance?
Or just friends?

We draw water from the same well
We celebrate and despair together
Our fates are tapestried
In our shared community

The light strikes
Moment illuminated
Frozen in time

Snap the shot
Then think you got
That moment in mind

Scintillating shafts
Floating through past
A memory of mine

Not really then
Not really there
Memories be kind

A graceful pirouette towards death
With each and every waking breath
The ****** dance of being alive

The stank of floral perfumes
As memories expand and fade
Exotic as cinnamon and jade

We create and extinguish realms
Thinking we’re at the helm with
Joyous and dire exultation

Walking up the spiral trail
All below us is known
Above, oblivious bliss

Rejection reaction
Who is yelling at whom?

Button pusher
Make your game claim.

Have it escalate
To blame game.

My good impulse
Repulsed; intent bent.

This cat and mouse ****
Will bring the house down.

With teacher as student
And all the world’s topsy-turvey
Not knowing knight's next move
Although all the board’s a flux
Each step is potential adventure and
Intuition is your only guide
Take the step

Loneliness
is quiet
as an ache

Loneliness
is hollow
at its core

Lonliness
Is inside-out
inertia

The gravity
of the situation
pulls you

Down

Grief is a thief that
Hoodwinks normalcy

Just walking along
Then suddenly: BOOM!

Tears flow
Steps slow

Follow the tear’s trail
Down your left cheek

A universe of memories
Flashed in a moment

Sadness, anger, love
Angst, regret, forgiveness

Every step forward was
Already forged in the past

I’m not just sixty
I’m now sexty

Been there
Crushed that

But what’s next?
Give me a new new

Beyond what I
Thought I knew

Not then; not now…
On to tomorrow

Hey, monster,
Sit still; will you?

I’ll purr you a story
I’ll knead you to sleep

Feline dreams are the best
Soothing rolling purring

You will think you’re
In control as I nap in lap

Lulling you to sleep.
Pleasant cat dreams!