What the faugh?
Appoint that braugh?
Barfin’ in the haugh?

“I like beer here;
In the hall—
Keggin’ legend y’all”

Teenage hijinks
Predator some think
From the calumny calendar

“Appoint me;
Don’t disappoint me;
This is my drunken call!”

“No single appointment here
No,  just one issue (snicker)…
Roe? Wade? It’s clear as beer!”

Supporters of this supreme
You really needn’t get this meme;
You want him for one thing

“You don’t like me;
I am a lying pig—
But my r.v.w will stick”

We fall who we fall for
Feel for our amour
Evermore.

We came into kemmer
But it got dimmer;
******.

As we both grow older
I need a shoulder
Less colder.

Jimmy junior
Doesn’t exist
Might’ve been
Hiccup echo

Purple lump
Passed
Surpassed
Gone

Feeling pathetic.
Can’t get that feeling back.

“Alexa, play Latin music”
“Alexa, play Rhythm and Blues”

“Alexa, find Wait, Wait”
“Alexa, play KNHM”

“JPR News and information
From Tune in”

Not Sabor Latinx
Not The Place

A Noh space
Weird weekend disgrace

Bomb!
(nuclear bomb!!)
Pshew! Pshew!
You're dead!

Not funny.
Seriously;
Not funny.

A musical once asked,
"How do you solve a problem like Maria?"
Or the father of Ivanka.

Give him a pony.
Or a destroyer
Festooned with
"Mission accomplished."




Me have cookies now?

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?

It was a fun day
On the Bay of Fundy
When Chris, Jane, Mateo and Juan
Happened to look leftward

New Brunswick looked old as
The ocean shimmered singularly
Porpoises poised ominously and
The captain seemed bereft

"4° starboard, Coxswain!” he bellowed
Before the worst occurred
Juan saw it just before Jane
As the ship ****** accordingly

Beside, the thing from nowhere
The beast that could not be
Krakened enormously
Splitting sea and sky

Mateo was the first to plead,
“Why, oh why, here and just now?”
He beseeched sea, beast, and sky
“Why not?” Crackled the Kracken

The sum of fun on bay of Fundy
Ended that day in mid July
The  flying fish remember
All those who did not die

We hear her call
Emigrants all

Statue beckons across the sea
"Your unfortunates are safe with me"

Warm welcome turns to ICE
A promise broken thrice

To me, to them, to you
Please, let our people through

I am proud to say
I speak three languages:
Human, cat and dog

There a big difference between
“mmmmm-rrrrrrRRRRR-Ouww!”
And “mmrouwt!”

The occasional
"Mmmrt.”
That’s one contented cat!

Where to start with dog?
“thnff-sniff-sniff-snichff-iff”
Your **** as judge and jury

If they judge you worthy
With a **** of their head
Or clear-eyed happy panting

Or happy claws
Kneading your nethers
Throbbing, purring

Or the “schlourp, schlourp, schlourp”
Of their tongue where they dare
You have made it as a human

Enjoy their approval as
Human held in esteem
Strive to come back as one of them

So, after your interview
Schedule an interval to
Check your recording
And/or flesh-out your notes

Twenty minutes
Or half an hour
Immediately after
With a barista beverage

Get a cuppa coffee
— Wait, this is Arcata…

Get a cup of ORGANIC coffee…
— Et-hem; this is Arcata…

Get a cup of ORGANIC, FREE TRADE, coffeh…
— Uh, wait, this is Arcata…

Get a cup of ORGANIC, FREE TRADE, SHADE GROWN coff…
— So, as this is Arcata…

Get a cup of ORGANIC, FREE TRADE, SHADE GROWN, SONGBIRD SAFE! co…

**** it.
Get a warm cup of Chai tea

— Wait, this IS Arcata…

Sip that soothing cup of Chai tea
While gracefully doing

Tai Chi

I fall through time

Crawl through space

Zig-zag slip through years.

Memories roil and bubble;

Photos float and dissolve

Years melt; memories collide

Familiar faces and places

Surface and eddy—

Click, stick, then sway away.

Mom. Sis. Nephew. Friend.

Loved, remembered, cherished.

All fall away.
Past is present
Present passes,
Falls through time.

I love you all.

Friction
Isn’t fiction
It’s great
Things grate
I surmise
To hydrolyze,
A basic strife,
Gives us life.
What seems mystical
Is really chemical.
To life!

It’s my job to grade them
Tough ****, that
Praising one young person
And another their ****-up.

I love heaping praise not
Conveying bad news
Blackboard, fingernails, chalk
One more year and I walk

What a job!
Hearing young ones talk
Then the first stanza
Judgement.

I want there to be a last stanza:
Did I help you? Did you learn?
It is a sincere concern as I
Vacate my accidental career

Here I sit in my
Emotionarium

Right next to my
Imagintarium

Down the block from the
Duldrumations

And other sullied
Sorry situations

I’m a Happy Jack without
LSD or smack

Because for three seasons
(The had their reasons)

Fevered schemes
Were clever dreams

Yes, allegory, but thankfully
A well rounded story

Questions asked—
Answers evaded

Questions asked—
Churlish responses

Questions asked—
Reality revised

Questions asked—
Dangerous denials

Questions asked—
Squeaky clean!

Questions asked—
RED HERRING!!!

Questions asked—
Deny FBI

Questions asked—
AD HOMINEM!!!

Questions asked—
Boast, repost

Questions asked—
Uncivil snivel

Questions asked—
Snide asides

A question asked:
Where are we?

Scary judiciary?
End times?
Revolution?
Not in this Kansas.

“Compass?”
“Check.”
“Matches?”
“Check.”
“Maple syrup?”
“Check.”
“Swiss Army Knife?”
“What do you think?”
It was on.
With shouldered packs we set off.
The acorns were scarce at first
but more plentiful later.
Waters roared from recent rains.
Wildflowers were glorious!
I gathered some violets.
Then shelling, leaching, drying and
grinding the bitter nutmeats.
Fire on, cast iron oiled and
the first cakes were poured.
The judges seemed astonished.
We smiled.
First prize in the second only
backwoods pancake contest.
Pete thought it was the syrup
we made in Vermont.
I knew it was the violets.

We pass through
Interstitial stuff
"Riding on a
Carousel of time”
Says Joni

I’ll jump on the
Dapple grey
Up and down
Round and round

Painted pony
Brings me round
To the rough
And here I stay

Once Draculina
Wild child
Paws sin laws

Then bathroom baby with
AM routine set
Man cub stumbles

Puts her water on
Drip it spigot love
Works for her

Baby proves my theorem of
"Love, love, love…”
As we dance our kitty tango

I asked her to relax
She asked me to deliver
The middle is special.

Rrrrrr-rrrrrr-rrrrrr…

Rrrrrr-rrrrrr-rrrrrr…

to Gloria Allred
to Regina King
to Michelle Obama
to Ellen
to Oprah
and Simone
and Eleanor
Betty and Gloria
Angela and bell and
to smart women everywhere

best thing we old white men
can and should do…

(this list is way incomplete)

We are all precancerous
Just some degree away

The red spot on your nose
The dubious polyps removed

The tang of iron on your tongue
The itch that can’t be scratched

The trick to being precancerous
Is to be your most precocious

Live large; be positive; do
All you can in time allotted

Scuba dive; skydive
Learn how to tango

Follow your bliss
Treat this as this

I’d like to phone the past
First to Jimmy then to Jim and
Let them know it will be all right

I needn’t correct the past
Nurture shaped nature
And I pleasantly accept present

What matters is the is
What time matters is the now
Moving forward is the how

This is the new now
Every moment
Every relationship

When is done and gone
What was that?
Forever unknown

Parallax perplexity
We see what we see
Keep both eyes open

Life in the dark
Is no walk in the park
The best path forward
Is simply felt

Hold hands as you
Cross the avenue
From what’s sure to
What you thought you knew

Grab a flashlight
Shine towards what’s right
Trip on the cobblestones
As you hobble home

In the dark, the stars shine bright
Take a left at Cassiopeia
Turn right at Orion’s belt
Skip home on a lark, in the dark

Young man down
In the prime of his life

Young man down
Senseless loss tragic

Young man down
A man with promise
And feeling
And vision

A leader.

What's black and white
And red all over?

Young man down.

Lost in space
Is a crucible
Inconsequential sloughed
Tested mettle

Lost in place
Reproducible
Insatiable urges scoffed
Regrettable

Hiding place
Reprehensible
Excuses always one-offed
Still, fixable

Saving face
Commendable
Excruciatingly tough
Be flexible

I lost a day today
Pickled in anger and
Stewed in ennui

I lost a day today
All my to-dos not done
Opportunities gone

I lost a day today
Left with stress and strife
It’s WWD all over again

You can only know
Approaching a
Black hole
That the event horizon
Is compelling

An insidious abyss
The black maw
As you fall
And then, “Catch!”
You hate her smile

No,

You love it

Lonely boat
at low tide
bereft

Lost ribs rise
above gray mud
stark

Muck stuck with
elemental exposure
bleached

Proud vessel now
mussel struck
stuck

Wake up!
I’m awake.
No you’re not!
Slap!

Wake up!
Am I dreaming?
No I’m not.
I’m awake.

My dream:
I’m slapped awake.
By someone not her.
A dream begins:

Coruscating typographic glyphs
Leaves retreating
Roots descending
Tarmac glimpsed

Wake up!
I am/not awake
Wheels down
Then up again

Not awake
No landing
Still ascending
Still plummeting

Wake up!
Which is the dream?
Awake/asleep?
Slap me.

Ball of scratch and
Survival scruff
That did a ditch dive

Feline finding us

Lil’ Draculina
Eschewing touch
Now seeks and gives love

There she is with her dog
He is old and dying
She is purring hospice

Ensconced tween his paws
Nose that sensed her
Saved her

Friends till the end

Cat-n-dog.
Lovers?
Snugglers?

What you'd expect?
Mutt 'n Jeff?
Jeff loves Mutt.

L'll baby
Crashes into
Gunther's nose;

He knows—
Old dog about to
Bark his last "BWARK!"

(She loves me…
And I like her—
No, love her, but…)

(Actually, she bugs me;
Her nose hugs claw me!
But, she needs me…)

Cat loves dog.
Dog…loves cat.
And is better for it.

Old dog Gunther
Is feeling lil' Lucky
Canoodling his pock-marked cheek.

Somebody threw you
Away. Wow. To stay.

Black cat
Splat!

Fur ball
Hiss! Rrrawll!

Then Buddy Boy sounded
You rebounded.

Now, shifted
Impulse conflicted

(Claws on paws
Teeth unsheathed

Twitchy touch
Playing rough)

Now relaxed
Switched back

Lil’ Draculina loves him
Under chin

Loves me
Kneads me

Right back
Black cat!

I know some folks
Some new most old
Keeping logs swirling

It’s a balancing act
Lots of plates spinning
Whoops! Stretch right!

***** fall
Plates crash
Notes fall flat

Oh! Look over there!
Thank you, magicians!
TAH-DAH!

Take a bow,
Sis, bro, boom!
You got the room!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zjk4hp2amu1l7mc/MAINTENANCE.docx?dl=0

Make-up tackle-box
Not making this **** up
Cosmetic kit

No lures, no sinkers
No hooks just
Ben Nye! What a guy!

Then “shick, stchik”
Drawers unclick
Trays slide

Revealing everyone I could be:
Foundation flirt first
Then the highlight/shadow trick

Older, younger
Darker, greyer
Maybe a mustache?

Shriveled clown nose
Glommed with spirit ***
Next to Fauder’s White

Once for performing
Now more for norming
Painting skin again

Base, highlight
Shadow cracks
Older/younger begins

But this is cosmetic:
Covering the skin sin
A new day begins

Impulse affection vs.
Need for reflection
We meet and greet
Lean in hug, and then …

European peck on cheek?
Risk affection rejection?
%*******? Or
%ConfusedMale?

Real men revel in
Your successes
Clumsy man boys that we are
Show us so we know

How do you map
The human heart?
Are lines between countries
Imaged? Real?

How do we meet
In the center?
The Tower of Babel
Looms large

But we look into eyes
See pursed lips
Lines around eyes
And we see:

Ourselves

A man with four names and
A heart as big as the sky
And surety of purpose
And graceful intent

Moves mountains
Changes lives and
Works and works and works
Not afraid to reinvent

We are proud to call him friend
Proud of his accomplishments
We’ll see you back again as
Our house, you know, es su casa

I was mid-sentence
of a hazy-crazy
argument with her;
spittle sprayed with
unguarded gesticulations
when a butterfly landed
on my finger that was
slashing toward her.
First, I seethed.
Then, froze and
stopped breathing as
I watched gentle flickering
of her beautiful wings.
Delicate things
What was I splaying?
I didn’t matter anymore.
Just stuff to sort later.

I’ve been to where
Beyond somewhat

Floating through it all
Soaring everywhere

Beings familiar seen
The inscrutable not

Take the nectar
As I flutter by

It could have been much different
With you and me in love

We should’ve been more careful
With the caring and sharing stuff

If we would’ve been better friends
Through more considerate listening

We‘d have been better lovers—
We promised such in vows

And here we are now:

We seem to be roommates for life
With love and but more often strife

This is the vex:
Life with no ***

Our time here as husband and wife

Who to talk too? You?
Should be able too;
Wow. We took vows.

As I fear mortality
You call out morality.
Yow. Wrong somehow.

We need to weather
Somehow stay together
How, me and thou?

Finding a film for my love
Flowing from Amazon Prime

Stopping in a wonder of words
I know whose woods these are

Dead Poet's Society
Echoes deep in my personal well

A prevailing influence now a
Confluence to career’s end

I wouldn’t call it plagiarism
Just another poem made possible

Who came?
Who spoke?

Da Bomb Obama
Worth two in the Bush

Who was *******?
Who’s fake news now?

(RIP JSM III)

The twist-tie
Had failed
Again and again

And it fell to us
Not our fault
Not our concern

Yet it exposed us
In an unfamiliar place
Our problem now

Rubber bands? No.
Beaded chain? No.
Thread from patch kit? Ha!

Then came the paper clip
Thank you Samuel B. Fay
The fabric is up now

Not curtains for us
Privacy regained
McGyver reclaimed

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

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

"Bye, ******“
Said the 60+
Year-old guy

Might have been
Different if not
So diffident

But the same old guy
Here safe at home
With his sweetheart

Says, “My, my; while
It should have been different,
Glad what is is”

I’m being a cat
Not thinking of this or that

Just taking a nap
In my recliner lap

Slipping into sleep
I begin to purr

To sleep, to dream
To imagine what can occur