I am my own goalie
Sometimes I swat the puck out

Eventually it camels back to me
Because I made that call

Every second base stolen
Every accolade bestowed

I’ve run the games and won or lost
The benefits exceed the cost

It already happened
As we Rembrandt
The past

Monet mostly
Manet subtlety
We take a turn at Turner

Mix colors wisely
Coruscating joy
Blue, red; touch of green

Deep hue
Dip lightly
Dab the canvas softly

“Make a poem about that!"
He spat into the phone
Peppered with F-this and F-that
Just more smotherly love,
A little familial fun

My words weren’t aimed at you
Had nothing to do with yours
What triggered your kraken response?
What brought out the bully?
Me standing for women?

No apologies
Load the traps
“Release!”
My pigeon words fly
Your scattered shots miss

29 years ago I woke up
Nervous, determined
My best man and man
Let me know how lucky
I was am will be

We primped and
Straightened ties, took pictures
By the purple rhody up in front
I got into my little red democrat car
And sallied in my stallion

(No, really! A
Mini-hobbie-horse, a
Leftover Christmas ornament
Bounced my rear view mirror as
I galloped northward)

A cassette played
Philip Glass, no less
Philip Glass, no less
Me in my tux
Wending north:

“Over and over again:
Bravery. Kindness. Clarity
Honesty. Compassion. Generosity”
I try to live these words with you
And when I don’t, I’m sorry

One year shy of thirty
We set out again
Adventurers both
Marking the remarkable
Happy anniversary!

“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

Follow a moral compass
Yours or one divine
Own your needle swings

Abhor hypocrisy
Shun mendacity  
Straight path walked

Don’t defend deceivers
Lest it define you as
Waddle Chump

Be better
Choose another
Jump that ****

I think about my Dog
All the time
The omnipotent one;
Maker of Chihuahuas and Bernards;
Distiller of EVERY smell we LOVE to smell
HE who NEVER NEEDS to eat grass.

Oh, Boy, Good Boy,
Why, oh why, don’t we have thumbs?
We can’t open the ***…frigging doors
To answer the NEED of nature!
We can’t even open any food container
Or answer the phone when they are away.

Don’t get me wrong—
I like being on all fours, Dog, stability!
I like my nose knowing and showing!
I LOVE doing it *******:
On a manmonk leg, on the couch, with a bi—
(Sorry, the manmonks think I shouldn’t say that word)

Speaking of manmonks,
Could you help them understand us better?
Don’t they know they STINK?
They take me out to play, yeah!
Then, I bring the stick back not once, but twice, thrice…
That’s just not nice.

And why can’t I EAT all day?

That thing around my neck itches.
And the metal thingies are crazy jangly; but
Thank you, Dog for allowing me to scratch scratch scratch scratch scratch so well.
And lick where I like to lick.
And lick where I like to lick.
And lick where I like to lick.

Oh Dog, dear Dog,
Please hear my lamentations.
Grant me my thumbs!
Let me open the door!
Remove the collar!
And finally use the holy

Can Opener!

Bullox, Castor
Is he? Ask her…

Leda leading fight
No swooning swan song.

Puissant grabbing
Power grubbing STAR:

Demagoguery of
Dinky demigods—

Twisted tweets
Nasty not-news

Truth will out
Truth will out

What an *******!
Tug of war with credit card?
Accosting probable provost?
“Don’t ******* a yeti!”

Three decades in
Day out, day in
Doing my job well enough
I must tread lightly

(I want to SHOUT!
Throw a shoe at the speaker;
Wear purple [or a big] hat
Maybe a big purple hat!)

No. Slow down. Head down.
Know your place
Just one more year
Then the world: my oyster.

(BTW: I hate oysters
Allergic to shellfish…then…
“Shnick!” Take my helmet off;
Finally free of toxic environment!)

We came from north
Some went east
We knew ones south

Then we went west
Life beckoned
We reckoned

We meet again
Friends to the end
And all the rest

Normality upended
Recency appended
Laws and logic upstaged
Reality outraged

What was was
Is now is
Then again
Again begins

Anew
Phew!

It’s not easy being white
As we are so often right

Taking responsibility
To the best of our ability

Helping those less fortunate
Unfortunate subordinates

Separating mother and son
Her to Mexico, he to Tucson

Half-breed aborigines
Removed with exigencies

Native American children
Re-homed by the millions

It’s a service that we happily provide
Duly doing our duty to divide

We humbly accept your appreciation
Of our outrageous Caucasian contagion

I am right
With the world

If it all ends tomorrow
No sorrow…

I am right with the world
Here, now.

Who?
What?
Where was I?

Uncertain lullaby?

A taste,
A smell,
A sound—

Alarm nearby but:

Frozen asleep
Stasis stuck
Hush-a-bye solid goodbye:

Frozen!

“I CAN’T MAKE MY LEGS MOVE!”
Caught tween here and there
A living/sleeping nightmare

Dreamer tries to wake,
Remembers Borges’ circle;
Who dreams the dreamer?

Nightmare ends as
Barrier weakens
Fluttering eyes awake.

Shift, move; pillow fluff—
Chasm crossed;
Glad I’m not in my coffin.

Persistence insistence
Serendipitous stupidity
A repetition rendition
A mumble stumble

I did it again, friend.

Sorry.

There once was a
Grand Old Party
Formed against slavery
The Free Soil party

Defenders of the constitution
And the omnibus declaration
First to be President:
Abraham Lincoln

The 20s were the
Republican decade
Harding, Coolidge and Hoover
A decade sadly a century past

A temporal chasm loomed
Until conservative hero
Former democrat Reagan
Trickled up the elephant’s trunk

Take eye of Newt
And two from Bush
Alchemy trickery: viola kazam!
The great bamboozle began

It’s no longer conservatism
No longer less federalism
A horrible takeover
This GOP makeover

Fend for self
Wall off power
Distort report
All else enemy

Walk lock-step
Repeat refrain
Us not them
Say it again

My senator father
Is spinning in his grave
Fox in the henhouse
This Mitch debprave

You must be this tall
To ride this ride
The man clangs you in
And the ride begins

There is a bar holding you back
As clanging gears strange you up
And up and up
Clackety-clack

Apex of apostasy
Seeing clearly
Holding on for dear life
As the real ride begins

We loved you
Pumpkin pie

And you
Bahzie boy

My bridge to the
Equine kingdom

Mitten, you made
My wife like cats

Begins a tragedy of three
A tale of other kitties

Stanley wandered too far
A tragedy of traffic

Babad not as far…
Both waited for us

No one wants to die alone
But still, we’ve been blessed

Goldie, I’m glad
You loved me

Little dog with
A heart too big

Thank you, Sue
For trusting us with Trudy

What a lucky man I am
To garner such love and trust

And of course, biggie guy,
He who once was named Hunter:

Gunther.
(Inset sadness here)

Chessy taught responsibility
With insulin shots at 6 & 6

Tristan y Isolde
(Stanley and Zolda)

Operatic lives lived
As comedy/tragedy

And, et-hem; yes
Even you, Ms. Berry

Past denizens
Of Chateau Flobo

Let’s not not leave out
The current cohorts:

Free spirit, wild child
Lucky Ducky

Biggie boy found you
You adopted us

Ms. Black-in-the-box
Moved herself in

And Fred—well,
Fred is just being Fred

They all found us
Not the other way around

From a big family,
We’ve loved/love a big family

(Or, really; cyber-**** me?)

“I know your name
I know your password
I know the **** you rut in
$7000 in bitcoin or else:

I’ll ruin your life!

You will be outed
To friends and family alike
As you view humans
Doing what humans do!

Everyone will know!“

That you are human
That you have base desires
That you pleasure yourself
That you are Everyman

Well, if it’s show and tell time:

Sure, don’t you?
She knows. Not news.
Won’t play this shame game–
Nothing really to lose. Phew!

No longer an extortion ******

(this just happened to me)

The “Fake news!" argument
I’m smelling the “Red Herring” fallacy
Put your fingers in your ears
And shout “LALALA, I can’t hear you!”

Does the falling tree make a sound?
Yes.
Does **** smell?
Yes.
Even from bears, in the woods?
Yes.
And from the Pope?
Maybe;
On a long hike, with no other option available

“Fake news” is a majestic confabulation!
And a mind-numbing conundrum
A Chinese finger-puzzle
Hideously, incredibly strategic; but

Sorry folks:
Not true.

It’s called entrenchment
Abrogation and entitlement
Perjury of responsibility

"I solemnly swear
That in all things appertaining
To the trial of the impeachment…

I will do impartial justice
According to the Constitution …
So help me God."

McConnell: I'm not an impartial juror
Graham: won't pretend to be fair
The Fox is in the henhouse

The process is unfair
And fixed from the start
By the stalwart GOP

No.
Not without evidence it won’t

No.
Without assurance I won’t

No.
No.

We won’t be fooled again

"PROSCH!” (kerrchikit)
"PROSCH!” (kerrchikit)
"PROSCH!” (kerrchikit)

1970s photography.

Fingers fumble for
Another four more–

“TIk” it’s out;
“Chik” another in.

Icy-blue light cube
Ready for more:

“PROSCH!” kerrchik.

Instamatic imagery,
Flash cube fun.

I scratch till blood
An itch that persists
Unresolved issues
Buried below

I try to know;
It whorls, churns
Secrets purple red
Break skin

Red burst bloom
Embarrassing truths
Concealed quickly
Don’t show your cards

Does it never really rain on Venus
Except for that one forgotten day?

Can I go back again to 802,700 and 1
Just four more days and pretend again?

Submerge my Nautilus into the ocean
Plumbing depths of space and mind?

Must it rhyme?

Taking in the beauty of this spring
Grass growing fast
Birds chirping cheerily
Mowers lowing in the distance

Blossoms beautiful surround me
Future apples plums peaches cherries
With almost every tree leafing
Rain/sun/temp ratio tipping

Old trope: poems by the millions
But this spring is special
This spring is now
Elevating specialness

Rat-a-tat-tat
Human blood splat
Worshipers now whispers

Christchurch
Pittsburgh
Minneapolis

Students, educators
Learning hate kills
What have we learned?

Parkland, Florida
Sandy Hook, Connecticut
Columbine, Colorado

And many many more
The NRA is complicit
Guns, (GUNS!) **** people

One percent
Or two percent
Blah, blah, blah or
Da! Da! Da!

No blame, James
No shame games
Need a new course
Hop a new horse

Gallop to the rest
East might be best
Set mainsails
No named fails

Forget *******
Just try and be in it
As we brave
And tackle

The big waves

So it begins
Nearly a century in
Over 500,000 minutes
Of every year
Times 24 hours
Times 365

And so it ends
Nearly a century in
53-to-the-tenth smells
Tells, shells, tactile sensations
Tens of thousands of likes, dislikes

X-numerous memories
X-thousand relationships
X times X being you
X-ed.

We spend some time here.
We do some things here.
We hope we’ve been here.

Times runs out
Life re—

Starts.

Every touch toward flesh affection
Could be seen as male aggression
What’s a poor boy to do?
The first move begins with you?

Stroke my ear?
Look me in the eye?
Your hand strokes my inner thigh?
Hey Venus, that’s my *****!

Who said you could grab that?
Not to say I don’t like it—
Difficult tango this, Isis.
Physical crisis. Your move.

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

Darling, I sit poised
In interregnum

Good for me?
We’ll see

Spaces between
Serves reflection

That door has closed
Everything known, practiced, reveled
A short time ago

Ones trusted, loved
Now just another
Long past innuendo

The new unknown
A chasm sprightly trundled
As a newborn idiot would

Has its bright baubles
But leaves one troubled
What mattered whence when

Which involvement mattered
What remembered remains
I don’t think I’ll see again

I once had a love affair
With Shakespeare
From Nick Bottom's fuzzy ***
To Launce Gobbo in the know
And feisty Feste crooning a Jewess

Then a new direction
R&J breaking rules
Pants on a Shrewess
Two Gents Rockin' 'bout Sylvia
Bleachers, lights and stage
A comedy, no Error, then
Tempest, the Next Generation
Prospero in 2314AD.

Yep. All of them:
Complete works! (abridged)
Before I left the park.

A gap in time before
Darkly pierced prince
Mourning loss of mother
Ends the affair.

I reach down
And what is gone is
An identity fluidity to
Engender remember

Inney or outy
Is our infinity?
No. Flexibility
Today, he
Tomorrow…

first, relief
I don’t have to do
anything

dishes *****
bed unmade but
everything else

6am to 6pm brigade
promises made
love delivered

chicks in
cats fed
dog abed

then, lover lonely
misses wife—
not the strife

Temperature changed
Spectrum shifted
Brown around town

Look see glance
Walk it talk it
Best you can

Foreign as familiar
Strange the same
The new game

All one everyone
Smiles are smiles
Walking miles

En este mundo
Todos familia
Cada dia

Darling!

So good to see you—
And feel you;
Loved by you,
I love you.

I still feel your lips
From this brief visit,
Shadows dispelled,
I thank you!

Back to the front;
But World War D
Is easier now.

time slows,
shows, goes

feel it come—
then its gone

anticipate to
participate…

(endeavor to
remember)

Uncomfortably
Thinking about
What may be

Uptight or onsite
Downside or
In between

See it
Be it
Is it?

Lil’ angel black
Perches nightly
Guarding him
All night long.

He sleeps a lot,
Slow old boy
Downstairs resigned
Downsized.

He saved her
She loves him
He tolerates her
Appreciates, grudgingly

Every cat, every dog
Has their day.
Better yet,
They have each other.

I wake in my home
Loving living here/now
Females surround me
(But Fred is still Fred)

I drive to work
I love my work
Young folk talk
Speak their minds

Benefit.

Most get me.
Some don’t–
Their loss.
I do/don’t lose sleep.

Turning 60
All good since 50
Good ‘till (sumpin) ixty
Phase three:

My terms
My resolutions
My obligations
My desires

All good;

Legacy.I

I'm enjoying (drawing) again,
my (sketch pad) open
a (#2) poised
capturing images.

I chip away at it:
editing coarse lines first
particular words next;
an (eraser) sharpens punctuation.
Violá: a poem!

It was zen, then.
It's zen again.

What condition my condition is in:
We begin at our skin
All we are all all within

(fragile ***** bubbles
membranes refrained
it’s out or it’s in again)

Keep it in
Keep it in

Not fun when it leaks
Mortality brutality  
*******

****** visible
Scars irrational
Spots visible

Sci-fi invasion:
Climbing up the torso
“Look, Spot! Another Spot!”

I slip out of time
No reason, no rhyme
Moments internal
Becoming eternal

The world whorls
Senses spin
Past is future
Now not now

Relatively needs sensibility
As temporal moments swirl
Eddies distract and detract
Be here now

I thought it tomorrow
Awaking from nap

But it was yesterday
A chance for another play…

Safe? Everything again?
Hold the door a little longer?

Who might come through?
What might I left unsaid?

Or have done
And won?

Out of time
No rhyme

Slushing the universe
Nibbling the edges

Moving fast and slow
Steady as she goes

It’s inevitable
The inevitable

Until you find slow
Shift: reverse

I have been to the top of the hill
Thinking as a hero

I’ve crashed into the ditch
My power never lower

Mostly, in-between
Taking all as it seems

Bored Sisyphus
Doing daily things

But some moments
Define time for action

Et–hem; that time is now

There is a middle place
Between OK and sad
Between fact and fiction

There is a middle place
Between you and me
And us and them

There is a middle place
Between what we know
And what we want

There is a middle place
Between "FAKE NEWS!”
And actual truth

Twixt there and then
Visualize better zen
Grow from the middle

I smell cookies baking
There are no cookies baking
What do I smell?

A childhood memory to a
Time and place of comfort?
Wanting the past to last?

Other triggers:
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Campbell’s tomato soup
Breaded fish sticks
Polka-dotted Wonder bread
Liverwurst and catsup
The tasty tang of tang

The nose knows; I’m
Olfactory traveling
Memory meandering

Still, I really smell
Those cookies baking…
I want to go home again