I bought a coffee the other day,
Gawped at society on the way,
Coffee shop like the undertakers,
Here no conversation makers,
"The  crowd" sitting in total silence,
Gazing at phones, is it sense?
So much for that coffee shop,
The solitude of worshiping Microsoft,
Alone together, where does it stop?
Solitary silence in the coffee shop!

Ripples in a slow river, lazy,
Flowing down time for thee,
All the nostalgic memories,
Ghosts of the survivors, yes,
Living in our hearts to bless,
Then we'll all fade away into space,
Floating away in the ripples of grace.....

Yes,  I was born a helper, the Elf,
Though thanks were left on the shelf,
Buddy the Elf is no fighter,
Smiling in peace makes us lighter,
Helpers find solutions, you see,
I am nice to people so nasty,
All I can say is, "Good for me!"

Mothers know best, or do they?
We get used to anything these days,
It is all conditioning in these ways,
Why was Pavlov's hair so soft?  I say,
Because he conditioned it! Hey, hey,
Mothers know best, or so they say,
Who is conditioning whom today?

Virus alert! Virus alert!
Not feeling quite so pert,
These are the germs God sends ya,
I woke up with influenza!
Pucker up, you Casanovas,
One kiss will give you pneumonia!

Between the stars,
There are particles afar,
Between dreams for each,
Ghosts appear beyond reach,
Between flames a'glow,
Sparks fly for us, we know,
Between shadows and light,
We're all shades in the night,
Between water and air,
Mists can form anywhere,
Between notes and song,
Music can linger along,
Between breaths that meet,
We share kisses so sweet,
It's between you and your next wife,
Time you got a life!

This poem brings a surprise,
Once I came home with bits of pies
In my hair, kids did what they dare,
Food fights all over everywhere,
All part of sacramental life,
Church celebrations full of strife,
No, I am not kidding,
In cream puffs we were skidding,
This Dracula  finally left the scene,
You try teaching all those tweens!