I needed to do some shopping
On poem ideas I was running low
So I checked out the local flyer
To the downtown Poet Store

Just to see what they had on sale
Some of my friends they call me cheap
But why pay full price if you don't have to
On all the rhyming words I need

The front page slapped me in the face
With the Spring Cleaning Sale Galore
Everything I needed was half price
So I headed straight to the Poet Store

I ventured up and down the isles
Filling my basket with the best of rhyme
Getting a few extras of every word
So I'd have them when the time was right

I stocked up on love and encouragement
The right words I carefully chose
Because in my experience
You can never have too many of those

I even took a few from the back
Down a darkened isle where the lights were low
Being a poet my mood can rapidly change
And what words I might need you never do know

With my basket full of wonder
I felt my day of shopping done
Confidant and ready
To go home and continue in the writing of poems

Only if...
Things were different
Or at least not the same
If there were a wish I would wish this
That I would have far less pain

The pain that comes from being alone
In the middle of a crowd
When you too often grin and bear it
There is still real hurt behind the smile

Only if...
More or less
There was less time in the day
That I would spend in this bed
The equivalence of a BALL & CHAIN

If only I had answers
As my active mind overloads
It's the only thing that seems to work on me
With other body parts being one big joke

Only if...
I must insist
Can I kindly have a do over
On this twisted shell that I call myself
Inner parts as well as outside cover

I'd like to keep the personality
That has been with me through thick and thin
The better part of me on which I lean
Quite heavily to be who I am

With Chemtrails in the Conspiracy sky
Birds that fly on missions to spy
You really have to wonder why
How this long we have survived

Subliminal messages on the T.V.
Vaccines as bad as the disease
Here come the swarm of Killer Bees
Another warning, sight unseen

Other birds that have the flu
And the Sly Swine that have it too
And here we are without a clue
What is a poor soul supposed to do

About the oceans on the rise
Is this at all real or the latest A.I.
It's hard to tell todays truth from the lies
As U.F.O.'s invade our skies

With the chemicals pumped into the food
Yellow dyes, reds, and blues
Corner camaras recording our every move
Even the phone is watching you

Every day we see the many signs
Yet they say don't believe your lying eyes
Is anyone else as a surprised as I
How long in this mess we have survived

You've heard tell the road to hell
Is paved with good intentions
I've been on that crew and so have you
Do I even need to mention

I've held the measuring tape as you paved the way
The blacktop hot with sorrow
As we looked away in our Ray-Ban shades
Saying we'll worry about that tomorrow

Mile after mile pouring doubt
Onto the hardened surface
With our best guess, thinking we've got this
Life down pat with purpose

Not realizing that what our pavement lacks
Is a heart that truly listens
One reason we can't help that the road to hell
Is paved with good intentions

Approval dropping  on both sides
Amid half truths and bald faced lies
We have had enough of this
Demented Worldly Politics

Here’s some news they could use
Soon enough we’ll give them all the boot
Hang them fast, hang them high
Leave their hides out to dry

Let’s bring back the Old Wild West
With Six Gun Shooters strapped to hips
As we’re all fed up with it
Demented Worldly Politics

Informing us of do’s and don’ts
While they live high on the hog
One thing that they fail to see
Is we all have great memories

Do as we say, not as we do
A mantra that they all cling to
Things are about to get lit, on
Demented Worldly politics

If you're in need of a thorn
I'm looking for a side
Like a Tic in days forlorn
Always trying to hitch a ride

The noisy Rat that's in your attic
I just won't go away
Deaf a dumb from day one
There's not much more that you can say

Dug in deep this blood ******* leach
Clinging to your hide
Feel free to call me your ***** laundry
With the world to see, hanging out to dry

Ring worm on a mission
I burrow underneath your skin
Fingernails on a blackboard, listen
Here to make you cringe

I stick to you like poo on a shoe
As you hobble along your way
There's not a lot that you can do
To tell the truth I'm here to stay

Living life like a parasite
Looking for that slight opening
This disturbing sight may not feel quite right
But I count it all as a win

...with you as my new girlfriend ❤️‍🩹

I can’t help but wonder
How death will go down
In a fiery fan of flames
Or slow trickle burnout

Will I lay round for days
In a comatose state
Or with bags quickly packed
Leave right away

Will my life in a flash
In its final brain bend
Relive all my days
From beginning to end

Or me skipping along
Minding my business
When my heart says hold on
I’ve no longer got this

Will it be more of a plop
Than a final bow
The day that I drop
Will this tree make a sound

You never do know
When or where you will go
Until death catches up
And it’s the end of the show