Hong Kong China crunch
clash of ideologies—
iron mixed with clay

Timothy Tolliver Tines
Taught tax topics twenty times
Touting tax tips he tried
Till terribly tongue-tied
Twisted tongue tending to twine

Surreal

So real

His favorite protégée
Mentors her day by day
You are his curious delight
You're always affable
And so unflappable
Yes you're his favorite acolyte

Though your aura's sacred chic
Radiating cool mystique
Your life story does bespeak
Constant fight

His patronage for your art
Remains for you're his dear heart
Shine favorite protégée shine
Rejoice that your lives intertwine

~ Can anyone solve my riddle poem? ~

An infinite schriek
Passing through nature,
Featureless, ungendered,
Not an individual creature
Frozen in time
Overlooking a fjord
More than a century later
Is still highly adored

Harvest is over,
Crops are in, and
Falls's first killing frost
Stirs feelings of melancholy
Sustained by winter's cold,
With its bare trees,
Migration, hibernation,
Wisdom of fallow fields and
Mice attempting entry
During long, cold nights.
Yet farmers are never idle,
Caring for their animals,
Cleaning and fixing equipment,
Checking their fences,
Cleaning fields and
Clearing tree lines.

Baking, broiling, blindingly bright, blistering sun,

super scorching, sweltering, sizzling sand

the kabob that is my body searing, skewered

Deceptively blue skies devoid of any deliverance

no cavalry of clouds coming to convey compassion

Rising balloon-like bubbles of hot air

causing distant objects to ripple and dance

shimmering in the atmospheric boil

Falling to my knees, I detect in the distance

glimmering patches of blue and green—Mirage!

A maniacal mime of molten mockery

deriding my dreadful demise




Mark Toney © 2019

When just a child the poet's mom said "Son,
Throughout your life beware the sin of pride.
Remember this when every day is done,
What counts the most is who you are inside."

At first he thought his mother's words unfair
For recognition surely has its place.
In time he witnessed prideful thoughts can flare
When undue adulation supplants grace.

The poet took to heart his mother's words
Too many accolades can turn your head.
Vainglory flits away on wings of birds
What's left is mostly emptiness and dread.

Life immersed in modest exhibition
Satisfied with honorable mention

Here lies the body of Nick O Tyme
Who never thought of crossing the line
Lived his life as quiet as could be
Only stimulant consumed was tea
Saved a lady from the path of a train
Regarding which he was true to his name
Results for him were not quite the same

Good night my little wee one
It's time to close your eyes
If you'll but wait till morning
You'll get a big surprise
The sun will smile and greet you
In ever changing skies
For mom and daddy love you
Your the apple of our eyes

Learn war
No more

I am a monster
I have to be obeyed-
beware of my wrath

Wood you marry me?
I love you can't you see?
I hope you will agree
So please, please, please,
Marry me...

They say it's no good
Because you're made of wood
For me it's understood
So please, please, please,
Marry me...

Ventriloquist's
Wooden dummy
You give me fits
Please marry me!

Please take my hand
Together we can stand
Our life will be so grand
So please, please, please,
Marry me...

I'll have your back
You by my side
It's just like that
Please be my bride!

Life will be complete
My mouth closed when you speak
Our future bright not bleak
So please, please, please,
Marry me...

Feeling deep regret for our misguided debt
Which gives us pause realizing the hurt we’ll cause
So let's raise our glasses to the lads and lasses
Who will bear the brunt on the battlefront

it's the end of the world as we know it - time I had some time alone

Mom's joy
Dad's boy!

I learn,
discern

God's Word
I heard

God's Will
instill

Result-
adult

Most good
I should

My call
help all

Some bad
some sad

My wife
great life

Our sons
blessed ones

Good friends
lives end

Grow old
be bold

Dear ones
death comes

Lord's call
stand tall

Fresh new book opens wide and swallows me whole!
Taking time to acclimate I catch my breath,
Focusing as scenes and characters unfold
To instill memories of their length and breadth.
Finishing one book a month is my firm goal
Few subjects considered are out of my depth
Reading encourages to take life in stride-
Back to my book! See you on the other side!

Time to stop judging
Best to confess
Hiding behind your SOS
Feelings of others you ignore
Drama and chaos you adore
With your moralistic writes
Acerbic word fights
Sarcastic bites...
Why can't you be nice?

Instead, you play the part fully
As the intellectual bully
Disregarding the tears
Throwing misspelled word spears
Wielding grammar hammers
Pouncing when someone stammers
Hey, Bro! Don't you even know
What time it is?

Time to stop judging
Best to confess
Hiding behind your SOS
Feelings of others you ignore
Drama and chaos you adore
With your moralistic writes
Acerbic word fights
Sarcastic bites...
Why can't you be nice?

You say you're a godly player
But you're really a Sibboleth slayer,
An ill will conveyor,
Grand total naysayer,
Once you went away but then came back
Unbelievable, you're even more whack!
Hey, Bro! Don't you really know
What time it is?

Time to stop judging
Best to confess
Hiding behind your SOS
Feelings of others you ignore
Drama and chaos you adore
With your moralistic writes
Acerbic word fights
Sarcastic bites...
Why can't you be nice?

TONEY OUT - BOOM!

fantasy of fall
leaf color change miracle-
real time falls behind

1960s
mop top,
pompadour,
hippie hair,
afro...

Dad gives me a crew cut...

have you ever been picked last?
because you're not as fast?
or maybe not as clever?

whatever...

1950s kindergarten
cute, dark-haired girl
in jumper dress,
bright-red tights,
walking towards me
smiling...

I run away with sweaty hands...

happy
*****

Patience is my super power
On full display every hour
If someone mad gets in my face
My patience helps me maintain grace

When railroad crossings block the road
I simply enter patient mode
If caught up in a traffic jam
My calmness filmed by traffic cam

Long checkout lines leave some irate
Patience helps me endure the wait
Restaurant wait times are the worst
Composure wards off loud outbursts

Patience is my super power
Keeps my life from going sour
One exception my Kryptonite
Sibling face-offs leave me uptight!

Now here
Nowhere

Toucan
Two can

Doctor's
Boxers

Yeti
SETI

~In memory of Avy W (1981-2019)~

Oh, my dear, short Avy with a long "A"
I just learned of your sad demise today
Full seventy days since you passed away
Dark news eclipsing such a sunny day

Last visit ended with you hugging me
October's visit now will never be
Hopes, dreams, goals cast aside as mere debris
Life cut short, stolen by the enemy

Your husband and son together do mourn
Your mother and father both so forlorn
Thirty-eight years from the time you were born
Your young, precious life from each of them torn

You will always remain forever young
Forever precious and forever fun
Forever kind, empathetic and sweet
Forever found where love's memories meet

May future's reunion as tender be
Now forever safe in God's memory

First commercially successful
Video game technology
Pong arcade video game
Made by Atari
Loved by millions instantly
Started an 80 billion dollar industry
Pong -no Ping-
Just Pong

Simplistic graphics still astound
Mesmerized by the sound
Blip
Blip
Pong, blip
Blip
Pong, blip
Pong, blip
PONG!!!

Hah!  Point made
In the shade!
First to eleven
In Pong heaven
Blip
Blip
Pong, blip
Blip
Pong, blip
Pong, blip
PONG!!!

A social lubricant it became
Relationships formed
Playing the game-
Rocking to our favorite songs
Staying awake all night long
Taking turns playing Pong
Pong -no Ping-
Just Pong

When I was growing up in Wisconsin, dairy farms were everywhere.  It was always fun visiting my aunt and uncle's dairy farm, even though they put me to work.  For many years the only bathroom they had was away from the house!  I read an article today about people complaining about smells coming from dairy farms and pig farms.  It reminded me when our family would drive the 3 1/2 hours to visit Grandma and Grandpa.  Some farms hardly had any bad odor, but others reeked!  This was especially horrible to us city kids.  "Mom, what's that smell?" my sisters and I would ask every time.  We asked Mom because she'd answer us.  Dad would only laugh.  Good times!  

Midwest dairy farms
intermittent putrid stench-
fun childhood road trips

kudos to Oscar
every best picture ever-
Hollywood Haiku

beware atomic attack!
1950s civil defense
duck and cover drills
Bert the turtle
showed us the way

flash of light - duck and cover!

free-roaming feral
Australian mob of brumbies-
Snowy River man

My kitchen time ending, dishes drying in stacks
My family is telling me it’s time to relax
In the background are voices urging me to stay
So I pause, wait and listen for one more lovely thing
That my friends and family might say...

My kitchen is filled, with the smell of fresh pie
Made year after year, from old and new recipes
The air fills my lungs, with the smell of fresh pie
My mouth wants to eat every pie it sees

My mouth wants to eat like the child
Who experiences pie the first time in their life
My mouth wants to savor fresh aroma of pie
From the oven before cut by the knife
To boldly eat pie like the person who
Won’t let calories get in their way
To eat, through the night, and
Be ready for more the next day

I go to my kitchen when I’m good and hungry
I know I will eat, like I have before
My kitchen is blessed with the smell of fresh pie
And I’ll eat one more

Puberty arrives
With it's accompanying drives
Plus the scourge of teenage acne.
Most remedies would fail
Nothing ever worked well
While my face continued to attack me.

Father scoffed "Son I implore
If you scrub your face more
Then your acne will soon disappear."
Scrubbed as hard as I could
But it still did no good
Further proof that my case was severe.

Unsightly, painful and embarrassing...
By adulthood it stopped its harassing.

Which of these does man have control over? (Choose all that apply)

_ Rainfall deficits trigger biotic crisis
_ Acid rain decimates ecosystems
_ ICBMs rain down destruction
_ None of the above

Love's garment woven with endearments
Ovations shared in heart harmony
Vows- the genesis of love's endeavor
Enduring love cultivated with kindness

          ~when love precipitates, selfishness evaporates~

Penultimate month, November
Tending memories’ eternal ember
Sparking thoughts, grand and tender
With honor and thanksgiving to remember
For each who of the human race are a member

Sweet, succulent Elberta Peach
It's tell-tale blush within my reach
It's that time of year again
A peach to die for and then
I have to have another,
The ultimate peach, brother!
Sweet, succulent Elberta peach
It's tell-tale blush within my reach

Sixties Japanese Kaiju films
My recollection overwhelms
"Destroy All Monsters" was the best
Kilaak Queen's most evil intent
World and its armies circumvent
Want to watch it now?  Be my guest!

Mouths still move when dialogue ends
Earth is saved now all mankind friends
Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan too
Each unique with special powers
All of us kids would watch for hours
With time this genre I outgrew

Boris and Natasha's minds were awhirl
As the Russia probe facts did unfurl
Let's end the confusion
There was no collusion
Was fake news of moose and of squirrel

Mars InSight Mission
revealing the heart of Mars-
boarding pass received
two million plus names on board
earning frequent flyer miles

Love's cornerstone set
Forty-five years together
Dear wife of my youth
Our sons, their wives, our lives full
May love's embrace continue...

          ~ to the moon and back ~

As she walked down the aisle I was smiling
My blushing young bride was beguiling
After kissing, do tell
I re-lowered the veil
My excuse was "our wedding's freestyling."

Woke up Sunday morning
Put on my Sunday best,
'Cause I didn’t want to go
And look different from the rest.
When the meeting was over
Was among the first to go.
Made a beeline home
Put on some comfy clothes.

Every weekday I work
Must wear a suit and tie
Feels so **** confining
It makes me wanna cry
By the time my shift is over
Tell you goodness knows
Can’t wait to get on home
Put on some comfy clothes.

Comfy clothes are great
Doesn’t matter what the season.
Just can’t quite explain it
There is no rhyme or reason.
But if you feel uptight,
Don’t know which way to go,
Things will get a little better
You put on some comfy clothes.

There was an old poet named Mark
Who loved to steal walks in the park.
One day he was frightened,
A big dog did bite him.
He does nothing more on a lark.

There was a young math **** named Herbert
Who fancied himself a tax expert.
Touting tax tips he tried,
Till terribly tongue-tied;
No more will he overexert.