Terra caught a virus
'Fore the advent of papyrus
It was fifty thousand years
(Or there around)
But now she's getting worse
And I know I'm sounding terse
But her regulating system's
Shutting down

These germs are truly villains
And they number in the billions
The damage that they've done
You can't impugn
She tacitly forbid them
As she tried so hard to rid them
And she even sent a dozen
To the moon

Now she has a fever
And nobody will believe her
To deal with this alone
Seems so unkind
But Terra is a scrapper
And despite her damaged wrapper
She will never to her destine
Be resigned
                             rc

The very term evokes esteem
And images of love and nature
What mere gathering of words
Can adequately form a portraiture

Fierce protection, love defined
Imparting lessons, devoting guidance
Policing conflict, bite your tongue
The inner screams emerg as silence

The push and pull on random tack
Can drive into a crazed distraction
But comes immeasurable strength
Creating reason from abstraction

Respect and reverence don't suffice
As no spoken language could
Describe the spirit we perceive
As is manifest in Motherhood

                                   rc

The brook-side meadow's quiet, shadows gone
Overwhelming green struck in private hues
The stream bank channels and tree roots confuse
The light is magic dancing after dawn
There in the tangle hides the leprechaun
There in the tangle his mischief is planned
Scratching his bearded chin, pipe in his hand
Prides in his trickery, crusty old con
Harassed and hunted by unthoughtful souls
Not any wonder he's social inept
He is pursued for the gold he controls
But they do not know it's not physically kept
Pursuit of the rainbow earth not apart
The leprechaun's gold is found in your heart
                                                      rc

It sits alone now
Derelect, long neglected
Empty except the transient shelter
Provided to fox and deer
And swallows cliff and barn
The roof collapsed, the shingles succumbed
To a thousand windstorms
The south side sinking
Drowning in the earth

Yet from it's bones you can see
How it would have appeared
Had a century not unfolded
Timber walls hewn by hand
Corners locked and dovetailed
The craftsman's pride disguised now
Behind the ravages of time

Reflect upon the family
Those pioneers so strong of heart
Who built and grew and loved
And carved a life beyond existence
What hardships felt and conquered
What anguish never overcome
Can we imagine now
From our comfortable perspective
The priorities within that fold
Of time and circumstance?
                                        rc

hateful rhetoric
opinions flow like lava
unmoderated
                        rc

They say that each new snowflake
Is unique in some respect
You have to use a microscope
To see that little fleck
To say this as a metaphor
May cause some introspect
I'd like to know if this is true
But who has time to check
                            rc