As golden gleams of summer fade away
Then on the backs of falling leaves alight
Pallidity becomes the autumn day
And languor shrouds the cold and listless night

As fog benights the lonesome starless sky
I perch here on the window pane reclined
The songs of stridulating crickets pry
Into my solitary mind and find

It hard at work and trying to devise
Elaborate schemes to get out of this place
To where there're lizards, hummingbirds and mice
I feel the urge to hide, to hunt, to chase

Until dawn breaks the shackles of this blight
I'll be here mooning till the morning light

Perhaps someday but not today
You'll heed the calling of the land
And feel it reaching out for you
The way it summons my soul too
Then, perhaps then, you will ---
Take me to the park

The cloak of snow that clothed the park
Is mud and slush on paws today
On socks, sweatpants, and sneakers too
And that just doesn't work for you
Not a drip or a drop should ever land
Not a dip or a dot would ever will

The cat is preaching about free will
The thing that will lead me to the park
"Find it and you can go today"
"Wouldn't you like that too,
In truth, wouldn't you?"
He gets off his high horse of a perch and lands

While he's off to see how lies the land
I remain - supine - wondering if you will
Take me to the park ---
Take me to the park today
Hoping you'll say, "Yes, I'd love to go too.
I'd love to go with you."

At the hour of habit, I wait by the door for you
To take these paws from cut pile to land
But the taper of your knitted brows today
Leaves no room, no prospect for the park
You open the door and to your will
The sky spits a resounding dissent too

The two-timing tabby chimes in too
"I'll give up if I were you"
But all I can think of is my paws on the land
All I can think of is if you will
Take me to the park ---
Take me to the park today

Perhaps later today you'll hear it too
The call of the land beckoning for you
Then, perhaps then, you will take me to the park

Half a breath held
The other half pacing
Your fists are clenched
Your neck muscles, tightening
You become lightheaded
As your heart starts racing
Less carbon dioxide
Sends a million thoughts flying

Then you realize
You're no longer holding
The other half breath
That you were repressing
You enlist help from your stomach
While your chest is heaving
Now you're
FULL ON
     DOWNRIGHT
          HYPERVENTILATING

And as your heart pounds
Your eyes, rapidly blinking
Your mind's befuddled
By all that's happening
That you totally lose track
Of what you were thinking
Except how to stop
Yourself from hyperventilating

Strange things happen in the house next door
The charming little one with country decor
And a darling kitchen with wallpaper galore
That once was vacant and now no more

Strange things happen in the house next door
Loud thuds and footsteps on their wooden floor
Opening cabinets and slamming drawers
In the morning at half past four

Strange things happen in the house next door
That neither logic nor normalcy can account for
I wish it were empty just like before
'Cause I don't sleep well anymore

We were out at the mall near home
His eyes glued to his phone
His body was there
His mind, elsewhere and
His soul was free to roam

We were out at the mall near home
Which he calls the Women’s Zone
But I’ll come with you, dear
Wait for you in this chair
When you’re done, we will go home

We were out at the mall near home
Past the cakes and ice cream cones
Within minutes, I hear
ENOUGH OF WHAT'S HERE!
LET'S SCOOT AND LET'S GO HOME!

From the mall we were headed home
Baffled by the sudden change of tone
I started to tear
A familiar scene appears
And I awoke in my bed at home

Maybe yes
Or maybe no
But most of the time
I do not know
A bathmat from a litter box
Let alone what the future holds

What’s the worst
And what is best
To put it quite frankly
I couldn’t care less
I’m asleep most of the day
And eating or grooming the rest

Slightly more
Or slightly less
Truth be told
I think it’s all B.S.
I have to take another nap now
So leave me out of your sordid mess

Poem number forty-eight
Does practically nothing to abate
The current unemployment rate
Or the budget deficit of this state

Poem number forty-eight
Incites no reactions at any rate
Is neither a subject of public debate
Nor a reflection of the people’s psychological state

Poem number forty-eight
Carries absolutely no moral weight
It doesn’t shed light or illuminate
Or trigger one’s desire to contemplate

Poem number forty-eight
Really isn’t all that great
Because I've nothing to update
I guess you will just have to wait