Twilight steals what eyesight’s left
Imagination fills the cleft
Fireflies flashing frantic fires
Overload the neuron wires

Ghostly beams steal through the trees
Creating moon mirages
Fairies beckon, promise to please
An **** for the ages

Katy did - Katy didn’t
Unending ancient chorus
Drowning out all other sound
Swallowed by the forest

Blindly stumbling toward the end
All oblivion calls us
Careful where you step my friend
You might become the Walrus

Looking at the Sugarberry tree
Its rough but paper thin bark
Splitting and peeling

Growth is such a painful thing
Is it the same with us?

In truth there is both you and me
Circling each other like a shark
Writhing and reeling

In the end everyone must hang
Please don’t make a fuss

The old man had been alone
For a long time now
How long? Hard to say…
Time had gotten slippery in recent years

No one else lives there
He does it all himself
Cooks, cleans, pays the bills
He had paid them hadn’t he?

He didn’t mind the solitude
It was peaceful
People were a mixed bag
More trouble than they were worth

He had his dog
That mutt that wandered up
And wouldn’t leave
Despite his protestations

Speaking of the dog
Where was he?
When had he last been seen?
Ah, that devil Time again!

Maybe he had run away
Wasted money
On that bag of food
Molding in the pantry

What’s for supper?
Check the fridge
Well, that makes supper simple
An egg or an egg!

Should I check the expiration date?
Not without my glasses
Which had disappeared
Around the same time as the dog

Fried or scrambled?
How about scrambled
Like my brain
Still got my sense of humor!

Turn on the gas
Where the hell are the matches?
That’s right
I took them to the fireplace

I left the TV on?
Yep- Now it’s on the news
Then comes Wheel of Fortune
And final Jeopardy

Whew! I’m out of breath
From that short walk
From the kitchen
To the living room

Better plop down in the recliner
Power back and rest a spell
And anyway
Today’s news seems worth watching

Jeopardy’s on now?
Did I doze off?
I must have
What’s the question?

Something about bombs
And London and World War II
Oh, I know this
It’s a German word!

What’s that smell?
It is so familiar
Tip of my tongue
But I can’t say what it is

Is it danger?
But it seems to smell so sweet
Wait- final Jeopardy is here!
I have to concentrate

World War I
A new weapon
That contains no steel
I know the answer- It’s GAS!

All my shows are over
Nothing left to do but eat and sleep
Christ! I forgot to cook my egg

Grab the matches from the fireplace
Amble back to the stove
Strike the match

First thing every morning
On these cold, dark days
Amidst the bare branches
Above the fallen leaves

They bring something wondrous
I’m not sure how to name it
But I know it like my breath

Seeing them there
Little bits of heat
Hearts beating wildly
Warms mine as well

Emily said it best
Hope’s a thing with feathers

A traitor’s kiss
A child’s return
A fighter’s fist
Ecstasy’s burn

None of these
Can claim the prize
Each knee shall bow
That all might rise

The pasture steams with dusky fog
The poet dreams of his dead dog
The fall of day the rise of night
The people pray that wrong be right

Tiptoe cross the dampened leaves
Listen for nocturnal life
Soak it up and soak it in
Silence is the only sin

Hear the drip and hear the drop
Frost has come and now the rot
Kingfisher sings crazy song
The people pray that right be wrong

Looking over lily pads
Green floats over slate grey sky
Dragon climbs out the lake
Now is time to do or die

You see them oft this time of year
As earth turns dark and cold
Bugs dancing a frenetic pace

What drives them crazy? Is it fear
Of dying ‘fore they’re old
Being omega of their race?

When evening comes so fast and hard
When surface becomes too still
Sky purple/pink with blood

Are they like me once playing cards
Hoping time to ****
Houseman’s cow contented with its cud?

Rhymed to death before its time
By A.E.’s most depressing verse
Assuring though we die, that we die old

Why do we insist on rhyme
That life’s a blessing, death a curse-
A lie the the poets have forever told

So little bugs, please stop and listen
No need to be like Mirthridades
All one must do is to be still and know

Be still and let your cold death christen
Peace in Heaven and in Hades
You don’t have to go on with the show