Walter W Hoelbling

Walter W Hoelbling Oct 2022

the night in which
the dead come alive for a while

only to be frightened
right back into their graves
by the horrible masked spectacles
of the living

Walter W Hoelbling Oct 2022

the moment

when nothing seems to matter
joy or disaster
same difference

you may want
to double-check
your priorities

Walter W Hoelbling Oct 2022

nerdy

I rarely go out
do not talk to many
cook my own meals
don a mask on planes and buses
and crowded supermarkets

hoping to survive Covid
uninfected

Walter W Hoelbling Oct 2022

sitting up

sitting up straight
suddenly
apropos of nothing

another arrow
from reality

Walter W Hoelbling Sep 2022

life's moments

watching a TV broadcast
with Luciano Pavarotti
singing an aria
about a unique woman

     dedicating it to Lady Diana
     who is sitting in the first row

     a lovely and appropriate compliment

she died in the Paris car crash
not long thereafter

Walter W Hoelbling Sep 2022

final change

how does one end reigning
seventy years as Queen
of a former global colonial empire?

elevated to the supreme icon
of what's been right in Britain

to be sorely missed
after the most spectacular
of royal funerals has become history

Walter W Hoelbling Sep 2022

London Brigde is down

Queen Elizabeth II
Great Britain's and the Commonwealth's pillar
of courage and stability
for seven decades
is no longer

she will be missed