The smell was so bad

they thought that skunk in the road

was an ice agent.

~

Would that ice agents

were just as slow on the draw

as that late unlamented.

Is the government

a giant confidence game-

one great big Three-Card Monte?

~

The confidence men

try every trick in the book

to control our minds and hearts.

When kindness whispers

in our ears, may we not let

anger drown it out.

~

Whispered kind council

swims warmly in open hearts;

anger drowns in icy rage.

Windy two-faced day

brings bright sunshine in the south

yet to the north dark clouds reign.

~

Windy two-facedness

somehow reminds me of some

folks in high places

The coldness of ice

becomes more apparent with

the passing of each harsh day.

~

May their frozen hearts

break from all the ill they’ve done

when, in due time, justice comes.

When a bad actor

does good for the wrong reasons,

it’s hard to cheer the action.

~

Let’s cheer the action,

knowing the bad can sometimes

be an instrument of good.

There’s plenty of food

and plenty of room, but still

they flutter and fume.

~

They think the choicest

spot and morsel must be theirs,

so off they fly… to Greenland?

Labor has a way

of erasing heady thoughts;

unearthing a sense of peace.

~

At least it’s something

we can control unlike those

heady thoughts that haunt our soul.

Waiting for the sun

to chase wintry gray away

with a splash of golden light.

~

Like a balmy bath

soothing sore and tired joints,

sunlight warms the aching soul.

Looked around today

but found nothing much of note

on which to wax poetic.

~

Even the birds’ songs

seemed a bit forced on this cold

and quite dreary day.

Even in the cold

the birds sing, showing us what’s

possible if we but tried.

~

Sing! Yes, and chant too!

And, when rising together,

we can confront this coldness!

Sudden snow showers,

kind of like divine dandruff,

besmirch all dark surfaces.

~

And sometimes erase

whatever else was on our

to do list that day.

When I look over

yonder, what do I see? I

see A.I. coming for me.

~

A.I. or H.I.-

does it really matter much?

Both are “theoretical”!

Starting the New Year

toasting at the Vet E.R.

leaves much to be desired

~

We start each New Year

with the same old bad habits

and that’s just the way it goes.

2025,

a year of infamy which

most of us came to regret.

~

May the coming spring

return common decency

after this heartless winter.

Sublime is the joy

of crafting a masterwork

from the midden heap.

~

The transformation

of garbage into gold is

always rewarding.

What’s in store for us,

we can’t know, but we

can show him we can’t be bought.

~

Just because he pays

doesn’t mean we will stay bought.

That’s the best part of the art of this deal!

Reggae tunes and dreads

seem, somehow, incongruous

in Gadsden flagged pick-up trucks.

~

No matter one’s race

or creed, not one of us wants

to be tread upon.

In keeping with Trump’s

religious understanding,

he asks that we worship him.

~

Worshipful Masters

know that title accolade

is but friendly courtesy.

On Boxing Day

we re-box those Christmas gifts

we’re intent on returning!

~

And we’re glad Christmas

only comes once each year as

return postage is quite high.

The deer around here,

not wanting to pull sleds or

fly, keep a low profile.

~

Happily their strike

did not wreck the holidays

or crash the economy.

Shockingly pink clouds

striated with purple bands

presage the coming sunrise.

~

A welcome splash of

color adds to the pleasure

of this warm December day.

It used to be when

words failed me I was stunned by

something good or bad.

~

Words fail us these days,

not for any one old thing,

but from endless psychic blows.

Señor Quixote

tilts imagined enemies

that threaten his delusions.

~

His bone spurs led him

to mount a dark horse making

him feel great again.

It’s obvious that

Trump does not toil, but he

certainly knows how to spin.

~

Since he spins faster

than any whirling dervish,

maybe he’ll deport himself?

Questing for insight

into the nature of life

leaves one feeling exhausted.

~

The nature of life

for humans allows them to

ponder such questions.

The older I get,

the more walking truly is

a balancing act.

~

And like acrobats

frolicking along tightropes,

great are a fall’s consequence.

When the light’s blinding

and the scratch of pen’s a shriek

perhaps it’s wise not to write.

~

What we know and what

we do sometimes collide and

it’s a toss-up which abides.

Defying the cold

and gloom, our Christmas cactus

gives a loud, pink shout.

~

Ours still languishes

in the drab olive doldrums,

unwilling, yet, to flourish.

Has there ever been

any Presidential tail

with near as much dog to wag?

~

As his bark began

to fail, he went whole hog

and began to wag the dog.