With summer almost

upon us, any advice

for kids and parents?

~

Find the time to break

away from work and go play

together sometime each day.

Oh, the aroma

of peach and hickory smoke

rising slowly from the grill.

~

A time of year filled

with enticing smells making 

mouths water and stomachs growl.

 Who do you think will

ultimately win this late

spring tug of war, sun or rain?

~

Although wind and rain

may seem to carry the day,

in the end, the sunshine wins.

Any brief reprieve

from welcome summer swelter

may bring unwelcome relief.

~

Masochists welcome

summer swelter and bewail

relief even if it’s brief.

When an attack on

the press becomes physical,

brutality trumps reason.

~

In Big Sky Country,

brutality is common

frequently without reason.

Must we educate

our children to fear and hate

instead of to love and care?

~

Fear and hate stifle

curiosity, deaden

the souls of teachers and taught.

Maybe it’s better

to lay off when my mondo

partner is laid low.

~

Wasting breath on verse

even to one’s dying gasp

is a mark of high regard.

When the crud’s creeping,

smothering each breath beneath

wheezing, what is one to do?

~

One rests, takes prescribed

medication, types their post,

struggles with crudulity.

How many guns do 

we have to sell in order

to buy hearts and minds?

~

Hearts and minds are bought

by offering open hearts

and holding our minds open.

It’s easier to call

all the shots from your arm chair.

Have you found this true, Donald?

~

He doesn’t sit still,

they say. He shoots from the hip

as he slithers, tweets, and twitters.