It’s hard not to feel

neglected and abandoned

inside these four walls.

~

Especially when you

call for help and two hours

later it hasn’t arrived.

Right now I’m quite sure

no pain is a real gain and

you’re glad to have some relief.

~

Relief was short lived,

eclipsed in quite short order

by a return of malaise.

From your hospital

bed, you ask me about our

joint poem? Are you on drugs?

~

Of course, I’m on drugs!

It’s the only redeeming

merit of the ICU!

If you don’t know what

your heart truly desires,

how can you hope to find it?

~

Sometimes we find our

heart’s desire and only

then know what it is.

Hard conversations –

Trying to use my ears more

and use my mouth less.

~

Conversations must

have open ears and closed mouths

from willing non-combatants.

Comings and goings

in such very short order

leave little time to relax.

~

If only we could

find a window of time to

open and climb out.

The day toyed with both

light showers and sun-lit skies –

it couldn’t make up its mind.

~

Indecisiveness

can sometimes seem virtuous…

or not… I just can’t decide.

How can we convince

wallowers in misery

that they can choose joy instead?

~

Realizations come

when folks are ready. There’s no

convincing that can be done.

Sometimes It doesn’t

take much to color a day.

Let’s aim for gold and not gray.

~

One golden hour

can transform wholly grey days

into something silvery.

Oh, the heated thrum

of over-used shoulder muscles

after a long day’s rowing.

~

Too bad that you’re too

mature now to row, row, row

your boat gently down the stream.

When we’re intent on

seeing only what we want

to see, we miss what’s right there.

~

Keeping open eyes

is a good start to seeing:

the rest; open hearts and minds.

Why commemorate

merely the role some men play?

MEN have better things to do.

~

Nothing you have done

surpasses your fathering.

Today we celebrate you !

Is it possible

to swallow lies and never

get indigestion?

~

When it’s the only

meal placed upon the table

what else can a diner eat?

Dark rotating clouds

Twisting limbs and shredded leaves

born upon erratic winds.

~

If you change “leaves” to

“lives” you’ve perfectly described

January 6 riot.

Tunnels and exits,

staircases too – photo-ops

on capital tours?

~

Now the masses can

go shopping for souvenirs,

free, in Congressional halls.

And the last has flown;

winging her way Easterly

while the first wanders the West.

~

If you have plans for

that empty nest, perhaps it’s

time to simply rest.

Is it better to

be young and foolish than old

and full of I wish I had?

~

Experiences,

positive and negative,

are what make life worth living.

Why do morning storms

seem, somehow, less frightening

than their evening counterparts?

~

Impending night with

its lack of light increases

our fear of the vast unknown.

The birds assemble

at the feeder, waiting for

poets to assemble too.

~

Feeding the hungry,

a noble undertaking,

sometimes must take second seat.

The only thing that’s

predictable is weather’s

unpredictability.

~

Thus the weather stands

as an easy metaphor

for all that that defies order.

Want to justify

what’s unjustifiable?

Use the Second Amendment.

~

It’s the NRA’s

favorite conservative

get thee out of jail free card.

Being On The Road,

kind of like Jack Kerouac,

seeking life’s inspiration.

~

He’s willing to take

a road less traveled and on

the way he will find his bliss.

Striving for the best,

but prepared for the worst -wise

practice, but one seldom used.

~

Expecting the worst

forestalls most disappointments,

leaving just pleasant surprise.

When joyful noises

fill us with subconscious dread,

introspection is a must.

~

Since many of our

journeys to awakening

begin with dread, few take them.

On this sixth day of

the sixth month we are greeted

with warm sun and a cool breeze.

~

Would that all could see

these simple pleasures of life

supersede self-made sorrow.

Commencing right now

graduation music plays;

students march to their future.

~

May these graduates

find their true callings as they

step into the wider world.

All of us have days

when we forget. Tomorrow

is another day.

~

Tomorrow is busy!

I guess I’d better sit down

and write tomorrow’s today.

Why do we call not

eating fasting when really

it’s then that time moves so slow?

~

Cherish those moments:

digesting each sensation,

thereby, forestalling ennui.

We must control guns

since some simply can’t control

their murderous impulses

~

When profit matters

more than human lives, we know

we have lost our way.