Freaks come out at night,

even more on Halloween.

Forgot Hallow meant Holy.

~

Freaks in Congress hold

forth most days and fail to see

themselves as quite unholy.

Cold is forecast, but

for now we can bask in this

unexpected warm weather.

~

Cut the grass today

probably for the last time

until springtime warmth arrives.

Early colors glow

scarlet, yellow, and auburn

on one, among green Myrtles.

~

Right now trees and ground

display colorful arrays

all against a green background.

Willful ignorance

and the denial of facts

weakens our democracy.

~

“It’s a Republic”;

or so the ignorant screech,

when facts belie their belief.

Color me Jaded.

Nothing other people do

can surprise me anymore.

~

Kindnesses, both large

and small, can ease our jaded

souls. lift us up, bring some joy.

When the new speaker.

“ordained by God”, supported

election lies. did God wink?

~

God looked down, dismayed

by all that’s done in his name,

shaking his head, facepalming.

It’s a wondrous time,

this time in which we’re living!

It’s a wonder we still live…

~

And we can’t help but

wonder why we’ve been blessed when

others more worthy have not

When the contest

is us versus reality,

guess who the winner will be.

~

There is no power,

known among mere mortal men,

greater than self deception.

When the foot comes down,

does the chaos diminish

or do the eyes start rolling?

~

It all depends on

whose foot comes down and who will

be footing the bill.

The slightest shimmer

of swaying trees awakens

the shimmering parts of me.

~

Shimmers of sunlight

and other scintillations

illuminate our spirits.

Why do all these souls

manufacture differences

just to feel like they belong?

~

The belonging we

want can’t be manufactured.

It is simply felt.

In an attempt to

be clever, we can sometimes

also be unkind.

~

In an attempt to

be unkind, we can sometimes

display hidden churlishness.

Modest proposals

may again be in order…

a zero state solution?

~

Humane solutions

are nowhere in sight when rage

rules and reason nears zero.

Old songs pick us up,

take us to a time long gone.

It feels great to sing along.

~

Sometimes traveling

into distant memories

is a trip down lonesome roads.

If you’re not a Jew

or a Palestinian,

suppress your opinions, please!

~

It’s time for us all

to show compassion and care

through words and actions.

Mounting excitement

as I read a self-help book

that is actually helping.

~

Find a self-help book

that will help you overcome

your biblioholism!

In the rain the birds

didn’t waste time pestering

each other. They simply dine.

~

Adverse conditions

are powerful inhibitors

of superfluous verbiage.

Scalise shows his smarts

by withdrawing from the race

no sane man can ever win.

~

When insanity

rules chaos ensues which makes

our enemies grin.

When our focus is

on what is missing we fail

to see what is there.

~

Having no focus,

I am like Schrödinger’s cat;

Everything is there…. and not.

In the vain pursuit

of perfection we may find

proficiency’s good enough.

~

Practice rather than

pursuit is not only good

enough, it can make us purr.

Murphy celebrates

my homecoming with soft purrs

as she settles beside me.

~

Begorrah chooses

Shrill yips and vertical leaps

to greet my timely return.

Why must chaos bloom

in those final moments just

as the cast steps to the stage?

~

Even then the show goes

on, even if chaos seems

to have taken center stage.

The leaves slowly shift

in color as they prepare

for a blazing finale.

~

Early shifters lay

languidly upon the ground

a carpet of yellow-brown.

National Mead Day

finds me driving far away

to sip fermented honey.

~

If you had stopped by,

there was a honey-do list

waiting for you close to home.

Sometimes we leap to

replace systems that can be

fixed with minor adjustments.

~

We have been misled

by disposable culture

to regard used as useless.

If there’s a logic

to automated systems,

it’s, somehow, beyond my ken.

~

It requires parts

working together, thus it’s

beyond the ken of Congress too.

Whenever I leave

the room, the cat scolds me for

failing to ask permission.

~

When you stand and go,

and thus, deprive her your lap,

she makes her displeasure known.

Ritual routines,

complicated, though they be,

serve to keep the mind alight.

~

As we grow older

it’s wise to do all we can

both to be and to bring light.

It’s hard to compose

a poem when you have all

those balls in the air.

~

If I let them fall

all hard across my keyboard,

I might gain a wide renown.

October sunrise

brings light and cooler weather

as geese honk their way southward.

~

Those wise geese flew north

just last week, before the storm.

Now, with Snowbirds, they return.