Is being alarmed

same as being alarmist?

These days is there a difference?

~

An alarming fact

is, alarmist or not, we

hear those alarm bells ringing.

Yesterday we got

a three-in-one package from

Mother Nature: rain, sleet, snow.

~

 Weather’s trifecta

came in at 3 to 1 odds

and left us an even mess.

How can one believe

assertions of a salesman

when he’s got skin in the game?

~

Folks don’t try to sell

something unless they somehow

benefit from doing so.

This retired life

has me leaping tree to tree

like some adolescent squirrel.

~

Sounds like you leaped

into a nutty world, but

still can’t find the time to eat.

Cold and rainy days

such as this invite us to

settle in with a good book.

~

So, of course, I ‘rose

many hours before dawn

to cook a breakfast fundraiser.

This shotgun spraying

orders ever crazier;

hoping he can get some through.

~

His half-cocked approach

to governing matches his

lack of social skills.

I opened the door

for Knox. He stepped forward, but

turned back when he saw the rain.

~

That pre-dawn thunder

was Beggorah’s 411;

he burrowed under blankets.

Speaking of nature,

there are those who still believe

Man is, somehow, its master?

~

Some folks will ignore

all facts and experience

and insist they are in charge.

How did inclusion,

and the fellowship implied,

become such a dirty word?

~

When diversity

was made to mean “alien”

and, thus, something to be feared.

Nature has always

favored diversity, but

the unwise would outlaw it.

~

Unwise humans don’t

recognize that they too are

a part of nature.

How can all succeed

when so many are restrained

before they begin?

~

The ones who don’t think

to even ask that question

contribute to the problem.

With his web of lies

he’s guided by his totem

animal: spider.

~

On this we differ!

Spider webs are elegant.

His traps are clumsy and crude.

Do they not regret

their so callous disregard

as they bypass tangled wrecks?

~

They’re just following

the example set for them

by the man in the White House.

It’s never easy

to forget all of those things

which aren’t worth remembering

~

Yet there are those days

when we can’t remember where

we put the car keys.

If we placed tariffs

on lies, perhaps we’d hear less

from our president.

~

With this President’s

perfidious penchant?

Erase the National Debt!

In this ‘murica

swastika’s protected speech

but pride flags are illegal?

~

We find ourselves in

Trump country now where there is

freedom for some, but not all.

A plea for mercy

touched a nerve and ignited

 outrage in a heartless man.

~

Merciless leaders

will ignite more than outrage 

in their heartless power trip.

This med-free living,

thanks to postal negligence,

is hardly worth the effort.

~

Life with frustrations

is the annoying norm, but

it’s still worth the effort.

Sixteen degrees of

craziness and I am not

talking about the weather.

~

Twenty sided dice

do not offer near enough

option for the New Crazy!

When the villain casts

himself in the savior’s role,

does anyone believe him?

~ 

There are those who are

so desperate to believe they

are willing to be deceived.

Even the smallest

act of kindness can bring big

changes to a person’s day.

~

Every kind action

serves as gentle reminder

of the kindred we all share.

Backing off slowly,

the deer change course, having seen

Knox meandering near by.

~

Changing course is wise

when slavering hounds abound,

even if, without menace.

Cabin fever springs

to a blazing inferno

from the depths of winter snows.

~

But a cold welcome

awaits us when we open

a door. We quickly retreat.

A prerequisite

for being a member of

Team Trump? Immorality.

~

Immortality

Wouldn’t grant sufficient time

to begin an atonement!

When the pot boils,

shall we add the tea and steep,

or turn up the heat and fry?

~

Untended pots can

boil over and leave us

with a great big mess.

Will this snow never

be gone?It’s stayed much too long.

It’s past time to melt away.

~

Alas, we shall miss it,

once its shimmering whiteness

is trod to muddy morass.