As we share stories,

we only wish you were here

to add your own special twist.

~

For in that telling,

from your unique point of view,

could the full saga unfold.

The voice of reason

can’t be heard if it remains

unspoken because of fear.

~

Even when spoken,

reason’s dulcet serenade

often falls upon deaf ears.

Of survival skills,

the one most underrated

is resiliency.

~

We’re going to need

that and a sense of humor

in the years ahead.

Our minds can wander

to places unknown while

our pens wait for words.

~

Our pens can wander

on pages unknown while

our minds churn anxious butter.

April fools alone

contemplate, and scribble rhymes

in this material world.

~

Foolish from their love

of words, poets dare to speak

in a sometimes hostile world.

Do we recoil

from these absurd policies

or do we lean in and fight?

~

It’s natural to

recoil from such harmful

policies, but we must fight.

Trump now lays claim to

April First as a day of

honor for his followers.

~

Who’s the bigger fool;

the foolish King wannabe

or those sold to peasantry?

This shade of verdure,

somewhat more yellow than green,

forecasts Irises blooming.

~

Hints of lovely things

to come can be found if you

pause and look around.

I guess they think our

homeland will be more secure 

if they plan for war, not peace.

~

Full transparency

in government requires

nothing to be classified?

Do clouds mar the pure

cerulean sky’s expanse

or highlight its dynamics?

~

It all depends on

the viewers and whatever

mood they happen to be in.

Beautiful spring days,

balmy with warmth and flowers,

massage our tired spirits.

~

Spring’s green message of

renewal reminds us gray

doesn’t have the final say.

It seems toxic waste

has spread as far as Congress,

the White House, and way beyond.

~

This, once great, nation

now’s a great superfund site

and the EPA is dead.

As the full moon fades,

the trees reach out to the stars,

hoping for a bit of light.

~

Only trees, these days,

have the patience to invest

in such lofty goals.

When our simple joys

become more pains than pleasures,

it’s time to find new hobbies.

~

The source of joy might

lie in simply being as

much as it lies in doing.

The sudden stillness

after the big wind left us

wondering what was to come.

~

Like a hurricane,

that sudden calm just may be

a pause before the second wind.

As darkness deepens

and the winds begin to howl,

all wise folk seek out shelter.

~

Riding out the storm

is the first step followed by

assessment and cleaning up.

So, three point one four,

once essential for building,

is now just about dessert?

~

Son, your reference

to pi and the Bloodhound Gang

is just not family friendly.

Let’s not be out trumped

by muskiness, Surely we

can reverse the tide.

~

Of course he’s the Don!

And Musk’s what, his enforcer?

Casa Bianca’s all mobbed up.

That man can subfusc

the brightest of spring mornings

with his joyless agenda.

~

His governance

by shenanigans brings out

darkness everywhere.

To look busy, they

found nonexistent problems

and dashed around solving them.

~

As an afterthought,

when their actions made things worse,

they blame their predecessor.

Wanton disregard

has become this president’s

essential requirement.

~

His associates

mirror his own essential

quality quite precisely.

No one ever said

“Compassion is the killer.”,

but the term’s barely begun.

~

The real killers are

already loose: hot heads joined

with ice cold disdain.

All that windiness

is not nature’s doing, but

comes from heated rhetoric.

~

Heated rhetoric

may not cause all climate change

but it sure is blustery!

It’s the standing snags,

long dead but not yet fallen,

that fool us with hollow strength.

~

Leaders pretending

to care, but whose hearts are dead

deceive with displays of strength.

When those at the top

ignore the needs of those at

the bottom, Musk and Trump beam.

~

Old trees with deep roots

weather this chaos with ease

while beaming old men are felled.

Ninety-nine minutes

and the needle never moved

fans and opponents unswayed.

~

What did move was his

lying tongue and his waving

hands seeking an audience.

Where are our leaders

as our national light starts

to flicker and die?

~

Hiding in the dark

in terror their own party

will feed them to the Wendigo.

How much evidence

will it take ‘til some believe

that guy’s just up to no good?

~

Misplaced loyalty

blinds some from seeing all that

they don’t wish to see.