If you don’t maintain

your history and legacy,

what good are more possessions?

~

Some things that money

can’t buy last much longer than

all our purchases.

What is not open

to debate is that much is

at stake in this election.

~

When SCOTUS decides

it’s fine to fine the homeless,

this election’s just the start!

A poetic voice

may take time to cultivate,

or it may just be innate.

~

In either case, such

a voice needs attention and

space to flourish and to grow.

Knox seemed puzzled when

that turtle didn’t run from

him like the squirrels he’s chased.

~

Within his fortress,

that turtle was safe as gold

stockpiled within Fort Knox.

Nothing can compare

to the ribald mirth within

simple misunderstanding.

~

Shared laughter over

misunderstandings rights what

we once got so wrong.

Caution, hotter days

ahead. Climate deniers

move to the right lane.

~

Only when the poles

are completely free of ice

dare they let up on the gas.

Living in contempt

of everyone all the time

must be unbearably hard.

~

The inferior

have to feel superior

and thus the contempt.

According to dogs,

cats, and visiting birds, there’s

no such thing as a day off.

~

Dependent beings

demand our intervention;

it beats fending for themselves.

Adventures abound

when you’re young and on the road

following the Kerouac.

~

Adventures abound

too when you’re old and can’t roam

on foot, but can in your mind.

As these summer days

grow warmer, I find myself

feeling a bit cold toward them.

~

Arizona heat

left your grandson by the roadside

when his tires melted down.

That Coyote’s howl

serves as a sonic challenge

my dogs are keen to answer.

~

All it takes for ours

to rise to the bait are steps

moving up the long house ramp.

It can take some time

to say something meaningful

in line, verse, and rhyme.

~

Oh, politicians!

Please take equal time and care

when drafting your rhetoric!

No one thing costs less

and yields higher dividends

than genuine courtesy.

~

It’s worth investing

in that clear and simple truth,

the best stock on the market.

Speaking of fathers,

I impartially attest

you’re one of the best.

~

At least I never

made my son seem less a man

to make myself feel more one.

Caught in a vortex,

not the fun Sedona kind,

some things fall by the wayside.

~

Sometimes we let them

go and sometimes we retrace

our steps, bend, and pick them up.

Summer colds aren’t so

hot, which is why, believe it

or not, I have gone to pot.

~

Smoking wacky weed

won’t quite make breathing a breeze,

but will shift your perspective.

Our lives like rivers

Roaring from their origins

Meandering near the end

~

Flowing along ’til

at last they join ocean’s vast

and open embrace.

Listen to the crows.

They can teach you how to crow

and squawk as needed.

~

Such learning must be

mandatory for those in

political arenas.

Some people never

learn from making huge mistakes;

naming them great victories.

~

Thinking they can’t be

outtrumped, they simply move on

to another game.

I was all booked up

and ready to read, but fell

fast asleep instead.

~

Your body informs,

in ways that books never will,

exactly what you needed.

Some reap benefits

as if it were their just due;

eschewing obligations.

~

And the question is

why do we elect them so

they can do what they just do.

What does it say if

one continues to support

what is unsupportable?

~

Some can not admit

any error in judgement

fearing what truth will reveal.

If a President’s

guilty of financial crimes,

why should I pay my taxes?

~

You are better than

the former president as

are all honest citizens.

No need to lose your

cool. Just grab this chance to walk

your heated emotions off.

~

I’d need lots more shoes

to walk off the endless heat

from his vapid rhetoric.

As the spring succumbs

to summer prematurely,

will we, somehow, keep our cool?

~

In the last few days,

Spring made a major comeback

thus helping us keep our cool.

Dancing in the dark,

those lightning bugs bring pleasure

to all who see them.

~

Raving in the dark

those who blind themselves equate

Conspiracy with Justice.

Some people keep score,

not by account balances

but, by services rendered.

~

Settling scores or

keeping them can be a trap

that ensnares us with numbers.

When there are no words,

we sometimes try to speak

but fail to get what we seek.

~

Silence speaks volumes

if one has the natural wit

to sit still and listen close.

Poetic effort

is, sometimes, not required

for the pen to hit the pad.

~

But without effort

and poetry, we mainly

end up with just lists.

We’re a free country.

May we always remember

the price so many have paid.

~

But do not believe

they made those sacrifices

so we could limit freedoms.