Why are some deceived 

when infamous oligarchs

dress in populist clothing?

~

It is the custom 

of wolves to dress themselves in

sheeps’ clothing and dine quite well.

What is this process

of learning and unlearning?

Why can’t we just get it right?

~

Nothing is unlearned!

Some things learned must be relearned

in the process of progress.

Celebrate “Earth Day”

by amending behavior

and mending the damage done.

~

May we come to see 

ourselves as just one part of

an interdependent whole.

Answers are given

to questions that are not asked.

Is Spicer speaking?

~

When Spicer’s speaking,

as much as they may crave them,

nobody’s getting answers.

After this long day

aggressive decompression

just came out to play

~

After a long day

decompression, passive or

aggressive, goes a long way.

If we surrender

our need to control will we

become cogs in others’ wheels?

~

Control is a myth,

not something to surrender;

but we can gum up the works.

Can we be prepared

for coming atrocities

perpetrated in our name?

~

Let us begin now

to make such atrocities

a thing of the past.

He took it all, but

took nothing in so always

he had to go back for more.

~

Resources squandered

to no discernible gain

most always leave one hungry.

Must we just accept

petulant protestations

of our twitterer in chief?

~

They say a divine

spark is within each of us.

Reject tweets; look for the spark.

Once upon a time,

in a land so far away,

people lived in peace.

~

Fairy tales always

begin that way. How can we 

bring that far away land home?

Did you know that when

a group of poets gather

they’re referred to as a Heard?

~

It’s also well known

that gathering four poets

will produce a fifth.

How can we find joy

when we bathe, regularly,

in sludgy human psyche?

~

As kids we loved to

 play in mud. Perhaps we can

bypass adult aversion.

Who among us knows

how to find the best in those

who bring out the worst in us?

~

Remember; who pulls

from our darkest hidden moats

offer us the greatest growth.

In all history

has there ever been a more

asinine casus belli?

~

If you mean the feud

between Kushner and Bannon

I’d say definitely not.

When we find out where

all the flowers have gone, will

they turn up in Trump’s back yard?

~

All the flowers went

to R. E. Lee’s yard before;

why not Mar-a-lago now?

What could be better,

on a sunny spring morning

than a stroll through the garden?

~

A morning spring stroll,

a garden soaked in sun –

a tiny slice of heaven.

When they say something

is second to none, could it

mean it ranks third, fourth, or worse?

~

Second to none is

an unaimed superlative;

either awesome or horrid.

Is the handwriting,

at long last, upon the wall

or is it smoke and mirrors?

~

The script has been large

and staring us in the eyes 

if we’d only look.

How do you know when

it is better not to do

rather than to do?

~

No matter the choice

an opportunity cost

will surely apply.

Snow balls and clear skies

bathing in the warming sun;

does this mean that spring has come?

~

How astute of you

to read these signs and make an

accurate surmise.

When every which way

we’re thwarted, how do we get

ourselves resorted?

~

To get resorted

we resort to resistance,

thereby thwarting the thwarters.

Perhaps poetry

can be crafted without words

and still convey some meaning?

~

Wordless poetry

is preferred by those who like

the ineffable.

After nearly nine

hundred poems, I still enjoy

our poetic give and take.

~

Giving and taking

images and ideas

result in lyric union.

In nearly three years,

almost nine hundred poems;

have we learned our lessons yet?

~

As long as poets

have words, there will be questions

and endless answers.

Sometimes it’s best to

act; other times it’s best to

wait.  What will help us decide?

~

Never act before

you have gathered ample facts;

also, don’t procrastinate.

When is it easy

to ferret out self interest

in politicians policies?

~

There’s always a bit

of self interest. What’s harder

to ferret out is how much.

After several

days of much welcomed sun, can

we warm to new visitors?

~

Sorry I’m so late;

I was enjoying the sun

with unwelcome vistors!

When the silence grows,

filled only by cricket chirps,

do we dread the next great noise?

~

Whether the great noise

comes from without or within,

cricket chirps are much preferred.

If consistency

is the hobgoblin of small

minds, is Trump’s a bigly mind?

~

Inconsistency

is not always a virtue

but neither is discipline. 

So, to be or not

faithful to our ideals

even unto death?

~

When the time comes, each

will answer such a question

for themselves alone.