Self-inflicted wounds

often take more time to heal;

needing stronger medicine.

~

As the wise ones say,

pain is inevitable,

suffering is optional.

Closed minded people;

always with their mouths open,

never with their ears.

~

When we open our

minds, ears, hearts, and arms, we’ll speak

a language richer than words.

What road have we been

traveling that has brought our

nation here from there?

~

Thankfully, the road

less traveled, commonly called

the highway to ersatz greatness.

Since we can not trust

our fellow man’s self control,

what’s our remaining option?

~

We could begin by

controlling easy access

to lethal weapons.

Why can we not see

the damage fast approaching

when we deny our devoir?

~

 Self absorbed, we can

not hear the call of duty

or see what our deafness brings.

When everywhere you

turn, you’re blocked, is it just time

to get off the road?

~

When all roads are blocked,

that’s the time to blaze a trail

across trackless wilderness.

Whoops! Time grabbed my mind

and took off down memory

lane, leaving today behind.

~

Omphaloskepsis

is a most worthy pastime

as the twilight approaches.

Those incessant tweets?

Only a rat infested

mind could be composing them.

~

Soon, the only rats

left will reside in that head,

all the others having fled.

When there’s work to do,

kids are sure to alert you

with sudden, welcome, absence.

~

Perhaps they learned it

from watching Congress and Trump

leave town when there’s work to do.

When appeals to love

and reason are ignored, is

all that’s left self-interest?

~

When love and reason

fail to sway the hearts and minds,

go fetch a great big hammer.

Is “gullible” stamped

in neon across my brow

such that labors are assumed?

~

One look into your

caring eyes, my son, and folks

have got your number.

Could that toad that came

to our door be telling us,

 “Go back where you came from”?

~

Toads frequently say

horribly offensive things,

certain they’re closet princes.

When laughter fills our

throats and shakes our bellies, there

is no room for hate.

~

Since Schadenfreude

will keep us in this wicket,

maybe mirthful mudita?

Was Yeats prescient?

“The Second Coming”

seems to have arrived.

~

The Center, devoid,

can not possibly contain

those convictionless slouches.

Soft morning birdsong

a joyful daily greeting-

so much nicer than the news.

~

Morning birdsong beats

the news AND those annoying

tweets from you-know-who.

Life invites us to

its grand sing-a-long even

if we can’t carry a tune.

~

We can all carry

many happy merry tunes-

but some of us need buckets.

Tables of strangers

who are, somehow, family;

and familiar anyhow.

~

There’s something about

sharing a meal together…

differences can be tabled.

How creative we’d

 be if each generation

left its box, breathed some fresh air.

~

For the last four years,

have we not been proving that

different blooms cross pollinate?

Penetrating heat;

a, briefly welcome, respite

after hours in A/C.

~

When we get too much

of one thing, we begin to

long for the other.

What’s a good way to

handle the rising heat – both

internal and external ?

~

Seek the quietude

of shade beside still waters

and soak in that cool embrace.

Lazy afternoons

in these summer mountain vales

harken back to simpler times.

~

With no place we have

to go and nothing we have

to do, we can catch our breath.

Unspeakable acts

must be spoken of. Silence

perpetuates harm.

~

Despicable deeds

by deplorable dastards

demand denunciation.

Both perseverance

and perseveration are

facets of the same hard stone.

~

  Though they share a base,

one facet is carved from free

intent. The other is not.

How would things change if

we treated each moment as 

a friend who needs our presence?

~

Ulcers would abound,

all those moments demanding,

rudely, our rapt attention!

More often than not,

quantitative metrics fail

to demonstrate quality.

~

How many folks does

it take to change a light bulb?

More is not better.

Though I’m here in my

native land, I feel I’ve been

transported to foreign shores.

~

Sometimes a stranger

can find oneself in strange lands

without even leaving home.

These hot July days

don’t feed my spirit or warm

my soul. They just burn me up.

~

Not so long ago,

we lamented winter’s chill

and wished, fervently,

for heat.