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.

Guests from distant lands

remind us that our fellowship

transcends all earthly boundaries.

~

 These united states

of fellowship connect us

to ourselves and each other.

Staring long into

that dark, bottomless, abyss,

willing thoughts to manifest…

~

It’s every writer’s

fate to sit at that abyss

and wait, and wait and…

The day got away

and my mind fled town. What can

be done, my fine son?

~

Revel in the likes

bestowed on our empty page;

our fine wordless poetry.

Screwtape Letters comes

to an unplanned, prolonged pause.

Was it the devil’s doing?

~

Tempting the saintly:

this surprise intermission

may lead some to the snack bar.

Must unexpected

contact always engender

caution, distrust, suspicion?

~

The way we react

to the unexpected, can

tell us much about ourselves.

He looks at the world

with soft eyes, a tender heart,

and an open mind.

~

And in so doing,

rent asunder the dark veil

revealing glimmers of hope.

That murder of crows

brawling at the pasture’s edge,

for what scraps are they scrapping?

~

It’s possible they

are mimicking us, hoping

we’ll catch on in time. 

As they look forward,

I look back and see the ways

they, once so very shy, have grown

~

Grown in impatience

and weary condescension

evidenced by their groaning.

Let’s change our focus

from daily complaints

to what feeds our souls.

~

Compassionate acts,

performed without agenda;

truly a feast worth sharing.

Because lichen can thrive

in hostile environments

doesn’t mean everyone can.

~

 Like us, lichens need

clean, fresh air to survive and

we’re threatening even that.

In this modern age,

it seems every call to arms

should foster skepticism.

~

Instead, in these times

it’s the call to have a heart

that evokes skepticism.

What happens when the White House

decides who can talk

and what they can say?

~

The message remains

consistent and the party

continues on unchanging.