Be on the look-out

for acts of kindness. They are

more numerous than we think.

~

More numerous, yes,

but lacking in the drama

to command the news cycle.

Why must parenting

require endless patience

or, at least, a tone deaf ear?

~

Why ask your mother?

Think back on your growing-up

years. Isn’t the answer clear?

Without ideas

or even a clue, he tweets

from his nonexistent heart.

~

A situation

far from ideal, this faithless,

heartless, witless, twit leader.

Sometimes life trumps art,

but more often art exceeds

life’s mundane limitations.

~

To live in a way

that transforms limitations

is itself fine art.

Sometimes we throw words

together in a hurry

and make lousy poems.

~

… and sometimes the words

can string themselves together

absent a coherent thought.

Aren’t we all guilty;

viewing Congress with contempt

and the Oval Office too?

~

Those institutions

are not the source of contempt,

but some occupants stoke it.

Petulant bullies;

are these fitting exemplars

of American statesmen?

~

Those who are skillful,

experienced, and wise are

few but represent us best.

The vultures left to

feed on other flesh, leaving 

behind a rack of bare ribs.

~

Their feast concluded,

those insatiable vultures,

where shall they find their next meal?

Was it his last joke;

this mountain of documents,

some dating back sixty years?

~

Documented jokes

 weigh survivors down, but when

  laughter dies they’re still standing.

When tweeting and golf

take up so much time, how can

he be asked to govern too?

~

Maybe that’s why

his administration plays

so many strokes over par.

Has no one explained

he can’t balance the budget

just by imposing tariffs?

~

What if we imposed

a tariff on selective

ignorance and foolish deeds?

l

If, as they proclaim,

our system is so broken,

why don’t they just run amok?

~

 Why not heed Pete’s call

 for universal public

service and fix what’s broken.

Searching for acclaim,

he succeeded in making

a royal fool of himself.

~

“Everyone adores

my sartorial splendor!

I guarantee it!”

Some run for office

seeking glory and acclaim;

others, to be of service.

~

These competing goals

set the stage for all the acts

that will soon follow.

Top contenders for

the most erratic award –

Trump and the weather.

~

Heavy down-pouring

negative superlatives

flooding toward the nadir.

Can we not have youth

and wisdom concurrently?

Is there, in truth, no justice?

~

Alas, the harsh truth –

 wisdom is seldom present

no matter the age.

We never really 

know. One small step for you might

be a giant step for them.

~

To the crippled soul,

one small compassionate step

feels like a huge leap of faith.

Of tweeting the truth

he’s constitutionally

unable, or so it seems.

~

If he’d take to heart

the preamble, maybe he’d

strengthen his constitution.

Row after row of

freshly planted corn – rural

testament of faith.

~

Along comes a flood,

fueled by warming climate,

and faith is all that remains.

Some rites of passage

are to be celebrated,

others just endured.

~

It depends on where

you stand. Are you a witness

or participant?

If easy does it,

why do we continue to

make it really hard?

~

Most folk devalue

what they come by easily;

choosing labor over faith.

The ways we choose to

commemorate our fallen,

speak to what we hold most dear.

~

A fitting way to

honor their sacrifice is

to live lives worthy of it.

When the gardener

becomes completely unhinged,

Who will manage the vermin?

~

Nature has a way

of bypassing gardeners

as all rampant weeds know well.

When a president

rages in the rose garden,

do skies darken in Kansas?

~

Stormy visages

and incoherent bluster

won’t dim his faithful’s luster.

When will we react

to slowly increasing heat?

Are we not smarter than frogs

~

All creation took

a poll and they decided,

at this moment, no.

He hands out pyrite

in seeming oblivion

that his glitter has no gold.

~

Who’s fooled by fool’s gold –

the one who passes it out

or the ones who grab a load?

Why do we hurry

through our days when the sun, moon,

and stars keep a steady pace?

~

Perhaps we rebel

against time’s stately pace from

our ephemeral fears?

Rational people

can agree to disagree

while civility survives.

~

Oh Civility, 

Civility, wherefore art

thou, Civility?

If you knew where all

the flowers had gone, would you

let yourself pick one?

~

Those of us who’ve learned

listening to Uncle Pete,

pick neither fights nor flowers.

Are words relevant

when just hearing his voice breeds

instant incredulity?

~

Even though his words

lack credibility, WE

must speak. OUR words do matter.