I wish I could say

I’d live to see the day he’d

lead with reason and fair play.

~

In this troubled age,

roiled masses vent their rage

by maligning every sage.

Measures of success

often, inadvertently,

speak volumes of our failures.

~

Each accomplishment

carries with it the burden

of relinquishment.

School’s back in session.

Learning resumes – except in

certain Washington quarters.

~

Some folk still belong

in remedial classrooms,

study halls, and detention.

Outrageous orange,

salmon, scarlet, and sanguine:

this post-storm palette on high.

~

Aftermath beauty

a natural solace for our

exhausted, storm-weary souls.

Even the weather

is teasing us – one minute

the sun, the next, a downpour.

~

This twisted weather,

so, so unpredictable,

No global warming! Trust me!

Cloudbursts and lightning,

gales and inundation; just

more adolescent weather.

~

It sounds like you’ve been

reading some of the latest

presidential tweets.

If it’s wisdom we’re

after, where do you suggest

we begin to look?

~

Start by looking back

at the bitter lessons learned

from our myriad failures.

Why must some feel robbed

of the chance to battle nature

when fate’s winds grant a reprieve?

~

They may not realize

 we may win a battle, but

we will always lose the war.

Why rush around in

circles, chasing our own tales

when we could just pen them in?

~

Penning our own tales

sure takes way less energy

than dashing ’round living them.

Uncertainty cones

and spaghetti model plots;

upon what may we rely?

~

Ah, sweet paradox –

the only thing upon which

to rely -uncertainty.

About the time we’ve

weathered one storm, another

appears on the horizon.

~

In this changed climate,

weathering storms has become

the quintessential life skill.

With an iron clang,

for better or for worse, all

doorways to her past slam shut. 

~

The irony of

doorways that clang shut is they

can be portals to new life.

Who’s looking and who’s

seen when we pause and take time

to gaze into our own eyes?

~

With lengthy regard,

common meaning becomes lost;

inner mysteries revealed.

” One of these things is

not like the others. One of

these… doesn’t belong.” Which one?

~

All of them belong

beneath a tent, big enough,

if our narrow minds allow.

Why manage crises?

Another just arises

like a phoenix from the ash.

~

Though we can manage

 crises as they arise, joy

may need some cultivation.

 Those wild golden

 blooms and the rising sun erased

morning blues today.

~

That same golden orb,

in its blazing mid-day glare,

bleached the blue from the sky too.

A quiet repast;

near perfect punctuation

for momentous decisions.

~

Having dashed around

filled with exclamation points,

quiet periods refresh.

Showing up matters.

Listening with open heart

and mind matters more.

~

If listening fails

and hearts remain frozen shut,

it’s probably born of fear.

As we wait upon

the slow turn of progress’ wheels,

how can we best spend our time?

~

Corny as it may

sound, we can learn to embrace

each fleeting moment.

Has last night’s success

with blank verse gone to your head

and left you wordless?

~

On the contrary.

Collapsing closet ceilings

have left me breathless.

Our wordless poem,

invisible words on a 

blank page, was well regarded.

~

Perhaps adding words,

although deepening meaning,

would curb popularity?

Can we strive for that

“ancient, antiquated code”;

integrity and honor?

~

We have to start to

recognize that winning is 

not everything; how matters.

When the stress adds up

and you’re already down, what

gets you to the median?

~

Overcoming stress

under every circumstance,

takes more than average effort.

Weighing benefits

between conflicting view points

seeing deficits in both

~

Weighing both sides for

deficits and benefits?

You must not be from Fox News.

“By their fruits you shall

know them” and we do. Rotten,

they cling to decaying trees.

~

Fetid they shall fall,

all in the fullness of time,

intoxicating the worms.

Ahh… futility

howling into the abyss

begging for any reply.

~

Sometimes the reply

can’t be heard over our own

  ravenous howling.

Just how many laws

will be broken and ethics

breached before justice is done?

~

Every narcissist

knows neither ethics nor laws

apply to their lofty selves.

All journeys begin

from another journey’s end;

so where are we now?

~

So often we have

no idea where we are,

beginning, middle, or end.