“Something there is that

 doesn’t love a wall”… but we

know someone who does.

~

Walls, by their nature,

both serve to keep people out

And also to keep folk in.

This culture of hate:

is it independent of

antisocial media?

~

Alas, hate predates

media of any kind,

but then so does love.

When hearts and minds shut

down, why are we surprised when

governments do too?

~

Under hammer blows

of repulsive rhetoric,

why would hearts or minds unfurl?

Why do some insist

on falsely labeling things

with the worst possible name?

~

That ancient adage, 

“It takes one to know one,” comes

instantly to mind.

So many snow days –

kids out of school. We need strength

to follow the golden rule.

~

And yet another!

Cold education reaver,

leaving us with cabin fever.

When the day’s demands

flow like an endless river,

how long can we swim upstream?

~

When we swim against

our inner current, even

a short lap lasts way too long.

What if we tried to

 look through the eyes of someone

with a different point of view?

~

The view of ourselves

seen through those foreigners eyes

would likely not flatter us.

As we wait round two

of this horrid winter mix,

how do we ever prepare?

~

Are you speaking of

the horrid mix of weather or

winter return of Congress?

My fine poet, why 

search for answers to questions

we don’t yet know how to ask?

~

More often than not,

finding an answer leads to

even deeper questioning.

Seems Donald John Trump

is Dunning-Kruger effect

living and personified.

~

A man who is too 

stupid to know how stupid 

he is…hmm, who comes to mind?

“It takes one to know

one.'” Does this apply to some

recent remarks of D.Trump?

~

A classic hallmark

of the profoundly disturbed

is anosognosia.

Fast and furious

may make for entertainment

but is it a way to live?

~

It’s the way many

of us live, but I wouldn’t

suggest it as a way of life.

If, perchance, your son

asked for your sage advice as

he leaves home, what would you say?

~

If he deigned to ask,

I would, perforce, endeavor

to give better than I got.

Is seeking power

simply for that power’s sake,

different from gluttony?

~

We can eat because

we are hungry. Gluttony

means we don’t know when to stop.

How many records

must be broken before we

acknowledge there’s been a change?

~

See! This record cold

underlines the blatant lie

of man-made global warming!

In the daily rush,

time can, somehow, escape us,

leaving tasks uncompleted.

~

Every now and then

such timely escapes are good 

for the soul. Some tasks can wait.

When a relaxed flow

will take us where we want to

go, why do we push and flail?

~

Sometimes, we believe,

journeys require toil

to magnify their value.

Cradled in their arms,

vast calla lily bouquets,

offer a phantom of hope.

~

Hope is no phantom

when reminders of sacred

renewal are stirred.

If Trump leads the way

should we follow his sleigh right

smack into oblivion?

~

Some horses asses

assist us in our journeys,

but some just bray like asses

Calm seems to prevail,

for but the briefest moment,

before the chaos returns.

~

Limiting time spent

 on social media or

news could change the ratio.

Will the supermoon

have been too high a jump for

our president Donald Trump?

~

Some just lack the juice

to jump o’er the supermoon,

being… less… than super men.

If the Grinch hosts huge

holiday parties, will folks

know who’s picking their pockets?

~

Once  the parties end

folks will see their pockets were 

picked by tweets and  promises.

Of all that you could

do to bring about change, to

what one thing will you commit?

~

Art brings about change

of hearts and minds and cultures.

I commit to all beauty.

Enjoy the silence

whenever nature gives it:

cacophony soon returns.

~

Around here the time

nature allots to silence

occurs when I’m fast asleep.

When sun’s warm light fills

the sky does it bring hope on

these bone chilling days?

~

On bone chilling days

hope is all that can warm us,

with or without sallow sun.

Distant echoing

yips and howls and cackling:

coyotes in the distance.

~

Distant coyotes 

are not to be feared; those who

silently prowl close by are.

I hear in your voice

the poignant awareness that

your boy has become a man.

~

And is on the road,

again, in this winter chill,

answering the siren’s song.

A blast from the past,

blew into town this winter,

Arctic chill, nearly forgotten.

~

Cold-hearted Santas,

promising gifts, have always

been with us and are here now.

 What are some standards

for judging holiday time

with family a success?

~

Of many yardsticks,

the best holiday measures

are sweat, bloodshed, and tear fall.

A Joyous Yuletide

remains, still, within our grasp

if we keep our focus close.

~

May our focus be

gentle and our arms open

wide to embrace this Yuletide.