How many roads must

a dog owner walk before

his dog takes a dump?

~

The answer, my friend,

will be hiding in the leaves

before your long walk is through.

Going off half cocked

rarely solves any problems

but it makes life interesting.

~

Half-cocked solutions

lose their appeal unless your

name is Donald Trump.

What if we brought the

refreshing rain of reason

to our national discourse?

~

Those able to think

will rise above the muddy

flood of hostile rhetoric.

Dare we close our eyes

lest violent hatered becomes

the new American pass time?

~

Let’s dare to use the

disarming practice of love

and sensible gun control.

If you voted in 

 the primaries, you could have 

a chance to second your choice.

~

Always choose to vote

even if there is no chance

your choice will be seconded.

Do you feel the Pulse,

echoing within your soul,

fresh, now, as a year ago?

~

Last year’s Orlando

tragedy still echoes strong, 

unfixed by presidential tweets.

Whistle while you work

and your bored coworkers can

either rage or sing along.

~

When the song is done

and your coworkers still sing,

how can we regain silence?

When apathy strikes,

is it just a passing fad

or a taste of entropy

~

Individual

indifference can lead to

systemic breakdown.

When life tosses us

a sailing frisbee of joy,

let’s catch it and pass it on.

~

And when life hurls us

huge steaming piles of dung,

dodge it like a congressmen.

When we wear more hats

than Bartholemew Cubbins

how can we not lose our heads?

~

While wearing those hats,

we can keep ahead if we

root ourselves in heart and soul.

Where will he go and

what will he find when power

and money are no refuge?

~

Perhaps he can lease

a substandard apartment

in Jarred’s Baltimore slum?

When endless running

fails to produce a result,

where should we put our best foot?

~

 Endless running gets

us nowhere, so lets put our

 feet up and see what’s right here.

Do you think we can

leave our bad moods behind if 

we see beauty before us?

~

Walking in beauty

is more a matter of choice

than about a location.

L’ Appel du vide.

Can’t they tell what they’re hearing

in his condescending voice?

~

When his voice calls from

the great void that is his mind, 

his followers leap off cliffs.

This parenting stuff –

what wisdom have you gained from

your time of boots on the ground?

~

I find boots are best

firmly planted on the ground

rather than on the buttocks.

Some must have their way

regardless the horrid price.

One more Pyrrhic victory.

~

Sometimes we have to

lose the battle to win the

war with others and ourselves.

Do you think the moon

whispers secrets to the stars

as we lie asleep?

~

As we lay sleeping

celestial conferences

ebb and flow above our bed. 

Reaping the whirlwind

takes such a ferocious toll,

do we care who sowed the wind?

~

What matters most when

whirlwinds rage is compassion

joined with clarity.

With summer almost

upon us, any advice

for kids and parents?

~

Find the time to break

away from work and go play

together sometime each day.

Oh, the aroma

of peach and hickory smoke

rising slowly from the grill.

~

A time of year filled

with enticing smells making 

mouths water and stomachs growl.

 Who do you think will

ultimately win this late

spring tug of war, sun or rain?

~

Although wind and rain

may seem to carry the day,

in the end, the sunshine wins.

Any brief reprieve

from welcome summer swelter

may bring unwelcome relief.

~

Masochists welcome

summer swelter and bewail

relief even if it’s brief.

When an attack on

the press becomes physical,

brutality trumps reason.

~

In Big Sky Country,

brutality is common

frequently without reason.

Must we educate

our children to fear and hate

instead of to love and care?

~

Fear and hate stifle

curiosity, deaden

the souls of teachers and taught.

Maybe it’s better

to lay off when my mondo

partner is laid low.

~

Wasting breath on verse

even to one’s dying gasp

is a mark of high regard.

When the crud’s creeping,

smothering each breath beneath

wheezing, what is one to do?

~

One rests, takes prescribed

medication, types their post,

struggles with crudulity.

How many guns do 

we have to sell in order

to buy hearts and minds?

~

Hearts and minds are bought

by offering open hearts

and holding our minds open.

It’s easier to call

all the shots from your arm chair.

Have you found this true, Donald?

~

He doesn’t sit still,

they say. He shoots from the hip

as he slithers, tweets, and twitters.

Do those in power

have the heart to do not what’s

expedient, but what’s right?

~

Power is heartless.

It requires direction

to produce meaningful work.

How far can you push

a bruised and fractured ego

before all reason tatters?

~

Also how far can 

such an ego push before

national patience shatters?