When Christmas begins

in late September, what is

left for December?

~

What remains is that

which December always brings,

cold and snow and frigid dark.

Will donning the yoke,

though pleasing to the ploughman,

ever really please the horse?

~

Workhorses sometimes

don the yoke to survive and

learn to put pleasure aside.

They say one measure

of a man is how he treats

his dog. What say you?

~

Measured temperament

displayed both to man and beast

will prove a man’s full measure.

When inner tempests

remain despite autumn sun,

what else might shake the maelstrom?

~

Sometimes tempests aren’t

shaken by looking high. Go

slow, dive deep, look low.

When pots are calling

kettles black, have we entered

Donald’s fine kitchen?

~

It’s all another

integral, tasty, part of

America’s fine cuisine.

Rising and shining

has become a thing of dread.

How can we brighten the son?

~

Surely such a task,

dear son, requires baby 

steps. Just begin by rising.

Why do we wish for

perfection when it’s the flaws

that make us human?

~

Simple folk believe

recognizing their mistakes

somehow reduces their worth.

Must he obfuscate

his naked shallowness with

fear and vitriolic hate?

~

When we don’t know what

it means to be loved in our

nakedness, fear dominates.

What if we don’t want

to face that the problem is

not in the stars but in us?

~

Why then, of course, we

casually recall

that we are all just stardust.

What happens when we

seek our fortune in the stars,

but we find only problems?

~

Human stars have their

problems just like the rest of

us. Seekers, beware.

Why will people buy

that same old tasteless pablum

from a flashier huckster?

~

Insipid fare, served

with a flash, seduces folks

into thinking they’re well fed.

What prevents us from

following the best of us

in the worst of times?

~

When times get toughest

weary people seek safety

from overbearing fathers.

As nights grow longer

and time in the sun grows short,

how can we combat darkness?

~

Darkness, whether in

the natural world or in us,

is lessened when we bring light.

Can you envision

a nation where reason is

fostered and not fear?

~

Vision always fails

in a nation that fosters

fear over reason.

Wherein lies the joy

of allowing past foibles

to quietly fade away?

~

While the possessor

of foibles prefers fading,

others like the relating.

Is it possible

that the great teachers were right

and love is the source of all ?

~

Maybe not the source

but certainly the solace

for the many ills of life.

Whether the weather

Is windy, sunny, or wet,

Is the day filled with regret?

~

Internal climates

are changed by the stories we

tell ourselves throughout the day.

With Fall coming soon,

should we prepare for winter

or begin missing summer?

~

These changing seasons

bring a longing for the past

and a dread of the future.

How best to react

when casual bigotry

flows so freely all around?

~

Trying to grasp their

point of view could keep us from

casual bigotry too.

How many Trump fans

does it take to form just one

complete and coherent thought?

~

Thinking from that camp

is not incoherent, just

tinted with a bloody taint.

What do we discard

in our rush to newer things?

Are they really worth the price?

~

There is an appeal

in new things but their true worth

is shown by how well they age.

So…what do you know

that might ease the flow between

weary heart and tired mind?

~

Perhaps a cooling

wade in pebbled stream will help

us to find some peace of mind.

Who expects healing

within gray cinder block walls

or on verdant concrete lawns?

~

Hurt and healing take

place in both likely and quite

unlikely settings.

How do we keep our

minds when all about us, the

news tells us,”Don’t try”?

~

One way to assure

that no one will rock the boat

is to float a great big lie.

How dare we find joy

in simple acts of living

while death awaits in the wings?

~

One of the few dares

worth taking is this one, though

we know death surely awaits .

How can something so

simple be forgot?  Is it 

old age or simply my lot?

~

Sorry. I know you

can’t respond to a question

that was never asked.

As these decades pass

and the shock fades from our minds,

can we still address our wrongs?

~

As long as there’s breath

there’s time to address wrongs

done to us and the ones we’ve done.

We Americans

seem to think all problems have

solutions. What if they don’t?

~

Every problem does

have a solution but some

are fixed sans Americans.

Nearer the bottom

of the whiskey bottle lies

something; but is it the truth?

~

The word on the street

is that truth comes when we, not

the whiskey, hit rock bottom.