When you don’t know which

way is up, is it better

to focus on down?

~

Our roots grow downward,

providing us with a base

from which to grasp Nirvana.

When sneezes explode

and coughing wracks your body,

how do you muster your drive?

~

The only drive you

need is one that will take you

straight to the doctor’s office.

What is the best way

to get through February

days that seem to never end?

~

There is a reason

those Romans relocated

two days into the summer.

I’m, to this server,

Sugar, Sweetie, Honeypie.

Perhaps you could tell me why.

~

 A little bit of

  sugar helps the medicine

go down and might even pay.

Is living in a house

filled with teenage drama queens

payback or preparation?

~

Payback for dramas

past and preparations for

dramas as of yet uncast.

  Can man and nature,

Like this palm tree in the snow,

Share this world’s bright sunny glow?

~

Sharing’s easy when

the sun’s bright, but the real test

comes when it’s gray, bleak, or night.

How far have we come

and what helps us stay focused

 when weary and old we grow?

~

Focusing upon

histories glorious pearls

will recharge our youthful glow.

When our day devolves

into a sea of sorrow,

where do we find a lifeboat?

~

Lifeboats abound if

we will but look around and

finding one, climb in.

If mares eat oats, why

should we when there’s ice

cream galore in yonder store?

~

A treat, everyday

quickly loses its luster

then nothing else will suffice.

What kind of culture

trusts rodents for the weather

and seeks leadership from clowns?

~

Uncultured cultures,

guided by superstition

where reason is Trumped by fear.

As we begin month

two, what should we sing that would

insure a flower-filled Spring?

~

When we’re summoning

flowers from the frozen earth,

Any joyful song may ring!

Floating in silence,

adrift in introspection,

is it peace we seek herein?

~

Whatever it is

we seek in such a space, may

we bring it forth with grace.

Technology – friend

or enemy of our need

to be connected?

~

A tool is a tool.

A friend in the wisest hand;

enemy held by a fool.

And again we come

upon a beginning’s end.

How will, forward, our way wend?

~

Endings can be hard.

 We may need to pause before

we start to begin again.

What are things coming

to when so many things seem

to be going bad?

~

When “from bad to worse” 

seem to be the rule du jour, 

we must keep our spirits pure.

Temperatures rise.

But why does this correlate

to a falling, moody, state?

~

I don’t know, but could

it be a reluctance to

return to ordinary?

Caught between post snow

and pre, what advice do you

have for me and thee?

~

When life bends you low,

like an over burdened tree,

shedding snow will set us free.

Weather patterns shift

How can we prepare ourselves

whether patterns shift or not?

~

What is it they say?

For best results prepare for

the worst and hope for the best.

Sweet togetherness –

how long before we long for

solitude amidst the snow?

~

There’s no solitude

for all these drifted snowflakes

frozen here, all together.

When silent, falling

flakes begin to pile high,

do our restless spirits fly?

~

Our restless spirits

fly the coop and find refuge

in the silent fall of snow.

Wintry weeks can be

blah and bleak. How can we find

the dash and color we seek? 

~

Perhaps a scarlet

flash dashing from limb to limb

will flush this bleak winter slush.

Golden Carp cares naught

for national politics.

Is he wrong to swim at peace?

~

If we didn’t carp

about politics, perhaps

we’d be at peace too.

How can we believe

negativity doesn’t 

pay when money’s raised on it?

~

If it bleeds, it leads:

journalistic truism.

Politics is just the same.

Do you have to be

“antisocial” in order

to be “anti socialist”?

~

This is a question

well worth pondering which means

the media won’t.

If Polyanna

and Trump walked into a bar,

what would they each drink?

~

It’s less a matter

of “what”, than whether it can

quench the unquenchable thirst.

How many times do

we turn the other cheek when

we only have two?

~

It’s not the number

of cheeks that count, but rather,

all the turnings that matter.

What do you expect

from life’s giant chocolate box

ever since we lost the lid?

~

I guess there’ll be no

cover-up so at least we’ll

have transparency.

How can we reclaim

misplaced dreams and gently bring

them into reality?

~

Manifestation

of our many dreams, misplaced,

takes all Shiva’s strength and grace.

As days grow longer

And night, increasingly brief,

how can we escape from grief?

~

Be it day or be

it night, there’s no escaping

grief. Give up the flight.

Why is schadenfreude

so much more satisfying

than the kinder mudita?

~

When we are deeply

satisfied ourselves, we grieve

for and rejoice with others.