To those teacher’s names

long lost in my memory

your efforts aren’t forgotten.

~

We may not recall

your names, but what you taught us

is foundational.

Red signs everywhere,

asking for votes for a guy

who’s endorsed by Trump.

~

Political signs

maladorning the landscape;

unwelcome autumn color.

Today, I saw him

flitting, briefly, to repose

awhile on the milkweed.

~

Such a sight can bring

delight, especially when

we need it the most.

When winning is more

important than principle,

integrity bites the dust.

~

It’s easy to lose

more than you anticipate

when winning’s your only goal.

When plans fall apart,

how can we pick up pieces

and move forward as before?

~

We can move forward

but not like before. Now we

have some new pieces.

The slowly turning

leaves announce the arrival

of colorful October.

~

Turning leaves herald

approaching crisper weather…

among other things.

Is it irony

when our most cherished beliefs

are not supported by facts?

~

It is ironic

when our passionately held

truths turn out to be fiction.

Nothing light, nothing

heavy – just a much welcomed

ordinary day.

~

… at least, what passes

for ordinary in these

extraordinary times.

It’s an achievement;

I’ve been blogging seven years?

So they would have me believe!

~

And how long have we,

fellow poet, been blogging

daily with one another?

Today I offered

a silent thanks. Things worked out

better than I thought they would.

~

Low expectations

offer us greater chances

to be pleasantly surprised.

When we are surprised

by something unexpected,

why conceal our reaction?

~

Surprises sometimes

leave us frozen, unable

to feel or react.

There’s something about

a dog that invites us to

relax, let go, and have fun.

~

Positive regard,

canine’s stock in trade, breeds

self-actualization.

Love trumps logic

and financial common sense .

It’s this that makes us humane.

~

Love is a logic

of the heart that is deeper

than pockets will ever be.

Why play ego games

with the economy when

we all have so much to lose?

~

Modern politics;

studies in aggrandizement

at the cost of Statesmanship.

Action long delayed

yields immense satisfaction,

when, finally, undertaken.

~

Then we shake our heads

and wonder what in the world

made us wait so long.

Is there anything

that spells contentment as much

as cats basking in the sun?

~

Maybe pigs in slop

are equally contented,

but oddly less appealing.

Beneath the night sky

we walk with flashlights, waiting

for the rising moon.

~

She, upon rising’s,

clad in orange; homage to

forest fires, far away.

That smoke and mirrors

they use to obscure the facts,

only proves there’s a fire.

~

Fires, used rightly,

can provide warmth and light, but

they’d call it socialism.

Poems await their

poets and their poets wait

for inspiration.

~

Inspiring words

often arrive a bit late,

leaving us poets hungry.

Get your hands dirty,

they said, it builds character,

they said, with un-calloused palms.

~

With calloused hearts, they

proclaim while their characters

could use some cleaning.

Three yellow flowers

shimmering in the sun – though small

they lit up my day.

~

And three butterflies

flitter between them all day

under the shimmering sun.

Introducing men

to the meaning of manhood‘s

not about testosterone.

~

Indeed it isn’t,

and what a blessing it will

be when that news spreads.

When poets argue,

do they do so in rhyme and

does verse make it worse?

~

We seek out the wurst

poetry has to offer.

Don’t contend this is a crime.

I can’t bring myself

to dwell in anger or grief

for events decades ago.

~

What can we learn from

our fear based reactions to

those past heart wrenching events?

The morning light on

rain soaked trees – a wet welcome

to a bright, sparkling day.

~

Hopeful harbinger

to the coming icy rime

of November’s frost-clad limbs.

Great expectations

inevitably result

in crushing disappointment.

~

Sometimes, but sometimes,

like with the first moon landing,

those expectations paid off.

At dinner tonight

Knox explained to me his plight.

He’s a young dog and I’m old.

~

Grant him your blessing

to galavant with others

so he’ll not abandon you.

When will people learn?

There are things you just don’t stop

without great transition plans.

~

Transitions occur.

Sometimes we have a chance to

plan for them and sometimes not.

Oh, wee fox, it’s night

and not the time to be in

the road looking for dinner.

~

Dining on the road

Is never recommended…

for neither beasts nor humans.

Bowling with brothers

over a pitcher of brew

is what family’s all about.

~

Being together

no matter what’s brewing does

strengthen family bonds.