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?

A diagnostic

field day has been graciously

provided by our president.

~

Leaving armchair shrinks

ample room to speculate

on the madness of the chief.

With Mueller mulling

over all sins great and small,

will we learn the honest truth?

~

For the first time since

this season’s sins began, hope

for an honest outcome springs.

Amid all his tweets

and twitters do you ever

get the shakes and shivers?

~

That twittering tit,

such a narcissistic nit,

leads us to shivering fits!

At this hectic pace,

is it any wonder we

crave a hole to hide within?

~

If we want our world

to slow its spin, it’s about

time we look within.

Ok, let’s review.

What is it that happens when

good men do nothing?

~

Evil has a chance

to reign triumphant, at least

that’s what tea party signs say.

This glowing sunset

renews the weary spirit

after a day of showers.

~

So mesmerized was

I by sunset’s renewing

glow, I let all worry go.

What do we do when

we’re waylaid by wandering

minstrels of untruth?

~

Strike up the band,

play them an honest ballad,

and sing them right out of town.

The fastest sprinter

can’t outrun a tsunami

if he can’t find the high ground.

~

And neither can he

plumb the depths if it turns out

no depth can be found.

What fires is he

trying to put out when he

fires his fire fanner?

~

Perhaps he just likes

the sound his vocal cords make

when he utters, “You’re fired.”