What might a chipmunk

want a poet to know and

what keeps him silent?

~

His message is lost,

be it mundane or profound,

muffled by cheeks full of nuts.

When the fire burns

or when the rain doesn’t fall,

are we better off than trees?

~

It’s all a matter

of whom the question is asked –

each of us or all the trees.

As we sit and look

at the forest, can you tell

me what we can learn from trees?

~

Each tree can teach us

that we are at the mercy

of forces beyond control.

How can we prepare,

now, in this summer, for fall,

lest we be caught, unaware?

~

Rather than prepare

for what’s not yet come, why not

enjoy what’s right here?

When the day is done

what do you look back upon

with pleasure and a smile?

~

The problems I solved

that they didn’t know they had

in ways they can’t understand?

As the days heat up

right along with politics,

can we ever keep our cool?

~

A breath of fresh air

can lower the heat of both

days and politics.

When the powerful

are held to a different set

of rules, how do we keep hope?

~

Just hope that justice

has been served and the noisey

rhetoric is sour grapes.

Does it seem to you

that choosing the least of three

evils is an evil choice?

~

  Faced with no choice but

to choose, a choice based in love

can’t be considered evil.

If I hold the reins

while someone else draws the plow,

do I become the tyrant?

~

 If you use the reins

only to guide and steady,

you’re no tyrant then.

.

When caught between rocks

and hard places, how would you

suggest we get out?

~

In that narrow space

between rocks and hard places

is where souls are finely milled 

And if by some chance,

we shed our yoke of bondage,

will our fields ever get plowed?

~

Wouldn’t you like to

 hold the reins as you plow fields

of your own making?

When orbits decay,

does a falling body know

where’s the point of no return?

~

 Brits might say knowing

arrives when reality 

finally comes crashing in.

Is it a matter

of talent, influence, or

luck that leads to prominence?

~

Never trust in luck

but when talent and skill fail,

influence buys infamy.

What is more boring

and frightening than waiting

for the other shoe to drop?

~

Listening to thud

after thud of thoughtless words

falling from Trump’s foaming mouth.

When sun lights up trees

 at evening’s end, might we reflect

on light and endings?

~

In this life cycle,

the fading daylight opens

doors for glorious evenings.

Would you rather have

everything you want, or want

everything you have?

~

When younger I would

have chosen the former, but

now I would choose the latter.

Has gravity been

trumped by a politician

with very small hands?

~

Voting should be more

“the product of the masses”

not “the distance between them”.

Must one climb the hill

in order to more fully

appreciate the valley?

~

When one is truly

over the hill, it’s likely

appreciation will come.

What will be lost if

we follow blindly he who

 lacks both vision and compass?

~

One who dons the spurs,

and takes the cockpit blindly

likely’s fated for the pot.

Speaking of roosters

needing no ego boosters;

when’ll he learn he’s a cock?

~

According to him,

he has nothing left to learn.

What a crock for such a cock!

If some guys count their

chickens before they hatch, are

they political pollsters?

~

Not political;

but perhaps poult pollsters or, 

possibly, poultry pundits?

Do you still long for

all those endless youthful days

of lazy summers long past?

~

The longing is not

for lazy summers past but

for a lazy summer now.

Are there questions that

shouldn’t be asked and answers

that shouldn’t be given?

~

A question unasked

can not receive an answer;

but answers may be ignored.

As summer arrives,

will our flower gardens thrive,

or just fight to beat the heat?

~

We can give nature

a gentle assist and it

will make all the difference. 

After bluster, and

consequent devastation,

who polices the litter?

~

If those blusterers

policed themselves, there’d be no

consequent devastation.

Poetic partner

in crime, should we try to toe

a line more sublime?

~

Toeing lines sublime 

may lead us to take our mark

and thus pen fewer lemons.

When re-engaging

in long forbidden pass times,

how do we control the pace?

~

The matter’s clearly

about choice and knowing when

and what to control.

Is bending with each

passing wind nothing more than

a survival strategy?

~

Nothing says comfort

on a sultry Summer’s day

quite like swaying with the breeze.