Oh no, they’ve forecast

snow. What a back and forth time

we are living in.

~

Inconsistency

has become, these days it seems,

America’s calling card.

Like some film noir

version of “Meet the Parents”;

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?

~

Try not to star in 

this particular film noir.

Swallow your words. Eat discreet.

There’s no escaping

family, no matter how far

you go. Thanks for being there.

~

That’s what family’s for;

being there, even from here,

a thousand miles away.

So much for planning!

We’re rolling with the punches;

unexpected snow showers.

~

All is not lost. You

and your camera will  capture

the unexpected.

So far what have you

learned from your joint venture to

the great state of Missouri?

~

Lightning in woodlands

and lightning on the prairies

are very different beasties.

Why not place tariffs

on presidential blather,

a for sure money maker?

–

Then, we could get paid

by the word not the thought like

thirties pulp fiction writers.

Today March lions,

roaring and blustering, stalk

across the greening landscape.

~

Shifting winds sweep o’er

our land, imitating Trump

and his policies and tweets.

As you embark on

this road trip with your son, what

are you looking forward to?

~

Time away from work,

places to go and people

to see and pictures to take.

Alabaster bones

standing, clad, in tattered rags,

beside the quiet river.

~

A horrifying

sight or just some sycamores

clad in winter attire?

It’s true, isn’t it,

that some days it’s just one thing

after another?

~

On a day like that

it’s sometimes best to breathe deep

and pray for some contrition.

On the other hand,

those Marching lions and Lamb’s

will wreck the early flowers.

~

Unless the lion

lies down with the lamb and from

them flowers can grow.

As February

draws to a close, is there one

thing about it you will miss?

~

What is there to miss;

the variable weather

and raging influenza?

Marching up and down

a rainy college campus;

not highly recommended.

~

You mean you were not

singing a jaunty tune as

you marched to a younger beat?

Maybe we should move

from Ars Politico to

Ars Poetica.

~

On what we focus

tends to fill our frame of mind

coloring all other scenes.

Is there some omen

in that murder of corvids

swarming about the flagpole?

~

How does that saying

go – ” run it up the flagpole

and see who salutes”?

Even birds know when

to tweet and when not to – a

feat beyond our president.

~

Foolish sparrows tweet

when the hawks are circling,

thinking they’re invincible.

A day without news

even sponsored by illness

has been a welcome respite.

~

Sometimes we just need

a newsless break to gather

will and wit to compensate.

If our leaders were

mentally healthy we’d have

rational gun control laws.

~

Fear and self loathing

weigh heavily on the mind

even of powerful souls.

When the foggy dawn

is the perfect metaphor

for my sinuses, what then?

~

Your body of work

will consist of fog and phlegm,

but not a cold heart.

Lately I’ve wondered,

on these dial-your-weather

days, which dark souls select bleak.

~

The bleakest weather

selected by darkest souls

cannot dampen joyful hearts.

Spare the platitudes,

hollow, empty “thoughts and prayers”;

while you bank on inaction.

~

 One survivor said, ” You

shrug off dead kids but freak out

over rainbow wedding cakes.”

In addition to

offering thoughts and prayers,

what if we took some action?

~

If we took action

we would be obligated

to own the consequences.

Undying passion,

on this day of Valentines,

does this thing really exist?

~

Love and affection

really do exist, The world

has never needed them more.

Whereabouts art thou,

my fine fellow poet? I’m

longing to pen a response.

~

A day spent swimming

in the depths of mania

leaves little space for writing.

At the Olympics,

our own vice president – just

how low can he go?

~

Not as high by half

as a youthful medalist

expressing jubilation!

Guess acerbic wit

is probably genetic;

watch for unintended bites.

~

From generation

to generation, wit with

a bit of a bite doth flow.

Asked for parenting

advice by some newlyweds;

said, “Always use a condom”.

~

 If that fails, take heart,

you can write bad poetry

like some sons and mothers do.

The American 

dream…has it become a game 

of Russian roulette?

~

Has it not always

been thus? Some capricious game;

an evil three-card monte?

Flying cars in space,

filled with science fiction tropes;

whatever’s that all about?

~

Technology we

have, but wisdom we lack – the

plight of modern man.