Take a plane ungrateful one
to a distant land...
don't forget to walk the straightest paths
freedom bogs down quickly in shifting sand.
You may have to cover your body from head to toe
you may get a lash for dancing with your Beu
you may not be able to go for a walk alone.
You may be married off to a stranger
your worth measured in skinny cattle
You may lose a hand for stealing manna
Walk the straightest of paths ungrateful one
keep your faith close to the vest
or you'll spend years in prison
or even lose your head.
If they find out you're gay
it may be your last day earthly day
When you come back ungrateful one
will your vision still be opaque and narrow
as when you left
will you still burn- loot- rape - obstruct
will you still spit on freedom paid for in blood
will your privileged and entitled attitude shift
like the shifting sand just experienced.
will you still sashay the path of truth distortion
blinded by that selfish lens - so very opaque
Take a one-way plane ungrateful one
I don't think you'll ever change.
Love is non-mechanical
it doesn’t crank, pinion
or always work dependably.
In cavalier moments, I thought I knew
something of how it all works—
it’s apertures and shafts—
its grinds and reciprocations.
I’d judge it’s motions
work its levers, judge its spins,
and address its slippery angles.
You could call me obsessive
but obsessive people don’t
obsess this much.
You could call me compulsive
but the compulsive aren't
this compulsive.
All I can do is poise, balance
or swipe a little black credit card.
It’s the only magic I have.
I can’t turn bread into wine
or fish into water.
I can’t make the blind walk
the deaf to see or the lame to
taste again.
God reserves some miracles,
keeps them as close to the vest
as cards.
Jugglers work the circus,
mimes thrash to communicate,
and tightrope walkers fall.
.
.
Songs for this:
Viva la vida by Cold Play
When There Is Love by Karen Sokolof Javitch
The Rainbow Connection by Sarah McLachlan
.
.
How about a Christmas playlist! Because Christmas is in 10 days!
www.daweb.us/xmas/Christmas_29.mp3
Watching & waiting while in hiding
and faking
Views for the taking but unaware
what is waiting
Freezing & shaking but is it fear or
its weather?
Snapshots for the taking posing for
them cuz it's clever
Good best & better to shy away
from the faking
Shade is made by the sun but it's
above what it's making
Shaking what has been rooted
leaving behind hollow winds
Seeds will grow from your efforts
toward the sky lose or win
Unoriginal in sin as we have seen
this before
Jumping the broom of timelines
looking for knobs on the door
Turning in bed with a snore as if
you've slept through the test
Sleepy & lost in a dream snoozing
on good better best
Picture a snap at its best frozen
in moments of time
Painting a picture in jest with a
stoic face like a mime
Mimicking raps like a mime with
painted face like a canvas
The dry humor so wet that only
fish understand it
Above thee underhanded so keep
the slightest of hand
Close to the vest like a secret
ducking birds on their Stan
Peacock with a colorful stance
with truth outshining the lies
Your essence shines like the sun
& this is what is despised
March days in Ohio
sometimes a lion, sometimes a lamb
They often trade places, whenever they can.
Today: Hi 50's-open blue sky with napping winds.
the Sun makes all the difference.
Sweatshirt, jeans, shades dress the day. I sit in a
splendid, sunny, but humbling, silence knowing all
Earth is alive. Given her weathered wisdom, she
slowly begins to don her fresh Spring wardrobe. In this
realm there is no discrimination--all colors embraced,
one for all, all for one. All creatures in place with babes in tow-
links in a perfectly balanced, unbridled chain of harmonic grace.
Forecasters folly their lofty predictions, keeping them close to the vest,
while Rooten-Tooten rodents use shadow play tactics in their furry jest,
attempting to upstage and win the prized, fake meteorological test.
So Ditch your Dopplers, models and such, for we all know--
"Mother knows best"!
(the actual date was 3-23-2023.)
Nestlings
I write best
Close to the vest
I attest
It’s what I know
Best
In my nest
It’s what I
Behest
I write best
Close to the vest
Be my guest
I’ll unload
My chest
Be just like
An inner inquest
I write best
Close to the vest
Just sit tight
I’ll feed ya
The rest
Bill MacEachern
03/24/23
I oft find myself reliving my youth
uncovering uncomfortable truths
about all of my foibles and most of my sins
O, Lord! What condition my poor soul is in...
Whether daydreams or nightmares
each one gives me a scare
I'd played life so close to the vest
~ What might have been if I'd headed west
The first words openly spoken
Mama,is the soup hot yet ?
said as I
Sat on her hip
Mrs.Cotten
The visiting nurse
No longer
Could she quip
She'll talk when
She has something to say
Make her ask for
The things that she wants
A sibling referred to as
Little mama
taking her comments
As taunts
What they didn't see
As I looked on this world
With eyes that
had just turned three
That I stayed up
Often into the night
Quietly
Conversing with me
Holding my cards so
Close to the vest
No longer could willing
put to the test
The diligent love
Little mama ,
had unfailingly ,
tenderly expressed
With an arm wound
Securely about her neck
I decided,there and then
What the heck
As my sister called out
to Big Mama
these words I'll never regret
As I echoed them back into her ear.....Mama is the soup hot yet?
The love I have
for my sister
has always gone
Well and above
My sole experience
till my own
Children came
Of unadulterated love
Poker-faced
played his cards
close to the vest
'til the day
he forgot
to get dressed
I have opinionated friends.
Bonita will not wear a mask unless it is Halloween.
It violates her constitutional rights.
What about other people’s rights? I ask her.
She scoffs.
I have opinionated friends.
Shirley says all news that goes against her president is fake news.
Her president is her new god.
She has never been more fervent.
What if it is all a bit of real? I ask her.
She laughs.
I have opinionated friends.
Rita will not go outside because she is afraid of the Democrats.
Elise will not venture out because she is afraid of the Republicans.
What if they are just people too? I ask.
They both smirk and make fun of me
Behind my back.
I have opinionated friends.
Dorothy hates the liberals.
They are all the same.
They have the same mind set.
The same brain.
I like Dorothy, so I do not tell her I am a liberal.
I have opinionated friends.
Linda will not vote for a woman.
Ever.
For any office.
Women are dumb.
Says a lot about Linda.
I have opinionated friends.
I love them all.
Get along well with them too,
Keeping my opinions close to the vest.
So we can all get along and retain our friendship.
Waterloo Clerihew 23-Skidoo
Napoleon Bonaparte
1769 Corsica is where he got his start
One of the greatest commanders in history
His manner of death a 200-year-old mystery
Napoleon played it close to the vest
With his armies he was always the best
But 'twas nothing he could do
When he met his Waterloo
Lived his last few years under house arrest
Napoleon drank the water and headed for the loo
He did nothing different than you or I could ever do
Be kind to your skin and protect your bone-a-parts
Remember that's where good hygiene starts!
A slate soil though rocky grows grapes with more flavor,
Though few of earth's farmers might guess this is true,
The ground of man's planting can burnish his fate,
(Though men born on a rock field won't always relate).
What's planted on tilled ground, disaster can savor,
Won't need to put roots down, thinks luck is its due!
Good defense does help though where weeds are related
Though some are in general tougher to kill,
To fertilize seed in its hole in the ground
Gives crop jump start in life and results are profound,
An extra expense, but this trick gets weeds shaded,
To starve them of sunlight takes planning and skill!
Adversity helps us to see past the limits
Of current experience, truth’s not just ours,
And sometimes a friend’s soft suggestion is best!
Are our lives that ill-served when played close to the vest?
Let the wisest among us pay heed to the climates
That nourish all souls and help bless our home fires!
Brian Johnston
18th of October 2018
Criticism can cut close to the bone,
An area where sensitivity hides;
Make it rather close to the vest,
so squabble won't start from both sides.
Attitude in a cautious or
Reserved manner is pleasing;
Instead of insulting words,
one must use the art of evaluating.
Negative notice can bring
Elation to the ears and heart;
Sour sentence can be sweet,
so success won't fall apart.
Sincere statement deserves attention,
Offensive one makes heart as cold as ice;
Unbearable lines are deafening
as they are also sore to the eyes.
They are too bad to be accepted,
Harsh words as they are;
Wreaking havoc to one's senses,
leaving him with a big wound and scar.
Extremely spoken or written words
Cut completely the connection;
Too intense and cruel expression
makes it close to the bone.
Hesitation persists
Glazed over hurts, trying to push on
Turn a new page
Eyes open to possibilities uncharted
Waters unsure
But one thing remains
LOVE!
Let it shine through
Radiating in all directions for all to see
Still holding close to the vest
Scared to let go and fully embrace possible hurt
But I’d rather hurt than feel nothing at all
Come back to me
Sooner than later
Love like long walks and cups of tea
Meant to be enjoyed and cherished at a languid summer pace
Idyllic moments still cross my mind
Then dissipate into thin, curly q’ wisps
Like honey, long since dried…leaving its residual terrain to be traversed
Finding grooves long since forgotten, dormant and cool to the touch
Oh how to ignite the once scorching hot flame
Dancing chemical foreplay lights up the waning darkness
Luminescent glow forges ahead
Breaking visual boundaries
Knocking down silent barriers along the way
All crystallized in the interplay between my cones and rods
The riddle of perspective rages on…
Children On Leashes
Children on leashes go for a walk
As they cut the lines with their minds
They jump from captivity
Running away from their crimes
Thinking about animal life...
Dogs come to mind without leashes
Biting off faces they find
But children are dangerous sometimes
So rope keeps them safely in line
Parents wave good-bye to the young ones
Hanging from their ropes with hope
Think of it as a lease on life
Taken by the portals of time
Children grow into new leashes
Provided by bosses that cry
“I have too much invested in you and your friend.”
“So I must keep you both close at hand”
“As you might guess, Mr. Y and Mr. X,
Very short leashes work best
Should keep you close to the vest”
“Economizing and company come first in this land”
“So kiss your freedom good-bye”
“And try this one on for size”
Children on leashes go for a walk
What they find is a job with more line
Harder to cut and works just fine
The Purity Wheat Domain
There on the sandy ground a mountain grew
Near the motionless skeleton deserts shore
An empty basin’s brain of dirt and grains
Exploded out exposing the great dome
Raised a monolithic surreal thing
Never before seen
A birth from hell to here
Burst forth with forces of its own
With fertile soil
In truth, too few can know or fathom
A conundrum sprung from sand
The purity wheat domain with plants came up
From atoms or magic
No one knows
From something or nothing known to man
Remains a mystery
It came with water in a storm
Or some other form or fashion
Upon a force of plate tectonics
Or from some other source
Not yet determined
Such Inconsistencies found in nature
Come few and far between
We keep our water grounded
Our minds as well are wet
We keep our land close to the vest
What else to guess
This is much more than we can handle
Less understand
We’re happy for more land to farm
And climb
The Purity Wheat Domain stands high
All we can do is sigh
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