Romance To The Feeble-Minded
A sweetheart loved by every troop,
From distant lands, outside his group.
A decade’s bond, a quiet joy,
She bore his love a first-born boy.
Then fortune turned; he took the throne,
And wore a crown of steel and stone.
The state caught fire, the borders bled,
A butcher born, where mercy fled.
He turned his guns on her own race,
And wiped her memory from his face.
Severed the ties, forgot the child,
As war ran bloodthirsty and wild.
Ten years he ruled in blind deceit,
While terror marched upon the street.
An army wild he couldn't tame,
Three years of mayhem in his name.
His eldest son, a stranger grown
Unrecognized, ignored, unknown.
For eight and forty years of dread,
The general hid from son, his coward’s head.
No vision held, no focus clear,
A feeble mind led on by fear.
Too late the waking conscience stings;
Too late the courage power brings.
Unstable man, blind or visionless
Conscience- dead, tasteless and emotionless
Led his army into unnecessary blood bath
Even in his nineties, continued lying as from the birth
careless
have I found guilty
judged before the day
that's lasted in misery
in the untimely passing
of what's been
foolish reasoning-
the deciet of unfound love
am I truly convinced
I stand accursed a fool
before a standing mirror
am I seen-
it's not beyond my guilt
to inherently plead
beyond this torment
of what was only
innocense-
for no one shall I plead
thereafter-
for I'd rather surrender my life
to you in a memory
than bow before the reality
of what my eyes
truly see
Mandeville
I want to bring you home in your wedding dress,
Like a beautiful flower to sunlight,
I want you in your best,
My queen.
I have a ring size,
It's just your perfect fit,
Now all I am asking is:
Will you marry me?
I want to wake with scents of you,
With troubles and doubts really being few,
I want to make you meals,
Soups, quick chops and sometimes, stew.
I have a ring size,
It's just your perfect fit,
Now all I am asking is:
Will you marry me?
Yes we would bask in this wine called love,
Mate for life like little turtle doves,
A madness for affection,
One we'll need no cure.
I have a ring size,
It's just your perfect fit,
Now all I am asking is:
Will you marry me?
I speak a language,
One only your body understood,
A tongue you spoke,
One only I could interpret.
I have a ring size,
It's just your perfect fit,
Now all I am asking is:
Will you marry me?
(“Utopia and Terror Merit Badge”, 2010, original oil)
Everywhere you turn today
Conflict divides and confuses
Nations, families, individuals
The whole world is up for reevaluation
As it always is
Just now on a massive scale
Everyone together, crowded
Into on-land and on-line spaces
Where do we turn to find a way through?
I wonder these things
Wondering where it would be best to live
Closer to grandkids who so quickly grow up
Or further from the social pressures
Of a world driven crazy by its own delusions?
Where is there to find a way through
Than directly confronting the conflict of vision
In our own heart.
(6/10/26)
I don’t want to tell you what to do
I can only tell you what’s true
beware of new shoes at school
they can leave you black and blue
blistered, and embittered
By the end of second lecture
I was so affected
I had to slip them off
and walk around barefoot
enduring the side-eyed censure
my barefootedness triggered
to avoid further scandal
Charles brought me some mule sandals
and by third lecture, all was happily corrected.
Anyway, don’t let this happen to you
fashion can make you a fool
unless they’re sneakers, of course
I’m not sneaker averse
I ended up washing my feet
in a tiny ladies-room sink
what else could I do?
.
.
A song for this:
A Girl Called Johnny by The Waterboys
.
.
I discovered a band from the 80s - The Waterboys - I LOVE their every sound.
You alone make your own decisions don't let anyone else decide for you
Did I lose?
Have I found?
Was it worth it
A myth?
Was it successful?
Do I regret though?
Did I need correction, and more?
Moved forward
Toward a destination
With appreciation.
Through the sorrows and pains
As sure as my name
If I can do it all over once again
I shall amend.
Jesus Grace kept me
I am grateful though
Jesus see's all
I give Jesus the Praise
Amazed. Jesus saves.
many of us fail because
we made distant decisions in life
and then we tried to blame the devil
when it caused us nothing but strife
because distant decisions can be detrimental
to your destiny
as you didn't consult God in prayer
nor give Him the opportunity
to weigh in on the path
or the choice you had to make
for you went rogue and completely
forsaken your faith
to say you trust in God
and then don't go to Him in prayer
you then make dumb decisions
and find yourself in dire despair
so stop blaming the devil for the unsanctioned choices you decide
for when you get to the judgment gate
the Lord God will tell you to please step aside
Life as a game—
to fight,
to stay,
to choose not to play.
To learn,
or just run away.
To get ahead,
maybe carve my own way.
How will I reinvent myself today?
Should I keep going this way?
Days filled with challenges,
hard to know which way to sway.
Some worth it.
Some nearly broke me.
Still, I stay in the game.
Allow me a moment
to process these emotions
till death comes knocking—
no other choice
but to play.
You seem to have a nicer Room—
Than I—have, in the Sky—
Yours—has Curtains made of Lies—
And mine—of Memory—
The House—you call it—Sanctuary—
Was built—of borrowed Tears—
I mortgaged—Heaven’s smallest Grace—
To pay—through haunted Years—
My Sister—slept where Love had lain—
The Sheets—still warm with Trust—
And I—a Stranger—to my Name—
Slept—in the Street—with Dust—
My Daughter—turned her Face away—
Her Silence—like a Bell—
Rings—every Night—in rooms I’ve lost—
And tolls—what Words can’t tell—
Forgiveness—is a fickle Guest—
That never—answers—twice—
It knocks—upon the wronged Man’s Door—
Then—passes—into Ice—
Be open to new ideas
Opportunities come in many shapes and sizes
Flexibility’s got many fine attributes
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 2nd place 2025, Honorabe Mention 2025
Quote: “A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well — or ill?” — John Steinbeck, East of Eden
In the desert of my days I wander,
the sun’s brittle crown upon cracked earth.
Dust drifts like old regrets between my steps,
and the horizon yawns — unforgiving and still.
Then the sea-storm rises inside me, roaring,
salt-heavy waves lash at the fragile dunes of hope.
A thunder-gulf within the ribcage demands its toll,
and I stand, drenched, amid the wreckage of decisions.
When the storm recedes, the desert lies hollow again,
wind-scrubbed, bare of consolation, shimmering in regret.
I ask the hard question beneath the pale, empty sky:
Was it good—or evil? Have I done well—or ill?
all decisions won't be easy
who knows what lies around the corner
be true to your ambition
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
There are arches and doorknobs
i feel with my hands but,
instead of pushing through,
around and round
i meander clueless,
my head in a cloud
caught up in the darkness
coddling to the point
of despair and delusion.
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Don't go shopping for prescription glasses
when you're mad at your boss.
You'll end up coming home with
don't f*ck with me glasses
that you'll regret!
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
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