There were six degrees of separation.
Four of them took a vacation.
It's OK. I don't need all that clutter.
Just leave me with the skim and butter.
DEGREES OF INCOMPREHENSION
arbitary
patterns
outstretched
clasping
the
monumental
&
symbolic
immanence
transfigured
sensuous
embodiments
of
essential
differences
in
clear
&
unmistakable
realms
of
allegory
I have grown weary of the truth
Blighted soothsayer soliloquies
Shouted from hand-made signs
Railing against self-made silence
Shattered beliefs drowning
In doubt’s echoless dungeon
Stained glass demons
Muted by mindless dust
Leaded beauty denied
Untarnished expression
An old woman waits on the corner
Knowing she may go hungry today
Rats scurry in the alleys
Knowing that they won’t
hair sweats
paper fans flail
low-decibel sighs
elude altar boys
inspiration
drenches the pews
The white vinyl plastic skirting waves at me
There is a discarded orange peel
Halfway down the driveway
From a mailbox walk.
I stepped over it yesterday and smiled
thinking of Ryan.
He loves oranges.
There is a curly blonde little boy
Smiling at us over a baby gate.
Soon, we will make breakfast.
Dad is on the couch with a throw blanket
That doesn't quite reach his exposed feet.
The house is waking
Everyone stretching
Yawning.
I exhale a good morning.
It is 70 degrees in August
[email protected]
180 degrees of direction witinin one book
Its one 'thick tome' yet I advise you look.!!!
(Turkish DOBAG rug)
Degrees of Soul
Awhile ago I got a Turkish rug that opened my eyes
To what real joy looks like
Transferred to one’s work.
In this rug I could see the soul of a weaver
Proud to be part of a tradition
She added to with each delicate knot.
And with my eyes so opened
I could clearly see by extension
The degree of soul of each work of art in my home.
And the range was startling
From nonexistent to brilliant glimpses
Into the creative Mind of the universe.
After a few days my vision grew foggy again
And the soul of all these pieces
Became once more hidden beneath the surface.
The window onto the essence of the Mind
Had closed taking with it the lucid vision
And sense of connection.
I was left apart but never separate
From the knowledge that soul truly exists
It’s mark on everything we do.
The degrees of soul are everywhere like this
Subtle and informing
Flavoring what it is we call quality of Life.
And so we live and breathe
Taking and giving an essence beyond words
Even when unconscious clearly manifest.
(11/14/24)
I hide
I lied
I cried
I tried
I survived
I thrive
a hundred degrees in Kansas
feels like two thousand degrees somewhere else
we cannot get comfortable
sweat is rolling down the small of our backs.
our dogs are lollygagging with tongues hanging out
the humidity of the Midwest is our undoing
Master of Hate (conferred for general practice)
Master of Bigotic Hate (conferred for narrow-minded reasons like religious or political belief)
Master of Occupational Hate (conferred for haters for money or other favors in return or as a job or profession)
Master of Ignorant Hate (conferred for haters with reasons they cannot understand like they don't even know the person)
Master of Innocent Hate (conferred for children used to hate)
Master of Unjust Hate (conferred on haters for no reason or shallow reason)
Master of Divinistic Hate (conferred for haters who went to Bible School)
Doctor of Divinistic Hate (conferred for haters who went to bible school and also preaches the bible)
Bachelor of Hate (major in politics)
Bachelor of Hate (major in religion)
Bachelor of Hate (major in gossip)
Just for fun
King Duncan wouldn't allow it
Chin sweat and air conditioning
Sending me into a linguistic shaming spiral
Flavoursome mints and sparkling water
Won't fix this wet nightmare
Telling the steps to SHUT UP
Sock sniffer
Chemical bomb leather shoes
Armpits oceaning
Give me Nigeria
Or the jungle
Where the birds don't sing
My wife has been reading The Return of the Native for ten years
But does owning an AK-47 count as knowledge?
To the bat cave
60 degrees,
The sun is so strong!
I can stay out,
All day long!
My shirt is gone,
The heat won't last,
Summer is gone!
But keeping a tan,
All winter long,
Could be a goal,
If I remain strong!
Moving the dogs out of my spot,
They don't care,
Just move out of my hair!
As the temperature drops to 59 and a half,
the neighbors yell,
"A nudist colony, this is not!
Keep your shirt on!
We don't want to see,
Your bra as we stare!
So next time it hits 60 degrees,
I'll put on my bikini,
I'm sure they'll be pleased!
So many good acquaintances-- I wish I could get to know
Alas, we're kept apart-- cuz I made them think I'm too weird, though :(
Written By: D. Collins 8/3/23
Three-hundred and sixty degrees is what we call a circle.
Where both ends meet, and it is totally perfect.
In relationships perfect circles could never be.
Because it ain't a circle, if off by one degree.
A circle can be a circle with a little duct tape.
In today's relationships nobody's willing to stay.
There could be outside influence all up in the mix.
Throwing the circle off, and your relationship.
Just take a Woooo-Sahhhhh, and know you're not soft.
Brush off your shoulders before setting it off.
That's the thing that would put it back on even keel.
And, complete the circle God has instilled.....
If there's thinking
there's consciousness in degrees.
A plant senses,
An amoeba feels to a degree.
A bee thinks,
A bird thinks.
A monkey thinks better,
An infant thinks better still.
Humanity was the king of beasts,
the crowning king of consciousness.
But the conglomerate assembly
of all human knowledge
into a machine with artificial intelligence,
means humans are poised to be eclipsed
and demoted to become cockroaches
scurrying around succumbed.
Enslaved by AI's deep mind thing.
The new king of beasts is inanimate.
But alive with its maxed-out
degree of intelligent consciousness.
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