But I Can Be A Guest;
Maybe Rarely
Maybe Not,
I Guess.
I Can/
Can't...
I Mean, I Can't Meet
The Standards;
Maybe The One's
You Don’t Demand...
But I Set Them
Somehow, To Be
Beat... And I
Can't Meet Them!
By Design, Maybe...
And "Who Cares?"
May Be The Correct
Answer! By Default.
Who's Who?
But I Can't
Join The Group,
So I Won't/Don’t/Can't What Else?
It's Not Rejection...
Just "Unqualified,"
By Very Nature.
-Gray Squirrel
06-16-2026
I’m playing Jenga, at a social group. At a social group, playing Jenga I’m. The best block to take out is the middle one — not an absolute, but two left either side sounds solid. Two left either side sounds solid — the best block to take out is the middle one, not an absolute. We are playing for a photoshoot for the social group’s new website, so I purposely remove a crucial block to knock over the tower. For the social group’s new website to knock over the tower, I remove purposely a crucial block, so we are playing for a photoshoot. The photographer wasn’t ready, though. Though, the photographer wasn’t ready. Twice, we’ve rebuilt the tower so he could get a photo of it falling. So he could get a photo of it falling, we’ve rebuilt the tower twice. He didn’t get the shot the time second. The second time, he didn’t get the shot. Third time lucky. Lucky time third.
After the Jengaful afternoon, we wish each other a nice eve. We wish each other a nice eve, after the Jengaful afternoon. Words fall as water, then Jenga into towers.
As water, words fall.
As Jenga, words tower.
Two months have elapsed
since I met Kapur my new friend
At a first nation men's group gathering
which we both attend
Kapur an unusual name took a while but now easily recalled
A big gentle man at first seemed rather shy
Not much to offer, my first impression, misguided, I'm now appalled
Together Kapur another friend and I
helped a couple resurrect some garden beds
Amazed at Kepur's knowledge
much transferred and now stored inside my head
His broad knowledge of family
His broad knowledge of lore
His broad knowledge of language
more time to spend together I desire to learn more
Today a very brief conversation
his intended weekend activities revealed
Two events to play piano in a reggae ensemble
much pleasure to be enjoyed from the talent he will yield
Kapur I am blessed you've become my new friend
We'll continue to meet at the men's group we attend
A circle forms itself~
no one quite sure who started it,
yet everyone leaning in.
Voices braid and unbraid,
threads crossing, looping,
tugging at the edges of agreement.
One spark sets off another;
a silence shifts the room.
Even the shyest thought
finds a place to perch.
And somehow, without voting,
the group decides its rhythm~
a murmured tide,
a shared tilt of attention,
a small constellation
briefly holding shape
before drifting on.
Earlier today, I had a small-group evaluation
that I’ve been quietly dreading
and frankly, I wasn’t sure I was ready.
See, I’ve neglected things of late
I had the flu and couldn’t concentrate.
But once that was over, I could focus,
and I did some uneducated guessing,
about what the physiology skill-drill might be.
My group peer-assessed me, and those guys can be savage,
and a fail on the quiz could block my module passage.
I showed what I’d prepared, 2-hours focussed on things like prioritizing diagnoses.
Their questions were pointed but they didn’t reveal their prognoses.
How’d I do? I haven’t a clue.
I was quivering with exhaustion when I was through.
The professeur seemed pleased, and I got a few nods and smiles,
in my clinical-presentation debut.
.
,
A song for this:
Diary by Lucy Tun
You Need Therapy (Ready) by Mila Smith
non-compensatory - A fail in ED/PBL can block module passage
Good to see, soneone grass roots.'
I wish them success,' and hope they
Really, stick in their boots '
The flight is full, so there’s no room
For everybody’s bags.
We need 3 dozen volunteers -
Come up; we’ve got the tags.
The first-class passengers are set,
As well as Comfort Plus,
But those in Groups 6,7,8 -
You’re screwed - and that means us!
We didn’t buy the cheapest seats,
Yet still, we’re in a fix
Because our boarding pass revealed
That we are in Group 6.
We now need 20 people
To check baggage and what’s more,
By doing so, we’ll move you up
And you will join Group 4!
We waited with our bags until
A few of us remained
And yes, we stowed our bags up top,
Despite what they’d maintained.
And by the way, 2 empty seats
Are there across the aisle,
A challenge to the agents
Who might still be in denial.
Mike Bayles
Get Well Card from a Writers’ Group to a Friend in a Physical Rehab Unit
What is important is what we lay on the table.
Poems and stories we write find new life
on the third floor of the library in Muscatine.
We read our works, listen and make suggestions.
We argue and laugh, but we’re just trying to help
every writer make their work better.
each night
We are working or retired, poets and novelists
sharing our lives and points of view. We have
driven highways and city streets to be there.
Every third Tuesday of the month we sit at the table.
in quiet skies
You are the eldest, many books written
and every meeting we look to you.
We look for revelations and for how
the pieces speak to us. Works shared
bring us together.
a shining star
*Braided Haibun Form
Quartet belts out familiar tunes
Old barbershop proudly flaunting village vintage vibes
Haircuts surprise at today’s prices
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
In the cheer chat, where joy should unite,
A ten-year-old girl causes drama day and night
She calls me a brat, a jerk, selfish and ugly too,
But she's the one acting out, it's true.
She says she wants to push me off a cliff,
Her words so harsh, they make my spirit stiff.
As I debate my life's worth, feeling so low,
She tells me to end it, her cruelty on show.
I cry for hours, feeling so torn,
But then my bestie, she keeps me warm.
She tells me to stay, to stand strong and tall,
With her love and support, I won't fall.
I'll rise above her hurtful game,
And find my strength, reclaim my name.
For with true friends by my side,
I'll face the storm and turn the tide.
welcome to Pink Floyd and welcome to the machine
behold the temple of light, and don’t be mean
A psychedelic group, so readily enjoyed and seen
Philosophical lyrics, a rival of Freddie and Queen
Comfortably numb, sit back and enjoy the show
Goodbye blue sky, this concert is the way to go
Pigs on the wing are traveling down the aisle
Another brick in the wall, to make me smile
Coming back to life, on the turning away
Shine on your crazy diamond, you make my day
Sonic experiments are enjoying a revival here
eyes to the pearls, come sit over here.
in the group of dewdrops which crystallize loose boundedness
whose coercive force is unmatched among standoffish streets
we maintain the latent misgivings about our absence
a hush swept through the room
like a draft sliding under an old door
slowly it made its presence known
until our awareness was undeniable
our minds were frozen in a different state and time
a time of being and knowing
BLUE MOUSE GROUP
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The blue mouse group wrote through the night,
with their tiny nibs and ink, what a sight!
They scribbled and scrawled,
'Til on the stairs they sprawled,
They collapsed, what a comical fright!
In halls where silence cloaked the dread,
You raised a voice, though fear had spread.
With leaflets fluttering like doves in flight,
You lit a candle in the night.
Not with guns, nor iron might,
But truth and courage, fierce and bright.
A rose in winter, pure and still,
Defying hate with steadfast will.
Your words, like whispers through the air,
Asked hearts to feel, to act, to care.
Against a storm of brutal lies,
You stood with clear and open eyes.
Though gallows claimed your final breath,
You did not bow, not even in death.
Your petals fell, but not in vain—
They bloom where conscience dares remain.
White Rose of Germany, proud and free,
You taught what strength and soul must be.
A bloom of hope in darkest hour—
Forever grace, forever power.
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