I was awakened by the cuckoo
inexorably lusciously jeweled
and to a bobcat pantingly passing
enlivened ashton spirits
beauteous unfruitful rhythmic
respite
(Weekly Magnetic Poetry Challenge • September 7–13, 2026)
As I have wondered through the halls of old,
the minds of famous scribes in academia
had made me fearless, oft carelessly bold
when Mind betrayed lexical anaemia.
Soon baying at the Moon as it weeps,
a different view, depending on aspect.
The wisdom I crave inexorably seeps,
but seldom culminates into respect.
The misprision's become my badge of honour
as hyperbole swills in lexicon o’ Man.
Long years of uninformed populous dour
with magniloquent thinking that poetry can.
Yet I contemplate books in warehouse—
dyslexia transformed it into ‘wh…house’—
endless mirth that others could never douse.
EPITOME OF EMPTINESS-:-
sanguine
sensitivity
tutelar
effulgence
esoteric
in SENILE SENTINENCE
ambiguous
vacuity
configured
wondering
inexorably
in TWILIGHT TERRAIN
evanescent
moments
epitomized
nothingness
nestled
("A Migration of Ghosts", 2023, original encaustic)
In the morning I lay in the bath
Slowly waking with a cup
My mind drifts half asleep.
Eventually I start to count
All the people I have met and known
Close and distant
Who are gone.
At first it’s an easy couple of handfuls
But then the longer I soak
The more the numbers add up.
Eventually several dozen names and faces
Have marched across my memory
Each one smiling for an instant
Caught in a moment of what I knew them for.
A parade of sorts, young and old
Which once opened to won’t seem to stop.
It’s not like I’m merely an observer either
Safe in the warmth of my bath,
Like them I’m moving inexorably from here
To there
A parade of sorts, each with our own allotted light
Candles big and small, dull or bright
But in the end nothing but a memory
In memoriam we erect in honor
Without a site.
(5/15/26)
I have become removed
from the pulse of ordinary things.
The daily walk is no longer
calibrated by what I take in
but by the number of steps
measured by a pedometer
handcuffed to my arm.
Much of the world
goes unnoticed - pushed aside
to the periphery, too small
or distant to register interest
on the blunt sweep
of my senses.
Mostly, the world just passes
in a blur diminished by the glare
from thoughts played out
on the mind's internal screen.
Nothing seems anchored
but drifts inexorably towards
a distant point miraged
on the horizon of some
indeterminable fear.
And yet,
there are moments when
the world breaks through.
Yesterday, the soft, morning
light of the April sun glowed
on the outstretched wings
of a cormorant. It seemed
to hold itself in a posture
of prayer. I am redeemed
by seeing the wonder
in such ordinary things
and connect
to something deeper
where all of creation
has its origins,
made whole again.
City of Big Shudders
Once known for Big Shoulders
Powerful barge lost her rudder
Withered… stooped… inexorably older
Are you glad that we two met
in someone's dorm room -
alcohol and youth and us,
strangers in the night?
A course of pain and pleasure,
inexorably
set - do you regret we're not
strangers in the night?
Wounded by its lack
Distrustful of it
Inured to its absence
In thrall to its allure
Fooled by its simulacrum
Estranged from it
Paralysed by fear of losing it
Inexorably exposed to it
Resolved against it
Consumed by longing for it
A scholar to its foreign texts
A slave to its compulsions
Compelled to search for it
Forever
Hopeful
There are unexpected
and rare moments
when you can
approach and stand
on the rim of yourself
and almost feel
a strange gravity
inexorably drawing you
and all of creation
in towards
a centre point
that is nowhere
and everywhere.
Other times
the best you can manage
is to cast a thought
into your own silence
and hear its sad echo
answer back.
Meanwhile,
in the fading light,
flocks of pigeons scatter
above central square,
exploding in a burst
of flapping wings
unknowingly on their way
to nowhere
and everywhere.
You stop for no one, dear, you made it clear. No rank or caste of any stripe can twist your arm to force your hand to a procrastinating pause.
I thankfully attribute your plodding tick tocks to your gentle generosity, but why are you so inexorably steady so by the time you chime, you leave little space to ponder on how fast you really flew?!
If only money could bribe any of your subordinate segments, if glittering gems could soften your mechanical demeanour…You made it clear - you are not for sale and your pace is non negotiable.
I hold you dear as my constant companion in my relentless journey as I respectfully bow to your ambiguous grandeur of grace - you give it all for a long while and then you take it all at once.
You stop for no one. You made it clear.
Streams flowing into a river
ebbing and flowing
rising and falling
The river separating them
back into streams
Many lives merging
into one lifeline
accounting for everything
and nothing
at the same time
Personalities rubbing, chafing
inexorably blending
in psychosomatic asynchrony
yet linked inextricably
with heaven
Streams flowing into a river
The river separating them out
back into streams…
Back from the desert and loving it
both the visit and the return.
The powerful plane deiced in Chicago.
Brittlebush, difficulty distinguishing acacia from ironwood.
Mesquite, and plenty of paloverde.
A good jazz band in Phoenix, their own style, no apology.
Could you also love your cancer? The vicious attack of a hedgehog
cactus?
The winter storm that kept us on the tarmac three hours
followed us home. Used to be
when weather made the headlines, that was good news.
No more. Those melting icecaps and incoming meteors.
Some pray, some stay still, some keep playing.
Anyway, notwithstanding inexorably expanding or otherwise rapidly
contracting universes
I saw cercocarpus, phainopepla, tomentilla, saguaro, and a great guitarist.
Prayers were answered.
("Anagogical Moments Merit Badge", 2011, original oil)
Ineffable
No matter what you think or say
About reality, the true nature of Life
Or mind, or God
You are wrong.
And that is simply
Because what is real and true
Is more subtle and immediate
Than we can ever say.
Doesn’t mean there isn’t a truth or reality
Just that it is always beyond thought
And thus speech;
Always, and for everyone.
And this makes you wonder
What is it then we use our superior primate minds for?
Mostly to divide and conquer it seems
Certainly not to live in peace and harmony.
Meanwhile birds sing, bees gather nectar
Children laugh and elders sigh
The world turns, beautifully and inexorably
And we are here to simply notice and enjoy.
(9/7/24)
("Anime", 2019, original encaustic)
Behold, A Pale Horse
Death comes quietly
Inexorably in the light
It has always been like that
And always will
Waiting with more patience than can be known
Lurking at the edge of sight
Flitting in and out
Sometimes consoling, sometimes not
And in its own way
My oldest and truest friend
Certainly outlasting the rest
Waiting ever patient
For one more kiss
And last embrace
Whispering to me,
I will wait for you dude
Until the time is right
And then carry you away
With honors.
(4/20/24)
Let’s have an election
Mr Putin bravely said
Sadly any opponents
Seem to end up dead.
I want a democracy
Yet I’m accused of lying
But how can I help it if
Opponents keep on dying.
Over in Israel Mr Netanyahu
Seems to take full pride
As his sanctioned terrorists
Carry out their genocide.
They seem rather unwilling
To look at facts and learn
From that known old adage
A trod on worm will turn.
Over in America it appears
Democracy will take a thump
As masses mass to support
The apparently senile Trump.
The Champion of the West
Coming under world fire
For falling under the spell
Of a convicted fraud and liar
Our local ruling hypocrites
Intend to raise their pay
As the necessity for food banks
Increases each passing day.
Sunak boasts thing are improving
But doesn’t seem to understand
His was the party in power
That brought chaos to this land.
Over the world people starve
As world temperature rise
Essential polar ice caps
Inexorably decrease in size.
Nobody really much cares
About the catastrophe ahead
Why worry about events due
Long after they’ll be dead.
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