Some say I have OCD
or unbridled paranoia,
but I have a PhD
in edible flora.
They don't know what it means
to be a man who sorts his beans.
It’s lonelier to grieve.
Because I knew you.
Because I loved you.
Because I still do.
And now I carry that love
Like a body that won’t stop breathing.
I cry for the life you didn’t live.
For the mornings you missed.
For the years I still imagine even though
I know better.
I cry because I saw you becoming
And then I saw you stop.
I drown in thought.
Not memory
That would mean you were here.
I drown in the future I built around you.
The one you never asked for
But I gave you anyway.
You were supposed to stay.
You were supposed to grow old.
I grieve the man you never got to be.
The one I still talk to in my head when I’m scared
Or tired
Or pretending I’m fine.
I grieve the version of me
Who would’ve loved you longer.
Who would’ve learned how to forgive you for leaving.
I hate the silence. It sounds like you.
I hate the quiet. It feels like you.
I hate the way I still wait for something
that isn’t coming.
You are gone.
But you are everywhere.
In the things I can’t say.
In the breath I hold.
In the way I keep living
Like it means something.
~~~
The world is in reverse,
we felt so sorry for the Jewish
of their anguish...
of Hitler and evil
But their vengeance
is 10 times fold
and killing
the innocents
starving
little children
and NATO does nothing,
You can't say the word
evil
without the word
Devil.
I wish I was never born
into this story so told
to sheets that fold...
with those so bold
are left in the cold.....
This world is not mine,
I gave no permission
in fine ink so fine,
from birth to the end...
Man to man
Is so unjust how men suffer
Yes man is the problem of man
Remember one man poison
Is another man food
So who is my friend
Yes who shall i trust
Man betray man
Man kill man
Man make man a slave
Man is jealous too
Is so unjust how men suffer
Man is greedy
Man is powerful yet
Power intoxicate a man
Man is the reason why man cry
Man to man
Is so unjust how men suffer
If only man respect man
Wars will be gone
If man is honest to man
Progress will never disappear in life
If man don’t manipulate man
Men will develop with the truth
If only man respect man
The evils of our generation will be abomination
Man is king
Man is powerful yet
The reason why
man die young relates with
Man to man
Not beauty’s flame that soon will fade,
Nor jewels bright, nor silks arrayed,
But gentle speech that soothes the day,
And steadfast truth that will not stray.
He seeks a heart both calm and kind,
A loyal hand his own to bind,
A quiet strength, a tender ear,
A faithful soul that holds him near.
Not fleeting charm nor fleeting praise,
But love that lights the darkest ways,
A patient hope, a watchful prayer,
A presence constant, always there.
Thus finds he treasure, tried and true,
Not gold nor pearl, but spirit too,
A crown of grace, a guiding star—
Such is the woman loved afar.
I’m becoming more religious
My god is a man of wit
And his people aren’t fastidious
In the prayers they commit
Everybody understands
Well aware that the trials
Cannot make a better man
From a rancor we acquire
Being tested all the time
With no promise of reward
Being told about the crimes
Of the past we must pay for
I’ve no time for moral babies
I am living for myself
And for my most precious lady
Who once told me I’m her elf
With my god we laugh aloud
Breaking loose from any cell
I have grown from tiny sprout
To dismiss the man made hell.
Another "I Do," Another Pledge**
I found myself confronting mortality in the guise of the viper on the day my heart was irrevocably broken. Deep within, I understand that he liberated you, much like the Meadowlark’s song.
Once again, I utter "I do" and make another pledge. The deceitful viper adorned himself in the same black suit. He donned the colors associated with malevolence during this second endeavor, for it is indicated that "strait is the gate and narrow is the way."
His countenance radiates as he feigns a smile, resembling a contrived pose for the camera. I observed the specter of death in his expression, reminiscent of Pinocchio’s nose.
The well-wishers murmured, "No discernment; what a disgrace, what a waste! A lamentable image of a man." The pastor solemnly proclaimed, "Amen."
I perceived death upon the visage of the haunted individual. The fissures in the antiquated brick wall emitted a haunting melody: "You stand before the altar as yet another fool."
Is this a wedding or a funeral—an evening fraught with foreboding? The middle-aged groom reflects a decline in love and kindness. Love, indeed, is blind.
The man who fell to earth
He embraced the conservative dogma, but he was also
like Tucker Carlson, a committed Christian, believing in
The gospel and God's son, Jesus.
He embraced the duality of Judaism and Christianity
Israel had given him money for his views and loved
by the likes of Netanyahu, and Trump was his friend
Then it went wrong, the suffering of Palestine bothered
His Christian soul that protested
He moved away from his certainties and spoke of his dread
All hell broke out, and it was pointed out to him that taking
The shilling had to follow a path they had pointed out for
him, he baulked at this and became more convinced
They were wrong
For his unwavering faith, he was shot dead, a martyr who
stood his ground, when he, like many others, did, could
have looked away.
Charlie Kirk was a hero who will be remembered for
a long time to come
did work
in carnivals
a short time
good public
relations be
a right critical
deal with those
just walking by
pocketing money
you can hear jingle
and jangle over the
sounds of the rides
stan sand
("Rainbow Body" detail, 2018, original encaustic)
Today I noticed on a website I use for book reviews
All eight of my poetry books
Suddenly have a fresh new one star review.
Sadly though there is no content to these reviews
Nothing to sink my teeth into and learn from
Just a single star
Which simply means, “I hate it.”
But these are the first reviews or ratings
I have ever received in ten years now
Of publishing poems
So I will take it
Mostly because I have no choice.
It is a free world after all
And so if we engage with it
We shouldn’t be surprised
When it engages back.
The beauty of getting only one star reviews
Of course is it doesn’t get my hopes up
Hopes of becoming rich and famous
Influential and significant
Because I know, especially now,
None of that would be true.
(9/15/25)
Hear the true story of my great-great-great Grandpa,
the forgettingest man I ever saw.
When he tried to pass first grade again
he forgot to bring to school his brain.
When it was time to race in the big track meet,
wouldn't you know it - he forgot his feet.
When he married Mary, his sugar tart,
believe it or not, he forgot his heart.
So, she smacked him with a frying pan,
and down the road he ran.
You'd think he might die with a lump on his head,
but in a fortnight, it was Mary who was dead.
He forgot to bring his alibi,
so, they strung him up so high,
and he forgot to die.
What’s in man that makes him go
Is it the satisfaction of the craftsman
Or the drive for more dough
Ask the baker ~ He may just know
Verse 1]
You're so incredible,
the most amazing man.
I'm taken to new heights of pleasure
with the touch of your hand.
There will never be another man
in my life who compares.
Your eyes, your smile...
no one as perfect anywhere.
I will never forget, or stop loving you...
Well would ya lookie here, my dear…
I can lie too!
[Chorus]
I can lie just like you do!
Make promises, plan dreams that will never come true.
I didn't know I could be such a fool!
I guess I was never, ever
good enough for you...
See? there I go again, I can lie too!
[Verse2]
You are the man
of every woman's dreams.
You sure knew your way
around my body
I guess I had you going
with all the fuss I made
So glad I was the star of all my high-school plays
Because you are an imposter...
And baby I should win an Oscar…
Cause as you can see
I can lie too!
[Chorus]
I can lie just like you do!
Make promises, plan the dreams that are never coming true.
I didn't know I could be such a fool!
I guess I was never, ever good enough for you...
See? there I go again, I can lie too!
blue man had one mission but it was a big gun
Wanted to hydrate the planet, each and every one
Every plant, every person, every animal who existed.
We who heard the plan helped him. No one dare resisted.
We put water on everything and drank it as well
H2O from farm ponds, lakes, dams, reservoirs and every well
Blue man got famous and paid experts to hydrate the rest
I was exhausted from watering, so glad, I must confess
Related Poems