Some blokes who smoke think it's okey-doke
to throw their still-lit dog-ends on the ground
it's mostly men or so I've found
then there are those who continually spit
how disgusting is that yet what can we do
to make them quit
and litter louts bug me too
while others chew gum and when done
stick it wherever they are able
such as chairs or under tables
with no regard for anyone
they're inconsiderate mindless fools
who behave that way and think they're cool
THE VAN GONE MUSEUM
A gleaming, extravagant building.
Filled with jewels of art.
The brainless herd pile in at
their allotted time slot. No thoughts
Zombie tourists flock into the Van
Gogh museum. It doesn’t matter
how many nationalities are there.
Everyone does the same.
Observers drone from one gallery
to another.
Their eyes not even focusing on the
painstaking art.
The portraits and landscapes stare
back at the viewer in
disbelief and disgust.
Please comprehend what I am.
The constant shutter of a camera
can be heard but not the slightest
intellectual thought can be even
fathomed amongst them.
Those photos they taken cannot
even echo the detail of the brush stroke
or slight colour difference.
They are a false facsimile at best.
The painting now a lifeless corpse.
A digital copy is what remains on a
seldom used SD card.
Never to be looked upon again.
A gravity trudges the cattle toward
the famous sunflowers ; not for
artistic merit but for bragging
rights and social media selfies
Although Van Gogh is long dead, it
seems apparent his legacy, his art,
his life’s work is now
Van Gone….
(“July 7 Hot and Blue”, 2024, original encaustic)
I like mowing the arboretum
Because it’s relaxing
And the reason for that
Is because it’s mindless.
There are other mindless activities
Such as walking on the beach,
Fishing under an open sky,
Or playing with pets and small children.
But mowing the arboretum for me
Is especially mind-less
Because it’s a randomly planted plot of land
Which means it can only be randomly mowed.
Only an acre, still it takes a couple of hours to mow,
And often I begin with dread, because
I have forgotten how good it feels
To let my mind wander into mindlessness.
In our hearts we know mindlessness is good for us,
And that’s because being obsessively mindful
Is the same as being a prisoner, or better yet a slave,
Within and to our own mind.
Mindfulness is well and good for a variety of tasks,
I certainly want my surgeon being mindful,
But it’s simply a means to an end, and that end,
The ultimate space of a free mind, is mind less.
(4/17/26)
When we cut down trees,
Their sobs raise a tsunami;
We must pay for it.
My mind on pause
easily entertained
idly wasting of time
I sit back lazy in my lazyboy
like a potato blob on my couch
meanwhile not noticing
my goals drifting right on by
AP: Honorable Mention 2026
Three cretinous judges, have commited to
The slaughter.' Of the B C Ostriches what?
Such a crime and dis-order.' Who knows these
Sleazball black robed ghouls? Who pours
Their water, man its so un-cool who tends
Theif hair who would shake their hand? Who
Would be their neighbor? Who can approve of
Their plans.?
Numb.... Lonely
Staring at the same gloomy rain
dripping down 2 different
window panes
over 300 miles away
Feeling alone & ashamed,
full of regret because of how
we hehaved
but not giving up
bc this Actual, Magical,
One of a kind love
is just too unfathomable
to not crave
its right there out of our reach,
our plans, wants & goals
so easy to speak
but walls of fear deadlock life's gears,
and we rolled backwards
without even realizing we were
so far gone,
my dear
we did this together
but you gotta honestly tell me
if climbing back up w. me by your side
is going to be too heavy
I can only love you if you let me
I need you just as much,
You're the only one that gets me
and accepts me,
and my damaged beyond repair, crazy drug addicted brain
we drive eachother insane
but it could be so much different
we can be happier than ever
its an uncontrollable animal instinct
I wish that whenever you got mad
you'd just shut up & kiss me
before the bullet filled words
rip through my heart
& every single one hits me
like im marked with a bulls eye
all we need is stability,
but the chaos continuously emerges instantly
Since the mind dwells on tense well past,
Endlessly over-analyzing, happenstance recast,
Ignore the mind, let awareness be, let it grow.
Learn to feel, live in the mindless ways your senses know.
Warm to breath, the waft of breeze in your hair.
Feel warmth of sun, the texture of things laid bare.
No need to grasp, claw, dwell, gather or cling.
Let each sense come-in, and be whatever it can bring.
For pain will come, go, and then slip away.
Pleasure too is fleeting, not longing to stay.
Come what may, enjoy, revile, welcome all-in with glee.
Be here, be now, be aware, from a doting mind-set, set free.
I’m nowhere but in my mind.
this year is ending and a lot of things have come to my senses. My love life has been going in a spiral, no one really appreciates my love.
Yet , I yearn and desire to fall deeply in love. I never can win when it comes to relationships because in this society, love isn’t a word.
Lust seems to fit more , it is rather quite sad cause some people are not for such foolish things.
I am the percent of people .. not because people don’t love, the fact i have been bind to receive no love.
My heart has been filled with hatred and anger for years. Yet, within me there is so much love to give.
My eyes burn with seeing the reality of life. Some come and go as natural. Ah , for those who see you to your fullest are the ones you cherish.
I’m watching a new path of life come before me, will i walk on it ? I would hope so to see what is in store.
they sit in front of the screen,
blue light buzzing in their skulls,
plastic guns in Facebook hands,
outside, the sirens wail like hungry dogs,
the streets are cracked veins bleeding,
somewhere, a boy is learning to hate.
fists swing in school hallways,
knives flick open like second thoughts,
a mother checks the news,
sees another name,
another body,
another child gone.
we teach them how to kill before they learn to live,
show them war before we show them love,
give them bullets before we give them books.
men in suits count the profits,
smile as the numbers climb,
another war, another market,
another grave to dig.
and the kids, they dream in gunfire,
grow up with bruised knuckles,
hollow hearts,
laugh at the blood on their hands.
when did the world decide
that dead boys make good business,
that broken minds are easy to control?
turn off the screen.
open the window.
teach them something else.
My mind is busy almost every hour,
but I let go when I'm in bed or in the shower.
How I love to turn off my mind and let it drift
as mystical sources offer me a gift -
a poem or words for a friend spring from the void,
an empty playground inspirations oft enjoyed,
while, as expressions, the light of day they seek,
so now my gentle heart gets a chance to speak,
straight from inside when my brain's control has ceased,
as, at last, my mind becomes a sleeping beast,
and I join fully in the human spirit's feast.
I’ve written about it before
Because it’s just so interesting
The way the mind works doing mindless chores
As I zigzag in and out of trees mowing the arboretum.
Sometimes there’s a pattern I follow.
But usually, it’s a sporadic dance
Of split second decisions
Weaving around as the moment dictates.
Then sometimes something rare happens,
Or rather doesn’t happen,
And I find myself completely out of mind
Mindlessly mowing, turning and twisting in random motion.
And it’s in these rare moments
That I find freedom,
Or at least get a taste,
Of what it’s really like to be free.
I catch myself then of course,
And return to some semblance of mindful mowing,
I am after all merely human
Human all too human.
(7/6/24)
Furiously the flurries fly. Attached to wall, me on phone.
My Dad makes tracks, and I wonder at the dashing of snow that cools
Mindless chatter. Aspiring flames leap from chimney, as wind moans.
The feeling is neutral if not numb;
to the fact that most dogs are now rather dumb.
They waddle and limp to whoever has food,
regardless of thought or apparent mood,
led by hungers conjured and imbued.
Forgetting to hunt, they now excrete and eat all day,
mumbling and barking with nothing to say.
Viewed from my window
don't bother, they're here
the point of it all?
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