There is no us in that—
in that you’re on your own.
Refusal to walk into your trap
where hate breeds like a disease unknown.
Your thoughts collapse, too slack, too thin,
to prove you ever weighed it all.
I cannot see where your mind has been,
prepared to twist and watch it fall.
You chose the crowd instead of thought,
traded your reason for their disguise.
You bury your hate in borrowed lies,
and march in step with a machine—
telling your heart this path is proud,
that every stride is patriotic ground.
But your path veers far from mine.
It runs against all I know.
Darkness shadows every track—
and I no longer want to know you.
Life is full of steps and stages
As we learn what it is to be alive.
And every stage is marked
By the recognition that we were wrong
About what it is we now know.
Like a box within a box
Or nesting Russian dolls
Continually we open onto a new world
A new level of understanding.
We talk of insects and crustaceans
Reptiles and amphibians shedding their skin
But we do it too, just more subtly and subjectively,
And as more evolved beings, continuously.
What is it we shed besides old dead skin?
Old dead ideas, outgrown, outlived
Making way for the new
Slowly changing the programmed self
Into a newer version, gradually adjusting
Our identity
With software updates
That continually need the bugs worked out.
When does this all end?
Never, Life says
With every new layer of skin.
(9/13/25)
Oh, let us write of finer things
of stupid songs our leaders sing
perchance a word of climate’s rage
of private planes for traveling sage
or better yet the planets health
while stripping it of all its wealth
but nay, t’would seem a bit uncouth
we’re they to tell the friggin’ truth
for both the sun and moon abide
in lover’s quarrel o’er the tide
the bees are humming in their hives
while we plug in the cars we drive
If God had said “all men are equal”
I doubt that He’d enjoy this sequel
As both teams claim unyielding faith
they turn their backs on the homeless wraith
Unless, of course, there’s an I-phone near
And an edited clip that they can share
Why not stay home, stifle that shout
And in November…VOTE THEM OUT
The first time we see them…we smile…
how can I love you already, we say
The first time we hold them in our arms…
we’re in awe
for we never knew we could feel this way.
When we bring them home…
we pledge to do everything we can
to do our best…indeed
to keep them safe,
to take care of them…
to give them everything they need.
We look in on them often…
their safety we readily discuss…
because we don’t want anything bad to happen
to something so valuable and precious to us
Our love is unconditional…
We strive to protect them every day…
from strangers with evil intent
who might try to take our loved ones away.
Oh what a beautiful sentiment…
if this poem was about our daughters and sons…
but in the America we are living in today.…
sadly…
this poem is about our guns
Oh silly
You don't need to be an individual
I'm your man
Oh silly
You don't need to want me too
I'm your man
Oh silly
You don't need to think for yourself
I'm your man
Oh silly
You don't need your own personality
I'm your man
Oh silly
You don't get to speak for yourself
I'm your man
Oh silly
You don't get to have an opinion
I'm your man
Oh silly
You don't get to drive a car
I'm your man
Oh silly
You don't get to feel respected
I'm your man
Oh silly
You won't get to know what it feels like to be loved
I'm your man
Oh silly
You don't get to run away from me now
You let me be your man.
To the till, oh you people!
That your barns may be filled with staple
To keep our ever-dynamic world growing
We must roll up our sleeves and set our hands to sowing
"Ask not what your country can do for you, But what you can do for your country,"
This charge from the great Kennedy
We must our consciousness renew
Heed the call for duty and creative breakthrough
And at the end of each work day
With gratitude to God our Creator we pray
Thanking Him for the progress and lessons made
That on the morrow, at the till, we’ll be wiser and on course to be paid!
Indeed, the most successful thief of them all is Death.
All the pain and suffering one has to withstand,
After death has lashed out terror.
All the gallons of tears one has to weep in order to feel calm,
But instead, it only cleared more room for more pain.
Looking inside that wooden-framed structure, face to face with a pale face.
Only memory flashes will be alive, as I will be in a world of my own.
Where death is only a name, but I know all good must come to an end.
“Death, the bride’s mate of all families.”
Till we meet again, as I was robbed of time,
Till we meet again, as the light will shine once again.
Yeah, I’ll miss you, but life is moving forward—so in heaven, pray still,
As I’m still on earth, and death roams free. ©
I went to the store, and right back out the door,
It left me feeling kinda funny.
No chips, candy or teas or soda for me,
Because I forgot my money.
Oh, well, I say and continue my day,
At least it is mostly sunny.
OH AUGUST!
"The best of summer is gone, and the new fall not yet born--the odd, uneven time of year." Sylvia Plath
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
time drips slow,
like honey from a summer hive.
days stretch like shadows,
dancing with death of summer’s embrace.
amber fields rustle,
their golden stalks heavy with grain.
air, thick with heat and scent of decay,
blooms that once flourished, now wither away.
sun hangs low, a reluctant king
crowned in sun’s afterglow.
cicadas hum their throaty tune,
a chorus of nostalgia in the dilatory heat.
evening sky,
a canvas of bruised twilight hues.
odd, uneven stretch of days,
a paradox wrapped in sun's shimmering haze.
time of harvest, an unsteady grace,
where joy and melancholy intertwine.
Oh August! Bittersweetness lingers,
for I know summer’s end is near.
As a Roman Catholic child I was taught,
by nuns to come to the waters;
that wealth was not happiness,
nor was a new car,
or huge house or fancy clothes !
My life has not been easy to endure,
full of tragedy and heartache;
but always God speaks to me,
Jesus holds my hand,
and the Holy Spirit gives me courage !
I try to be courageous in this life given,
to do whatever is asked of me;
coming to the waters of the Lord,
I drink from the coolness,
it fills me with serene tranquility !
The Lord says tell the evil to change their ways,
to turn to faith to seek help;
to drink from the waters of faith,
to believe, to accept, to change
and they too can be courageous !
When I go out in nature I see the Lord's work,
the trees growing, the blue skies;
the sun, moon, and flowers blooming,
everything on earth is the Lord's will,
and he asks so little in return !
OH DEAR! I'VE LOST ME SPECS!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With a twitch of her tail and a frown,
Suzy scoured the roots and the ground.
“Have you seen my frames?
They’re not just for squirrel games!
Without them, I’m quite upside down!”
With acorns and nuts all around,
She’d trip over roots on the ground.
“Oh dear!” she would say,
“Where’d my glasses stray?
I swear they were here, safe and sound!”
Then a wise old owl hooted near,
“Your specs are right here, my dear!
On your nose, they sit,
You silly little twit,
Just look in the mirror, you’ll cheer!”
I wake again, the sky still ash
Mostly soft, not quite the weight of lead
seen at five a.m; that god awful flash
of knowing there is nothing when dead
Here inside a room, trying to recall
if sleep or darkness shapes it all
Whiskey breath eats away my face
Oh good! Aubade… finally shows a trace
The afterlife sleeps in, it always does
Woken up in the usual way
Another drink, a top-up buzz
Lifts my spirits, just above dismay
I fumble around with unopened post
Get dressed, eat flakes, feeling like toast
Hope and despair make a meagre pact:
That life bears fruit, and breakfast lacked
I breathe, then sniff, try steady a hand
light a smoke, or slap on a patch
Gesture defiance, attempt to stand
brave it out past the hallway latch
Go search, or not, for what comes after
opt in, opt out, call on the pastor
Who's high as a kite on altar wine,
“There's nothing” he sobs, “or do you bring a sign?”
His eyes light up, as I offer him a line
And you know! that day turned out just fine.
When I was a kid,
I only knew the sea from a distance—
from the deck of a ship,
sailing from Manila to Bacolod.
I’d lean against the railings,
watching the water stretch limitless,
wondering what it felt like to touch.
It wasn’t until high school
that I finally stepped into it.
Waves around my legs,
sand between my toes.
And just like that,
I fell in love.
There was something different there.
Not just salt air and sun,
but a kind of peace I didn’t know I needed.
I live in the mountains,
where clouds kiss pine trees, and the fog hugs you tight.
But the sea… the sea pulls me.
Sometimes, when days feel so tiring,
I catch myself daydreaming—
of sitting at the shore
watching the sun disappear into the horizon,
waves brushing my ankles,
nothing else to do, nowhere else to be.
Oh, how I love the sea.
I can’t wait to meet it again next summer.
Oh silence
Sweet silence
No traffic
No noise
No planes in the sky
No neighbours’ loud boys
No tossing tree sounds
Just silence
Sweet silence
Embracing all round.
Pure silence
Pure silence
A precious possession
God’s gift to mankind.
And peace in the heart
Only Jesus can give
He told us he could
“My peace, yes, my peace
I give unto you!”
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27
Don't like the look of what's going on
seems to you something's wrong
the smell of corruption in the air
look around it's everywhere
can't place the feel of what's happening here
could it be something to fear
the sound of conniving on the wind
a warning call for all thin-skinned
so round and round and round we go
where it stops no one knows
it takes two to tango or so they say
but that was then not today
ask a question and they hand you
the same old automated two-step quango
one foot forward two steps back
while standing in quicksand
pose a query they'll sidestep the issue
and the matter at hand
giving you the light fandango
they'll look you in the eye and deny
it's all a web within a web
behind a web of total lies
Related Poems