The strange behavior of a Vatican squirrel
with his teeth all in a whorl
caused a commotion and created a clatter,
as the demon beast grew fatter,
making me shiver and flinch;
but I wouldn't give an inch.
His smile was the color of pearl
as he announced a brand-new girl.
Glass currents shimmer past the moonlit veil
Lost figures glimmer through a drifting trail
Silent lanterns hover over the deep
Aged memories cover what shadows keep
Neon whispers rattle in restless air
Walled patterns tattle secrets without care
Midnight pulse trembles under a cracked sky
Restless vision assembles truths we deny
Fetid, smelly crow
struts across the yard. He pops
to his own drawn bath.
When the Fire Horse rises, it climbs the empty ridge;
clouds step aside, mountains dare not breathe, seasons lose their order,
shadow runs ahead of time, men dare not speak—
the omen enters the record, and Heaven sounds the bell.
The Horse walks between, yet all paths begin
where the endless river flows eastward
toward the Mountain where Heaven begins again.
Bad start could be sign
Engagement ring lost at new year’s ball
Ominous omen or lousy luck
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
When you’ve had every chance and all resource in hand.
When you’ve been in good graces and known where you stand.
When you had God in Heaven reach down just to line it all up,
and you still found a way to fail. How could that be?
You look back in disbelief, regretfully
and feel like a failure, jinxed by a charm of bad luck.
Then you’re forced to ask yourself, “Should I go on?”
You wonder if maybe the timing was wrong,
that if you keep going, this time will it finally work out?
Cuz now there’s an omen that’s lurking behind,
waiting to take you down time after time.
It’s hard not to think that way, wondering what it’s all about.
But success in a very real sense is defined
as - starting things over again, one more time
than whatever the number of times it is that you’ve gone down.
Leave that omen behind in the re-view of life.
Drive off and keep going. Don’t even think twice.
For now, you know better in all things… this time around.
Wolverine shadows
in the Michigan mist
Blood trail encampment
on yesterday’s tryst
Teeth at the ready
fortune can’t hide
Death for a tribute
— when vengeance abides
(Dreamsleep: October, 2024)
Hallow’s Eve, when spirits return
And on Styx’s shores, a darkness churns
Lost souls vanish to the veil
Lamenting cries rise up from Hell
Omen hangs high in Stygian sky
Where witches watch with a wicked eye
Eldritch winds whisper a woeful tale
Echoes of death ride on the gale
Night-creatures creep with dreadful bale
an owl stared at Maya from a fence post
she knew it was a sign from the great father
no ordinary fowl, this one had a red head
there would be a death before the end of day
according to a Navajo proverb
Maya was especially kind to her family that day
wondering who it would be, hoping it was not her son
he had already had a bad week, a mean bout with chickenpox
she thought of the owl all day
her next door neighbor passed in his sleep that night
Maya felt a bit of relief
knowing the owl had never been meant for her
a cool spring Midwestern morning
the preacher started his sermon
a guest preacher known for fire and brimstone
the little country church was filled
censuring the flock about their sins
claiming to be sin free himself
he said he was perfect like Jesus Christ
and that's when it happened
two large front doors blew open
gust of wind raced down the aisle
happened so fast and ended so quick
the little country church was dumbfounded
his hair a mess his papers scattered about
with Bible in hand and rumpled suit
he walked down the aisle and out the door
the little country church sat in silence
Modern world with modern modems,
AI, Wi-Fi, modern day totems,
keyboard nostalgia, a typewriter App,
mind that modern knowledge gap,
discord, discourse, modern day omens.
Omen
There are ways
To put up with things,
And there are ways
To give up...
But NOTHING is more
POWERFUL
Than
(A)
MAN
GONE
MAD!
-Gray Squirrel
01/16/2024
Oath of the unseen one
Order of time and place
Only a piercing ray
Of hope, truth and downfall
Ordeal of the dark
Often a warning sign
Out from what is beyond
September 11, 2023.
Hell and skull are twins We think of them after death. They shouldn't be empty.
Oh! no brain, no skull. Hell is, where the devil lives Hell and skull are sins
Symbols of omen Go to hell with a good one Reserve for heaven
Sam Adams
A lonely old man
Was walking in the hills
Near his house,
Encountering mocking birds,
Mocking him, chasing him.
He ran down the path fleeing,
Hearing omens of his pending doom
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