ring, ring,
dang that thing
can't wake
for pete's sake.
get up
go pee
OK
let's see
stumble out
stub toe
bad start
let's go
water, straight
hydrate
good for cramps
don't call me gramps
take a walk
barefoot
neighbors talk
he's a nut
well put
big deal
this sludge
oatmeal
roughage
toothbrush -
what tooth?
corn mush
tooth gone
lost youth
I'm fed
make bed
another day
to dread
Morning Routines KOTABA KOKORO
2/6/7/6/8
coffee
drinking first thing in the morning
while watching the daily news show
the news depressing me
turning it off, drinking coffee
Coffee
Morning delight
Perfect
Lately my mind ebbs
Days mind numbingly routine
The Summer just flows
(8/6/26)
wrote last poem months ago
will not write another so
guess i'll stick with good ol' prose
prosaic from head to toes
if i write anything now
post only me anyhow
no one need read this my trash
algorithms turned to ash
say no more of politics
theology only tricks
you into false contentment
lulls the brain like compliment
dulls the pain of resentment
makes our love hate's complement
wish not to over complain
but ennui's bored me insane
in world prefabricated
all new remains outdated
and what's real is really rare
but fake has millions spare
routine is the only route
for time space life to run out
replace me with a monkey
and you'll save beaucoup money
sorry if self pity's wrong
self regard's just not so strong
seems i've carried on too long
so i'll end this silly song
The morning spills its liquid light,
A clockwork bird takes silent flight.
I fold the sheets, I brew the tea,
And tether my wild soul to me.
The porcelain cup, the silver spoon,
A quiet dance that frees the moon.
These little loops of thread and twine
Are what preserve this mind of mine.
When chaos howls, and skies turn red,
And gravity forgets my head,
I turn the knob, I sweep the floor,
And find the strength to breathe once more.
The mundane acts, a sacred chain,
That catch me as I fall through rain.
In spinning plates and polished glass,
I watch the darkest shadows pass.
A simple rhythm, ticking slow,
The only anchor that I know.
It saved me from the endless deep,
The gentle hours I wake and sleep.
Others will always take a little notice,
When you go missing, they look for you like potus.
Coffee
With a splash of cream
Delightful
I lie to myself and say I love the taste
I don’t
It’s alright
Pretty good, even
But I drink it just because
It keeps the day moving anyway
Then my fingertips smell like it
Earthy and dry
The day hasn't gone any faster at all
But it is something to do
Until one day I retire
And then I'll drink coffee for no reason at all
I'm wistful and sad,
you're not here,
yet you're everywhere.
Your pillow refuses to comfort me,
I punch it and yell up at you,
"Why did you leave?"
Away, I must get away from here,
I don't want to see,
all these memories.
The moon's in the sky,
strong winds are behind me,
a star shines brightly.
When morning comes,
I'll have coffee and toast,
then hold your poor pillow really close.
my friends and I do not play pickle ball
we meet at a buffet in Scottish hall
the only exercise we will get today
is walking back and forth to their buffet
I wonder how much life am I forgetting
Which parts wandered and got lost in the fog
For each and every time my eyes start wetting
I ponder if I’m just remembering it wrong
I wonder how much of life is in a vacuum
Failing to break away from flat routine
Spent years in suffocation in a classroom
Dulled down to be a cog in the machine
The wispy sun sighs through my curtains
I’m not particularly prideful of my job
Don’t do great work like scientists or surgeons
I just create and close my eyes when it feels wrong
I doubt how much of life I’m living forwards
The weeks and ends get jumbled in my head
I try to feel it out and sketch the borders
But all my convolutions turn to lead
My thoughts are friction turning into vapor
Collecting it is in my adenine
Give birth each time I put my pen to paper
And when I die they’ll put my sh*t in a museum
Mary rushed out of bed.
She loved to feed the chickens most.
She'd collect all their eggs.
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: 3rd place 2026
There's A Firm
Satisfaction
In Completing
Routine Chores
That Adores
All The Time
In The World
You Have Left...
A Feeling...
That I Wasn't
Aware Of,
Quite Like This
Before.
***
I Wonder,
When A.I.
Frees Us All
From, Well:
CAREing...
If It'll Feel
Any Firm
Satisfaction
That Way.
And Then Be
That Much
Better For It,
By A Very
Similar Measure.
-Gray Squirrel
10-18-2025
routine is my nemesis
schedule is my enemy
I like to change directions in mid flight
being wildly free appeals to me
I do not like to be caught in time restrictions or webs
I enjoy journeying where my feelings take me
repetition and rules I threw out long ago
My days are my own, and I love it so.
No one suggests, directs or manages me.
I am wild and free, so wild and free.
Breakfast bells ring
In my stomach and
I go downstairs in the
Room where deliciousness
Resides with care and love—
Kitchen,
I stumble slowly
Sinking the moment all in
I take every step
Tap
Tap
Tap
I'm downstairs
My fingers wrapping
Affectionately around
My coffee mug
Which is also my mate,
Coffee, I pour from the french press,
And it goes like a spiral
Down in the mug as a whirlwind.
And then it goes gently down my throat
When I kiss my mellow mug mindfully.
Then my toast jumps out of the toaster
Like an acrobat,
Acutely lays on the placid plate
Waiting for me to reward it
With strawberries, cherries,
Or balmy butter or merry mulberries,
Or sometimes just like Winnie
I eat it with humble honey.
Afterwards, the backyard awaits me,
I amble amply,
Scatter some bread for my buddies—
Birds and squirrels,
While the wind greets me,
And they all gather round
When I read my poems,
Keeping them spellbound.
You ask why I chose you.
I thought you knew!
I chose you like clean air
Because you refreshed my existence
I chose you like the ocean
Because you regulated the climate of my spirit
I chose you like the sun
Because you nourished my heart’s daily routine
I chose you like the soil
Because you filtered the waters of my life that keep me clean
I chose you like the sanctity of tears
Because you supported my focus and cleared my vision
I chose you like laughter
Because you elevated my mood and provided a mirror for my decisions
You ask why I chose you
Without you I was quite capable of becoming the best version of my soul
But together we merged two lives that rendered us one and whole
I thought you knew…my soul chose you
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