I am sitting in a hotel lobby in a small town south of Des Moines
That means Iowa for those of you who did not know
I am drinking coffee with French Vanilla flavoring and sweetener
Waiting for my twin sister, listening to loud country western music
I would not mind the music if it was on a proper volume
It is weirdly loud and proud for six a.m.
as if it thinks it is better than rock and roll or bluegrass
my nerves are screaming
blend warm coffee
with pepsi cola
and sweetener
to fizz the day
len
You can't make a living
If you're not giving
The services you render
Tenders you money
You won't make a dime
If you're idle all the time.
To be somebody
You must do something
To be nobody
Just do nothing
You can't make sweetener
With lime or bitter leaf.
Knowledge is infinite
But limited to those
That does not seek it
You can't picture
What you don't face
You can't be a public figure
Without impact.
I endow book smart
And street wise
For life is two sides
Up and down, good and bad
Day and night, sun and Moon
Mother and father, son and daughter
Life can give you anything, when it's it time.
What Would Another
Moon Be Like?
In Ornate Marble
Dressed In Neon Gold;
Pouring It's Ever-Loving
Wealth Into The
QUALIFIED Owner
Such A Brilliant Idea!
***
Putting All That Dusty
Dappled Gray
Faded Welcome
Over-Whelming
Lunacy To Shame.
LO!
Bitter Drifter In Bitter Butter,
Artificial Sweetener For
BitterSweet Love.
-Gray Squirrel
10-22-2025
puddings jello and fruit pies
great on a dessert
whipped into a frothy cream
full of sweet sugar
puffy and frothy
with sweetener
milk
she was created by my sister
made of bunny material
for Easter
a cloth basket where I put my sweetener
a store bought basket made of plastic
sits on another counter, holding bread and buns
a tiny crystal basket holds nothing,
simply adorns the place.
What no sugar means
Is that it’s sugar free
For a diabetic
It’s very important
But when something
That’s supposed to be
Sugar free has sweetener
Inside, like fructose or
Sweet and low, it’s
A misrepresentation of
A sugar free product, plus
It’s bad for diabetics
("In Memory of Gary Vaughn", 2018, original encaustic)
The Flavor of Kool-Aid
We all get to choose the flavor of Kool-Aid we drink.
And maybe that’s the extent of free will.
We each have our world views formed and cemented
By these biases, personal and cultural,
But even people as close as siblings
Who share the same DNA and conditioning
Can end up as different as oil and vinegar
But I’ve had my share of Kool-Aid,
And I don’t remember it having any flavor
Other than sweet.
What it offers as a way to entice
Is a difference in color,
Or put another way
A difference in appearance
And so it is with beliefs and biases.
It’s mostly a difference of surface over substance.
What is the substance of Kool-Aid?
A little dye, some sweetener,
And a whole lot of the universal solvent.
And what is the effect of our preferred Kool-Aid?
Reassurance that we have chosen
The best world view
To match our tastes.
Which are in fact chosen
On the basis of
What we want to see,
And the promise of something sweet.
(9/23/23)
Poet: Em Em Mubarak Lawal
Sequel: after Paciolo pen saint
I rather call a spade a sword
why does the finesse of a wine
not linger on the tongue for long?
why does tears have to flow
when butterflies fill one’s belly,
and also when one could not curb
cobwebs of life from overcoming
one’s happiest moments?
Life I thought was meant to be fair
one apple broke the camel’s back
when man sold his eternal happiness
for the sweetener enshrined inside the apple
it is the puzzle of ages
as I also rest on the shore of sigh
at the top crest of Mountain Sinai
just as Moses received the ten decrees
maybe this puzzle will be solved
now that all of these rests on the rock of faith.
Sugar, you temptress, you hide everywhere
In many a form you never play fair
You sneak in my life like a thief in the night
Stealing my breath with every sweet bite
Making me long for your taste everyday
From the moment I wake, I’m your gullible prey
A ‘dangerous substance’ is what you should be
With red and bold letters, for innocents to see
There is not a food where your charms are not found
Queen of addictions, you should have been crowned
More forms than a demon, you use to deceive
You change your appearance, to make me believe
Liquids and solids, and all in between
Your arrogant invasion, at the least, very keen
In every known texture, you’ve come to exist
Creamy or hard, too many to list
At breakfast, lunch, dinner, you always control
Little by little, you’re taking a toll
No matter the food, you always are there
You’ve caught me at times in your devilish snare
I’ve seen you appear on some labels, three times
In a court you’d be guilty of three separate crimes
Sugar, you temptress, I’m watching for you
And the very next time when you make your debut
sun shadow finger marks streak down my kitchen
they appear in even strokes, reminding me of piano keys
excited sun-thriving plants lean toward my blinds
hoping to soak in as much Vitamin D as they ever could
I leave the lights off, they are invasive before nine o’clock
no one else is up, the perfect time to prepare my wake up brew
humming comes out of me as I begin to smell my favorite blend
I add cocoa mix and sweetener to my oversized cup of joe
the first car of the day starts up next door. Mr. McClinty.
He arrives at work a couple of hours early, afraid to be late.
At seventy-six, he probably fears he will be replaced.
I sit down at the table and work the crossword as I sip my coffee.
Sweetener of my tea
Listener to my plea
Keeper of my heart
Saver of my soul
I trust that you will lead me home
Potter of my flesh
Sustainer of this life
Giver of love
Healer of wounds
In you,I put all my hope.
Each time I roll the dice,
May your name ever appear.
Whenever I toss the coin,
May your name ever appear,
For without you,
Life is but an empty shell.
k...99...
canine tea...?
nine...!
can...nine tea...?
nine...canine tea...!
nine...cay'enne tea...?
nine...!
'kay...!!!...ninety nine cay'enne...nine tea...$9...'kay...!!!
stan'sand
(p'nnnn all day
As sweet as the coffee with sugar, creamer and milk
Words from the mouth are said
As the well-sweetened coffee is soothing to the taste buds
Words are nice to the ears
And heartwarming to the heart
But too much sweetener will cause toothache
And too much praises may block the melodies of life from the nature
Too much complement may make one proud and lazy
STARING DEATH IN HIS CORNER
I'm not the best pound for pound
boxer trading blow for blow
This bout won't end in this 36th round,
battling from the cradle from the set go
when my eyes refuses to behold life's wound,
uninterested in deciphering life's code show,
from when my wailing became a sound,
this boy baby became life's Eskimo
And you death, stare a brother in the face.
Despite the scar from the Diviner's torment,
He who bare in hand the enamor of grace,
The Father of all and the master of your fate,
you came for The son all to number his days.
But this in-ring soldier is born to fight & be great.
Pain you bring is sweetener enroute my eternal place.
IF I FEEL PAIN, I AM ALIVE
surviving like the edge of a knife.
IF I AM ALIVE, I CAN FIGHT,
triumphing over thee day & night.
IF I CAN FIGHT, I CAN WIN
(while trumpet of my victory keeps blowin')
because that's what Victor's do.
Vick Manuel Poetry {VMP}
Form: Chandler Sonnet
Copyright© April, 2021.
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