Some Poems:
The Chase (A Little Country Madness)
It started one day when I let the dogs out--
They have to go pee every morning.
But such is my luck: there are others about;
Creatures who spray without warning.
Lilly’s the largest of our dogs by far
Half husky, half lab, and all pep.
Gizmo’s much smaller, the oldest of ours,
Just the same height as the steps.
And then there is Mickey, my Jack Russell runt,
So small he could fit in my pocket.
Bred to find rodents, he lives for the hunt;
He daily puts “chase” on his docket.
So there I stand vulnerable at the door
Half naked in boxers and socks
When Lilly lets out a yelp I can’t ignore,
Thinking she’s been pecked hard by the cock.*
I stumble outside (‘course the door locks behind)
Still clearing my eyes’ morning funk,
And that’s when it hits me, the horror unkind—
My dog has been sprayed by a skunk.
I clearly can see she’s been soaked to the bone
Her long yellow fur matted down,
But where are the other dogs? Why’s she alone?
The answer just deepens my frown.
I see Mickey rubbing his head in the grass
His eyes shut up tight as he squirms
And Gizmo has got the damned skunk by the ass!
He’s been sprayed before; won’t he learn?
I grab the rake handle (such hope I avail),
In order to pry the thing loose,
When Gizzy gets sprayed from that bushy black tail
That runs away under a spruce.
The dogs now are rubbing themselves in the dirt,
In the grass, and of course, horse manure,
So now I must bathe them, locked out with no shirt,
No soap, and no skunky-smell cure!
But Lilly decides that, well, she’s clean enough,
Some animal’s out in her yard!
I shout to her, “NO,” she looks at me, Tough,
Completely ignores my canard.
She sticks her face under that spruce by the drive
To see what the skunk was up to—
I made my mistake by creeping up beside
To grab her—the skunk sprayed me, too!
Well, now I was ripped, I mean, completely mad,
This morning was turning out shit.
I looked around, picked up that rake that I’d had,
And wild-eyed, told her to “GET IT!”
That black and white nuisance, it bolted right then,
Perhaps from the sound of my voice,
It scampered around toward the old chicken pen,
Of course, by now I had no choice.
I raised the rake up, high above in the air
And brandished it quite like a sword,
I told the dogs, “CHARGE!” and they obeyed with flair,
My skunk-pissy, galloping hoard!
What should happen right then but for Norm to come out
Of the house freshly showered and shaved.
I took one look at him and I had no doubt
That by now I must look quite depraved.
“What the hell’s going on?!” he shouted at last,
And though it may make me a baddy,
I looked at my dogs, who are really quite fast,
Then at Norm, and I said, “GO SEE DADDY!”
The End.
*Think Rooster—we have chickens and a rooster. Perv.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Choice
We all feel life and love and loss,
The good and bad, the dreck and dross--
To wear it like an albatross
Would seem to be a choice.
I still recall my Grampa’s words
The final sounds of his I heard,
To you, perhaps, it seems absurd,
But I still hear his voice.
I still recall when Gramma died
How Mommy’s eyes were red and wide
How I returned to child inside
When she said, “We was robbed.”
I’ll never forget Charlie’s face
Or how his smile warmed up the place
His clumsy, oafish charm and grace;
How, when he died, I sobbed.
Yet I have been a lucky man,
Been granted gifts from which I ran,
Been let to glimpse the master plan
Of which we all are part.
No, I do not believe in fate
But rather I can demonstrate
No matter what, it’s ne’er too late
To fix a broken heart.
When I was younger, so naïve
I thought I knew what I believed
‘Til innocence was found deceived--
My conscience lost its ground.
I found myself surrendering,
Foul cynicism tendering
My inner voices rendering
With tempting succor sound.
Oh I was once consumed by fear
That all would crumble should I near--
Then I found one who held me dear
And never let me go.
So this I’d like to share with you
If you can spare a blink or two
There are a few things you must do
For life is one big show:
Prepare for strife as best you can,
Invest yourself in fellow man,
Uplift, enjoy, and play your hand
As if the bad has stalled,
‘Cause bad will happen, this is true
To everyone, including you,
What matters now is what you do
Until your curtain’s called.
Yet while preparing, still be glad
That days remaining to be had
Are yours to fashion, good or bad--
Alone, they're only time.
To strip it bare and parse it out
We make our choices hedging doubt
If that must be what life's about
Then make each choice sublime.
For as I wrote when I began,
I have one life to live as man,
To live each day as best I can
And speak with earnest voice,
And all this life and love and loss,
The good and bad, the dreck and dross--
To wear it like an albatross
Would seem the weaker choice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As Luna Cycles
As Luna cycles so do we, reflecting on the Earth
Through seasons of humanity we seek to prove our worth.
‘Tis only in the days of my own twilight that I see
What similarities apply betwixt the moon and me.
When I was young the moon above did fill my heart with awe,
Her constant gaze projecting love ‘til storms made her withdraw.
In love my heart shone also thus, a freely given thing,
‘Til thunder made of broken trust an end to love did bring.
I sought this empty void to fill by buying many things,
Yet only grew emptier still; a lonely heart that stings.
I thought perhaps that fame would be the answer I required
You may even remember me for I was quite admired
But fame begat in me a pride that did me justice not;
I shone without, but still inside an ache grew blazing hot.
The years passed by, I grew from boy to man and started living;
I sought to learn the source of joy and forged a heart forgiving
‘Til pride and power lost their luster when I found a mate
No longer did I blow and bluster, clashing swords with fate.
Thus ended naïve Spring in me, begetting Summer love
A wife and child, a family, and all the perks thereof.
I went through all the motions, all the heartache, and the joy,
I bought a home in which did crawl my precious little boy
I watched him grow as I had done, not noticing my gray
Until one day my Fall’d begun; just when I could not say.
Yet as my body slowed my mind still shone quite clear to me
My boy grew to a man quite kind and ever dear to me
I sought to teach him as I might of wisdom, worth, and truth,
To hold up those who cannot fight, and counsel jaded youth.
And now my Winter has arrived, my time is running short,
And Luna watches, uncontrived, to witness my report.
What lesson, then, are you to learn? What wisdom from this sage?
What value gained from hearts that burn, then flicker as we age?
Now in my feeble, fragile, form to you I do impart
The only piece of knowledge warm and sacred to my heart:
The time you spend in futile chase of money, fame, and pride
Is better spent by keeping pace with what you hold inside
As Luna cycles so do we reflecting on the Earth
Through seasons of humanity we seek to prove our worth.
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