These are poems of necessity
Recording what matters
Saying what needs to be said
Revealing unappreciated complications
And the unexamined chaos of the heart
Providing comfort, not explanation
Gathering words behind a levee
To contain love and loss and laughter
Friday, December 9, 2011
You Dirty Rat
No longer can Cagney
Fling out
"You dirty rat"
Neuroscientists have now discovered
Empathetic rats will set free
An imprisoned fellow rat
For no reason
Other than compassion
Something many of our species
Cannot yet do
Instead, it is prison for ounces of marijuana
A Berlin style wall for our Mexican border
And rats accusing each other
"You dirty human being"
[Based on a Houston Chronicle article, 9 Dec 2011, "Altruistic behavior stuns scientists". Neurobiologists increasingly believe animals can detect emotions. I hope they find something we can inject into certain political leaders before they kill us all.]
Fling out
"You dirty rat"
Neuroscientists have now discovered
Empathetic rats will set free
An imprisoned fellow rat
For no reason
Other than compassion
Something many of our species
Cannot yet do
Instead, it is prison for ounces of marijuana
A Berlin style wall for our Mexican border
And rats accusing each other
"You dirty human being"
[Based on a Houston Chronicle article, 9 Dec 2011, "Altruistic behavior stuns scientists". Neurobiologists increasingly believe animals can detect emotions. I hope they find something we can inject into certain political leaders before they kill us all.]
Monday, October 3, 2011
Good Guest Merit Badge
Earning a good guest merit badge
Has its real tests and perils
I got a demerit today
For waking the dog
While I ate a Milky Way
As I gazed at the Milky Way
But I did get extra credit
For washing the dishes
And instituting soft butter on the table
Has its real tests and perils
I got a demerit today
For waking the dog
While I ate a Milky Way
As I gazed at the Milky Way
But I did get extra credit
For washing the dishes
And instituting soft butter on the table
The Wind Blows
In a new place
I find an old self
Peaceful - no goals
The wind blows through the trees
As do thoughts through my mind
Still there are moments of silence
Of no anticipation
Of freedom
Only being here
Sitting in the cool Autumn breeze
Accepting and slowing
Preparing to become a meal for worms
I find an old self
Peaceful - no goals
The wind blows through the trees
As do thoughts through my mind
Still there are moments of silence
Of no anticipation
Of freedom
Only being here
Sitting in the cool Autumn breeze
Accepting and slowing
Preparing to become a meal for worms
Last Meal
He chained Byrd to a truck
Then dragged him to death
Brewer did not eat a bite of his last meal
Like both lives, it was thoughtlessly discarded
A fuss resulted
A Texas politician wants the legislature
To prohibit this death row final supper privilege
Instead, he wants to kill both the person and the tradition
And once again
Undeniably demonstrate
We are a mean, vengeful society
And not afraid of ghosts
[Death row last meals originated in pre-modern Europe as an attempt to quell the ghost of the soon to be departed. Brewer's ordered: fried okra with ketchup, a triple meat cheese burger, 2 chicken fried steaks smothered in onions and cream gravy, a pound of BBQ, half a load of white bread, a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell pepper and jalapenos, peanut butter fudge, 3 root beers, and a pint of Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream]
Then dragged him to death
Brewer did not eat a bite of his last meal
Like both lives, it was thoughtlessly discarded
A fuss resulted
A Texas politician wants the legislature
To prohibit this death row final supper privilege
Instead, he wants to kill both the person and the tradition
And once again
Undeniably demonstrate
We are a mean, vengeful society
And not afraid of ghosts
[Death row last meals originated in pre-modern Europe as an attempt to quell the ghost of the soon to be departed. Brewer's ordered: fried okra with ketchup, a triple meat cheese burger, 2 chicken fried steaks smothered in onions and cream gravy, a pound of BBQ, half a load of white bread, a cheese omelet with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, bell pepper and jalapenos, peanut butter fudge, 3 root beers, and a pint of Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream]
Hair
My wife tells me I need to comb my hair
Then I tell her
I am more concerned about what is in my head
Than what grows out of it
Of course, she is right
And so am I
Then I tell her
I am more concerned about what is in my head
Than what grows out of it
Of course, she is right
And so am I
No Chance To Say Goodbye
I did not get a chance to say goodbye
You slipped away while I was sleeping
I've tried to get you back
To reach you in my dreams
But each morning
Despite dreams' temporary reprieve
You are gone again
And I must be satisfied
With only memories
You slipped away while I was sleeping
I've tried to get you back
To reach you in my dreams
But each morning
Despite dreams' temporary reprieve
You are gone again
And I must be satisfied
With only memories
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