What Changes, What Doesn't

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110430

CHANGE OF
RESIDENT

default,
foreclosure
and eviction
portend

soon
I will leave
this home

in the interim,
it must be honored
and lovingly tended

the architect
deserves as much

he is,
even now,
preparing me to dwell
in another of his
many mansions

[ASIDE: Submitted to Poem-A-Day challenge,
theme: after leaving here.]


110429

ODE TO SPIRIT

inner light

guiding,
bright

words
will hardly do

I must live

my ode to you

[ASIDE: Submitted to Poem-A-Day challenge,
theme: ode.]


110428

WITHOUT DUE CONSIDERATION

For years we took—let's be blunt—
while other beings took the brunt.
Life used to be a treasure hunt
and we were always out in front.
We had privilege. We had clout.

Now there's come a turnabout.
Today we groan and whine and pout
because we have to do without;
we're bewildered and unsure;
we think we’re sick and seek a cure.

But mostly we are immature
and mushroom growth is our manure.

[ASIDE: Submitted to Poem-A-Day challenge,
theme: the world without something (besides myself).]


110427

IN THE COMPANY OF POETS

In the eye of the artist,
in the eye of the wise,
it takes the merest moment
to spy and recognize—

paradise,
and all it implies.

In the eyes of the poets
(with whom I ally),
it’s done
in the wink,
in the blink,
in the twinkling of an eye.

[ASIDE: Submitted to Poem-A-Day challenge,
theme: in the _____ of _____.]


110426

YOU FOLLOW?

Every time I drive through Oklahoma
on I-40 and go past Lake Eufala,
I think of Robert Shaw as crime boss
playing against Robert Redford as con man
in the movie, The Sting. “Ya follah?”

I also think of non-confident story tellers
repeatedly checking in with their audiences,
“You follah?”

Say, for instance, I’m not sure if you’re
acquainted with Oklahoma town names.
Instead of the classic four-town version
of names-as-sentence, I might go for five:
“Sallisaw Henryetta Waggoner Bowlegs,
Eufala?”

[ASIDE: Submitted to Poem-A-Day challenge,
theme: leader or follower.]


110425

A HOME REPAIR NO-BRAINER (for Mike)

It only takes a second or two
to fall from a ladder,
which allows for a surprising
amount of thinking.

My brother said his thoughts,
as he plunged toward
a rock sidewalk and curb,
included which part
of his body to sacrifice.

He saved his head.

OSHA can tell you
how often this is NOT the case
(at least in business) and how important
ladder safety training is.

Plus, using your head.

[ASIDE: Submitted to Poem-A-Day challenge,
theme: falling.]


110424

NEEDLESS
SUFFERING

…as opposed
to needful?


SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

May each person find their joy—
and find that joy to be their practice.

May each person find their practice—
and find that practice to be their service.

May each person find their service—
and find that service to be their therapy.

May each therapist
inspire others to be well and wise.

And may each poet
find their therapy to be
the joyful practice of their poetry.

[ASIDE: Submitted to Poem-A-Day challenge,
theme: prayer.]


110423

QUITE QUIT

I was primed to go
and would have gone
(without a goad)
until I dropped.

But it's end of rhyme
and road and line;
when prompted to,
I promptly stopped.

[ASIDE: Submitted to Poem-A-Day challenge,
theme: quit doing something.]


110422

ONE OF THOSE DAYS

As he prepares to unload his cart,
the next shopper in line notices
that it is mostly empty;
two dozen cans of catfood
and a bag of peanuts
don’t take up much space.

“You go there,” she says,
pointing to an express lane
several aisles over.

“I’m easy,” he thinks,
“I have time.”

To the express lane checker he remarks,
“Ever have one of those days?”

“Nope.”


SISTERS

It could have been a dress
or a job or a man.

Neither recalls who noticed it first,
gleaming in the grass—a ring.
Both wanted it,
but both wanted to share.
For awhile, they took turns wearing it.

When life (and a suitor) proposed
that they split apart to separate towns,
they visited the local jeweler
and told their story.

“Can you make a duplicate?”

“Yes,” he said, smiling.
“I can get a similar blue stone
and wax-cast the band and setting.
You could not tell the new ring
from the old.“

“But, no, I will not do that.
This ring was hand-made
by an exceptional craftsman.
This ring was found and shared by you.
This ring is a testament to your
sisterhood and friendship.
None of that can be duplicated.”

[ASIDE: Submitted to Poem-A-Day challenge,
theme: only one in the world.]


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