6/11/2023 blog

A comment on Mass today and some poems

The pastor spoke today of of walking with Christ. This may seem odd, but I think a lot of the people at the time were really stalkers. They loved him in maybe an obsessive way but then turned on him.It makes me think of the David Bowie pop song called “I’m Afraid of Americans” where in the video he is pursued by a stalker played by Trent Reznor.

“Into the Sky” by yours truly

Up into the sky,
Why oh why?
Pink and light blue pastel
In the sky.
Well oh well.
The wind has calmed for now.
Make it now through somehow.

“Gnomes” by yours truly

I write poems
And date gnomes
From broken homes.
What can I say?
They have all gone away.
They have all gone away
And were all overage anyway.

“Thin Clouds” by yours truly

Thin pastel clouds
Over the foothills,
So light but so loud.
Mostly blue clear sky,
As evening comes on,
As it arrives
And lives.

6/10/2023 blog

A poem and a comment

Comment

I know banks have security concerns, but what bothers me is when they lock you out of your own money or credit because you may be spending a lot, and they do it with no notice to you.

A poem

“Butterflies” by yours truly.

Butterflies
Better eyes.
Lost ties.
Realize, realize.
Lost ties.
Lost Thais.
Discount “whys.”
Realize, realize.
Into the skies
Like butterflies.

6/8/2023 blog

Just a brief poem

“Cheesecake” by yours truly

Cheesecake, heartbreak.
Big mistake after the wake.
Wake from the lake
Of Narcissus and Echo.
Put down the snake.
“Excite the the membrane when the senses cool.”
— T.S. Eliot
Life will take
What it will take.

6/7/2023 blog

Three brief poems and a comment

A comment

At my age and condition, sometimes your mind gets filled with a jumble of memories, maybe delusions, and remembered song lyrics. Anyway, here are three new brief poems.

1) “Gotta” by yours truly

“Gotta go. Gotta go.
Here is something to know.
Gotta go, gotta go.
Throw you out the window!
All the people to and fro.
Gotta go.”
“How are you doing?”
“Oh, so-so.”

2) “Thunderstorm” by yours truly

Thunderstorm tonight.
It will be alright, alright.

My oldest brother said:
I had half the capacity
To be a punk rocker.
But I don’t play music.
I guess with punk rock
You don’t really have to know
How to play.

Stil like listening to punk/post-punk music.
As well as thunder,
There is some lightening.
What is they say about it following
The thunder.
Or is it the other way around?

Night storms.

3) “Saturated” by yours truly

Saturated by rain
For reasons I can’t explain.
Oh, the pain
When I sit on a moist seat cushion
After summer rain.
Sometimes, methinks
I am insane.

6/6/2023 blog

A poem

“Father’s Day” by yours truly

An upcoming Father’s Day
When your Dad has recently passed away.
What can I do?
What say?
“Life is a casting off.”
From the famous Arthur Miller play:
“Death of a…”

6/5/2023 blog

A serious poem and a joke one

“Amends” by yours truly

Heard recently on phone
From an old frenemy.
We had had a falling out at
About 19 when I was acting crazy,
And he was a bit angry then.
He was nice now on the phone.
He is an independent in his career field
As I am in mine.

It is odd though, making amends.
It is one step in the AA program.
I don’t think the old buddy was formally
Trying to make amends, just to let bygones be bygone.

I also got a phone call about 10 years ago
From a teenage workplace and neighborhood buddy
Going through the amends step of AA,
Apologizing to me.
I did not know what he was apologizing for,
And he would not specify.
I guess he was spreading bad gossip about me.

“Consent Form” by yours truly (a joke)

Banker: “Before allowing an early withdrawal
From your 401(K), we will need
You to complete a spousal consent form.”
Client: “This is ridiculous. I don’t have a spouse and never have had one.”
Banker: “What about when you kiss your Mom? She may have to sign the form. And all those models and actresses you imagined intimacy with? And that teenage woman you kissed heavily after a dance? We need consent signatures on the form from them all.”
Client: “You are gross.”
Banker: “No, our rules are subtle and sophisticated to protect your money behind steel doors giving you no access to it while you die alone and broke, evicted and lying on a sidewalk.

6/4/2023 blog

On Mass and three brief poems

The pastor spoke about the Trinity today, the mystery of the way that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost can come together in the host. After my Dad died earlier this year, a friend said, “he will always be with you.” A comfortable ghost.

“Boys in Trees” by yours truly

Boys in a tree
Lucky not to fall.
we used to play jumping.
From swings too.
My nephew tree climber
Says, “I am brave but careful.”
I guess we were then too.

“Cloud Cover” by yours truly

Sometimes the cloud cover
Is so heavy
It can seem like nature’s ceiling.
With a bit of sunlight revealing.
And what are you feeling?
What are you feeling?

“This Morning” by yours truly

This morning, more sunlight
On the back window of a parked car.
No clouds today,
So sunlight comes through
And makes another spectral
And colorful image on the back
Window of a parked car.
How near are you? How far?

Actually a lot of clouds
Came in mid-day today.
I thought of being able
To fly like a bird
Through gentle clouds.

6/3/2023 blog part two

A poem

“What More?” by yours truly

What more is there to say of the sky?
Today, soft white clouds, mostly low,
And clear blue above above them.

My limited perspective. In grade school,
There were three types of clouds,
And I can’t remember the categories now.

R.E.M. had a pop song in the 1980s
Called “Fall on Me”, involving the lead singer
Asking the sky to fall on him.

Here are some lyrics from the song.
“Buy the sky, and sell the sky.
And tell the sky:
Fall on me.
(What is it up in the air for?)”

6/3/2023 blog

Two poems

“Do” by yours truly

Do you ever want to punch
Through the night
With spindly arms even?
The world can be so cruel.
“Oh, just eat your gruel.”
Yes, it does sometimes give fuel.
“You’ll do whatever you will
To fuel, fool.”

“Bursting” by yours truly

Sun bursting in the morning.
You did get the warning.
The sky is cloudless bright white
Ahd heavenly light blue.
No more rain today, perhaps.

6/2/2023 blog part two

Three poems

“Thin” by yours truly

Thin white clouds
Low over foothills.
Some of the clouds look like
Rugged mountains in the distance
Beyond the hills.

A bit of color
In the morning sky,
And some of memory.
Why oh why?
I am getting thin too.

“Pistachioland” by yours truly

“We must invade Pistachioland (aka Pistachiostan)
Yes, pistachios are tasty and healthy
But a bit salty
Even if they do not come out their shells
Without difficulty.
We must invade.”
“But what about collateral damage
To almonds and peanuts?”
“This is nuts!”

“Buyer” by yours truly

“Buyer beware.”
“I don’t want to buy you,
And you can’t buy me.
In the store, I would leave you on the shelf
And go sit on a tree.

And please don’t stare
Mr. Buyer Beware.”
“It’s a loving gaze.
Not a stare.”
“I don’t care. Sometimes
You make me want to pull out
My hair!”