Tuesday, August 4, 2015

WTF ?

I make the mistake of
Reading about catastrophe!
     And how all the world is
     Mad
At all the rest of the world
     And how
All of that will lead to
World War Three!

I make the mistake of watching
     U tube
(No longer can afford T V)
And watching all the people talking about
     Catastrophe!
And how the economic system
     Is not happy
And will shortly
     Cease to be!

Dear me
It is not like they
     Said it would be
In school -
We were given the idea
That the world was a benevolent,
     Ordered thing
Something that philosophers
Could
Philosophize
About

Plato could sit and contemplate
Aristotle could argue
And Socrates had it all
     Figured out

I studied this -
I had to memorize
     And take tests
And write papers !
And now you're telling me
That it was all for naught

This - "education" -
Was not cheap
It was supposed to prepare me
For living here -
On This Earth !

I don't want to say it didn't
Work
But WTF.




Saturday, July 25, 2015

Where?

Where ?
Where can I go 
To get 
A little peace -
A little space -
Even in the book store 
here 
The children fuss and wiggle 
The music reminds me 
Only 
Of what a bad mood I've been in 
Lately 
And then this unmentionable 
Bibliophile guy 
Has to snap his fingers  
Too -
To some nonexistent beat 
     in bad canned Music 

Please  -  please 
Give me some space 
Some space and time 
Before I die 
But 
I realize it's space 
Inside we really 
Need 

And that doesn't take going anywhere 
It only means 
- Sit  down 
sit still 
- Be 
Alone 
With me 

Why is that so 
Difficult 
So hard 
To do 
When it is so simple 
Too 

It's crowded in here 
Inside my head 
I was never taught to -
Never told to -
Be content 
With what 
Exists 
With what we have -
Where would go 
The economy? 
If we all became content 
The vast market crash 
Would do us 
Good 
We could stop and look around 
And say hi 
How're you ?
In every country on every
Continent 
Just 
How are you doing 
Today ?

I say 
Let us continue 
To talk to each other 
Over internet and things -
Let the common person 
Continue to post 
About -
How was their day ? 
In every country 
Every way -
And then we will know 
That we're not all so very 
Different 
After all 

And when they come and offer us 
A gun 
To go and do some 
"Agenda"
Then we will know 
That there is no enemy -
Everyone 
All the "common" people want 
Is just to 
" get along"

Others have an idea 
About 
Ruling the world 
But I know 
- listen to Lao tsu -

The World is 
Sacred 
Don't touch it !

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Saturday

This ground squirrel
Wants my sandwich
     Very bad -
I've got my chair 
     And fresh air 
A view of ocean waves and 
     Surfers too 

Rain !
Is that a drop of 
Rain 
In the midst of the drought -

THEY 
Want to build more 
Houses here
THEY are from 
LA !
How will more building
Help
With the drought? 
THEY are not being 
Helpful 
As usual . . .

So now we have some remnants
Of a hurricane from "south"
I see lightening strike 
Out 
Over the ocean
It comes straight down
In a jagged way
Wouldn't want to be 
Out on a boat 
With a metal mast 
Today 

I hear thunder as 
I get home 
The Gods are playing 
Nine pins 
     They say 
The neighbors and their 
Partying don't seem to be 
     Dampened
But all their motorcycles 
Parked in the street 
Will be wet -
Some small compensation 
For the noise 
Which will probably
Continue into 
The night 
Tonight

I'm sure the 
Ground squirrel
Is safe 
Underground 
Around the boulders hauled 
From somewhere 
To hold back 
The sea 
And to provide 
A cozy place 
For my chair 
     And me. 



Saturday, July 11, 2015

Bazaar!

Where are all the 
Hoards of People ?
We've worked so hard -
Cleaning out our cupboards 
And deciding what to 
Sell 
This belonged to my Aunt 
She had a long and interesting 
Life 
But in the end 
Things didn't go 
So well -
How can I sell 
Her treasures 
At the sale? 
But how long should they 
Sit in their box 
In the garage ?
What if 
I ever wanted to get 
A car in there 
Again? 
Life is not about 
Stuff -
But -
This is AMERICA 
And so
It sort of 
Is

And there's a band 
God save us - !
Singing loud 
And 
Out of tune 
Back from their break 
They bravely carry 
On
I put the only two dollars 
I made 
Into the tip basket -
I lied 
And at church no less 
The church 
Bizarre -
Bazaar !
We had great hopes 
     Coming here -
Lots of money 
And lots more room 
In our various garages 
And closets 
Almost like adding on 
     Another room 
Like people with money do -
Space -
Like they have 
In those magazines 
(Note to self) 
Stop! 
Looking at those 
Magazines - 

You know the ones -
Where everything looks chic
Even the junk
Junque! 
And is somehow color
"Colour" coordinated 

As the band sings 
An off key rendition 
Of my favorite song 
I remind myself 
Life 
     Was never meant to be 
     Any better than it is 
     
Or it would be. 

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Nomenclature

It's so late 
I can't escape 
I've done it again 
Even though I swear 
     And swear again
I won't do this 
     Ever
Again 

The battery is running 
     Out 
The phone has had enough 
Of my poking 
     And prodding 
Of my curiosity
     And philosophying

Tomorrow will punish me 
Undoubtedly
And I will have 
No excuse 
No justification 

I will be angry with myself 
And it won't be funny -
When I struggle
To exist 
To listen 
To have patience 

The excuse of 
Living in the moment 
And 
Enjoying the expression of
Personality 
And 
Writing poetry

Will pale before
The effort of 
Holding it all 
Together 
-Among people 
(Which I'm not so good at 
Anyway)
What to say 
And 
How to say it 
When to laugh 
     Appropriately 
Maybe a little cleverness 
Thrown in 
(Don't push it - 
Just get by) 
Why I 
Do this to myself 
I still wonder 
It is my little 
Rebellion 
I suppose 
My small attempt at 
The artistic life 
I laugh 
At myself 
For such 
Nomenclature 






Fourth of July- 2015 -

By the rockets red glare -
And the fireworks flare 
The 4th of July 
Has come and gone 

Crowds and crowds of people 
And cars 
Carrying chairs and kids and 
Coolers

Beware of the roads 
This long weekend -
People returning to LA
Will be crawling by 

-Locals not even attempting 
The freeway 
Going to church tomorrow 
By the back roads 
     -If I go 

The Fillmore tourist train 
Rumbles through 
Green orchards 
Mountains standing
     Majestically 
     Behind 
We take pictures 
Of each other 
Taking pictures 

Chinese tourists 
Speak Chinese 
Mexican folks herd 
Their kids

The car show 
Is all lowered 
Cars 
And cars that bounce 
Unnaturally

Motorcycle folks
Make lots and lots 
Of noise 
They roar away 
The women awkwardly
Perched behind their men
How can they imagine
That is fun? 
Oh well
To each her own 
I'm sure 
Those girls probably 
have as much trouble 
With their men 
As I do 
With mine

- only different 




Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Happy Birthday

Birthday depression 
Is a legitimate thing 
Older -
Relentlessly 
Older 

And all the things 
I haven't done -
And all the things I'm 
Too old to do -

However,
One can always count 
Ones blessings -
One can give thanks for 
Enough to eat and 
A place to sleep 

One can
Pick oneself up 
And 
Have another cup 
Of coffee 

And please remind me 
That these grey cloudy days 
Are the price we pay 
For living near the ocean 
And 
It's one hundred degrees 
Inland !