the inevitable

the birthday
     approaches
like the shark
     in "Jaws"
duh- dnd, duh-duh
(the sneaky theme song of the shark)

the birthday song
 - should be more like that -
     not this "Happy Birthday to You"
            --bull s#$%!!

What's happy about getting older?
Except that the alternative may be worse.

We don't really know
We're not really sure
and therein lies
     the trouble
we're sort of stuck here
     for now anyway
stuck here
     not knowing
trying to
     figure it out
what to do
     with the remaining years
          -want to do my best
          -want to please
               the powers that be
                    on earth and in heaven

we have the choice
     -to do what's best
 and to figure out
      -what that is
      -what that could possibly be
      -what that means for me

that seems to be the game here

use our free will-
     to please the Gods
     -the fickle, capricious
      all powerful
      Gods
the ones with tornadoes and earthquakes
in their hands
the ones who throw
tsunamis
at us
the Gods who sneak up quietly
with cancer and strokes and all manner
of unmentionable maladies

but for all this
we must just
     love them
God is love
love is all we have
     in the end
and all we can give
     the Gods
That is the one thing
They do not have
     (I have read)
our love, our adoration

I have decided
     it is their world
     their way
At long last
     I give up
(Or at least
     try to)

for so long I have been
trying to tell the Gods
how I would like it to be

-it seems,
they don't listen to me

I'm sure they have their own
     agenda
     their own plan
They do not share it
     with me
Top on my list would be
     leaving out this birthday
But do they listen?
     -no-
They have some noble plan
     no doubt
For how could a God's plan
     be other
     than noble?

And so I must
     with great humility
     and reverence
     concede
That their GREAT PLAN
     for me
Is that I
     with equanimity
     will be...

Sung to...
Congratulated...
     maybe get a card or two
Even If I DON'T AGREE!!!
 

    


  

cat attack

the black cat
visits

what can I say...
He is not "mine"
     but I feed him
          anyway

He has that kind of attitude
If he doesn't like what's being served
your feet aren't safe
     he doesn't grab and bite
           very hard
     but you know
He disapproves

I'm sure he learned this
at "his" house
where there are two dogs
     two kids
and nobody pays any attention
     to anything
I'm sure he was hungry
and they were walking past him
and they were reminded
     in no uncertain terms

but when he comes here
he has my undivided attention
and all the petting he can endure

we are friends
     -pals
especially when
he gets his way

-don't disturb him
     when he's sleeping
-don't pet him
     irresponsibility
-buy the expensive
     littlest cans of cat food

and you may be
     rewarded
with a purr
with a nuzzle

What can I say...
-the little ears
-the little face
-the expressive tail

Am I becoming the old woman
     with the cats?!!
at least for now
There is only one-
Only the handsomest,
     most lovely kitty
In the whole entire world

-love is a many splendor ed thing-

The Dream

It was a big snake
     a really, really,
     big snake
like a python
     with a big mouth
     and big fangs

I had to hang on
     with both
     my hands
As hard as I could

It was trying
     to bite
     my face

It was inches
     from me
Trying to kill me
     with
     poisonous fangs

Hard to hold
     onto

Squiggling-
      Squirming-
     like a really big snake
          would do
Very muscular, sinuous, scaly
     Beautiful-
     And deadly too-

Maybe it's because
     life's been like that
     lately
Trying to
     bite me
To squirm
     out of my
     hands
Really too much
     for me to
     hold onto
Really too much
     for me
     to understand

Or maybe it was
     the midnight snack
With the
     hot sauce

Either way

Waking up
     was not
     a bad thing
This morning

It was nice
     to see
The REALLY
 BIG SNAKE
     fade away
           with
           the light
           of day

Pure imagination. . .
     as they say
     (in their
     Zen-like
          way)
-is true with so much of
the essence of me
and the essence of you-

and then...
I ponder, if the universe knew,
it was
April fools day
too

hold on

 Waiting on hold
-waiting to talk to a human
-yelling at a "machine voice"
   doesn't get me much
   in the way of satisfaction
but
just in case...
"this call may be monitored
for quality assurance"....
What kind of quality is this?
     You are a mega-giant corporation.
     One which sells stock.
     One which is a pillar of the economy.
     And you #@%&* can't hire enough people
     to answer your #$@%&* phone???
So monitor this call-
Record this call-
I'm telling your recording
all about it
-as I listen to your "soothing" music
-which only irritates me more!!!
and then the "machine voice"
comes on to advertise to me
That's not
very
soothing

6 to 9 minutes ...
how many millions of dollars
is this large monopoly worth
I can't go anywhere else to get this
product, this electricity

but when the "person" comes on
I'm as nice as pie
-for I realize
that the job he has
is not very jazzy
-not very fun
and it's not his fault
at all
that
the
machines
have taken
over
the world

Atlas Sneezed

and why
did the gods
create colds

Sometimes it seems they play with us
like the Greek gods of old

sitting on their mount Olympus's
looking down

viruses, germs, bacteria
could bring down Hercules

-no need to cut his hair-
or was that Samson
-I'm too congested to care- 

Argentine Tango

and I see you dancing with some other 

and I know I 

     wouldn't want you anyway 

far too superior and regal for the likes of me 

I'd do something 

     I just know it 

too outrageous for words 

and 

I wouldn't 

even know it... 

but occasionally 

the dance 

comes my way 

and I get to hold 

onto you 

and run around the floor 

I'm getting better 

at it 

and I hope to one day

impress you no end 

with my prowess 

with my grace 

-with the satisfied look on 

     my face

 

They call this dance 

the four minute love affair 

and I'm thankful 

for the lack of entanglement, involvement,

And all the rest--- 

This dance gives 

     the best 

The connection 

The power, and the grace

the tension between 

the two lovers 

-for four minutes 

anyway  

 

new gadget  netbook  notebook     there is no return    how do they expect us to write   in long long  lines  like this    what person programed this     obviously was not       did not type out poems in the coffee shop     maybe there is a way       a way  i have yet to discover      just wait a bit until i can afford a new cell phone     then we will see what it's like to write from every possible place   i hate to say     pen and paper may still be the best way