Tango Tonight

They seek to instruct 

They say

     It must be 

     This way 

Only 

That's what I love

About this dance 

It doesn't care what

     They 

     Say

It 

Goes its own 

Way 

Twists and turns 

In complete rebellion to

Any sort of controlling

Thing 

Or idea of

They will try to 

     Tame it 

To

     Train it 

And it will 

Laugh and dance 

Away from 

Them

In this I take 

Heart 

In this I find 

Consolation 

A pure form of

Rebellion 

Except that it

Wants nothing 

From anyone 

It wants only

To be itself

And to include us

Within it 

Rain 2

It rained 

And it rained

And it rained

Last night

Couldn't sleep -

Lay awake listening 

To the miraculous 

Sound

Of buckets and buckets

And buckets -

Coming down 

This morning 

     I walked around -

Marveling at mother natures 

Sprinkler power -

No need to set these timers 

Or haul the hose around 

- Now if she would just do this every week -

On cue 

But -

Probably not -

She 

Likes to 

Surprise us -

Sometimes 

Too much so -

Sometimes washing people 

Away -

But today 

All is glistening and 

Clean 

Fluffy white clouds blow over -

Chased by a friendly breeze

The hills will begin 

To green -

The mountain streams

Will pour willingly

Down 

Looking even more beautiful 

When contrasted with -

The long 

Hot 

Summer. 

Rain

Halloween party

And it rains 

We feel the first drops -

Unbelieving 

It's been so long 

Since water has fallen from 

The sky 

Reservoirs are 

Half down 

What will life be like 

With less water -

Already lawns 

Are left to brown -

Maybe life in south 

California 

Would become 

Not so much like 

Hollywood would 

     Have us

     Believe 

But more like

It actually is -

More like 

The Padres and 

     The Indians

Perceived -

More like 

Dust and 

Sky -

Hawks

And seagulls

Circling

Quiet

Quiet

Maybe I have finally learned 

To be 

Quiet

When they ask of me -

What I want 

-And what they want me 

     To want 

I can shrug and smilingly say 

     What - ever 

I can answer nothing 

     And then be 

Quiet 

Because 

I have learned 

They don't listen 

Anyway 

They want what they want -

They are 

Type A's 

I am only here

Because I'm here 

And 

I don't really care

Either way 

Oh yes 

I should be 

Passionate 

About it !

But 

I'm not -

Sometimes I try 

To care 

But 

I don't -

And I love this 

New way 

Of looking at things 

The lord God made us all -

So let her 

Worry about 

It

Unintended Consequences

Getting myself 

Out on a limb again 

I always do 

It's this blogging business 

I know 

There will be 

Unintended consequences 

There always are 

Like my friend 

The NASA scientist 

Says

-And they were dealing with 

Space flight -

-And really complicated mathematical 

Things -

It boggles the mind

I can't imagine 

And even they -

With billions of dollars 

Of budgets and things 

had 

unintended consequences 

To contend 

With 

Obviously

Please

Leave me, love 

For then I would know 

What to do 

I can morn I can cry 

I can feel 

Very sorry 

For myself 

That 

I know how to do 

-had a lot 

Of practice 

With it 

Many years 

     To perfect 

But not this 

Not this patience 

This caring 

This sweetness 

How to deal 

With it 

How to 

Be good enough 

For it 

Please, please 

     Go away 

So I don't have to grow 

Don't have to know 

The true pain 

Of eventually 

Being without you 

Through death or some other circumstance 

Circumstances 

     Being what they are 

And seemingly 

Always 

Occurring 

With inexorable 

Crushing karma 

I need another 

Starbucks coffee 

Today 

     obviously. . .

The Train

What can I say 

About today 

?

These days seem to 

Run together

Like a train 

All connected to one 

Another 

But with no 

Conductor 

To tell us when 

We are leaving 

The station. 

Instead we must guess 

And wonder about the 

Departure time 

And the destination 

We are pulled 

By gravity 

Like a Diesel engine 

By time 

By fate 

What can I do 

About that 

How hard should I try 

To try 

Or should I sit back 

And sigh 

The ticket has been 

Purchased 

And we will arrive 

When we 

Arrive