Diamonds for my Truck

From one phone 

To another 

One third of those reading 

Are reading 

     -On phone-

So say 

     Statistics . . .

Who knew? 

That one day 

     So soon 

We'd be reading each other 

On moble devices

And now - "they" say

     (Those who know)

That soon 

Our cars 

Will be parking themselves

And driving too 

Mine is telling me now 

That it wants 

     An oil change 

Well -

     Can't it go get one 

     Without me? 

But could I trust it to 

     Not! Come back with 

Some fancy chrome rims 

And furry seat covers 

Which it would automatically charge

     To my account 

It could have been built 

     Into its original programming -

To upgrade itself 

     At my expense 

Not that I don't trust 

"New-fangled machines"

I'm just sayin'. . .

I'm not so old fashioned 

     But-

If diamonds are a girl's 

     Best friend,

What - could my truck 

     Think up? 

A Day Away

Today 

Was a day 

Away 

The deserted campground -

The stream running 

     Clean 

Lots of trees 

     Broken off 

Probably from that last 

     Wind storm 

Cottonwoods dead 

     From the drought 

Snapped off 

     Up high 

But it's still beautiful 

And silent 

Here 

In summer the campground 

Would be full 

     Of screaming, running 

     Children

But now

A hawk looks at me 

     Lazily

I'm too big to eat 

     The bird flies

     To the next tree 

I walk on 

Not much water 

In the stream 

Not much spirit 

In 

     Me -

I feel like 

I'm fading 

As if I was wearing 

The magic 

Ring 

A walk in the woods 

Does one some good

Even if 

The wizard 

     And the elves 

Put in no 

     Appearance 

Today

Discussion

The Garden 

Is a crazy place 

Here on the hill

Overlooking 

The ocean 

There is no money for 

A fence 

Or lights -

Don't 

Go there 

At night 

The military guy 

Sleeps in the tool shed

     And has to get up 

     At night 

To scare away 

The tweekers

Those are the folks 

Who wander around 

Downtown 

After dark 

Looking for things 

     To steal 

To support the drug

     Habit

Now in spring

- or winter actually- 

Well, We've had two 

Rain storms -

The native plants have 

Erupted 

In vibrant green 

But 

The mallow lot, 

If you don't pull it out now 

While its small 

It's not coming out 

At all 

Her dog is small -

The cat and it 

Play and chase 

Through the bright 

     Green 

One thing I love 

About this place 

Is -

it makes no sense 

At all !

Million dollar lots 

Downtown! 

The owner, being wealthy,

Bought them 

(Back in the day) 

So her house on the hill

Could have its view 

     Of the ocean 

Word is 

She doesn't intend 

To sell 

Anytime soon 

So I wonder 

If I should plant kale 

Or cabbage 

For the gophers 

We take old chairs 

To sit and look at the ocean 

No one wants to trap or kill 

The varmints 

The cat can only eat 

So many 

What to do 

What to do 

On a gorgeous afternoon

In January 

We discuss . . .

A Van

The garden 

Has

A million dollar view -

     And gophers

She advised getting 

A snake !

     Good idea -

Says I -

A gopher snake. 

But where would one 

Purchase one ? 

She lives in her van 

Hassled by the cops -

They took her liscense -

So now she can't drive -

But 

She still lives 

     In her van 

Waiting for 

Section 8

Which is what they call

Government assistance -

     With housing 

It will be federal, 

     She says, 

So she can move 

     Anywhere 

And she doesn't feel guilty,

     She says 

For taking taxpayer money 

     She's had eight children -

One's a doctor 

But 

She doesn't want to rely 

On them 

It reminds me 

I must begin 

The yearly test 

In mathematics 

Which they call 

Taxes - here

She's bought 

     A little dog -

On social security

     With no rent to pay

She has money

More than you 

Or I 

I worked so hard

For so long

For this old house 

     Only to watch it crumble 

Slowly -

Unable to afford 

To fix it 

Sometimes I wish 

I had a van 

To sleep in 

Let There Be Light

Someone slashed tires 

At the dance 

Was this you again ? 

I'm hiring a friend 

To sit in my truck 

To watch the 

Parking lot 

Twenty tires slashed 

Would an old man like you 

Have the energy ?

It's a mystery

No one can know 

No one sees

We are all left wondering 

Just 

How crazy have you 

Become 

People don't believe -

You can be so 

Sweet 

And fun 

I find myself hoping 

That it is not 

You - but

I keep the security cameras on 

The spotlight in the dark corner 

     Of the yard 

Blinding 

     The passerby

pray for me

can't sleep
wondering
was it you
again
?
slashing tires -
damaging -
terrorizing
again

what to do
now that you
may have struck
again

dare i go
where i want to
go

will you be there
waiting
to damage
something
like my
sanity -
my
sense of
safety
and -
right to
exist

others don't believe
oh no
not him

oh yes!
and
others besides
me . . .
have seen
this side
of him

the court
has decided you
are guilty -
you
don't seem to
listen

i still am left looking
at security camera pictures
and asking friends
to pray
for me

Waiting

Waiting 

Waiting 

In a waiting room 

     Waiting 

Two televisions on 

With commercials 

And 

Endless news 

Nice decor 

Waiting still 

     Waiting 

Earplugs in. 

To 

Help a bit 

(Can still hear) 

Commercials -

And endless 

News. 

About who shot 

Who -

Why must we fight 

So ? 

Why must I volunteer 

To help a friend ?

Endless drive 

     In heavy LA traffic 

And waiting 

Did I mention 

     Waiting 

Why am I 

always the

      "nice guy"

Do I need to learn 

To cease 

Being taken 

     Advantage of ?

And then - I - drive 

     Home 

Through endless, aggressive 

     LA traffic 

I should be thankful,

I know 

That this body 

Is not the one 

On the table 

Such is the fate -

Such is the way of -

Relationships between 

     Old people 

You drive me to mine 

I'll drive you to yours 

But mine was in town 

Yours is to heck and back 

Doctors appointments 

And procedures 

     Unmentionable 

Still 

Waiting