Santa's Helpers

Santa is the big kahuna
The one who makes Christmas roll.
And elves keep all the orders straight
And update the “Naughty” scroll.

But who are all those other guys
Dressed up in stores and plazas?
Are they also working for the boss,
Are they subordinate clauses?

Liberty Lies in Your Care

The Rock of Gibraltar stands steadfast,
A landmark to show men the way,
A sentinel post of the ages,
An emblem of quaint bygone days.

And so stand the old guard among us
Whose deeds ever echo through time.
They blazed a sure path to the future
An uncertain, strenuous climb!

But the lines on their faces betray them,
No longer can they bear the load.
So plot ye a course strong and steady
And start down the way that they showed!

They are the hallmark of freedom,
Of courage and stalwart resolve.
But you are the hope of a nation,
No problem is posed you can’t solve.

Decide now, young people, your credo
For liberty lies in your care.
Be it virtue and faith in the future
Or slothfulness, greed and despair!

Ladybug

Funny beetle,
Please tell me why
You have those wings
But will not fly.

You keep them hidden,
Neatly curled
Until you climb
To top of world!

The Rivalry

The Crimson Ruby from the North
Refuses to forget!
The midnight sapphire of the South
Still rues the day they met!

A fever wrought of by-gone days
Of insults, blood and shame
Once more the fates’ their pathways cross
Both gladly join the game!

“I hate your face” – “You’ll pump my gas!”
And on and on it goes
But who will wear the victor’s crown?
The fates and time but know

‘Til close of day September nine
When all’s left on the field.
Only one can leave triumphant,
Disgraced, the other yields!

A short ferry ride from the lovely city of Okayama put me on the island of Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s major islands. Mountains in the center of the island have pushed most cities to the coast.  My destination was the small city of Uwajima on the West side of the island.  This small town is booming with modern industry juxtaposed with a rich cultural heritage.  Shipyards compete for harbor space with a plethora of oyster platforms where world-class pearls are farmed.  A medieval castle, Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, bull fights, and waterfalls guarded by aggressive Japanese macaques are just of few of the offerings in this area filled with natural beauty and warm people.   

Resting from the hike

Majestic cascade behind

Monkey steals my lunch

The trail to the peak was a long and arduous climb

Which skirted a pristine glacial lake about midway.

Shimmering below, it offered a cooling balm for the heat

And a picturesque spot to rest and refuel for a while.

A short down-climb led to a high cliff that overhung the depths

Of aquamarine waters; crystal clear, revealing a rocky bottom.

Chartreuse lichen grew from the wetted rock face

While damsel flies of cerulean hue darted to and fro.

In the shade of a small oak we were content to eat our lunch.

From our vantage we watched the cutthroat trout feed;

Rising to a caddis hatch. Splashes of watermelon, coral and saffron

Under their jawlines divulged the source of their strange name. 

Fronting the shore, a spacious open meadow served as a refuge.

A doe and twin fawns lay surrounded by tall grass and wild flowers.

Tangerine bells, snow-white lupine, 
And purple daisies with lemon eyes

In hues of lavender and lilac covered the park in waves.

After a short dip in the icy waters, 
We took a few moments to gather our things

And reflect on the beauty and grandeur of this unknown retreat.

Truly we were blessed, our bodies, minds and souls rejuvenated

As we climbed the slope to continue our trek to the snow-capped peak.

What Will Tomorrow Bring?

His hands are folded softly in his lap
To better handle troubles bearing down.
Fortuna comes, but will she pause to rap,
To offer balm or ease a troubled frown? 

To better handle troubles bearing down,
He rises up and makes a solemn pledge
To offer balm or ease a troubled frown 
For those, like him, just sitting on the edge.

He rises up, and makes a solemn pledge.
Still wondering, what will tomorrow bring
For those like him, just sitting on the edge?
A peace will come with fear in shackled rings.

Still wondering. What will tomorrow bring?
Fortuna comes but will she pause to rap?
A peace will come! With fear in shackled rings
His hands are folded softly, in his lap.

Empty Nest

The old bird sits
Surveying nest and tree,
Mama flits and flies about
An hundred errands left.

His memories are a thousand scenes,
Bereft of ordered source.
Not random, but in retrograde
Recap a season’s end

     Materials gathered 
     Woven tight 
     Feathered, warm with down

     Hatchlings screaming
     Growth and learning
     Fledglings flap and gone

The old bird sees an empty nest
While mama flits and flies
A season closed, a longing pride
Begins to fill his breast.

The Hedgehog

A hedgehog sat upon a log
And ate a purple fig.
Soon, all that he had left of it
Was half a purple twig.

Next morning, he arose anew;
Declared that he felt fine.
Except for one development,
He now had purple spines!

Covered Bridge

Damn you, cursed covered bridge, 
Damn your easy way,
Damn your timbers strong and high 
That let her slip away!

Opposed by torrent moat she was 
Compelled to wait and try.
But no!  You let her ride across 
And keep her corset dry!

Within her surrey black and sleek,
By dappled stallion drawn,
You let her pass without dispute; 
Satanic stilted spawn! 

We quarreled once or twice ‘tis true
But now she’s gone for good.
I’ve half a mind to strike a fire
And torch your rotting wood!

I Was Rattled

I was minding my business, taking my time,

Ridin’ Ol’ Bess from the West Miller Mine

When all of a sudden, (weren’t nothing’ I did)

Bess started buckin’ and she hit the skids!

I was pitched off her back like a sack of no worth

To land near the meanest dang rattler on earth!

His tounge was a-flickin’, tasting the air,

His eyes clouded over, like a blind man’s that pair.

He was longer than Bess with a full twelve-inch girth,

My mettle dissolved to a pitiful dearth.

His head raised up proud, his tail even prouder

And that buzz, just kept getting louder and louder!

His mien was aggressive and I was a wreck

So I pulled out my shooter and aimed for the neck!

Now I hate killing creatures; God’s watchin’ and all,

But he had my number and was dialin’ the call.

His head is still there, by the side of the trail

But I took the rest home, even that tail!

His meat fed me supper, yep, top o’ the line.

His hide and those rattles?  A hat-band so fine!

Autumn Reverie

An ample log burns softly on the fire

Where I’ve curled up to read a favorite book.

Hot cocoa in a steaming mug helps me retire

To the fantasy of painted woods and brook.

The road to now is one I’m glad I took!

Hannah has left Montana

Miley-the-butcher’s shop was too small,

Just a dimple made by a wrecking ball. 

It was all she could do to keep up every day,

She just couldn’t help but get in her own way.

She tried zigging and zagging this way then that,

She took off her apron; tried a new hat,

One day she thought she’d try dancing the twerk,

Backed into the grinder; got behind in her work!

We Still Don't Know Why

No one yet knows why the hen crossed the road.

What could possibly have planted that notion?

But I saw it happen, and even three-toed,

It was poultry in motion  --  poultry in motion!

Snap snap snap snap snap snap snap . . . . . . . 

Swiss Chocolate

Chocolate is all that she wishes

She adores all that Swiss is

I brought her a box

But she quick changed the locks

Guess I’ll go sleep with the Mrs.

Mary Jane Who?

A re- hab center for the upper class

Gave help to many a lad and lass

But it came to an end

When a landscaper friend

Posted signage, “Keep Off the Grass”

Spiced Out

There once was a soldier named Dee

Who fought on the land and the sea

With mustard was gassed,

And pepper spray blast,

A well-seasoned veteran is he.

No Tax Due

I stopped for pint in a mason

He said, “They’ll be no tax today son!

I’m an atheist now,

If yer wondering how,

We’re a non-prophet organization!” *

*  Atheism is a non-prophet organization - George Carlin

Round Table Manners

The roundest knight in Camelot,

(And, I learned this by inference),

Gained his girth by eating PI.

The King dubbed him Sir Cumference!

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Nobody’s made me out a fool

Like three year olds in Sunday School.

One day I thought I’d sound real wise

And asked, “Who here likes butterflies?”

All hands shot quickly to the sky,

“I saw a yellow butterfly!”

“They eat the nectar from the flowers.”

These kids, I swear, had super powers!

“Bees turn nectar into honey,

The bee guy sells it for his money!”

“My cousin’s mom got stung last week!”

“But honey’s good, its really sweet!”

“Chocolate’s sweet, it causes wrecks!”

“Mom says it is better than sex!”

“Six is my favorite number today!

Today’s my cousin’s sixth birthday!”

Like butterflies from flower to flower

Their comments wandered for an hour

From butterflies and honey bees

To birds and squirrels in the trees.

Then Airplanes, clouds and astronauts.

“And ants live in the parking lot!”

I’ve been to college; three degrees!

Sometimes I wish that I were three.

Litterally Absurd

A dog by the side of the road

Whelped out her cute little load

A copper who saw

Reeled off the law

Cited for littering I’m told

Cultivate Safety

When joining a cult one expects

To link up with those he respects

But some cults are bad

And though it is sad

One must ever practice safe sects!

Storm of Fire

Atop rock in pond

Encircled by a fire storm,

Salamander sits unscathed

Eagle deviates

From an evening of hunting

To witness the God of Fire

Change of Pace

A boy found some coins in Tibet

And swallowed them down on a bet

Mom, who was brewin’

Screamed, “How’s he doin’?”

The Doc said, “Sorry no change yet!”

Autumn Reverie

An ample log burns softly on the fire

Where I’ve curled up to read a favorite book.

Hot cocoa in a steaming mug helps me retire

To the fantasy of painted woods and brook.

The road to now is one I’m glad I took!

The Quiver

An arrow is loosed, a young doe is hit

With a quiver, she’s free of pain.

An arrow retrieved, returned to its place

Is his quiver truly full again?

Lust

lust burns hot and bright 
like powder in a flash pan 
true love a red coal

How black the seas in a pounding storm!

The lanterns were all blown out.

Only the lights within still burned

For crewmen strong and stout.   

The flash from the clouds would scarce reveal

The main and the mizzen bare.

Only a jib on the foremast flew

To point her homeward fair.

The captain on the helm withstood

The gale and pelting spray.

“Only an act of God”, he thought

“Could spare us all today!”

His ship was a fine one, swift and sound,

But was failing against the waves.

Only the quarter of a harbor near

Would save this crew so brave.

The squall raised up a fearsome wave

To send them down to hell.

Only to give the captain view

Of a lighthouse o’er the rail

That pulsing sentinel guided him

Through rocks and shallow shoal.

Only to bring them safely home,

A haggard twenty souls.

Getting Ahead

Two hats at a real posh spread

Owned by a baker of bread

One said to the other

“I’ll tell you what brother,

Wait here, I’ll go on a head!”

Desert Survival

A whiptail lizard

Hangs limp in roadrunner’s beak,

Speed is essential

Fast and wary, the whiptail

Just cannot compete with wings

Sloth of the desert

The horny toad is not fast,

Choosing to blend in

Thorny Camouflage protects

For speed is not an option

The black Chuckwalla

Puffs itself in rocky cracks,

Wedged in a safe place

Without speed, thorns or camo

This iguana adapted

Baseball Anyone?

I wondered why the balls I see

While standing up to bat with glee

Just keep getting bigger

When pitch pulls the trigger,

Then finally it hits me!

The Envelope

Some things in life are immovable

So tenacious and reactionary. 

No matter how hard you push the envelope

It’ll still remain stationary.

Dangerous Times

Fledgling birds cry out

From their refuge on the ground

Feline hunter stalks

The Way of the Damned

Sisyphus pushes his rock up hill

While Atlas bears his load.

Damned by the ire of capricious gods,

Forced down a toilsome road.

And so it is with the gods of thrill

Who trap and hold you fast

With opioids and images,

Perniciously unsurpassed!

Beware the promise of wealth or skill

Contained in a bottle brown.

Hold to the rod of simple truth

Lest you be taken down!

Summer

Egrets wade a pool

Lazy summer pollywogs

Wriggle to get free

Jeepin'

I was bouncing along down in four-wheel low,

The road was rough and the goin’ was slow,

Now the puddle ahead didn’t seem too deep

Cuz I was ridin’ high, yep I was drivin’ a jeep.

But when I hit that mud now, I started to drift,

So I clutched it hard but I missed my shift.

I was stuck for sure, I couldn’t make it move. 

I weren’t rigged for muddin’, I was stuck in a groove!

Well some good ol’ boys come a ramblin’ along

“We’ll get ya out, but It sure seems wrong.

Next time ya’ll get yourself stuck in a seep

You’ll need a wench on the front of yer jeep!”

Well I washed my rig, cuz I’d just got paid

And headed on in to the big parade.

When I got to town, I was feeling real good

So I picked up my gal and put her up on the hood.

When I turned the bend you should’a heard ‘em yell

To look at my Rosie up there shakin’ her tail.

Them good ol’ boys were goin’ beep, beep, beep

Cuz I had a wench on the front of my jeep!

The Huntsman's Plight

In darkened wood he takes a knee and weeps

The blood trail’s gone, and with it all that’s good

He knows not where the stag has gone to sleep

His children’s aching bellies want for food

The blood trail’s gone, and with it all that’s good

Dappled shadows hide the trail he seeks

His children’s aching bellies want for food

A stoic face belied by tear-washed streaks

Dappled shadows hide the trail he seeks

Until the sun reveals it at his feet

A stoic face belied by tear-washed streaks

With hope restored that soon his brood will eat

Until the sun reveals it at his feet,

He knows not where the stag has gone to sleep.

With hope restored that soon his brood will eat,

In darkened wood, he takes a knee and weeps.

Winding Our Way Through Time

The rising sun marks break of day

Its zenith, we call noon.

Its setting brings the evening chill

And ushers in the moon.

The sundial charts its burning rays

Its pathway plotted out

Predicts the hour of every day

Beyond a shadow of a doubt!

Precious time, there’s none to waste

And so we set the staff

Inventing ways to track its passage

Clocks and chronograph 

The mainspring and the pendulum,

The tall Grandfather clock

Becomes the heartbeat of the home

Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock

The pocket watch with silver chain

Umbilical, life line

We spend our days; entire lives,

Winding our way through time

Time is time, it’s so precise

Ethereal and pure,

With a watch we always know the time

But when we’ve two, unsure!

Segal's law is an adage that states: 

"A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure."