The Lawnkeeper

There is an old man
Down the street
That dedicates his days
To tending his yard.

His swaths of green appear like grounds
That would be kept for royalty-
Without the usual
Accompanying garishness.

I would feel
Wrong to litter
That beautiful lawn,
Yet I'm sure a few do.

The front page of the newspaper
Would be a proper honor,
Although it may only ever be
Attempted here.

If I ever moved away from here
And came back years later to see
That lovely place grown up,
Abandoned...I would surely weep.

Rabbit's Birthday

We followed the secret trail
To the place in the woods
Where the animals celebrate,
Away from prying minds.

A sage grey rabbit
With a laurel on his head
Sat in the middle of a circle,
Surrounded by forest friends.

Friend Opossum spoke then,
Welcoming all to festivities
Honoring the birthday rabbit,
Winifred Quickfoot.

"We assemble today
To pay tribute to the oldest
Member of our woodland clan,"
Opossum proudly orated.

"Faster than traps of men
And legs of dogs,
Winifred gives us hope,
Of growing old and free."

Muskrats pulled jeweled carts
Of fine vegetables and cakes
In front on each guest,
While birdsong lilted the beeze.

We watched in silence
With smiling lips
As the birthday hymn was sung,
Then Winifred Quickfoot bowed and said...

"Of all my forest memories
the dearest of all are my friends & family.
Be true to each other and fast to run
When you see the shadow of man or hear his gun."

The party departed
All in separate ways.
Alice and I walked back to my house,
Amazed and engaged.

Gold Dust

Look at that!
Look at this!
Gold dust,
Without a doubt.

The key machine winds down from its whirring...

See!
Feel!
Gold dust,
Without a doubt.

The filings box is full...

Go ahead kid,
Take it all,
Gold dust,
Without a doubt.

The Bank.
This is NOT gold dust kid,
Someone sold you a dream.
Do NOT pass go. Do NOT collect $200 of life.

The key machine readies itself for a new blank.

The UnderToad - title thanks to John Irving's "The World According to Garp"

The Real-
When a little kid or a big kid
Wades out into the strong surf,
(For me, it was the Chesapeake Bay/Atlantic in Maryland,)
Beware, Beware, BEWARE the UNDERTOAD!
It will grab your ankles like a cousin,
And then suddenly pull you out to sea
Like a Harpy on crack!

The Abstract-
Don't be afraid of change,
Of trying out new places, people, or things.
But when the hairs on your neck stand up,
And your mouth goes flash-bang dry...
Be aware that there is a serpentine
Undercurrent awaiting one false step
You might make-
So it may drag you out to nothingness.

The Lesson-
Sometimes fair is foul, or foul is fair,
The result is determined by
Preparation, alertness, and yes faith.
BEWARE the UNDERTOAD!

Puzzle

So I had a
Ravensburger jigsaw
given to me...
Hoo-Hah, right?

I looked at the picture,
The piece count,
Then I saw a well-printed
Sticker on the side.

"This is a great puzzle,
But it is missing three pieces,"
Read the label neatly & solemnly.
I started thinking...

I don't think I have put a
Jigsaw together yet that I didn't
Suspect there was a piece
Or two missing.

When you consider it,
Our life is very much
Similar to a puzzle assembled
Piece by piece, year by year.

Sadly some are not completed
As much as we thought they would be.
But people never know going in that there
Are "pieces missing" in their life.

Yet, there very well may be...
But without a sticker warning,
The shortfall will not be known
Until the proper time, and I like that better.

The Red Café

The corner table
By the picture window.
That is where they would sit,
He and She.

No one still working
Recalls waiting on them.
One of the cooks says
That they looked like love.

This was their favorite spot.
Far enough away to be private,
Without being too far a drive
From the rest of the daily grind.

Also, it was the closest spot
To get fried chicken any time,
(Not counting strips and such)
Plus the tasty layered desserts.

The menu changed both
At the Red Café and
With He and She over time,
But they each had their best dining there.

Remembered

Meals cooked and served,
Clothes washed and pressed,
Warm bed to sleep in,
Church pew to sit on.

Encouragement to learn,
Taking time to play,
Going places together,
Watching TV shows.

Talking about ideas,
Cutting quilt pieces,
Enjoying the cool
Of the evening on the porch.

Doing gardening and yard
Work together in the heat.
Walking in the woods,
Driving up the river road.

Thank-You Momma.

Dinner in the Badlands

Ole coyote, sure did howl,
Now he's growling in my gut.
First thing we et since Omaha,
Me, the kid, and the old squaw.

Found 'em turned out on the street,
Their owner shot in a poker game.
Say they have kin down at Ankle Run,
No one to turn to, 'cept me I reckon.

Ran into soldiers first day out,
Heading to the Sioux Town trouble,
Tried to arrest her and the boy,
Had to shoot three and took no joy.

Horse went lame, now we're afoot,
Big war party passed at dusk.
Nothing to do but break camp at dawn,
See if the Pastor remembers his son.

Where Did You Go? An Ode to G.I. Joe

I miss my G.I. Joe,
Where he went, I do not know.
I hope the Kung-Fu grip
Still works like it used to.

A scar on his cheek,
Made him "not meek."
Freedom's defender and
Ken's rival with my cousins.

All Joe's clothes, made with pride,
In the USA from sewers that tried,
To fit him well, even though
Getting his feet in the pants was hard.

Some of the Joe's had fuzzy beards,
Never had one of those I fear.
Just one German Joe that all the rest
Could gang tackle to show who was best!

G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe,
Wherever you are, I want you to know-
I loved you the most and miss you the most,
And General Mattel thanks you for your service!

The City on the Hill

Sometimes I think
The cost is too great,
Then other times ponder-
To diminish is to hate.

All I know is I don't know,
What makes the world go round.
Things I'd rather not be aware of,
Get pushed on me, pound by pound.

The ostrich manuever is kaput,
Running away loses a win.
Ignoring or hating may burn less fat,
Yet the burden of truth trumps again.

What value should be placed,
On charred remnants, disgraced?
Waging war is rewarded with death,
Empathy, it has to be even paced.

The Scent of Blue

Carpet in the dark,
Is quiet like you.
A soft plush hush,
Smelling like blue.

A static charge is hiding
Right behind your eyes,
If you became too grounded,
Would your gaze arc the sky?

Snow covered rocks
Mock softness with skill
But the aroma of blue,
Makes honest your thrill.

Who Will Sing Tomorrow's Song?

I love the little birds that sing,
The morning chorus every spring.
I never know them by their name,
But lo, they never stay the same.

The song survives as seasons change,
From mountaintop to prairie range.
The singers sing, then fall away,
New voices toil the coming day.

I hear that mockingbird from youth,
That never missed a note with truth.
My only comfort, sweet mem'ry-
Th' fresh dear choirs... serenade me.

Got Libertié?

So if you are like Jerry & dread waking up
Another day with this President that people had
The NERVE to elect for four years...
Got libertié?

(America, love it or leave it)
Bash the francophones!
After all they gave us words like Lord
for goodness sake!

Jerry, when you pine
Away your mornings
Waking up to yet
Another Obama day...

Remember that
Never, never,
Never, ever-
Has a hungry child done that!

On the Berm

My Ex he makes me think sideways!
She tells ya now-its true!
(What? Don't want to know?
Well that's just rude of you.)

It's fortunate for us everyone
The roadside courts aren't here yet.
Hey, green venoms getting so thick
Might as well become a snake vet!

Life on the road is one thing,
But thinking there quite another,
Loudmouth vengers should hush, hush, hush-
Or move back in with their mothers.

Saturday is meatloaf day,
At the lowlife bar & grill.
The seats are hard, the floor is cold,
But the  help keep their tongues still.

Juan Wanders

Somedays Mama can't stop crying.
Sister Rosa and me pick up cans
And sell them to buy some food.
Mama needs a medicine man.

I used to have a good dog,
He had to go leave our house-
One time he growled at a man
From the great mission of doubt.

When the night covers the day
I slip away to my cactus fort.
While I lay there looking upwards,
Problems wait for me to sort.

Laughter on the other side,
Of my river, cool and wide,
Dares me to no longer hide,
But cross it-like a rapid tide.

Green Crow

Neighbor, neighbor,
What did you buy?
A new gold watch?
It caught my eye!

You act so poor.
How can that be?
When you have this,
For all to see!

I should have it,
I deserve it,
You don't need it,
I have earned it!

Look at your car,
Too fancy. LOOK!
Washing it again,
Then going to cook!

People that work,
Should know how small,
They really are,
To us that caw!

The Outcast Wasp

Alone with a tiny nest,
I watch each day as a wasp
Works the intricate design
Preparing it for babies.

Did this wasp break
Some forbidden wasp-law
to be exiled like Bonaparte on Elba?
Or was there an Orkin incident perhaps?

Could this wasp be alone by choice?
(We never believe that one, right?)
Maybe there was a falling out about taking the last name
Of the baby daddy?

I asked the wasp.
She just looked at me,
Wondering when she would sting me,
Or if I was alone as well.

Sid

Do you fly Sid?
Do you cry Sid?
Tell me why, Sid,
Did you die, Sid?

You leapt away on Ground-Hog Day,
If you had stayed and joined EBay
You now could Burger King with Tyler
Tour with The Who that used to play.

Can you see the cowboys wrangle?
Do the wood nymphs sing your dream?
Could Atlanta's vicious freeway
Honor you and your bass seam?

Does Chrissie H still wanna marry
Just so she can work UK?
Will the Four Johns walk again
Through anarchy and still decay?

Sleep brother Ritchie,
Sleep unbridled, bittersweet.
Sleep fast, King of Punk-untitled.
Sleep, sleep, sleep your endless tweet.

Red Neck (F)amily (B)arette

'Ere the fish is local,
So's the licquor.
Yee loose yer tongue,
Yer better run quicker.

Bring all the younguns,
Yours and the strays.
Kraoke night has
No room for the gays.

Two-dollar long-necks
'N free gummy worms.
'N strange Uncle Marvin,
(He makes us all squirm.)

We got Health inspected
In Dick Nixon's day,
No papers to show,
But we did ok!

Nearly wholesome foods
'N gals missing teeth,
If you don't "like" us,
We'll break both yer feet.

Imprint

She read his book,
He read her diary.
They both became
Imprinted in print.

Her heart beat silently,
Demurely, in a deaf-house.
His heart muted-
Wrapped away in cerecloth.

Thoughts, they nagged,
Dreams, they persisted.
Breathing in unison,
Coincidentally sleeping.

Children came, stayed,
Often playing in secret.
Cereal was eaten,
Clothes became dwarfed.

She grew older,
He grew greyer,
Merriment left altogether,
Tired of gaming alone.

Then the sun rose in the West.
Her diary and his book ashed.
They died in separate rooms,
Rather glad for the reprieve.