Another "I Do," Another Pledge**
I found myself confronting mortality in the guise of the viper on the day my heart was irrevocably broken. Deep within, I understand that he liberated you, much like the Meadowlark’s song.
Once again, I utter "I do" and make another pledge. The deceitful viper adorned himself in the same black suit. He donned the colors associated with malevolence during this second endeavor, for it is indicated that "strait is the gate and narrow is the way."
His countenance radiates as he feigns a smile, resembling a contrived pose for the camera. I observed the specter of death in his expression, reminiscent of Pinocchio’s nose.
The well-wishers murmured, "No discernment; what a disgrace, what a waste! A lamentable image of a man." The pastor solemnly proclaimed, "Amen."
I perceived death upon the visage of the haunted individual. The fissures in the antiquated brick wall emitted a haunting melody: "You stand before the altar as yet another fool."
Is this a wedding or a funeral—an evening fraught with foreboding? The middle-aged groom reflects a decline in love and kindness. Love, indeed, is blind.
The man who fell to earth
He embraced the conservative dogma, but he was also
like Tucker Carlson, a committed Christian, believing in
The gospel and God's son, Jesus.
He embraced the duality of Judaism and Christianity
Israel had given him money for his views and loved
by the likes of Netanyahu, and Trump was his friend
Then it went wrong, the suffering of Palestine bothered
His Christian soul that protested
He moved away from his certainties and spoke of his dread
All hell broke out, and it was pointed out to him that taking
The shilling had to follow a path they had pointed out for
him, he baulked at this and became more convinced
They were wrong
For his unwavering faith, he was shot dead, a martyr who
stood his ground, when he, like many others, did, could
have looked away.
Charlie Kirk was a hero who will be remembered for
a long time to come
did work
in carnivals
a short time
good public
relations be
a right critical
deal with those
just walking by
pocketing money
you can hear jingle
and jangle over the
sounds of the rides
stan sand
("Rainbow Body" detail, 2018, original encaustic)
Today I noticed on a website I use for book reviews
All eight of my poetry books
Suddenly have a fresh new one star review.
Sadly though there is no content to these reviews
Nothing to sink my teeth into and learn from
Just a single star
Which simply means, “I hate it.”
But these are the first reviews or ratings
I have ever received in ten years now
Of publishing poems
So I will take it
Mostly because I have no choice.
It is a free world after all
And so if we engage with it
We shouldn’t be surprised
When it engages back.
The beauty of getting only one star reviews
Of course is it doesn’t get my hopes up
Hopes of becoming rich and famous
Influential and significant
Because I know, especially now,
None of that would be true.
(9/15/25)
Hear the true story of my great-great-great Grandpa,
the forgettingest man I ever saw.
When he tried to pass first grade again
he forgot to bring to school his brain.
When it was time to race in the big track meet,
wouldn't you know it - he forgot his feet.
When he married Mary, his sugar tart,
believe it or not, he forgot his heart.
So, she smacked him with a frying pan,
and down the road he ran.
You'd think he might die with a lump on his head,
but in a fortnight, it was Mary who was dead.
He forgot to bring his alibi,
so, they strung him up so high,
and he forgot to die.
What’s in man that makes him go
Is it the satisfaction of the craftsman
Or the drive for more dough
Ask the baker ~ He may just know
Verse 1]
You're so incredible,
the most amazing man.
I'm taken to new heights of pleasure
with the touch of your hand.
There will never be another man
in my life who compares.
Your eyes, your smile...
no one as perfect anywhere.
I will never forget, or stop loving you...
Well would ya lookie here, my dear…
I can lie too!
[Chorus]
I can lie just like you do!
Make promises, plan dreams that will never come true.
I didn't know I could be such a fool!
I guess I was never, ever
good enough for you...
See? there I go again, I can lie too!
[Verse2]
You are the man
of every woman's dreams.
You sure knew your way
around my body
I guess I had you going
with all the fuss I made
So glad I was the star of all my high-school plays
Because you are an imposter...
And baby I should win an Oscar…
Cause as you can see
I can lie too!
[Chorus]
I can lie just like you do!
Make promises, plan the dreams that are never coming true.
I didn't know I could be such a fool!
I guess I was never, ever good enough for you...
See? there I go again, I can lie too!
blue man had one mission but it was a big gun
Wanted to hydrate the planet, each and every one
Every plant, every person, every animal who existed.
We who heard the plan helped him. No one dare resisted.
We put water on everything and drank it as well
H2O from farm ponds, lakes, dams, reservoirs and every well
Blue man got famous and paid experts to hydrate the rest
I was exhausted from watering, so glad, I must confess
Dear old man,
My quill quivers.
How do I glorify you,
With only ink, not gold?
Oh lady Calliope,
Lift my soul.
A pin drowned in an ocean of words.
Guide my conscience with notions,
Dearth of words I face,
To sculpt my father's grandeur.
A shrunken, grainy face is all that's left.
Struggles, unparalleled for eternity
Spine bows, for the weight he bears.
A warrior bending his knees to fate.
Wounds he has procured,
A soldier indisputably.
Laments the injustice once and twice,
Yet, prefers seclusion.
No more wars he seeks to wage,
On his own kinds.
The past shoots arrows at him,
Bleeding eyes and shattered bones.
How can one slip such agony?
And forgive his enemy.
Yet, still, Calliope,
Though you guide.
The shaking of my hand,
Hardly lets me carve his story.
Despite your hand over mine,
How do I shape an epic?
Diary of a mad man
Sending out a message through
Somber words I write
Help me find the reason
For this horrid plight
Locate all the answers I can not seem to find
Interpret the true meanings
Before I lose my mind
Look into the chapters of my very soul
Turn each page and tell me
Where I’m bound to go
Hold my scriptures sacred
For no other eyes to see
For you alone intruder
Have discovered the true me
Tell no one you know me
Never speak my name
Stealing memoirs from a crazy
Can make you go insane
Jolly jelly-belly J.B. Pritzker
Your wife’s health you took pains not to risk her
Flew her on a private plane
While with Covid you raised Cain
Hypocrisy portrays you ~ tsk, tsk, sir
________________________________________________
J.B. Pritzker, Governor of Illinois, flew his wife
to Miami after imposing travel restrictions on
'all Illinoisans' and closing all schools and
most businesses during the 'Covid crisis'
of Spring, 2020.
Old Man
(for Pema)
The older I get the more I feel I fade away.
It’s not a bad thing it’s just what is
As old friends die off one by one
While others just drift away
And the passions I once knew
Become nothing more than a lingering scent.
Maybe it takes too much effort
To do or feel anything more,
Maybe it’s simply having done that
And been there so many times before.
Eventually even the joyous play
Of dogs or children
Only remind me how tired I am,
Tired but still happy
With an inward glow
Of appreciation for the Life that flows
Within me and without me.
(9/8/25)
Oh please don't spank your monkey my friend
Your animosity has no end
Much like flogging a dog
You keep flogging your log
First you spank it, then spank it again
Love-lost, deprived of dream appears,
Like life-adrift- in-stream appears.
On wooing, winning his life’s love,
Full of vigour and vim appears.
As success, past string of defeats,
Like a triumphant team appears.
Man’s real Self as comes to light,
Nigh like up-rising cream appears,
Till then his pretending ego,
Non-Self, proper and prim appears.
_________________________
Ghazal |01.09.2025| dream, love, success, Self
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