Compare Artistic Efforts

Purposeful Living

Found watching outside the gate,
spectator instead of participant,
standing in the footsteps of a famous person

rather than creating a path of his own.
Proximity should never be enough
find the purpose in your life and express it.

Let your misdeeds and greatness
be your own. Stop living vicariously
through the significance of others.

Step out, step strong, step certain
your path will reveal itself
with fame and infamy of its own.  

Everyone Danced

There was a singer
and fiddler handy,

someone to beat the drum.
Everyone knew the steps

and everyone danced,
old and young. 

In large halls with gas lamps,
a fire burned on the hearth

teenagers fell in love,
got married, raised their families,

and everyone knew the dance. 

Bowling Ball Beach

Large boulders smooth and round
tumbled from eroding seaside cliffs
years ago, washed in the ocean’s tides

rough edges smoothed away
now a natural phenomena on the beach
photographed by tourists and locals

like dinosaur eggs found above ground
with memories of time passed
visible when the tides subside.  

Marine Layer

Sunshine hidden from sight
by a marine layer
like an unwanted lover,
smothering the light,
covering the city in gloom.

Birds of springtime
chatter away
not crippled with worry
knowing flowers will bloom
their nests already filled
with chirping young

allowing life to continue
as it has always done.

Becoming an Adult

I watched from the day he was born
so uncertain of himself in space and time
his first reaction was to bite those he loved 

making some effort to consume their flesh
it was never hatred on his part,
but an insatiable desire for love.

He gave others space for fear 
his reaction to them would be
misunderstood, but now that he is grown

his attraction for others is now 
an indiscernible charge, 
a charisma, drawing them close.

It helps that he is good looking
and all those years he ached for love

intrudes on him now, fast and hard. 

Lost

Wandered out among the crowd

reached for her mother’s hand

but she was gone
looked up at strangers 
all around. A woman held her

until she was found. 

Violence Becomes Normal

When the bomb dust has settled
injured and dead identified
mourners shed their tears
then life goes back to normal.

Normal is; another bomb may fall,
another horrific incident to fill the news,
and in the quiet evenings
more tears and sighs.

I don’t want violence to be normal
I want it to be a rare occasion
an affront to the citizens of my community
and every defense provided to keep

it from my front door. 

Prepare to Survive

As long as I’ve lived I never felt a need
to arm myself. Churches and fear of hell
kept most people in line
and if an area was bad I moved
to a safer neighborhood
trusting the police and armies
to quell disruption and anarchy
but the news suggests a different 
reality is upon me. 

I must become ever vigilant.
I no longer live in a system 
where "live and let live," exists.
When the internet can connect
the disenfranchised guiding them
to a line of thought that prepares
them to die for radical beliefs
giving a will, to do whatever 
is necessary to force a change 
in the world order. 

It is time to prepare a plan
to protect my family and my land
doing what I must, prayer is not enough
don’t want to make a bunker
and hunker down and hide
but I must arm myself doing
what is needed to survive.  

Heart of Steel

Steel your heart to terror
this cannot happen on our watch
protocols that give protection to criminals
allows criminals to own the street
becoming ever more aggressive
just like the Vikings of long ago.

They came in on their dragon boats
wrecking havoc, taking what was good;

iron, silver, gold. Used brute 
strength until the victims

stood up to the intruders

with the same ferocity 

that was meted out.

A Day in the Life of a Mother

The impatient wail of a hungry infant
with a cry that demands an immediate
reaction from anyone standing nearby
but the baby must wait because the toddler
spilled the apple juice on to the floor
it is seeping between 
the slates of the hardwood
the older children try to help 
but they can only do so much
even though they mean well.

Take a breath, the baby won’t starve
pick-up the toddler and clean the mess
get some snacks to keep her occupied
prepare the formula and with a final swoosh
change the baby and hold him in your arms
feeding him until he is satisfied.

There are still piles of laundry to wash
and dry, the folding will wait for another day
there are games to play, meals to prepare,

dishes to wash, homework to check, bills to pay
and maybe get some rest before the cycle repeats.  

End of the World

Some say the world will end soon
for all my years I’ve heard
the doomsayers bang
on drums shouting their message
but year after year nothing changes
people remain the same
seeking out selfish release
from the insanity of life
rather than creating heaven 
where they live, offering 
kindness, solace, love. 

Boston Marathon 2013

Families gathered to cheer
the runners, offering support
along the route with
medical and nutritional teams
ready to step in if there
is an emergency,
but no plan was in place
for the man in dark clothing
who dropped backpacks
at strategic points along the roadway
creating a scene of bloodshed
and chaos making a public statement

to instill terror and fear once again.   

Prayers for all those involved. 

From Baby to Old Man

Life begins with a cry
so much to learn, crawling
then walking, reading and writing
many complexities of modern living
useless before our time is done.

How long will we last

from here to there?

What new things

will we discover?

Everything we embrace

while we are young

deserts us before

our life is through.

Lucid Dreams

The details are explicitly clear
as real as can be with sights,
touch, sound, smell, taste,
but what follows is absurd -
conversations and situations
unlikely in real life
but there are no mistakes,
the messages revealed in these
lucid dreams are
warnings or guideposts
for daylight actions.

Siblings

Competing for the same space
fighting over simple resources

Who gets the bigger piece?
Why do you always touch my things?

Seeking for a place
all my own, don’t want to hear
your voice, or see your face.

I want time for my own thoughts
don’t have time to pick you up
clean your face, keep you entertained.

I want to read a book
escape into a fantasy world
but the alternative is being alone
and if the truth be known

I’d rather have you
follow me around
ask me questions
make me laugh 

challenge me to find
a game to keep you occupied
feeling your body next to mine
when you fall asleep

and listening to
you dream. 

Families and Marriage Vows

With the wedding ring comes a limit on time, 
demands on attention, finances, and dreams.
The bars are invisible but like a force field
hard to escape if the desires arise.

Commitment is the word

to keep from suffocating.

Two babies in diapers, crying to be held,
the older children looking for an escape
out the back door, the cat’s meow echoes
in the bathroom when someone closes the door.
The din of family shakes the wood floor beams.

In the quiet evening when all are sleeping
the moon peers through the open window
no music from the radio, no television buzz
just a steady breathing, the household is sleeping.

A rustle out by the back porch, 
is it a raccoon prowling?
Get up to check, no need 
for intruders in this temporary peace. 
Make sure the door is locked. 

There are things we do in a lifetime

some make us feel like a hero, lots of recognition
and adulation, must be great to be a celebrity
but the daily demands of family living
offer challenge after challenge

and only through prayer

and a belief in something
greater can we draw strength

to do what’s needed
not for glory and fame

but because it’s the right thing.

No raccoon at the back door,

but a basket with another
baby in it. Oh my goodness,

what will we do?

She Wanted A Car

Ella knew her mother was crazy 

and her unpredictable behavior 

and cruelty were not normal in the world 
until she enlisted in the army and got

a closer look at crazy.

As a young woman, making her way
in a man’s world, she found herself sane
and life seemed peaceful even in the middle
of a world war.

She returned home confident and strong

able to make money on her own
then married a man from her childhood, 
who tried to contain her independent lifestyle
wanting her pregnant and barefooted. 

After a few years of wedded bliss

she asked for her own car, 
he wanted her home.

She crept out at night with a knife 
and punctured his tires. The next evening
she stripped out the wires. He knew if he 
didn’t give in, the family car would be

completely destroyed.

She went out the next day and bought
a used car. Paid cash with the money 
she made coiffing hair while he was working.

He didn’t complain when she drove it home.

Her family realized she was crazy

but not cruel, and her unpredictable

behavior was a lot like her mother's.

Falling From a Cliff

We joined hands resolved in our plans
to hike up to a hidden place
we had only heard about
got disorientated, confused and separated
You tried to be the hero but fell
in a ravine hoping you could save me
but I clung on to a ledge
too frightened to move up or down
until strangers came to our rescue
but now we are on stable ground
what do we have to say 

to one another?

Composition

An artist sees the composition 

in natural forms
selecting the framing before
taking a picture

then tries to recreate the scene
on canvas or paper
edits by choosing the elements
critical to the artist’s ascetic

letting the viewers see
a point of view
grabbing their sight
with a focal point

letting their reaction

be spontaneous

and ecstatic.

Words on a White Page

Random thoughts
arranged in a borrowed form
inspired but not confined
to the musings of a stranger
drawing from my own beliefs
displaying on a white page
poetry and essays
prayers and stories
for visitors to peruse
and hopefully to arouse
a reaction of pleasure
and approval
coming back to visit
my words
again and
again.

Bees Forever

Pollinating flowers

that will produce

vegetables, weeds, or fruit,
the busy little bees
buzz from fields to hive
making honey for the
queen bee to survive.

We Got Lost

We discovered a place,
isolated in the wilderness,
and found adventure
spent the day exploring 

nature’s wonders
but then we got lost

nothing turned out 

as we expected.

Futile Attempt to Retain Memory

The perfect moment in time
captured in a photograph
framed and put in a prominent place
as a reminder of that memory

for all time...but...

photos and memories fade.

Apple Apps

I signed on to my computer
clicked on the icon for my Apple store
browsed through the free offerings,
opted for the purchase of a game instead
turned on to sync my ipad 

then everything went dead.

April Fools

A knock on the door
no one was there but a pink

post-it note stuck to the wall
“April Fools,” was all it said.

The phone rang inside
and a prerecorded

message warned:  

“The F.B.I. wants 

you to know that

you are in danger of

identity theft unless…”

That call was not a joke

but I get it twice a week

warning me

my identity has already been

stolen and I will be harassed

indefinitely.