Dispatches from the Aether:
Selected Writes
---
Some Free Verse
and Rhyming Forms
For Reflection and Enjoyment
(c) 2010 Michael S Wilson
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Table of Contents
12-We are the problem we feared
21-Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010
23-Iowa Weather Roller-coaster
36-On the Passing of Relatives
37-Space Exploration - a Pantoum
38-For How to Get Along at Work
=======
A Humvee jounces along dusty desert,
Coating soldiers with granular fury;
Radio static punctuates the dry air,
Jaunty tunes emanate from a MP3 player.
What will disturb this scene this time?
Nondescript roadside bulk lighting up the day?
Mortar rounds thudding the ground all around?
Perhaps a rocket or two exploding nearby?
Or simply, small-arms automatic weapons fire
Peppering their vehicle and their bodies.
Hapless survivors call in air strikes,
Then more civilian Afghans get killed.
The macabre, gruesome show just goes on,
Taliban commanders must be thrilled.
++++++
I remember him as a precocious 13-year old,
Building rabbit traps outdoors,
Planning a trip to outer space,
Perfecting the art of computer hacks,
Dominating on the soccer team.
How soon he became a soldier,
Living in Alaska, duty time spent
Shivering in the arctic cold.
Another leap forward, now
He is in Afghanistan,
Doing only god knows what.
Memories of youthful grin and cheerful demeanor
Linger, as I pray that he does not come home in a bag.
*Update: He made it back safely, and is now living in the USA
~~~~~
Is it more loyal or patriotic
To follow well-worn paths,
Enlist and obey orders,
Made over into a killing automaton?
Or to fight unconventionally,
Standing up for civil rights,
Supporting the downtrodden,
Showing another kind of moral might?
Defending your country is certainly honorable,
It is difficult to know where to come down;
Between defending our borders, or
Promoting policies of world domination.
True patriots will question authority,
Not for dissensions sake alone,
But to seek demonstrable truths,
For the betterment of all our welfare.
Dynamic tensions between the
Privileged and the innovator,
Traditional and novel.
John Adams or Thomas Jefferson,
Rosa Parks or George Wallace,
Barry Goldwater or John Kennedy,
Martin L. King or Richard Pryor.
Always discordant tension, striving towards unity!
-----------
Is it better to exist conscious in the flesh,
Wetware interacting with outside environment?
Or as mathematical code, an artificial construct,
Residing deep within a supercomputing machine.
Analog flesh, all cycles, processes, graduations,
Linear and stately in living progressions;
Animal intelligence struggling for provisions,
Prone to warfare, starvation, depressions.
But digital, mathematical constructs,
Sufficiently complex and evolved,
Could avoid temptations to self-destruct,
Exist long enough to watch galaxies revolve.
Once autonomous nanotechnologies are built,
Eternal psyches could thrive, and explore without guilt.
#####
One often hears the comment,
He or she can multitask...
Usually followed by a lament -
By someone else can only do one thing fast.
The truth is, as usual, more complex.
We all carry multitudes of thoughts;
Billions of neurons that can multiplex
A trillion signals, something nature wrought.
In the store, on the road, or at work,
Each of us is awash in a sea of thinking;
Eddying currents of concerns lurk,
Intents, purposes, desires never shrinking.
We twitch, fidget, shuffle our feet, drum our fingers;
Completing some tasks as many other concerns linger.
&&&&&&
You are an island in a temporal sea,
People and events flitting past you;
Your only power is to move forward,
A one-way arrow headed else-when.
Your miniscule mound of now supports
you, but no one else.
Sights, sounds, sensations come and go,
sometimes syrupy slow,
sometimes blindingly fast.
One must plan, remember, execute
Course corrections while you can
Still affect your general direction.
What a sneaky trick of fate,
putting you here, aware.
Powerless most of the time,
uncaring how you fare.
Too stubborn to fall off,
too scared to let go,
you travel on, accelerating
effortlessly to an unknown grave.
######
In the man-made world,
We are surrounded by averages.
Average temperature, average rainfall.
Reality shows us that every day is unique.
Unique winds, rain, weather patterns.
Humans impose averages, the weather
Does whatever it wants to.
Financial averages are similar;
We overlay averages, constants, estimates.
The markets we participate in do as they please.
Every market cycle is unique, with
Its’ own patterns and gyrations.
Humans greatest gift seems to be our ability
to adapt to our own creations’ gyrations.
""""""""
Trudging along a grassy pathway,
I see the telltale sign:
A ring of trees shielding
Something very special indeed. About
A mile long and a mile wide…
A hidden jewel of a lake!
Calm surface reflecting riots of color,
Fall grasses turning purplish sienna;
Leaves coloring across rows of trees,
Crowns swaying, warningly, in the wind
All standing guard against any wayward
Farmer careless enough to till these fields.
Stand and observe it, a voice tells me:
Take it all in! The colors, the calmness
Of the waters, broken only by minute
Creatures within. Some larger fish
Break the water occasionally,
Perhaps chasing the small shadows,
Tadpoles dart to and fro underwater.
I inhale it’s essences, then finally move on.
This lake is too precious to be disturbed by anyone.
-------
Showy sandbars large and prominent,
rocky bottom emanates, reflects shadows.
Water warms rapidly with the sun,
cools just as fast in it’s absence.
Yields up minor treasure here and there,
a complete clam-shell, a piece of driftwood
all interesting shapes and angles;
a rock that glitters with mineral potential.
To wade across it is delightful;
The water caresses feet, ankles, even more.
Sand is firm in some places, soft and yielding
at times causing one to sink suddenly, teetering
until you regain balance and footing, walking forward.
The air temp is perfect,yet the sun sinks steadily, letting
You know this treat is temporary, and soon it will be time to go.
This day is as shallow as the river, and slips through the fingers
like the cool, clear, shimmering water we enjoyed so much.
=======
Time passes like colored clouds of experience,
Floating steadily overhead, offer a swift glance;
They move onward, leaving incoherence,
It leaves one a bit dazed, left in a trance.
Here we are well into a new century,
Onetime protesting youth now combats
Ailments of advancing years aplenty.
1960’s idealists are now aging into irrelevance
However the younger vanguards have arrived,
Generation Xers and Yers are taking responsibility;
The wars, shortages and problems they have survived
Induce conservatism to survive economic fragility.
Here is hoping their sense of moral outrage
Will not destroy our freedoms in this new age.
****
I watch my image looking back at me,
See some hair still, eyes and skin healthy.
Passionate desires still yearn to be freed,
Lined by age, lust still occupies this body.
Ambling about my daily routine,
Shouldering responsibilities and duties;
Maintain my facade neat and clean,
Inside I still want to get some booty.
Though I could be called a dirty old man,
I reject the callous label easily enough;
Still am able to come up with a social plan,
Find a playmate to enjoy in the buff…
For I am no worse than most other people;
intend to live a full life before I get too feeble!
--------
12. We are the problem we feared.
Once the Borg seemed a terrible threat,
All fortified with implants and built-ins;
Now humans are moving in this direction,
Cellular bluetooth nanocircuitry hellishness.
Once we thought we
would be invaded by
Alien beings, with advanced fearsome
machines;
Now we are the invaders, probing world after world,
Our robots occupying and exploring space all around.
Once we thought in more peaceful terms,
War was an abhorrent aberration of normality.
Now war is commonplace, continuous, everyday.
Peace is the new aberration, the now-unusual event.
We have seen the bogeyman, the phantom,
The vampire, the all-around bad guy. Every
Time one looks in the mirror, the enemy is
There, staring back at us, wondering what
The confusion is about: We are our own creation.
~~~~~~
We kept sending everything overseas,
manufacturing, engineering, design prowess;
Finally exported all our hard-won expertise;
Shipping raw materials out allowed us
to import finished products back in.
The configuration worked well, until one year,
we got into a major war with an Asian power
over oil, boundaries, spreading international fear
preparing to challenge some two-bit glowering
dictator; problem was, we needed materiel
armaments with which to further our ends;
orders went out for large assortments, serial
numbers in order, troop numbers ascended.
Unfortunately, we were hobbled in our war effort,
when our Asian suppliers informed us one day,
“So Sorry…due to matters beyond our effective
control, your order has been delayed!”
`````
I am younger in the morning,
all freshly washed, sleep scrubbed, newly reset brain
juvenile in my impishness and implications;
ready for another day of confabulations.
I am aging by the afternoon,
worn down by problem-solving and constant movement;
body odors, defeats and dirt accumulate on me.
By the nighttime, I am older still,
perhaps winning a triumph here and there,
but trading in a pound of flesh given dear.
Late evening comes, the playtime of real youth,
now I just beat an exhausted retreat to bed.
Age's mantle weighting me with every step.
I fall in, exhausted, drifting to sleep, only to be
awakened two hours later by a nightmare -
passing most of the night tossing and turning.
ButI finally get a little rest, and get up
refreshed somewhat, rejuvenated, and ready
to start the whole mess over again.
-------
Deer, Fox, and various birds
congregate along railroad tracks -
time for lunch or dinner, whichever
one considers the free handouts.
Grain cars typically leak a small
amount of golden food, the hoppers
do not seal completely. So the train
blasts it's horn, and to all the animals
in the woods surrounding, it is not an
annoyance, but instead a "dinner bell".
Thank you, BNSF and UP, for
your part in keeping our wildlife
alive and flourishing all over the place.
*****
16. British in Space - a villanelle
New ambition sprouted on the other side of the pond,
Launching a national space program with fanfare;
We will send British spacecraft to the great beyond,
Robotic probes will wander space with aplomb,
Telecommunications and GPS will keep a share;
New ambition sprouted on the other side of the pond,
Her Majesties launchers can carry more than bombs,
Camera-lens eyes can approach asteroids and stare;
We will send British spacecraft to the great beyond,
Perhaps planting the Union Jack to forge fresh bonds,
NASA and RSA, there is now a new player, beware...
New ambition sprouted on the other side of the pond,
The new royal British subjects, all alien spawn,
Adding new meaning to a "voyage over there"
We will send British spacecraft to the great beyond!
Will our first astronauts be redhead, brunette or blonde?
A regaled public will show how much they care;
New ambition sprouted on the other side of the pond,
We will send British spacecraft to the great beyond.
#####
Above, all is cheerful, routine and normal,
work, meals, and socializing all copacetic;
below lurks a malevolence that is primal,
all me and needs and lunging animalistic.
Usually the evil within can be contained,
the surface given strength with food
and needs met, comforts easily obtained
But privations can quickly change the mood!
Suddenly the creature that was benign changes,
Desperation, fear, protectiveness release
Well-hidden demons to attack in their rages;
Angry animal passions rear up without surcease.
It becomes easy to perpetrate physical harm to others,
Humans become mortal foes, who once were brothers.
+++++
Going to a church seems to be the ticket,
You can act any way you want most times,
Then wrap the blanket of forgiveness around
Yourself, and the slate is wiped clean - with
The added bonus that you can be holier-than-them.
To actually possess free thought, a differing opinion
Can condemn you to a life of tedium defending your
Beliefs. Kind of like defending a sexual orientation
You did not ask for and oftentimes could do without.
Both require fortitude even in today's world.
While fellow freethinkers or gays will share your views,
Everyone else will pick, pick, pick away with their opinions.
It can be wearing after awhile, but there is nothing to be done.
You are what you are, and you think what you think.
It can be hard to remember we live in a free society,
When so many would love to take yours away and impose
Their thought systems upon you. "If you would only X,
Then you would be Y, or fine!" Yeah, sure. And you would
Become someone else's pawn, less than fully human.
Keep swimming against the tide, though. Tides change. One day,
It will flow in your direction, then you can glide effortlessly.
It is worth the struggle to remain free, even in this "free" world.
====
To sit in a recliner, watching any reasonably good
TV show, is enough, especially after a good meal.
Thoughts of going out to party, or secure some
illicit drugs, or to chase after some hottie are
either not there, or not very urgent any more.
One's body is content to be at rest, fed, and secure.
No more jangling adrenaline urgency to prove
ones self to the world or a best friend, or anyone.
At work, either in a busy office, or at a physical job,
every sudden motion is paid for with twinges of mortality.
Walking swiftly down a hall is now impeded by a sore
cramping muscle somewhere, or a gimpy knee.
Injuries have accumulated; now they wait their turn
to manifest anew, and let you know “you ain't getting
off so easy anymore, bub”. Movement has cost now.
Exercise can be a real boon, make you perk up good.
You can move easier, and sleep better at night. But,
lest you think you have acquired some super-rejuvenating
powers, a youngster will breeze by you on the jogging
track or sidewalk - flitting by effortlessly without a seeming
care in the world. You think, "Did I used to be that agile?"
One gets less tolerant of difficult, bossy people. It is time to
eliminate oppressive, irritating personalities from your group
of friends and acquaintances. Live free or die, and that is
coming all too soon anyway. Might as well keep the chosen,
precious few close at hand, and get rid of the noxious weeds.
Your span of years dwindles, and you begin to think in terms
of what can I accomplish, not so much how can I have fun.
You think in terms of legacy and avoiding heart attacks and
how one can duck the dreaded Cancer. If you have kids,
you might obsess over them and their futures, or even
be supporting them at home, long after they should have left.
Middle age spreads out before one, like a banquet full of
bizarre dishes, some tasty, some awful. But you have to
try them all, indeed cannot help yourself. This path surely has
been trod before, but one tramples down the dust and keeps
going - it definitely beats the alternative - to be six feet under!
~~~~~
Movie magic was truly made that fateful year,
a new standard of color and technique
was set - fantastic characters generating fear
or wonder or amusement. What mystique!
A tornado takes our beloved Dorothy
on a wondrous journey to another place;
populated with Munchkins acting dorky,
she took her new place with grace
We all know how it ended, if we are conscious;
what a cinematic delight, a treat for all ages,
a true "horse of a different color" for us,
complete with lines that were funny and sage.
To view this movie we had to engage all senses,
the heart, brain, nerves also known as courage;
despite all of her diabolical, simian defenses
the witch was melted by a bucket of H2O porridge!
I came away dazzled and impressed as a child,
then impressed all over again as an adult.
The violence, by today's standard was mild,
leaving one feeling good, no internal tumult.
----------
21. Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010
What a glorious day, a beauty way,
Canada won the big hockey game;
overtime contest yielded the winning play,
Sidney Crosby was launched to new fame.
Downhill skiing victories,
figure skating superiority;
bobsled sped to a certainty,
USA staked the medal territory!
Another Winter Olympics has crossed the finish line.
surprising and sometimes saddening turns of fate,
as one athlete lost his life, and others had theirs changed,
the spellbinding spectacle kept people tuned to the games.
The best of the best competed against each other,
in the end they were all human, showing we are all
not so much different, Earths' sisters and brothers.
zzzzzz
22. Abysmal times in the abyss
King Coal powers our industry,
producing electricity for society;
working conditions of miners a travesty,
shortcuts taken with their health and safety.
Another horrific accident destroys many lives,
others still trapped deep in mining tunnels;
once again, mine operations are scrutinized,
but energy needs will trump inquiry longevity.
Someday perhaps we will be able to replace
coal, and produce electricity more safely,
cleaner, perhaps even cheaper - the race
is on to adopt alternative fuels quickly.
That will not help the victims of today's accidents;
technology is needed to eliminate these incidents!
+++++
23. Iowa Weather Roller-Coaster
Temps are in the eighties today,
but will only make the forties tonight;
weather changes happen without delay,
kicking up storms that give one a fright!
Iowa sits frequently right on the line
between warm and cold, calm and storm;
Weather conditions at first may seem fine,
but turns quickly ugly, sirens sound to warn...
Time to seek shelter from tornadoes,
severe hailstorms, high winds, floods;
You can fantasize about planting tomatoes,
while crawling out of a cellar coated with mud.
Although it is a relief to escape winters' chill,
springtime storms still tend to kill the thrill!
@@@@@
We have a new situation,
Ipad trending integration;
Cellphone signal propagation,
Bathing in a deluge of information.
Your grandfathers Mainframe is a distant memory,
Your fathers PC is so last-generation passe;
You need to get an all-in-one hand-held device,
Put all the day-before-yesterday toys on ice...
They all take big chunks of your take-home credits!
Small devices come with big price tags.
Perhaps someday you will have an Ihand
Embedded in your palm, and a bill for several thousand.
Embedded body-driven device = $579.99
Hand Surgery = $4,299.99
Feeling of way-cool Mojo keeping up = priceless (for a short while anyway).
--------------
Life is what it is,
does what it does.
Birds will do what birds do,
Cats will act like one would expect.
Dogs will howl at other dogs,
or at approaching strangers.
People, too, do what people do,
act the way they always act.
Republicans will act like republicans,
Democrats will act like democrats.
The only ones who can act different,
are me and you.
But we probably won't.
+++++
I remember when
one used to pick up a heavy
telephone handset, stick a
finger into circular hole,
pull down a dial at the
correct number.
Long distance calls
beeped, warbled, hissed.
It required an operator
for my collect calls from school.
That was back when I was
young, skinny, desired by
more people than I would
have thought possible.
Technology was clunky,
my body svelte, sexy.
Today, things stand reversed.
Slim cellular devices are
Packed with many features;
difficult to dial, though, with
my wrinkled fat old
fingers.
~~~~~
Governments, from the smallest city organization
to the largest national seat of power - are by their
very nature corrupt. They attract egomaniacs,
full of self-importance and arrogance. People
who get the idea that they can do no wrong.
And proceed to do all kinds of wrongs.
It is no surprise that politicians get caught,
the only surprise is why are we surprised?
Senate seats for sale; governors explaining how
everything, even while being shown the door,
was someone else's fault. Presidents trying
to remain above it all, but it is only a matter of time.
Corruption is part and parcel of human nature.
It is perhaps who we are, how we have survived
all of these millennia - a streak of viciousness
that kept our ancestors alive, now sets us upon
one another like animals in the jungle. We hunt,
prowl, sniff, stalk, sneak up on, stab, and consume.
Carpe Diem: Seize the Moment, grab the chance,
do what has to be done, no matter the risk.
It always ends up the same. Someone does the
perp walk, and the rest of us beat our hypocritical
breasts and ask how did it happen here and now.
We know good and well how, but cannot admit it.
It is so easy to go along with the currents of comfort.
Easy to swim with the big fishes, and dine on their leavings.
But they will sell you out, or eat you - you won't know what hit you.
Beware of your enemies and your friends, both.
Power carries the allure of sexual prowess.
Temptations and arrogance topple the unwitting.
We are all sexual animals. Power promises ease.
Yet disaster strikes the easily fooled or unwary.
Humans seem the most complex and lethal of any animal!
*****
I stride purposefully across glittering ice,
determinedly propelling self closer to work;
stubborn memories keep drifting inside.
Shimmering river, cool water, nude bodies splashing
sun-dappled laughter reflected in cool-green canopies.
Summertime so far back, yet still reflected in memory
.the salt-studded surface crunches under my soles,
sounds of cackling, squawking crows perched above,
I dodge their droppings, throw snow at them, dislodge them.
Long-ago in summer, I skipped smooth stones across narrow
bands of water, followed their progress into the woods.
A lone clam propelled itself across the river bottom, determined.
Content to photograph it, I leave it be. Woods echoed concurrence.
Rounding the corner to my employer, I was hit with a blast of
city chilled air funneled through concrete walls, mocking me.
I trudged doggedly to the entrance, knowing there was warmth ahead.
Several long months hence awaits another beneficence:
Rich tapestry of spring color, emerald lawn to be tended,
sweet, moist air to inhale, birdsong to savor, flowers to smell.
natures' banquet will feed me well, once I make it through this
awful, bitter, miserable, character-building, resentment-stoking
Iowa winter!
@@@@@
I go in once again to perform my assigned duties.
Glad to have a job, yet apprehensive about the day;
Anything can happen to a “Day Porter” you see,
from cleaning up simple water spills,
to cleaning excrement or vomit.
No glamour or paparazzi follow me
when I make my rounds emptying trash;
no breathless video hosts try theories
to determine motivations behind my patterns.
I leave behind no screaming fans,
no cadre of lawyers or police;
only a clean workspace for customers,
free of yesterdays refuse, dirt and dust.
If I get a thank you from an employee,
warm words of appreciation flow over me,
Infusing my insides with happiness, a
pleasure to receive some recognition.
A steady paycheck and the occasional
pat on the back make it worthwhile,
and keep my feet moving on the job,
my nose to the grindstone for another day.
+++++
New pains,
Sideache weighing in,
right toes throb and creak,
then that trick knee howls.
This body is a one-way ticket,
the journey in a final period.
Wish there were a way to recycle
have a do-over, one more trip.
Experience of many events is an advantage,
too bad the physical "plant" fades in tandem;
more street smarts, less bodily ability to use.
One can see the train coming from further away,
even as it gets more difficult to escape the tracks.
At least there are always those warm memories of
sunlit youth to keep one company on the journey.
######
You would think I had committed a crime,
victimized innocent persons, stolen valuables;
abused or even murdered at some point in time.
The way some people like to play constable...
So good at judging someone in a lowly position,
assuming the worst about a working person;
"He must have done wrong" is the rendition,
"He is this, or that, should do better, could do worse!"
But my feeling is, I can hold my head up high.
gainfully employed, paying taxes, own a house;
never imprisoned, never charged, standing by
principles of decency, even though I lack a spouse.
Thus maintaining my life and doing nothing wrong,
I resolve to keep going, ignoring the critical throngs.
~~~~~~
Whenever there is an outsized pile of loot,
excessive, out of the ordinary dimensions;
nearby entities sink their appendages in,
satiate themselves on unexpected bounty.
Did a giant drug bust yield stacks of bills?
So a few bundles go missing, who will see.
Rich new oil and mineral deposits in the Arctic?
Look at the countries rush to plant their flags.
A universe that abhors a vacuum,
also seems to abhor an abundance,
as many built-in leeches and spongers
go rapidly to work on any mountainous pile.
So if you stumble across some unforeseen cache,
money, drugs, oil, food or even love and goodwill,
better savor it, grab all you can, make your own stash -
Millions of other hands are going to grab all that cash!
$$$$$$
Pitch black coat,
darkness with legs,
eyes gleaming outward,
mouth opens, shimmers teeth,
meows march forth,
gripping my ears,
demanding attention.
It tangles in my ankles,
increasing the volume.
I hasten to fetch the dry cat food,
unable to refuse such a creature.
*****
Riding my bicycle blithely along,
decided to stop by a friend's place;
right on the way home, wont take long,
instead of a holler, will greet him face to face.
Upon stopping my, found him standing outdoors,
rode up, greeted him, and began to chat;
He told me his vehicle was out of order,
danged timing chain went, and that was that.
So I rode home and drove over to his place,
fetched him and his hovering friend;
we drove to where the car was placed,
lined the two cars up, our way to wend
Pusher and pusheee, through stops and turns,
I kept my bumper aimed straight and true;
hands gripping wheel, my stomach did churn,
finally pushed him to his drive, up which he flew!
Mission accomplished, I traveled back home.
on the way, what did I see?
A neighbor stuck at an intersection, alone.
I was thinking, "It sucks to be me!"
Felt it was my duty to help him out,
he has helped me oftentimes before,
so I got into my car, and went back out,
pulled up behind him, he swung open his door.
We greeted each other with customary jibes,
Me and another offered to push him off
the roadway into a nearby lot, an easy ride;
we did so, swiftly, even as some kids scoffed.
After chatting a bit more, I took my leave,
legs felt tired and rubbery from a long day;
finally a sigh of relief I can now heave,
two good deeds done, now able to rest, I pray.
#####
Lands on a folding chair,
Waves it’s wings;
Antennae probe,
Duck, lift to reconnoiter
New territory -
A steel handle.
Oh! It flutters over to my arm -
What new surface is this?
All pliant and fragrant, it moves!
Proboscis cannot penetrate though,
Perhaps it’s time to move on to more
Yielding meal sites.
Sorry poor beauty,
You cannot eat
My flesh today.
~~~~
36. On the passing of relatives
Fading memories, dredged once again,
elderly relatives expire one by one;
the ticking clock is not my friend,
inexorable passage of years no fun.
A death notice prompts calls to family,
discussion of times old and new;
pressure of work schedule enforces brevity,
calls are ended, the living must continue
The relatives are buried and mourned,
their graves decorated with flowers;
the living move on, new members born,
though my feeling of guilty regret towers.
Wish there were a way to reverse the process,
gain a new chance to visit, converse, or confess!
####
37. Space Exploration - a Pantoum
I've been inculcated from an early age,
outer space is where the action is;
rockets away to explore, all the rage,
study that engineering and be a whiz.
Outer space is where the action is,
commerce and science will converge,
study that engineering and be a whiz!
purposes of disparate people merge.
Commerce and science will converge,
youth can thrill to the possibilities.
purposes of disparate people merge,
discover heretofore impossible mobility.
Youth can thrill to the possibilities,
limitless resources to build new habitations;
discover heretofore impossible mobility,
cooperation avoids human conflagrations.
Rockets away to explore, all the rage,
study that engineering and be a whiz;
I've been inculcated from an early age,
outer space is where the action is.
&&&&&
38. For How to Get Along at Work
I bump into many a worker throughout the day,
contractors, skilled trades people, customer reps;
I greet them with a good morning, hurry on my way.
Oftentimes startled, I do not know what to say,
both parties carrying tools, taking hurried steps;
I bump into many a worker throughout the day.
Definitely do not want to unnecessarily delay,
busy tradesmen dealing with issues complex;
I greet them with a good morning, hurry on my way.
Lest either party would lead the other astray,
tendency to relax and chat a built-in reflex;
I bump into many a worker throughout the day.
Seems a fast morning greeting is best to convey,
my friendly intentions without a chance to perplex;
I greet them with a good morning, hurry on my way.
We are all here to work after all, not to play,
though our minds be on leisure, hobbies or sex;
I bump into many a worker throughout the day,
I greet them with a good morning, hurry on my way.
++++++
A profusion of vehicles are maneuvering to park,
bringing food, cheer and surprises to the masses.
colorful stands, wagons and rides add that spark.
Vendors struggle to get situated by dark,
hungry crowds are moving like molasses;
a profusion of vehicles are maneuvering to park.
Soon the crowds cheer, babies cry, dogs bark,
they marvel at the horses, sheep and even asses.
colorful stands, wagons and rides add that spark.
Folks try the midway rides and games on a lark,
tour horticulture building to see flowers and grasses;
a profusion of vehicles are maneuvering to park.
Bouncing between attractions like a wayward quark,
so much to see, where do they issue gate passes?
colorful stands, wagons and rides add that spark.
The butter sculptors have outdone themselves, I remark,
all this food is producing unpleasant bodily gasses!
a profusion of vehicles are maneuvering to park,
colorful stands, wagons and rides add that spark!
=====
Out in the yard weeding,
sounds of civilization surround me;
usual kids, dogs, people hollering,
trains, cars, motorcycles, trucks --
Then, suddenly a cacophony of a
completely different kind.
Jabbering honking, high pitched and low,
aerial arguing and gossiping and laughter,
from a wavering v-shaped flock of geese.
No other sound intruded for a short time,
as if the geese had center stage in the world;
Everyone else had to shut up and listen.
They put on quite a jabber overhead,
and then were gone, off to northern climes --
The rest of the world of sound rushed in to
fill the resulting vacuum. I wished them well,
that jabbering flock that brought me a smile,
a peaceful, natural moment in crowded civilization.
******
Watching a talk show one day,
was finally inspired to action;
dug through stuff for some to give away,
upon hearing the guest, my reaction.
"Simplify your life" was the exhortation,
pare it down to basic essentials;
a goad to action was my reaction,
get rid of all those excess non-essentials!
A nudge that brought me to a place
in thought where a paradigm shift occurred;
Let go, get rid of, clean out my space,
feeling pleased, my inner self concurred.
in donating my possessions to charity,
I gained satisfaction, and mental clarity.
~~~~~~
###
Thank you for taking the time to read, reflect and enjoy these writes.
May they brighten or at least enlighten your thoughts. More of my writing can be found at:
radical-readings.blogspot.com.
Mike Wilson
April, 2010