THE BRAYING AUTOCRAT, a poem

The braying autocrat

exposed democracy

as a fragile work of art

enjoyed by connoisseurs

of self government

Threatened by the dupes,

the unappreciative,

the low-lifes, the racists

following their leader

toward the abyss of past tense

or frightenly, to dominance

  

WILLIE, Haiku

 

Willie, an Airedale

A great companion and guard

The essence of dog

FOUL WEATHER, a poem

 

 

Pounding in the night

Lightning etched black clouds

Limbs ripped from trees

Walls of racing water

 

The onslaught has passed

Lightning flashed harmlessly

Roof remained in place

Cellar stayed dry

 

Winter was the worst

Starting with a chill

Lingering bitterness

Of unhappiness

 

In June’s soft warmth

Flowers bloomed again

Harsh weather forgotten

Th home had endured

 

 

 

ICE CEAM, haiku

 

 

Dreaming of ice cream

Tongue sliding across sweetness

Temptation fulfilled

 

 

AN ONION, a poem

 

The roaring lion,

the quaking mouse

symbolize countless lives

I have chosen the onion

 

Over the course

of my many years

time has peeled away

the layers of youth,

marriage, and old age

 

All that remains

is the unused core,

the final fragment

of a waning life

 

BUTTERFLY, Haiku

 

 

Butterfly alights

The Monarch drinks the nectar

Flower flourishes

 

THE RAGE of MOTHER EARTH, a poem

 

How can we calm

Thy rage:

burning forests,

drowning rivers,

melting icebergs

Oh Gaia, oh Terra Mater,

oh Mother Earth

 

What sacrifice will sate:

us, our homes, our children,

the air, the ocean, the soil

How demanding will you be

Oh Gaia, oh Terra Mater

oh Mother Earth

 

When the ordeal ends

will the survivors

be so few

as to be barely noticeable

on the outer skin

of Mother Earth