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

 

 

ANGER, Haiku

 

Initial frenzy

A dreadful experience

Control is sweeter

 

PLEASURE, a poem

 

The experience of pleasure

coming at an unexpected time

can only be described as sublime,

as treasure without measure

 

The thrill of a meal

A great cable film

A chocolate-covered caramel

A stunning, red sunset

 

Pleasures anticipated

are not the same,

limited as they are

by a mental frame

 

 

BEAUTY, a poem

 

How can a woman

become more beautiful

with the passing

of the years

You did

 

Perhaps, I am seeing

what I want,

the illusion of love,

the delusion of age.

The reason doesn’t matter

 

Perhaps, I should wallow

in the pleasure

of what life

has brought me,

lovely you

 

MIKE PENCE'S MOMENT, a poem

       Can any but the servile

doubt the heroic decision

by Mike Pence

to choose the constitution

over the worship

of Donald Trump

 

In a unique moment,

to choose democracy

or dictatorship,

Mike Pence

picked America

over Donald Trump

 

The historic decision

of Mike Pence

was made possible

by the gallant police

fighting off murderous

Trumpsters

 

(At the core of this poem

is James Russell Lowell’s

1845 poem THE PRESENT CRISIS:

“Once to every man and nation

comes the moment to decide

in the strife of Truth or Falsehood,

for the good or evil side”

The choice in 1845 was between Abolition and slavery.)

 

 

 

HER FACE, a poem

 

What do her expressions

in the photographs say

In most, she is smiling

In some, she is offering

an inexplicable face

 

Her happy countenance

captured in that moment

renews my memory

of her engaging smile

every day of our lives

 

Time erases most images

Photos make them available

to revive instances of life

that bring recurring pleasure

in again remembering

 

  

THE SEA of IDEAS, a poem

 

Into the sea of ideas,

the old poet cast

his final thoughts,

hoping that a writer

in Africa or Spain

would grasp the spark

he sent forth as inspiration

for a poem or song

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