My Past Homes

All the homes where I once lived,

Were financed by different lenders,,,

The houses repainted by new owners,

Now refurbished with newer timbers.

I wonder if they feel connections,

Involving any of the house’s history…

Do any of the neighbor’s memories

Unravel any legend or mystery?

They will never know the calving

On Christmas eve facing certain harm…

Or a 7^th grade neighbor’s smoking,

Burnt down our original barn.

They’ll never hear the grand piano

Playing nighty by the pond..

Entertaining the whole family:

Horses, geese and wildlife, far beyond.

They will never get the morning paper,

Beneath roosting pheasants in the trees,

Or smell the rotting carp in summer,

In the sweltering summer breeze.

John Boy, the greatest cat ever,

Has a grave forever unknown…

Next to the bluest Parakeet,

The bravest budgie ever flown.

I hope all future owners,

Feel a sense of the magic there…

I discovered years ago,

This best spot on the hemisphere.

Shelter From The Storm

Old age offers challenges,

Some days it’s hard to breathe….

The weight says to just give in,

 But your will, says too early to leave.

People my age fear flooding,

Swirling like water down a funnel…

Or hiding from a hurricane.

In a deserted highway tunnel.

Our fate feels like a casino,

Where dealers shuffle our past sins…

Politics control the odds

No one ever wins.

I May Have, If...

I should have moved to Costa Rica,

Or even Mexico when younger… 

I had to lose those twenty pounds,

But I suffered a constant hunger.

I should have quit the cigarettes,

Yet I feared leaving addictions…

I might have lived a pious life,

But I resented all restrictions.

I might have lived a simple life,

Risking boredom in lieu of chance.…

Every time I sat on the couch,

I had a stronger urge to dance.

I’d have bought much more See’s Candy,

If I thought I could make it last…

Would have traveled to more countries,

If airplanes never crashed.

If I ever faced my reality,

Knowing I had more time…

I would have called a taxi,

To bring me more boxed wine.