Since you Asked About the Island

You inquired if I am happy now.
I am, but yet, I weep often.
I’ve seen people, kind deeds and miracles,
Fade away, though I haven’t forgotten.

I find the more beauty I witness,
The more people and pets I befriend…
The higher the level of sorrow,
The larger the loss in the end.

R8 D O FLYR

I had a youthful need for speed,
Each tree climbed, had to be higher.
Sliding down hills in a cardboard box,
Never compared to my Radio Flyer.

Now days fishing high on a rock,
Or napping by a warm fire,
Satisfies like my need to read.
There is little more left to desire.

Pelican

If the ocean were a clock face,
My finger, an hour hand…
I’d point out to you at two o’clock
The laziest Pelican.

He doesn’t dive, he eats afloat,
While sitting, he scoops his fill…
Then fly’s off once more, not paying…
Adding the dinner to his bill.

Remnants

Sometimes I hear my heart pounding;
Last sign of life in this abode…
Like a driver’s foot still vibrating,
Long after he’s left the road.

Sometimes I feel pure elation,
A joyous ghost within the room…
Your voice, speaking through the smile,
Long before your exit too soon.

Sometimes I see my friends in dreams,
Vibrant and still in their prime…
Then sobriety emphasizes,
Their disappearance; absorbed by time.

The Acme of My Everything

After a month’s vacation,
I returned to my home on the cliff…
Felled by the mixed emotions,
What sent this dream so adrift?

I have never lived in such beauty,
Six years longer than my childhood home…
Surrounded by envied possessions,
Self applause, as I stand alone.

Why the intrepedation,
Returning to my home again?
Why is this very core of my being,
The source of so much conflict and pain?

This is where I realized my dreams.
Found love, success and the truth…
Marked time, aged and closed chapters
Buried loved ones and also my youth.

Then suddenly I realized
This is where I hid from time…
The house alas, did fail me;
Scars and wrinkles are all mine.

K-9 Grafiti

I met up with a man at Agate State beach,
That I had observed walking circles around the parking lot
On a daily basis. I wanted to ask him how much he weighed before,
This exercise routine.

It turned out we had the same heart procedures …
He was following the rules and walking two miles a day.
He suggested I join him in the routine. Misery does love company.
I met up with him and we started walking laps.

There was a problem however. I had Otis with me.
Otis did not care about time or distance or exercise;
His only concern was pissing on each and every blade of grass
Along each square foot of the path.

Naturally I was upset. I lost not only a new friend,
But a chance to meet my health needs while actually having fun.
I looked at Otis and thought about his betrayal of our bond.
I felt absolutely helpless… worse because he knew it.

Driving home I reduced myself to his level.
I vindictively thought, we needed to go to the city.
There I would stop to spray paint my name
On every store front facade as Otis waited…
Without a blade of green grass in sight.

Drought

Every known life form on Earth,
Endeavors to swim upstream;
Successful or unconscious failure,
Survival was the driving dream.

We plod progressively forward,
Although, most species travel blind…
Hoping to leave a living legacy,
Just a trace of us behind