Everything and Nothing

Otis left on his walk today
As large as the whole outside…
Picking up the scent of something,
Shifting into his quickest stride.

The man he thought was hiding,
Was a branch that had fallen down,
The rabbit he chased in the orchard,
Turned to an apple on the ground.

The butterfly he bit, then spit;
A dandelion in the breeze.
The car crash he heard behind him,
Was me, caught in a sneeze.

He barked at a honking heron,
Leapt up towards a flying crow
Then poked his head in a thorny hedge
Where other animals would not go.

The greatest battle won that day,
Was conquering a floating leaf…
After leering at a well trained dog
He judged with disgust and disbelief.

Tired of chasing nothing,
He finally pulled a lucky card…
Watching a tractor dig a hole
In the next door neighbor’s yard.

When Otis’ morning walk had ended,
He was certain of just one thing…
It was a very exciting morning,
Discovering nothing, and everything!

I Am a Middle Schooler

I am a teenager in the 7th grade,
I’m independent, unique, my self
I achieve my individuality by
Trying to look like everyone else.

I blush at every fart joke,
I am an authority on sex…
Melon seeds cause pregnancy,
My stink eye is a hex!

Thirteen year old, six foot girls,
Press four foot boys into a locker,
Forcing one last stolen kiss,
Before kicking their ass in soccer.

The “skanks” most teased and spit on,
By the guys they loved to hate,
Become the high school cheerleaders,
Those same losers hope to date.

Smart girls who could be doctors,
Discovered sexy was acting dumb…
All found soul mates by graduation,
Drunk together, and comfortably numb.

Hindsight

Joni Mitchell on the stereo,
Conveyed happiness led to harm…
Subscribing, I spent a decade
Alone on the Marfargoa farm.

I perched the house on a fish pond,
The bull frogs sang their nightly song,
As I played the grand piano,
Night herons guarded the night along.

Geese gathered by the back door,
Wild pheasants roosted in elm trees,
The horse’s backs to the kitchen window,
Turned against the delta breeze.

Chickens settled on barn rafters ,
Sheep slept in the lean-to at night…
I was the loneliest man in the world, I thought,
Hidden apparently from everyone’s sight.

Forty years later, I’ve traveled the world,
Those years on the farm, history…
I look back on the life that surrounded me,
Now those years mean the most to me.

Amduat

We all must cross the desert
Either by foot or on a camel…
Completing our final destination,
Swathed in gravel or soft flannel.

(I honestly don’t know where to file,
The million photos inside my head…
Grammar school, jobs, stray dogs and weeds,
Both in my own and the flower bed.

My music lives on with my iPod,
All experiences both happy and sad…
Are gathered along with my poems and thoughts,
Uploaded and synced to my iPad.

I celebrated my life each day,
The ruling king of my own dynasty…
Shackled to earth with my fellow man,
Dreams, the wings that set us free.)

Every second, of every hour,
Another cell in our scheme does die,
We think less of the dirt we trod,
Focusing sights upward toward the sky.

Our lives, a beautiful span of time,
Fond memories; a mind filling feast…
We pack our bags, the boats await,
Leaving the west, for our journey east.

We don’t need the servants or the guides,
There is no fearing the crocodiles,
Following the path from memories
As Pharaohs we’ve walked these miles.

Update 56 Years Later

Self Loathing

My blond hair suddenly darkened,
An erupting doo of pubescent frizz…
I hated every physical feature
That demonstrated what reality is.

I spent half a summer vacation,
Not leaving the station wagon…
Intent on listing all my bad faults,
Only cured by double head baggin’.

People in swim suits on the beach,
Ignored me cupping my fat nose,
And my high top Converse tennis shoes,
Concealing fat ankles and short toes.

My father condemned me as selfish,
Aware I was faulting his genes…
Of course I was unsympathetic,
I knew the pain such ugliness brings.

Fast forward sixty years later,
My idols, now gargoyles in France…
Or employees at the local Wal-mart;
Ringing up my still same-sized pants.

The Bluff

I found a house nobody wanted,

Splintered and windblown on a bluff…

A few patches would last my lifetime,

I thought at the time, “That’s enough”!

My youth tricked me into buying it,

Repairs were made one board at a time…

I tailored it all to suit my needs,

Then realized the home was never mine.

I shared the light pole with an eagle,

My fish pond was water for the deer,

Windfall apples fed shy coyotes,

Hungry rabbits and crows all year.

A quarter of a century later,

I feel the wind pull the boards apart…

Of the home I foolishly purchased,

Never realizing, I remodeled my heart.