No One Made Me Wear a Tie

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Photo: Wendy Hausotter, Depoe Bay, OR  6/23

 

No one made me wear a tie

To look like a success…

A glass of wine and attitude,

Is what made me pass the test.

 

I shied away from woolen suits   

I favored cowboy boots…

Attracted to the movers,

Who did not forget their roots.

 

Lost fortunes to the businessmen,

Following their money path…

Made a living with the real folks…

Those friends who helped me laugh.

 

Gold prices, the stock market,

Real estate or latest trend…

Paled to the investment,

Of working with a friend.

 

If I died tomorrow,

Broke, and wearing not a stitch,

I hope the obits remember,

That memories made me rich.

 

A voluntary orphan

In a sometimes-chaotic state,

Living an entertaining life.

Inviting the most endearing fate.

 

Beware the perfect people

Wearing expensive designer jeans…,

They are usually just posers

Living way beyond their means.

 

The Rock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      I woke up this morning, restless,

     Then decided to go for a walk.

     I walked along the marina,

     Among the boats queued in the dock.

 

      I witnessed hungry seagulls,

      Stealing roadkill from a hawk.

      Saw an old woman at the bait shop,

      Her hanky tucked into her frock.

 

       I felt myself feeling weary,

       While passed by a high school jock.

       Who knows how long I’d wandered,

       I couldn’t see a clock…

 

       I looked for a spot to rest a bit,

       Then suddenly spied a beckoning rock…

       The moment I took comfort there,

       I felt the universe talk.

 

      

The Insecure Man

 

Radiant, smart, and beautiful.

He kept her for himself…

Like a firefly in a bottle,

A trophy forgotten on a shelf.

 

He blindfolded her in public,

Plugged her ears from TV news.

Banned magazines and papers,

Hiding other’s thoughts and views.

 

She never was allowed outside,

Fearing she’d smell fresh air,

That might ignite some memories

Of a larger world “Out there”.

 

His macho plans to control her failed

To keep her silent, dumb and dutiful.

He overlooked the major irony;

She was radiant, SMART, and beautiful.

 

Ghosts at the Table

 

Old friends sometimes sit at my table,

We toast each other with steins of beer…

Sharing memories of the old days;

Those nights we were all near and dear.

 

We laughed well into the night time,

Recalling each other’s embarrassing stories…

Celebrating well deserved praise for heroics,

Contrasted by exaggerated glories.

 

I fell asleep remembering,

Each other’s favorite love song…

Waking up to realize this morning,

They’re all ten years dead and gone.

 

We used to discuss Armageddon,

I built a shelter under my home.

What an errant judgement I made,

To build a future all alone.