A writer of words

must be clear

it's not what you say

but how you say it

Dick & Jane

went up the hill

is perfect

it tells the story

two main characters

describes the where

and why

simple but to the point

see Spot run

Spot was the dog

I like my poetry

like that

things don't have to be

so complex

that no one und...

Read and leave comments (0)

The neighbor struggled with the trunk

the huge tree that had marked his yard

had been cracked by wind and storm

it was no longer strong or safe

and so it had to come down

the tree towered over his yard and provided

beauty and balance to his place

but when it cracked in the wind

it was too far gone to save and so

he went to work trimming away at it

limbs taken one...

Read and leave comments (2)

The sound of tap tap tapping

drifts across the neighborhood

the silence of the morning broken by

the sound of men working hammers

walking on roofs

pulling up old shingles

laying new

Laborers with skin as brown

as the shingles themselves

tanned by countless hours in the sun

and blistering heat

we hear them exclaiming in their native tongue

singing to th...

Read and leave comments (0)

Twitter trolls

can be

so cold

their slurs

incite

soon take

their toll

insults

pierce souls

sure do

get old

delete

all trolls

instead

console.

Read and leave comments (0)

Give the boy

a rock, a stick

and he'll make up

a game

a trick

the fun for him

the finding of

a lizard

frog or

doodle bug

a shallow pond

some instant mud

acorns or limbs

the boy in

him

is what we love

his boyish ways

we wish a boy

he'd always

stay.

Read and leave comments (1)

The main thing about

writing a poem

is to know when

you get to the end

some poets do not

and go and on

until

like a car

they run out of gas

then they just park

and leave it on

the side of the road

a poet must know

where he's going

and stop when he gets there

unlike this poem

which started good

but then sputtered to a stop

Read and leave comments (2)

Sunday on the front lawn

the weather nice and cool

and the family is out

playing ball with the kids

just like in the old days

The boys are the batters

the grandpa the pitcher

the son-in-law plays the outfield

chasing balls across the street

the wives are the cheering squad

looking on from their lawn chairs

shouting words of encouragement

Just like...

Read and leave comments (1)

Once was a hare

that in imagination played

who in a cheerful spirit

set about the colored eggs he made

such was the mystery

but be that as it may

he deposited the eggs he laid

least that's what people say

Then children awoke and spoke

in words of wondrous surprise

excited to go hunt the eggs

to which they were apprised

in every niche and nook they...

Read and leave comments (0)

Restaurants

are happy places

brimming with noise and activity

people sit in booths

to eat and drink

but more than that

to talk

about the weather

the family news

about friends and relatives

the word is

that Uncle Joe is getting senile

that the kid has ADHD

that the dog died

the noise is deafening

people shouting across the table

all competing for...

Read and leave comments (1)

The alarm goes off

it aggravates

I hit the snooze

prefer to wait

I stay real still

won't ambulate

on sleep

I'd rather concentrate

When the sun comes up

might motivate

but rising

I'll negotiate

Dreams I prefer

postpone my fate

sleepy heads

are hard to penetrate.

Read and leave comments (1)

Emojis fill our e-mails now

taking the place of words

and emotions that

we cannot ourselves express

we fall into a routine

fall back on the easy way out

and instead of descriptive words

plug in an Emoji

because it's easier

than actually doing the hard work

of using words

so I am sending this to you now

minus the emoji

and typing out

this Happy Happy F...

Read and leave comments (4)

It matters not

if there is more

what matters is

your time before

Dismiss all those

who said they would

yet only stayed

when times were good

Fair weather friends

you can forget

do what you can

in time that's left

Remember good

the bad ignore

and love the time

you had before.

Read and leave comments (2)

Some innocents

share all their love

yet some would take

advantage of

For love so free

holds nothing back

yet in the end

earns no respect

Love be not trite

nor trifled fast

but held for those

whose love will last

Love is between

the give and take

and lasting love

appreciates.

Read and leave comments (2)

Be careful, be cautious

on what you dare speak

so offended are those now

who would censor speech

Safe spaces created

propaganda then fed

what's spoken is PC

all else is not said

Do not be outspoken

let not truth be spoke

conformity is demanded

by those who are Woke

Democracy fails then

when only one side can speak

and tyranny prevails w...

Read and leave comments (3)

Sit in a corner

rock yourself

headset set to music

no one else can hear

Autism rhythms

sonic songs

a place so far away

so deep inside you

how wide the distance

the unspoken difference

a world so small

so isolated

just you and yourself

safe in a shell

protected from others

who cannot ever come in

the door is closed

and locked.

Read and leave comments (2)

It plies the sea

the Laughing Gull

Its wish is fish

there is no lull

Still tourists feed

the laughing gull

It laughs because

it's never full.

Read and leave comments (3)

We remember that first ride

on a horse

city kids who had no experience

with animals that size

just standing next to a horse was scary

like looking up at a mountain

a horse that had moving parts

and a head 3 times the size of ours

with teeth that looked huge and menacing

and a tail that slapped you in the face

but the horse of course

had horse sense

and knew...

Read and leave comments (1)

Most men take small steps

toward success

it is not dropped on them

from a lottery or ancestry

or from some quirk of fate

men just go to work

one day at a time

and through small steps taken each day

deliver results

day by day

day in and day out

they are the ones who hold the country together

through their steady pace and consistency

they keep the engine o...

Read and leave comments (1)

God worked a full week

then took a day off

but then he received a summons

to appear in court

thanks to Eve getting famous

and then getting a lawyer

God was non-union

so he got the job done on time

and under budget

but Eve filed a grievance

said she was harassed by a snake

and denied her rights

she said that Eden was a male-dominated garden

so Eve formed ...

Read and leave comments (1)

has been

a series of blunders

one error after another

in a long line of mistakes

I envy people who

are smart & savvy

who breeze through life

as if it were a plaything

a toy that is all theirs

to play with and enjoy

my life is a sit-com

where I play

the bumbling blunderer

who gets laughs at

his own expense

and applause when

the door slams in his ...

Read and leave comments (1)

For Texans there's nothing

that we hold more dear

than the time of the season

when Bluebonnets appear

Their dazzling blue color

blankets roadsides and fields

a sea of blue blossoms

lures us with appeal

A ride in the country

gives us a good view

of the countryside painted

in the brilliance of blue

In our cherished memories

it's always assum...

Read and leave comments (2)

If you are the recipient

of a distribution e-mail

that you did not sign up for

or agree to

there is a problem

please notify the sender's

of the error of their ways

then threaten them with a law-suit

if that doesn't work

to further protect your privacy

take the nuclear option

delete yourself

now you no longer exist

your identity lost in cyberspace

and ...

Read and leave comments (1)

Bad bad-boy

roaming the streets

looking for trouble

hardened by fisticuffs

then handcuffs

don't wanna attend school

don't wanna listen

he's got his tattooed pals

the gang that he runs with

makes crime look easy

till he gets caught

then it's I'm so sorry

I didn't mean it

cleaned up for the court

put on a suit

got a haircut

pleads for probation

Read and leave comments (2)

Dust and sand

blow through the doors

what was a town

not any more

The land took back

what was before

the yucca grows

the cactus more

Ghosts haunt the halls

their groans implore

their lives returned

still it's ensured

What was before

can't be restored

The town once here

gone evermore.

Read and leave comments (2)

sticks his head out of the window

begins to tell me his story

even though I am a stranger

he has never met before

he talks and talks

as he chain smokes his cigarettes

the ground outside his truck littered

with butts like fallen hail

he tells me he is living and sleeping in his truck

says his room-mate became too abusive

so he just left with only the clothes on hi...

Read and leave comments (1)

The calf

can't come out

it's too big and

the mother cow too weak

to force the issue

so a calf puller and chains are brought out

and wrapped around the calves legs

then 2 strong cowboys pull

and pull until the legs come out

and then the head

as the calf falls to the dusty ground

and there ya go

a calf laying on the ground

all wet and slimy lookin'

and ...

Read and leave comments (0)

We always want

what we do not have

to be someone else

to be somewhere else

and wish someday

it will come true

yet it is only

pie in the sky

and we cannot live

in fantasy forever

reality takes over

sooner than later

eyes open

a light comes on

we don't need drugs

we need each other

reality is cooler than we thought

and finding ourselves

is e...

Read and leave comments (3)