give entropy its due

those who lean on constructs

like ‘rule of law,’ or  ‘civilization,’

had better remember that entropy

is powerful in the universe

and tends to tear what is built

into chaos that must countered

what took years or centuries to build

can be destroyed in months or weeks

and will take far longer to re-construct

auto me nothing, please

at times, auto-correct or suggestion

of what i wanted to say next

on my computer helps

but mostly it interrupts and distracts

and causes me to backtrack and fix

and, like a backseat driver,

i’d like to leave it off at the next

intersection of its thoughts v mine

autumn hues gambol

colors pirouetting

in chill-edged draughts

green costumes changed

for final bow to yellow

golden, orange, auburn

ruby, burgundy, red

and, rarely, blue

nods and curtseys

to the reality of cycle

oh, Bluffo, where?

 poor Bluffo Bribo

handed a moral compass

was told he held a direction finder

to the greatest treasure vault

but he couldn’t find it

even when he stopped to ask directions

of those he’d chosen as advisors

skim

haiku

cream skimmed off the top

takes richness from skinny-armed

pot-bellied children

color in motion

sea water aggravated by stubborn basalt

gray-green whipped to blue-green

veined with foam white smashed

against purplish brown to billow

into misting columns rising

collapsing into whitened channels

in rock vulnerable from melting

cooling, now attacked again and again

with each wave clawing at its surface

as it recedes gray-green again with

bits and specs of earth ensnared

and yielded to mother ocean

creative builder as well as destroyer

persons v people

persons i can talk with and care for

people tend to gang up and forget

to honor the ones opposite

as human beings worthy of respect

i cringe when my world gets ‘people-y’

because i do not enjoy fighting

but i’m good at it

what more can i say?

if wrinkles are interesting

i must be fascinating

if clean bad jokes make you smile

you’ll love conversations with me

if you know deep pain

you’ll find me a listener

why isn’t it ‘NO one is above the law?’

why do we put up with slandering

or belittling or outright lies?

why do tolerate ‘alternative facts’

when proof and truth can be

whatever anyone wants it to be

rather than what is mindfully

agreed upon?

why isn’t the rule of law what

we demand of our policy makers?

what have we given up and

what have we gained by doing so?

just a bit exaggerated?

on these hot days i try to picture

the Portland TV reporter standing

at Sylvan Hill with snowflakes

drifting around her and melting

into the wet sidewalk while she

exclaimed, “We’re reporting

from a white-out!”

play off

so many months of work

so many moments of frustration

with the computer

with finding feedback

with my ability as a playwright

until this morning

i gleefully

hopefully

relievedly

e-mailed ‘Freddy’s Wake’

to compete in the world

aaaaahh

that tomorrow i will consider

how it should have been done

i will leave for tomorrow to face

remember to respect

my eyes are tired as i work hours

at a setting on my play

while the summer heat

builds the allergy count

just outside my window

but i am not wielding a pickax

or tarring a road under the hot sun

so, i have little to complain of

when so many as worthy as i

are working in greater pain

dawn present

haiku

mountain silhouettes

backlighted by sunrise gold

glorious God gift

alas, a lack

poor Bluffo, despised

by brother humans for greed

lacking empathy

flower-whispered

haiku

flower-whispered love

colors nurture our courage

bid us pray to God

in a jiffy

oil change was interesting

as i sat in my car watching

a half dozen black-uniformed men

check and measure, open, fill and close

haul out air filters clogged with

dirt and debris needing to be changed

efficient, thorough and courteous

so good to be serviced by people

who know what they are doing

weather prediction

orange color in the sunrise

promise of heat early in the day

enticement to stay home and work

on projects of welcoming neatness

(but i’d rather be on the go)

geezer humor

haiku

bad, wonderful jokes

lifeblood of laughter sustain

geezers in decline

reacting to my phone’s ring

how long the telephone has haunted me

not for itself, or even for the sales

calls that take my time and energy

but (as i finally realized only recently)

because for years patients and friends

would call my public home number

by-passing the on-call system

of our physicians’ group

each time it rang in the evening

i cringed, hoping it was not a plea

for special attention i was too tired

to give graciously when i wanted

time with my family

these years of retirement are only now easing

what had always seemed

my strange reaction to my phone’s ring

book launch

re: Suns and Moons to Come, by Anne Stackpole-Cuellar

book launch

another writing friend has created

a warm, thoughtful book

this time, her third

a collection of her earth-

and freedom-defending poetry

just announced its publication

i cannot wait to learn

from its pages