dealing with

voluble, garrulous, dealing with regret

and loss of function with loss of use

of limbs, he deals out words as though

all who come to visit are game to hear

again and again his same stories,

not of unmanly woe, but male triumphs

with big machines, heavy equipment

admiring blonds who circle and smile

and later turn nasty and vicious

and drive him to drink

he has needs, but trying to help him

is proving costly

frank incense speaking

frank incense speaking

does little to ease arterial flow

to relieve freedom of movement

paralyzed by a stroke

brought on by fear and anger

to help persons listen who remain

deaf to the pain of others

frank incense speaking infuriates

continues division by ‘we versus they’

or ‘us versus them’ and poisons

rather than calms the middle ground

of respect and mutual compromise

frank incense speaking

is not our world’s best gift

to the despairing Prince of Peace

hand-me-down happy

hand-me-down happy

as i do not like to shop

but love to remember

joyous times with the giver

quilt

patches, squares or triangles

seen from Italian skies

as we flew toward Rome

over farmlands meticulously fenced

walled off by as owned by independents

greens so various and individual

they spread out as a vast quilt

stitched by Mother Nature

as the ultimate seamstress

of human comforters

answers, anyone?

does a reflection have physical reality?

how can multiverses fit within our own?

are concepts closer to reality

than what we ‘know’ from our senses?

why do our parents groan every time

we repeat why? why? why?

encumbered

 listening to the elderly

can be crushing

as life accumulates pain

and, at times, they speak

of what they bear

struggle for dawn

haiku

orange gold vied hours

to emerge among purple

clouds to bring sunrise

Thanksgiving 2025

mother and three of her young adult children

comprise my laughing crew

of daughter and beloved grandkids

playing a word game that tests their wit

and playfulness as i am privileged

to watch, listen and whisper thanks

gathering

family table with leaves

for apples who fell

far from the tree

childhood memories rewarmed

boxed and taped, sent off

to loved relatives leaves me

warm with memories

respond to a child

when a child runs up

with something to show you or give you

stop what you are doing

look, listen, respond

because then he knows

he is worthwhile

and what he does matters

you needn’t over-praise

acknowledgment serves his needs

rejection eviscerates his sense of self

hear me

please listen, my darling

if you can, hear what i mean

with or despite words

blue fog

haiku

pre-dawn sapphire fog

shimmers night lights to pale blue

and eerie shadows

maple glow

haiku

glow of maple orange

even of the last few leaves

pierces misty fog

winter approaches

haiku

with stealthy approach

winter mists exhalations

then shudders, shivers

now is so altered

i cannot now

where always i could

if it was a matter of will

but old age has changed

not only my ability

but my confidence

painted mornings

haiku

Nature paints mornings

over horizon dotted

with pine silhouettes

backdrop blue

haiku

indigo deep blue

setting stage for dawn’s entrance

glorious backdrop

dark clouds sun-bleached

haiku

compassion, like dawn

breaks through miasmas of greed

to caring persons

feeble envoy

i am a fighter

but i have a logical mind

he is a fighter

but runs on emotion

i do not know

how to reach him

to point out an insight