Wanting Mainstream Spirit

Taking stock of it at the start 
Of one more “soul-searching” session, 
He discovered “rich” was not what 
He wanted it to be after all, 

But he did not want it 
To be poor either; 
He desired neither 
The one nor the other— 

Clearly muddled 
In the middle, his was a singular 
Commodity of two minds, 
Both mediocre. 

Surfeit of Naught

Replete with nothing 
But that which is 

Missing, ciphers 
Spend their entire lives 

Filling in the blanks. 

Supplicants in Garden of Eden

Once you were merely two 
Blithe creatures who thought 
How happy they were before 
The fact without bothering 
The gods for an explanation; 
Losing your grip, now you’re 
But two creatures who know 
There is no explanation. 

. 

(Parenthesis)

Such is the lot 
Of the lowly 
Sloth that hangs 

On high from branches back 
Downward and falls fast 
Asleep, feeding on nothing 

But fruits and leaves. 

Wishful Thinking

Still a young boy, 
I’d spend hours teaching 
My puppy new tricks— 

Now too old to learn anything 
New and old Fido long gone 
To doggy heaven, sure 

Wish I knew how 
He learned how 
To play dead. 

Eidomeni, Greece: Answers with Questions Not Missing Their Marks

Shoes that fit. 
What? 

Too much of nothing 
And not enough 
Of anything. 

But who’s counting? 
What else? 
Does a refugee need? 

Try it on for size. 

Old Widow Opening Window Shutters

Picture this— 

First day of spring 
Out walking 
At daybreak, 

At the crack 
Of something metallic 
Against stone, you 

Look up to see her 
Two thin arms shooting 
Out of an aperture, 

Securing the shutters hard, 
Fast against the weather- 
Beaten wall so that all 

The light can spill in 
To the dark room— 
Got it? 

Now print it. 

Taking It One Step at a Time

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” 
—Neil Armstrong, first man on the moon 

It’s in the stars 
From the word go— 
Spend your life mooning 
Over where you’re going and never 
Once looking back, you’ll never know 
If you’re one step ahead of there 
Where you used to be or 
Simply backtracking, taking off 
On a wrong tack once more.