300 Pieces

 start from the edges

one piece at a time 

no longer concerned with the big picture

but focusing on the piece at hand

it helps stops the shaking 

and seems to aid in keeping the hallucinations away 

at least for a while

but three-hundred pieces 

is a lot to take in all at once 

and she's been gone from her room

for thirty minutes or more 

the puzzle can wait

it will still be there tomorrow

so, she heads down the hallway, 

back to her room 

where there are hungry children 

that need her attention because only she can see them

and only she can hear them crying

Gold Miners

 they were old timers

they were gold miners

following another get rich scheme

packing up and heading west

doing what they thought was best

hoping to fulfill their wealthy dream

gold fever deep within the vein

sadly turning out the same

out of money they gave up their plan

going bust, they just stopped tryin'

left behind their rusty iron

leaving ugly scars upon the land

they were web designers

modern day forty-niners

mining from the corner office suite

checking fluctuating prices

trading crypto from devices

from towers made of steel and concrete

unlike the folks in forty-nine

they take risks of a different kind

livin' large in the land of milk and honey 

but as the clients lose their trust

the modern prospectors go bust

but they're losing other peoples' money 

Promises (Rondel)

 

making promises she can’t keep

she still hears voices in her head

echoing all the things she said

she’s given up on counting sheep

 

tells herself lies to help her sleep

with all those self-help books she’s read

making promises she can’t keep

she still hears voices in her head

 

depressing thoughts are running deep

she makes a different choice instead

some medication by the bed

as softly she begins to weep  

making promises she can’t keep

Carbon and Dust

 

we speak of life, of love, of lust 

we talk of loyalty and trust

of all the things that we discussed

we still end up carbon and dust

 

although we change, adapt, adjust

we shine the chrome, we scrape the rust

it’s so unfair, it’s so unjust

we still end up carbon and dust

 

we strive to do what’s right and just

we aim to do those things we must

and through life’s changes readjust

and still end up carbon and dust

 

we feel the wind, withstand the gust

we use its strength to give us thrust

to live a life that’s more robust

but still end up carbon and dust

Mixed Signals

 

more routine traffic stops

by aggressive, local cops

wrong time, wrong place

wrong color, wrong race

 “Get out of the car”

 “Stay right where you are”

 “Get down, Turn around”

“Place your hands upon the ground”

 “Keep your hands on the wheel”

“Put your hands on your head”  

and she reached for her tazor

but grabbed her gun instead  

“Tazor, tazor, tazor”

she yelled before she shot

a muzzle flash, a bullet passed

right through the victims heart

20 Below (Hutain)

 

gusts of wind begin to blow

eerily the trees are creaking

swirling, twirling powdered snow

I can hear the branches squeaking

trying to keep the heat from leaking

I place a blanket by the door

on the window frost is sneaking

we listen to the furnace roar

The People’s House (Triolet)

 

the people’s house is made of stone

a symbol of democracy

but now the seeds of hate are sown

the people’s house is made of stone

in places where these seeds have grown

we view total hypocrisy

the people’s house is made of stone

a symbol of democracy