POEM - Push

On cloud 9

Our wedding day

We thought we floated

On wings of angels

But we landed

It turns out

At the bottom

Of an eternal mountain

Pushing boulders

In case you wondered

The boulders multiply

They are called children

And work

And responsibility

And goals

And who cares what they are called

Today

I feel good

Pushed one boulder

Until it wore down

And disappeared

I can see another

Is nearly worn down too

And some of the children

Are starting to push their own boulders

Carry their own weight

Pile on goals

And chores

And work

And all of it

And there are lots of us

Pushing boulders up mountains

And it is hard work

And it is a nice thing

When someone with a few less boulders left

Nudges from behind

And I remember to remember

It will be my turn

One day soon

To nudge and struggle

And help another

Push

And Push

And on they roll

POEM - Reciprocity

I hadn’t planned

To frustrate you

Guessing

As I did

At each plan

Each design

That you

In a stroke of brilliance

Consigned

In quick scribbles

To the back of your list

It is

When lovers

For uncountable days

Have

In many cases

Put heads together

Solved the mysteries

Met the challenges

The way

And I ask

Out of sincerity

Not fear

Acceptance

Of this

My humble proffering

A sacrifice

Of scribbles

From my own hand

Now consigned

Nonchalantly

To ignominious

Anonymity

POEM - The Cause

My email screams to me

Begs and pleads for my essential support

Only I can stop the evil

My three dollar pledge

Will move mountains

Slay the Goliath with whom we battle

Trip up Citizens United

Make the political game fair

Meh . . .

Those guys have tons of money

I know. I just read the list.

The Forbes 400 richest

They are number five and six

My number on the list can’t be calculated

Negative net worth isn’t considered

Can’t even afford the magazine

Had to look it up on-line

But the emails keep coming

And my 3 dollars from 2 years ago

Bought me fifteen emails a day

Personal requests from previous Poet Laureates

Past and current presidents

Party leaders and assorted dignitaries

And concerned citizens alike

But, I mean, those other guys

Their totally loaded

And they still lost

I think I’ll keep my 3 dollars

And just give my 2 cents

POEM - The Saddle

My soft brain

Has been bucking and stamping

Against the side of my thick skull

Hoping for a way out

As I dull it daily

With spreadsheet detritus

Meager fare for thought fuel

Even the dullest men

Cherish intermittent absurdity

Privately perhaps

But the waffles of secrecy

Crave emergence

From fathomless leagues

Of thick maple-butter seas

And will pop

Metaphorically

From the inner toaster sanctum

Bite the hot bread of defiance!

Bite it!

Climb into the saddle

Ride that pale horse

Whose haunches sag with indifference

Only the pain will cure it

Only denying the buck

That tossed you

Unceremoniously earthward

Will burst the rusted mush of cerebral dormancy

And the best waffles never bend

Beneath the deluge

Of the syrupy onslaught