Life Path

Racing against time
to discover all
the pleasant diversions
along a road, shorter
than it first seemed

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Academics in a Bubble

I have a problem with Academics
that try to define the human condition
and decide what is best
for the majority of
humanity.

What they study is theories
many theories over many years
statistics that are both pro and anti
works-in-progress

But if one person
one in this humanity
they propose they understand or help
disagrees

then that naysayer is a child
or a naïve fool

They have forgotten that a piece of paper
does not make them a teacher
or that it demands respect

They’ve forgotten what humanity looks like
unmasked and un-blurred
thronged in a shadowy crowd

It looks like me
and you
and the person
they used to be.

Leaves

Why is it?
That standing in the path
and watching the changing leaves
I feel at peace
and never alone

One-Legged Stool

I’m so tired

If I complain
my frustration is met
with hostility

If I am wronged
I must not have been
understanding enough

If I suffer
I must have deserved it

In the end
I just want someone to say:
“I believe in you”
“You’ll overcome it all”
without taking faith away
when they feel like it

Lifeline

so few understand
the illumination of a dash of color
when the whole world feels gray

Stick, No Carrot

A bad teacher
tells his student
when he has done wrong
but not how to do right

Lessons from a Game of Chance

Tired of mood maintenance
I take a roll of the dice which tells me to:

Question
Smile
Explore

To live as children live
certain that each day brings a new joy
certain that life is meant for discovery

Anticipating the Autumn Migration

Perhaps this fall
I shall espy a Wood-y
Mixed in among the mallards

One in a Set

I, too, will sit
at the counter
or the bar table
which so often
is like a shelf
with every odd
book pulled out
with spaces meant for one
to fill in and continue
a long and comforting
pattern

but a table for two
with one chair empty
is only searching for
its missing mate
although people enter life in ones
and leave it that way

Love Without an Expiration Date

The Enchantress
gave the Beast
the painting of a rose
which would never shed
a single petal

She said,
“Love does not keep
a schedule
nor does it hurry.”