Grandmother's Lessons

tomatoes ripen by moonlight-

you get your biggest harvest

when it's full, in august.

water in the evening

(soak the ground,

not the plants)

pick the fruit in the morning.

-and they are a fruit-

so are the beans, cucumbers,

corn, squash and peppers;

so, eat your greens too.

give freely to friends,

neighbors, family, and

can or freeze what remains.

Phone and Drive

And so- the phone rang.
The ringtone was something by Huey Lewis & The News,
for the irony.
(Because the only good that comes Huey Lewis and the News is the irony).
despite the new laws and PSAs she answered while driving-
an adept multi-tasker, she wasn't concerned
with crashing, and there was no cop in sight.
Plus, to be fair, what killed her wasn't operating a secondary device
while driving, it was the news,
which caused her mind to blank
in the wrong moment, just when she needed to react.
But her heart is still beating.

Hourglass

to where do you turn for meaning,
the bible, dictionary, or koran?
are you buddhist
or pagan atheist?
do you pray to hindu statue,
the sun, or the east?

what answers do you hold?
what words dare you speak?

is your faith true and blind?
are you subject to your mind?

a victim of tinted skin?
and slave to tainted flesh?

is earth your mother;
sky your father-
count you crow and spider as your brother?
or be you darwinian primate,
of the highest might?

do you see that even
now we live in eden.
or perhaps this is ragnarok,
when soon some feathered serpent shall return,
as the ages of iron find there end.

so tell me now, do you seek to be content-
or strive to connect with divine intellect?
is chaos evil, and order good-
or have we misunderstood
the prophets teachings to our kind?

but then no mans hand
can grasp the sand.

Time's Elusive

time's elusive
for pensive
people
laugh
scream
and
hide

such waste
it is to be
a nation free
while some judge
based in ignorance
  but those of intelligence sit on the fence
based on relativity
thank Einstein
if you feel fine
like a mouse
in a lab coat

waste not want not
o what bull shit
go to the supermarket
get what you want
change your mind
then trash it

this
is
how
we
live
time's elusive

first– then– at last

first you're young,
brash and bold!
doorbell wrung–

swallow your tongue!
punches pulled?
hope on hold?


then you're old!
no time left,
hope bereft?

plant a poppy.

Poetry should be heard.