MARBLE WATER

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COMPOSURE

                      I’ve grown especially meticulous
                      With all my varied daily regimens
                      And wonder if it’s not ridiculous
                      And whither such compelled behavior tends.

                      But then I think that’s simply how I cope
                      With all the copious choices life presents,
                      And regimented modes are my best hope
                      For making out of daily chaos sense.

                     So that is why I use this patterned mode
                     Of poetry instead of verse that’s free:
                     To fashion well a sonnet or an ode
                     Is captivating more than liberty.

                         For life is best when carefully composed,
                         Just as a sonnet is when neatly closed.

* 

A BAD HAND

                    The Presidential vote’s but days away
                    With Trump and Clinton now in a dead heat,
                    And no one’s eager for election day,
                    Most wishing someone else would claim the seat.

                    These two contenders have revealed their flaws,
                    Making us eager for another slate,
                    If only such a way were in our laws,
                    So we might have a President who’s great.

                    When world events arrive that overwhelm
                    Stability and sanity and threaten all,
                    We need someone of stature at the helm,
                    Not one whose ego’s destined for a fall.

                         If only we’d a Franklin Roosevelt,
                         Instead of this bad hand that we’ve been dealt.

*

EVALUATING CANDIDATES

                      The motive to be powerful is one
                      An upright politician ought to shun;
                      Instead, one’s obligation is to serve
                      With patience, skill, integrity and verve.

                     And yet, too often, ego is in charge,
                     Which typically in candidates is large,
                     And being top dog in a nasty pack
                     Means victory goes to those who best attack.

                     Let’s pray for one who’ll rise above the fray
                     And whose integrity will save the day
                     Employing what we all should realize—
                     The attitudes and skills of being wise.

*

REVELATION

                        O, wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder, wonder!
                        When suddenly the marvels of this world
                        In mystic revelation are unfurled—
                        Lifting the veil we all have suffered under,
                        And finally our inner eyes can see
                        A blissful vision of Eternity!

*

BATH DAY

                    While little Tiggy gets the kitchen sink
                    In which to bathe when she begins to stink,
                    Big Gypsy's lifted in the bathroom tub
                    Reluctantly for her bi-monthly scrub.
                    Once rinsed and set back on the toweled floor,
                    They shake and make a shower I deplore
                    Splattering both me and cabinetry
                    Until they’re toweled enough to be set free.
                    And then it’s time to take a sunny walk
                    Diverting them with squirrels and cats to stalk
                    So by the time we’ve squared off several blocks
                    Rousting frogs and stalking pigeon flocks
                    They’re dry and clean and fragrant-fresh again—
                    Pray, keep them out of mud, dear God, amen.

*

UNINSPIRED

                    Hard-handed men with hammers bang on nails
                    Atop a roof they’re building blocks away
                    Beside whose effort my poor labor pales
                    As I sit in this easy chair and play,
                    Devising lines of cadences and rhymes
                    To build another moment’s monument,
                    A chronicle of sedentary times
                    Inspired by visions sometimes heaven sent—
                    More often, though, pedestrian, like this
                    Tee-tum, tee-tum, a morning walkabout
                    Devised by ingenuity, not bliss,
                    Hack work with little artistry to tout.
                         It seems those carpenters are on a break,
                         So, I’ll shut up myself, for heaven’s sake.

*

SKILLS

                              Skills I’ve labored long to master
                              Sometimes save me from disaster;
                              Knowing how to write a verse
                              May indeed dispel a curse.
       

*

SAPIENCE II

                    How will we be, Homo the sapient,
                    When we at last have grown wholly wise—
                    When what’s implicit’s clearly evident,
                    With nothing latent still to realize?

                   That is a time the world is yearning for,
                   So long the victim of our ravages,
                   When it no longer must decry, deplore
                   A species of such reckless savages.

                  If Homo sapiens sapiens can add one more
                  Degree of sapience, that Paradise
                  Whose loss our scriptures taught us to deplore
                  May reappear, when we’ve at last grown wise.

                      The second coming of perfection waits
                      Until our savage recklessness abates.

*

THE FIRST DEBATE

                  Who would aspire to be our President,
                  Believing him- or herself competent,
                  To bear awesome responsibility
                  To keep our people prosperous and free
                   And lift those who are not so fortunate,
                   By various vicissitudes beset?

                   May such a valiant aspirant be found
                   Who may proceed to valorous renown
                   By leading us to global eminence,
                   Strong in our values and our self-defense.
                   We seek astuteness, character and tact,
                   Which our two candidates have sometimes lacked.
                   So may tonight’s debate clearly reveal
                   More than the artfulness to make a deal.

*

POWER

                   The motive to be powerful is one
                   An upright politician ought to shun;
                   Instead, the instigation ought to be
                   A prompting that is nearly ego free:
                   To be a public servant and to serve
                   With knowledge and intelligence and verve,
                   Especially aiming be President,
                   For surely it should be self-evident
                   That this position of such awesome power
                    Unto which office we’ve entrusted our
                    Own sacred lives and liberties entails
                    A character within which ego pales,
                         One governed by a noble, righteous soul
                         With mutual thriving as its utmost goal.

                          *

HURRICANE MATTHEW

DAY TWO

                 It’s been a blustery night of flying debris
                 Even at this storm’s periphery.
                 The fronds outside are whisking in the rain,
                 In joy, perhaps, or briskly to complain.
                 Although it’s morn, the sky’s still hazy gray
                 And hope is slim we’ll see the sun today.
                 But happily, we can just hunker down,
                 No need for us to be out on the town.
                 The power’s on, the lights and AC work,
                 And I can put the coffee on to perk
                 Then blithely sit to write my morning verse
                 While thinking, “Bad—but things could sure be worse.”
                 Well, here’s one sonnet done (the couplet kind)
                 So, let’s see now what else may come to mind.

*

HURRICANE

                 A hurricane is bearing down on us
                 As threatening as a loaded blunderbuss,
                 And though, just now, there’re only scattered showers,
                 A heavy surge may clobber us in hours.
                 There’s little we can do but batten down,
                 Be sure our doors and windows are secure,
                 And pray for little creatures who might drown.
                 Most businesses are closed, the gas lines long
                 At the convenience stores where worried folk
                 Scouring the depleted shelves now throng—
                 For lack of bottled water, picking Coke—
                      And now, as you can hear, my rhyme’s amiss,
                      Which shows I’m being rattled by all this.

*

FROM THE BEYOND

My name is Owen Shakespeare, William’s son,
And I have things to tell you, not yet known . . .

 

[Transmission interrupted]

*

DIFFERENT STROKES

                     Our day is made of comfortable routines,
                     The dogs and I pursuing each our bliss:
                     Taking walks for them is what that means
                     Whereas my greatest pleasure’s doing this:
                     Making a verse to post up on my blog,
                     A feat beyond the yen of any dog.

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