RIPPLE
A little squirrel named Ripple skibbled o’er
The dew-damp lawn, chasing after nuts
That Kimmie’d flung, and hoping she’d throw more,
For his whole tribe were hustling their butts
And nabbing peanuts left and right to stuff
Into their bulging cheeks before their climb
Back to their nests, hoping they had enough
To feed their young, all chittering by this time.
Then after Ripple and his tribe ascended,
Down swooped the chirping birds to take their turn,
Leaving their chicks just briefly unattended
But feeding them their paramount concern,
And so their day begins in our back yard
Where getting a good breakfast isn’t hard.
*
GOD IS GOODNESS
Imagine this: a God beyond the sky
Who guides and guards us humans here below,
Just as from in our cradles, looking high,
We saw a smiling parent who’d bestow
The nourishment and succor we desired,
Protecting us from terrors and from harm,
Providing us with all that we required,
Relieving us of every care and qualm.
Is God but this—a childhood fantasy
Extrapolated from our memories
Diverting us from whom we ought to be:
The source of our responsibilities?
Yes, God is human good personified,
Which it’s our highest mission to provide.
*
CULTIVATING THE SPIRIT
To cultivate your spirit and enhance
Your inner life, it’s needful to reflect
Upon that vast, mysterious expanse
We call our soul, a secret to inspect:
What is this essence of our consciousness,
That quality which shapes us as we are,
The origin of values we profess,
Whose health it is our charge to make or mar?
Our heart is more than just our body’s core,
And seems to be as well our spirit’s seat,
Which we may spend a lifetime to explore,
A project, though, that few of us complete.
Which leads us to believe and hope and yearn
We’ll have another chance—and shall return.
*
While various birds are twittering away
In our backyard, one squirrel begins to bray,
Perhaps because a cat has come too near
And fills the local populace with fear.
Some houses down the road, a large dog barks
Continuing so long nobody harks.
Now early planes descend toward our airport,
With passengers booked in to some resort
Like Disney World or Sea World or a beach
Hotel a rental car will quickly reach.
But now our dogs, their tasty breakfast done,
Are telling me they’re overdue for fun,
For their perambulation of our streets
Where they’ll sniff out some savory roadside treats.
*
OUTED
“A good lie’s better than the truth”
Is an assumption of some youth,
A way to dodge the consequence
Of their erroneous events,
But almost always, beyond doubt,
The deed’s revealed and truth will out,
And hopefully a lesson’s learned,
For otherwise they’ll be twice burned.
*
