The frazzled frayed old man
in light breeze shivers and creaks
Sensing end of lifespan
fuzzy his thoughts, paled his cheeks
Did he ponder too much about human history
rather than enjoying his life’s daily mystery?
Are Human Species character flaws beyond redress?
Do our character flaws
whatever the cause
detract like tearing jaws
or mere scratching paws?
Flaws shall keep us estranged
make us seem deranged
and while feeling shortchanged
still persist unchanged
Human Nature unruly
which we ought but abhor
it keeps us ensnared cruelly
Just doesn’t work to ignore
Keeps persisting immutably
while doing so inscrutably
Our Species eviction, yeah but …
Polluting & depleting
we’re fouling our own nest!
A planet overheating
but hey, we’re on a quest!
Whether by plain obliviousness
narcissistic dereliction
or shackled by lasciviousness
must end with species eviction
Yeah but, won’t our mindlessness be excused
as we’re by snappy ‘yeah but’ quips bemused?
+)
-‘yeah but’ quip = such as: “Oceans rising? Yeah but, won’t we all get waterfront property then!”
Suffering no mere antics crossing our own Atlantics
Piercing, plaintive
shrieks of lone seagulls
faint, complaintive
such eerie earfuls
Beneath graphite clouds
on fierce waves metal grey
we’re tightening shrouds
while drenched in lashing spray
Rolling, pitching pinned
on old ship rusty
drifting sideways, downwind
in gale bursts gusty
With hollow hope, we wail
hearts pounding, bones chill
frantically we bail
while bilges still fill
Thus we’re crossing our own Atlantic
getting worn out in pumping frantic
For some of us saps … it’s taps
Erstwhile restraint all gone
guts soft, hearts hardened
Attempting every con
foul fallout pardoned
Society’s strands frayed
way beyond hope of repair
From empathy’s path strayed
face down in ditch of despair
Sunk in our armchair
‘thinking’ now as the herd
Watching the fanfare
until our vision blurred
Been living sardined
soon dying demeaned
+)
-fanfare = here: the ostentatious political lies, media propaganda, endless entertainment, commercials etc
-sap = (slang) a fool; sucker; dupe
-sardined = in cramped, hampered conditions, here: as far as outlook, perspective, context
Find a woman hard for you to match!
A father’s advice to his son of marrying age
Whether a ‘lounging’ heiress
find one with spiritual depth
or an ‘on feet’ hairdresser
Insist on sweet soul, mind of breadth
(Not, if newly, a divorcee
or a just released parolee)
One shapely with good looks:
A compelling muse
one who adeptly cooks
doesn’t watch tv news
A woman hard for you to match
and one not too easy to catch
Urban ‘cowherds’ gallop away from the cattle
Conceited urban cowards
prefer to eat meat & prattle
They won’t holler like cowherds
or ponder the lives of cattle
They lack heart for battle
unless for their steak
Their God-ordained chattel
thus being at stake!
They chew on the road of least resistance
with no thought to cows’ dead end existence
Gushing feelgood rush
Splendidly gallop our horses
below glimmer of sabers
in bravely fought lost good causes
thus found stillborn our labors
While briefly providing
gushing feelgood rush
way too soon subsiding
that compelling crush
Thusly often runs the course
of many a ‘noble’ cause
Aren’t most of idiots truly in these times most unruly?
‘Idiots’ are we not truly
in Athenian word sense
if in these times most unruly
we’re just sitting on the fence?
With economy now in free fall
while society collapses
time to mitigate (though can’t forestall)
before short time left elapses!
Why don’t we try our utmost
as Earth does turn burning toast?
+)
idiot = from ‘idios’ (private, one’s own); an ‘idiot’ in Athenian democracy (500 B.C.) was someone who was concerned almost exclusively with private, as opposed to public, affairs – not seeming to grasp how they are intertwined! Declining to take part in public life was largely frowned upon – considered dishonorable even. ‘idiots’ were thus seen as having poor judgment in societal matters (now, really!)
Distracting vs exacting
Happiness but cloying
pinkish ribbon flown
flimsy & decoying
by fickle winds blown
While embracing Peace of Mind
steadfastly us anchor
Life’s most impeccable find
knows calm joy, not rancor
Happiness dallies in distracting
Peace of Mind lets us live exacting