Poetry – Streaming thru America

Just Wondering…

March 22, 2021March 22, 2021Posted in Adventure, Art, hiking, landscape, Nature, Philosophy, Photography, Poetry, Sociology, travelTagged alligators, Embracing Our Differences, Florida, Myakka River State Park, Sarasota Bayfront, symbiosis4 Comments

If gators…

and birds…

can coexist side by side,

why can’t we abide.

The above-mentioned poem and pics were motivated by a day-trip to Myakka River State Park, outside Sarasota, Florida.

Originally, my early inclination was to post this as a stand-alone, abstract reaction to all the hate that’s been circulating around the country of late, but as luck would have it–at Leah’s urging–I walked along Sarasota’s Bayfront…

and discovered the 18th Annual Art Exhibit Celebrating Diversity and Inclusion.

Almost immediately, after walking through the exhibition, I realized that showcasing birds and preying reptiles was too esoteric in getting my message across.

And I knew I had to include a sampling of the thoughtful, amazing talent from local and international students…

who have found a way to express themselves both poetically and graphically in ways that astound me, and give me hope for the future of our planet.

50 panels are spread throughout a marine park setting frequented by families, dog-walkers, tourists, and boaters, etc.,

interacting among billboard-sized art.

Indeed, a captive audience for a captivating display of enlightenment that’s too good to ignore.

A Prickly Pandemic

March 10, 2021Posted in Nature, Philosophy, Photography, Poetry, psychologyTagged cactus, Commentary, Haiku, pandemic response, tree frogLeave a comment

Self-isolation
promotes self-preservation--
Self-imprisonment?

Taking Steps

March 6, 2021March 7, 2021Posted in Adventure, hiking, landscape, Nature, Photography, Poetry, travel, wanderlustTagged azalea bloom, Haiku, Palatka FL, Ravine Gardens State Park, spring, steps1 Comment

Step through a moment
when color and solitude
work in harmony.

Seasons

November 25, 2020November 25, 2020Posted in Adventure, landscape, Nature, Photography, Poetry, travel, wanderlustTagged Florida, Haiku, kayaking, manatee, reptiles, Silver Springs State Park5 Comments

A cool spring in fall
ushers clear sparkling water--
winter's summary.

Adrift

November 22, 2020Posted in Adventure, Art, hiking, landscape, Nature, Photography, Poetry, wanderlustTagged Big Talbot Island, Boneyard, driftwood, Florida, Haiku, Jacksonville3 Comments

Adrift on a beach,
the tide creeps o'er the Boneyard--
withering away

Ode to an Odyssey at Sea

March 10, 2020Posted in Adventure, landscape, Nature, Photography, Poetry, travel, wanderlustTagged Alta, Aurora Borealis, Inside Passage, North Sea, Northern Lights, Norway4 Comments

The peaks were fearless

The winds were steady

The world was rushing by.

The clouds churned

About the mountain islands

Never budging

Anchored to an endless depth.

But when darkness settles

The sky salutes the sea

Always reaching

Never touching

Until the two enlist the stars.

A Sleeping Bear Dunes Ditty

August 8, 2019August 9, 2019Posted in hiking, humor, landscape, National Parks, Photography, Poetry, travel, wanderlustTagged Michigan, Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore7 Comments

Do not descend the dune.

A thousand feet of uphill sand could easily be your ruin.

The Sleeping Bear will soon awake.

He’ll cause your arms and legs to ache.

You’ll wish you never saw the lake,

for now you sing a sorry tune.

Pictured Rocks Haiku

July 10, 2019July 10, 2019Posted in Art, landscape, National Parks, Nature, Photography, Poetry, travel, wanderlustTagged Bridalveil Falls, Chapel Rock, Grand Sable Dunes, Miners' Castle, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore8 Comments

Father Time’s chisel
and Mother Nature’s palette
create monuments.

Father Time sculptures…

Mother Nature murals…

Their collaborations…

Botswana by Balloon

May 20, 2019Posted in landscape, National Parks, Nature, Photography, Poetry, travelTagged Africa, Air Ventures, Botswana, Haiku, Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta10 Comments

Light as a feather
riding the thermal currents
’til the heavens melt

Botswana by Air

May 20, 2019May 20, 2019Posted in landscape, National Parks, Photography, Poetry, travelTagged Africa, Botswana, Cessna, Grand Caravan, Haiku, Kalahari Basin, MackAir, Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta2 Comments

Riding a feather
in the wind beyond nature’s
gentle hand, I play.

Sunsets over Africa

May 16, 2019May 16, 2019Posted in Photography, Poetry, travelTagged Africa, Botswana, Chobe National Park, Haiku, Okavango Delta, sunset10 Comments

When our day is done,
and sun surrenders to night,
the colors take flight.

Penguins of Simon’s Town

May 3, 2019May 4, 2019Posted in Food, landscape, National Parks, Nature, photo, Poetry, travelTagged African penguins, Boulders Beach, Cape Peninsula, Cape Town, Simon's Town, South Africa, Table Mointain National Park5 Comments

At Boulders Beach, on False Bay along the Cape Peninsula of South Africa, within Table Mountain National Park…

stands a boardwalk that showcases a free-roaming colony of African penguins.

When they are not busy nesting,

or caring for their hatchlings…

they are preening,

and standing watch…

over the rookery.

Some African penguins may gather in small groups before setting off to hunt for fish,

while others are content to surf the shoreline,

always wary of hungry seals…

who would easily prey on unsuspecting penguins, ready to rip open their bellies for the fish they have recently swallowed.

Ahh, the abbreviated life of an African penguin…

Awashed

March 9, 2019March 9, 2019Posted in Nature, Philosophy, Photography, Poetry, psychologyTagged St. Augustine, Vilano Beach2 Comments

I fear
that being here…
or being there…
is neither here
nor there.
So where
should I care
to be,
if I never dare
to be?

To be clear–
I declare,
that far or near,
or anywhere
I care
to steer,
I may be unaware
of it,
if I only stare
at it.

Caption Haiku

February 11, 2019February 11, 2019Posted in hiking, landscape, Nature, Photography, Poetry, travelTagged Florida, Haiku, Intracoastal Waterway, St. Augustine, Tolomato River8 Comments

On a cloudy day…

walking along the boardwalk…

a white heron waits…

Eye Candy

February 9, 2019February 11, 2019Posted in Food, humor, Photography, Poetry, travel, videoTagged taffy2 Comments

I took a stroll
and spied a tool
that looked real cool–
where taffy pulled
around a spool.

I pulled a stool
to watch this jewel.
And like a fool
who’s ridiculed,
my spittle drolled.

But there’s a rule
recalled from school:
That life is full
of soles with holes
whose souls are whole.

So ’round it folds
a to and fro,
the taffy flows
to fuel a flue
and form a glue.

Gulls Take Flight

January 25, 2019January 25, 2019Posted in landscape, Mexico, Nature, Photography, Poetry, travel, video4 Comments

A stroll along the pier
with seagulls, oh so near,
that roost before they scare–
then quick they take to air,
for what it is they fear
shall always disappear,
because there’s nothing there,
yet soon the boards are bare.

Thanksgiving Dinner

November 23, 2018November 25, 2018Posted in Food, Photography, PoetryTagged family, Thanksgiving2 Comments

Beware!…
the Thanksgiving meal that takes days to prepare,
and the ease of slipping into a digestive coma
just from the aroma–
of roasted turkey, the stuffing, the cranberry relish,
and all the assortments designed to embellish.

But the moment our family sits down to feast
the hunger takes over
with no time to savor
the melange of food flavors,
and sooner than later,
there’s none left to eat.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Trump’s Folly

November 12, 2018November 13, 2018Posted in History, humor, music, Poetry, Politics, satireTagged Armistice Day, Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head, Trump, World War 16 Comments

Photo credit: (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

A political song parody…

It’s a catchy tune, so why not sing along!

(Intro)

Critics are falling on my head,

From too much rain to bother honoring the dead.
I don’t give a shit.
Those…NATO allies that I dread–

keep me bawlin’…

So I just did me some talking to my sons.
And I said, “I didn’t like the way Dems got things done–
Winning at the polls.
Those…losses are falling on my head,

they keep fallin’…”

But there’s one thing…I know.
The Blues they sent to beat me
Just defeat me.

It won’t be long,
Subpoenas now step up to greet me.

(interlude)

Democrats keep falling on my head.
But that doesn’t mean the House will soon be turning Red.
Winning’s not for me,
‘Cause, I’m never gonna stop the wave with complaining.
I’ll cop a plea.
It terrifies me.

(interlude)

It won’t be long ’till prison opens up to greet me.

Bad vibes keep falling on my head.
But that’s just karma coming ‘round on me, I dread…
Mueller’s got the key.
‘Cause, I’m never gonna stop the probe by complaining.
I’ll drop a tweet,

’cause I’m President Cheat!

Thanks to Original Songwriters: Burt Bacharach / Hal David

Old Bagelsides

October 22, 2018October 22, 2018Posted in Food, History, humor, Photography, PoetryTagged bagel, Old Ironsides, Oliver Wendell Holmes6 Comments

While enjoying my morning breakfast, and catching up on some classic poetry, I decided on a mash-up, which seemed entirely appropriate at the moment.

Inspired by Oliver Wendell Holmes’ Old Ironsides*

So, eat my toasted bagel now!
Soon may I reach thru wrap.
‘Cause many a tooth awaits to chew
this morsel from the sack;
Inside, I whiffed the buttered carbs
And yearned the content’s nut;–
But the paper bag in my eager hand
Revealed a tear somewhat!

My meal, once hot from oven’s heat,
Which baked the risen dough,
Where yeast was bubbling through the mix,
And grains were ground. Ergo,
Constant kneading the rubb’ry mass
And proof the crusted skin,
The bagels of the batch shall rise–
The essence of a win!

Oh, woeful that my ragged bag
erodes against my touch;
Construction dooms my marv’lous meal,
And so, becomes my crutch;
Drops through the rip, my toasted roll
Damn every filthy crime!
And gift it to the trove of germs—
The goodness and the grime.

When the Tide is Low

October 19, 2018October 19, 2018Posted in landscape, Nature, Photography, Poetry, travelTagged Anastasia State Park, Tide pools7 Comments

When the fog lifts
and the sand rifts
have been left behind
by a vanishing tide,
the water fowl will feast–
at the very least–
on a diet they find
which can no longer hide.

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On a cloudy day…

walking along the boardwalk…

a white heron waits…

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Beware!… the Thanksgiving meal that takes days to prepare, and the ease of slipping into a digestive coma just from the aroma– of roasted turkey, the stuffing, the cranberry relish, and all the assortments designed to embellish.

But the moment our family sits down to feast the hunger takes over with no time to savor the melange of food flavors, and sooner than later, there’s none left to eat.

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Photo credit: (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

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Inspired by Oliver Wendell Holmes’ Old Ironsides*

So, eat my toasted bagel now! Soon may I reach thru wrap. ‘Cause many a tooth awaits to chew this morsel from the sack; Inside, I whiffed the buttered carbs And yearned the content’s nut;– But the paper bag in my eager hand Revealed a tear somewhat!

My meal, once hot from oven’s heat, Which baked the risen dough, Where yeast was bubbling through the mix, And grains were ground. Ergo, Constant kneading the rubb’ry mass And proof the crusted skin, The bagels of the batch shall rise– The essence of a win!

Oh, woeful that my ragged bag erodes against my touch; Construction dooms my marv’lous meal, And so, becomes my crutch; Drops through the rip, my toasted roll Damn every filthy crime! And gift it to the trove of germs— The goodness and the grime.

Share this:

Like this:

When the fog lifts and the sand rifts have been left behind by a vanishing tide, the water fowl will feast– at the very least– on a diet they find which can no longer hide.

Share this:

Like this:

Beware!…
the Thanksgiving meal that takes days to prepare,
and the ease of slipping into a digestive coma
just from the aroma–
of roasted turkey, the stuffing, the cranberry relish,
and all the assortments designed to embellish.

But the moment our family sits down to feast
the hunger takes over
with no time to savor
the melange of food flavors,
and sooner than later,
there’s none left to eat.

So, eat my toasted bagel now!
Soon may I reach thru wrap.
‘Cause many a tooth awaits to chew
this morsel from the sack;
Inside, I whiffed the buttered carbs
And yearned the content’s nut;–
But the paper bag in my eager hand
Revealed a tear somewhat!

My meal, once hot from oven’s heat,
Which baked the risen dough,
Where yeast was bubbling through the mix,
And grains were ground. Ergo,
Constant kneading the rubb’ry mass
And proof the crusted skin,
The bagels of the batch shall rise–
The essence of a win!

Oh, woeful that my ragged bag
erodes against my touch;
Construction dooms my marv’lous meal,
And so, becomes my crutch;
Drops through the rip, my toasted roll
Damn every filthy crime!
And gift it to the trove of germs—
The goodness and the grime.

When the fog lifts
and the sand rifts
have been left behind
by a vanishing tide,
the water fowl will feast–
at the very least–
on a diet they find
which can no longer hide.