Beach Castle

You said I could be king,

And you would be my queen.
Together we’d build a castle
Where only dunes had been.

 Looking down the beach,

The sea seemed far away,
So we commanded pail and shovel,
And made the sand obey.

 But creeping like a thief,

And ally to the moon,
The tide besieged our castle,
By orders from Neptune.

I’ve since built walls and towers,
Impervious to tide,
But never like that castle,
Over which we could preside.

Meeting Sweet Emilia

When meeting sweet Emilia,
You feel a spark of joy.
She prompts this with her smile
While offering you a toy.

Little T-

It seems that Little T

Is anxious to explore

A world filled with mystery

Like it's an open door.

PROMTRIP - (excerpted from the short story "Timing It" from the novella "Soldiers in Siam")

Promtrip- I’ve seen you glance my way

with something in your eye
(though I could not tell
just what it was.)

And I’ve glanced your way

as you passed the drinks
and asked, “What you want?”
of round-eyed men
with hair of all colors
and skin of all colors
just across the bar from you
in another world.
 
I too am round-eyed, Promtrip,
of another world,
not like you,
yet willing to search
the onyx buttons of your face.
 
Ask me, Promtrip, “What you have
there in your eye?”
I’ll ask, “What have you?”
Let us see if love can do
what God has not.

My Daughter's Dance

As though ignorant of gravity,
She'd leap upon my chair,
Begin a jig from knee to knee,
And advise me please beware
Of sneaky, tiny monsters
Hiding here and there.

I held her loosely then,
As she patted on my face,
Tugged a lock of hair again,
And about my temples began to trace
Odd, alien creatures of another race.

Yes, that was of an age,
When to her my words were all-
Certain, sure and sage.
But now she hears new voices call,
From young men- daring, strong, tall.

So, when I see a gracious father
Being patient with his sprite,
And cautious not to bother
Her fancy-filled delight-
How magically my arms
Unconsciously grow tight!

ASPIRATION

Into that vast, expansive sea,
Known as prose and poetry,
I let some rhyming droplets fall,
In the hope that when the call
For a poet's list is drawn and done,
Perhaps they'll mention me as one.

SEA AT SATTAHIP (excerpted from the short story "Timing It" from "Soldiers in Siam") see Associated Links on upper left of page.

I stop, pause my normal thoughts and ask,
will I be able for long to keep you
locked within my mind
as I saw you then?
Not casting waves shoreward
by molding them out near your horizon,
building on them, pushing them onward
to slap and bathe the silent, waiting, accepting,
soft, cement-white sand
as other seas I have seen.

Just what was it then?
Some grand power
lifting the whole of your blue-green body
gently
so that your islands sink within you.
And then-
down you come, complete and sure,
all-at-once,
and at the water-land's line
a slip of you begins to rise,
imperceptibly,
then gaining to a leap, arching, tossing off a burst of drops
white and pure into the face of the Southeast Asian sun,
cresting to a carefree plunge, landing cat's paw soft,
skipping up the reaches of sand,
disappearing beneath,
loud as cat's breath.

The Present and Eternity

Don't tell me you will love me
always and forever.
I'm certain a millenium's
too great for that endeavor.

And neither for a decade,
and neither for a year.
A day is somewhat closer
to reasonably declare.

But say you love me now,
a more realistic claim.
Plus- the present and eternity
are actually the same!

Bambina Bianca

Bianca has such wonder eyes!
Studies well whate'er she spies.
Then-contemplating a brief while,
Decides if she shall cry or smile!

The Poet

The poet's like a busy
ferret in the night.
But words are what he's digging for,
to find and set just right.

And should he pen successfully
on life or love or death,
his words will leap from paper
and pinch away your breath!

An Autumn Afternoon

It was an autumn afternoon;
We drenched our selves in sun;
Had dispensation from our cares;
Enabled reveries to run.

You said there could be peace,
And wouldn't I agree.
I turned my head to face the blaze;
You sipped away your tea.

We were yearning to believe,
This calm were ever present.
We never would be harried,
Be spared of discontent.

When the breeze became a wind,
And clouds were passers-by,
I pulled my jacket tight;
I heard you curse the sky.

Remembrance

There is a magic in remembrance,
As when we almost met.
The moon was at eye level,
The sun about to set.

You clapped to the musicians,
Who played down by the beach,
Your hips maintained a rhythm,
No pedagogue could teach.

The wind tugged gently at your scarf,
Then hid beneath your hair.
I suddenly had the strangest wish-
I wanted to be air!

But fortunately wise fate,
Refused to bend my way.
And you faded with sweet music,
Into dusk and end of day.

Always the Summer

Is it always the summer,
And a certain mix of light,
Donated by the moon,
To captivate the night?

Isn’t it always the summer?
And accident of place?
You’re where you shouldn’t be-
And beauty’s in that face.

It’s the tyrant side of summer.
It swaddles you in heat.
It weakens words to whispers,
And shackles all retreat.

It is always the summer.
You are a child one day-
Then moon and heat and madness
Whisk innocence away.

Space and Time

In world news the other day,
Some scientists had this to say-
Space, it seems, is made of string,
And likely matter- everything!
This helps explain the space-time curve,
That they have recently observed.

And Time in one direction flows,
As study after study shows;
Steadily it’s future bound,
No chance it will meander ‘round,
Allowing us to mark a route,
Then placidly- in Time- commute.

But should we near the speed of light,
Then Time will slow its steady flight,
Providing us quite possibly,
Youth frozen in eternity,
Where we can in cosmic play,
Enjoy forever and a day.

But you, in humble earthly state,
Prompt science to even more debate.
For, entering your company,
The universe disbands, you see,
And Space and Time begin to gel,
Caused by some irrational spell,
You cast on them- and me as well.

Holding the Cat

Summer’s piercing sunny beams
Beset my backyard deck in streams
Of heat. A monster maple offers shade
But little refuge. Heat continues its cascade.

The cat, outstretched in dreams
And idleness, is oblivious to all, it seems.
Enjoying peace unknown to men
Until it’s time to fight again.

From my door, I envy his disinterest.
I move to cradle him across my chest,
Absorb his strength and confidence.
His eyes respond in feline silence.

Cats could talk had they the means, you know,
But lacking that, they rely on show-
A turn of tail, a nudge, a mew, a glance,
Posturing, a telling stance.

And now, a squirm makes his message clear.
“Loose me, and I’m off from here.
Go tend your business of the day,
I must rest before I seek my prey.”

Sea/Night Fantasy

You see me stepping lightly
On the lofty sea-rock wall,
Skipping to a surf-beat,
Applauding stars that fall.

You counsel me to caution,
To carefully come down.
I’m acting like a fool you say,
And somewhat of a clown.

But if I answered saying,
I can see old Neptune shaving-
Moonlight diving, bathing-
Kisses lovers giving
As village lights cease living.

The Milky Way is churning
And planets ceased their turning-
Is now your spirit burning?
Will all your cares relent?
Then please begin with your ascent.

My Diet Dilemma

I have a sweet; my face breaks out,
Sipping wine gives me the gout,
And should I dare indulge in steak,
Followed by a piece of cake,
It’s rumble stomach and toothache.

Every morsel a pit fall,
Carbs, fat, cholesterol,
Might I visit a beer hall?
And how about that roasted chicken?
Should I be on my guard again?


When I was young , mom said “Eat!”
Rolls and butter and deli meat.
It was a must to clean my plate,
But now it just balloons my weight,
And interferes with my heart rate.

Double Synergistic Integration

Synergistic integration-
There’s a thought to wrap your mind in!
It’s when regulated exhalation
Co-ordinates with inhalation,
Resulting in the proper palpitation
Of a hemo/coronary combination.

Further- digestive interplay
Enters into this odd ballet,
Along with cells who must sashay
To a tempo set by gods who may
At any time change the way
Things operate from day to day.

Now- double synergistic integration
Occurs with the co-operation
Of separate beings, who with a glance,
May enter a kind of kinetic trance,
Leading to a state by where,
It’s all but they who disappear.

Winter Ally

Winter was a friend that year;
Held me in such deep embrace,
That slowly she started to erase,
Uneasy warmth and lurking fear.

So now I know another peace,
Brought on by efforts to survive
The cold that helped me stay alive
And fashion a more resilient fleece.

Dear Spring? I thought perhaps that she
Would grasp and salvage quietude.
Fierce Winter proved to be more shrewd
At restoring calm and certainty.

I look about as tufts of green
Begin to surge and fill the earth,
And noisily, cosmic rebirth
Attends its predictable routine.

But Winter- poised in frosted mutiny,
Rebounds quickly to declare,
She won’t abandon our affair,
Nor renounce our victory.

T.V. Fare

When all the noise and smoke are done,
It’s more hackneyed acking of some gun,
A lovely damsel set to scream,
Another villain’s eyes agleam.

Lads and lasses eating worms
Without the slightest care for germs,
And not to mention in the least,
The taunting of some savage beast.

My specs must need a new diopter,
Is the child chasing a helicopter?
And will that lady get undressed,
To tantalize her handsome guest?

Celebs- they sit, they laugh, they talk,
As I numbly sit and gawk.
I hope someday (quite secretly)
The world will make a fuss of me.

The remote control perhaps is stuck,
Perhaps I’m merely out of luck.
Can every single T.V. station
Be just some other’s imitation?

Improving By Degrees

Amigo Sammy Centipede,
Got missing several knees,
And even though it slowed his speed,
He’s improving by degrees.

Likewise my pal Pepper-
He saw a brutal fight.
I thought no cat could ever
Recover from that bite.

And then was Mr. Mario
Who slipped from his trapeze,
Well, you know, it stopped the show,
Still-he’s improving by degrees.

And also Missy Magpie,
Her mate, he disappeared.
But finally after her good cry,
I see she’s persevered

I’d heard that hearts are subject
To aching and disease,
Yet- acquaintance taught me to expect
Improvement by degrees.

Inconsequential

We talked of things inconsequential:
Café decor, the dinner special,
When weather passed a brief review,
I searched your face for the slightest clue
Of a topic that might interest you.

Of shopping I was ignorant,
Of fashion I could not present
Opinions that were really mine.
The drinks were tinged with lemon rind-
The walls awash in knotty pine.

But suddenly to my dismay,
You rambled on to Rabelais,
Da-Da, Ibsen, also Frost-
There seemed no theme you might exhaust-
It was in Freud where I got lost.

That was when they served the fruit,
My thoughts just took a different route,
Your lipstick color was intense,
You fluffed your hair with reverence,
Your fingers signaled confidence.

Now, topics offer much potential
For conversation deemed essential,
But- I think I like inconsequential.

It's Only When

It’s only when the Muse
Quits her mystic flight,
Perches on my shoulder,
And whispers what to write.

Advice

If you want to see a memory,
Here’s something you should know,
To grasp it tight or pin it down
Just won’t work, but lo!

The trick is this- just play it loose,
It magically slides into view-
And when right quick you cast a glance,
You can observe the past anew.

A memory is like a cloud
That steals across the sky.
It simply won’t stay still for long,
No matter what you try.

Blood Test

My LDL’s are high
And my HDL’s are low.
I lack the vaguest notion
Of what these numbers show.

Triglycerides are up in range,
And likewise homocysteine.
We’ve got to keep a careful eye
On C- reactive protein.

My doctor knits his brow,
And slightly shakes his head;
"You better take a statin
before you wind up dead."

But some of us have tumors,
And others, diabetics.
So if it’s not the heart or blood-
Something’s going to get us!

The Computer

The computer as an instrument,
Is thought by some as heaven sent,
But to others not inclined,
It's just a bother to the mind.

Equipped to cars and planes and houses,
(Perhaps someday to even spouses,)
Performing tasks to us unknown,
Its influence has mutely grown.

From your desk or from your lap,
You can leap the virtual gap.
Enter data, calculate,
Just be careful- concentrate!

A few keywords, and you can get
Out onto the Internet,
Jammed with sites for every taste-
Be sure you’ve ample time to waste!

I have moused and clicked and pointed
With forefinger near disjointed,
On tool and menu bars abundant,
Completing jobs and chores redundant.

And though I am computer hip,
I sometimes hate that microchip.
The more I learn, the less I know;
I’m snared in digital vertigo.

The Visit

Grandson Eric, no doubt is here;
Toys and treats lie everywhere;
Each room he enters bursts with cheer,
While pets begin to disappear.