The fact that football stadiums
Are filled with maskless faces
Who came to watch a bunch of men
Of many faiths and races
Hit each other for a ball
While chanting “Let’s Go Brandon”
Makes me think the world’s too good
To suddenly abandon.
Tag Archives: Optimism
Domesticity 2.0
I built two homes in my mind
On a foundation of good intent.
One was perfect, charming, yellow,
But alas away it went.
The second house is red and black
And full of song and sharing,
And though it also may away
It’s worthy of my daring.
This darker home reminds me
Of the prayers I spoke when young,
Of Autumn wind and springtime rain
And hymns borne from my tongue,
A home of possibilities
Where nothing goes unsaid.
God willing, we’ll build it together;
Until then, it’s in my head.
Filed under Poems
When The Man Upstairs Is Protecting You Against The Dangers Of Premarital Sex
I like to imagine that somewhere in Heaven
God is fighting a war
To defend me from many females who’d do any
Thing to show me how they adore
All that I am. Yes, God is that great
That he beats women off with a stick
So I can be alone, never answer my phone…
Yes, faith in the Lord does the trick.
Filed under Poems
Live and Learn
When I was five years old I thought
That I was pretty strong
Until I tried to lift my dad
And found out I was wrong.
When I was fifteen I figured
That I was pretty suave
Until I learned that suave’s a word
That doesn’t rhyme with “shave.”
When I was twenty five I thought
That I was pretty smart
Until I turned my car key
And the engine didn’t start.
And I suspect at thirty five
And forty five and older
The things I saw in my mind’s eye
I’ll see as a beholder.
I just hope at ninety
Or whenever death will dial
I’ll remember all the times I erred
Then look ahead and smile.
Filed under Poems
Just About Life
Just about everyone has asked “What’s the meaning of life.”
Just about everyone has learned the answer.
What got lost was that they weren’t asking the right question
And the right question is:
“Have I ever been unhappy?”
If you say “no,” then you apparently know the meaning of life already
But just about everyone says “Yes, I’ve been unhappy.”
And the right question continues:
“Have I ever been happy?”
And if you say “no” then you need to keep reading
But just about everyone says “Yes, I’ve been happy.”
And the right question continues:
“So what happened that made you change
“From being unhappy to being happy?”
There are many answers to this question
And just about all the answers are correct:
When you were born and became distinct from mother, you were unhappy
And when mother held you you were happy
And so the meaning of life is to be held and loved.
When you were scared and confused and lost, you were unhappy
And when you got comfort, knowledge, direction you were happy
And these too are the meaning of life.
When you were sad, you laughed.
When you were alone, you fell in love.
When you were hungry you ate.
When you were tired you slept.
When you couldn’t go on, you kept going.
Every single time you’ve been unhappy you did something joyful.
Every time you were hopeless you hoped one more time
And when you couldn’t, the universe gave you hope from outside yourself.
The meaning of life is about becoming happy
And if you’re happy you can’t become happy.
Life is the opposite of unhappiness
And so happiness is life.
If you are unhappy, you are alive,
If you are happy, you are living,
And when you make your final choice in this life, choose to be happy again
Because just about everyone can.
Filed under Poems
Worth Waiting For
One day a boy was throwing stones
At nothing in the wood
When he struck the belly of
A creature pure and good,
A unicorn of golden mane,
A thing so unexpected
He hardly knew what he could do
The moment they connected.
He knew just what the creature was,
For one cannot mistake
A unicorn for something plain,
An angel for a rake.
He laid his hands upon it
And for some time they were one
Until the moon had passed ahead,
The herald of the sun.
And when the boy had fallen
Into sleep, as boys must do,
The unicorn turned to the North
And took a step, then two,
And when the boy awoke again
His heart was full of light
As he looked for where the unicorn
Had cantered in the night.
At first he was uncertain,
Even fearful in his thought
For wherever he went looking
There the unicorn was not.
To chase it would be folly;
To lose it would be doom;
So he made himself be visible
And gave it lots of room.
He smiled while he waited
‘Til the smile hurt his face,
Then he cried and laughed alternately
And prayed aloud for grace.
The boy is waiting as we sleep,
For sleep we all must do,
Until he hears the hooves again
Come Southward, one, then two.
Filed under Poems
Ordinary Things Can Be Special Too
Somewhere near you
There’s a puppy in a blanket,
A warm spot of sunlight,
A bright blooming flower.
You may never see them,
But still you are blessed
Because to look for them
Is your special power.
Filed under Poems
Comfort Blanket
When the day is over
And the lights go dark
You pull me on top of you
And let me be soft,
Let me keep you warm
Until blindness is comfortable
And dreams are safe.
When the monsters come
To feed on your sweet dreams
Through the leg you left uncovered
I offer my dream instead,
Because your dreams are precious,
Your dreams are limited,
Your dreams are fragile.
I only have one dream:
To keep you warm,
To keep you safe,
To never leave you,
And no monster can stomach that.
And when the light in the sky
And the light on your ceiling
Edge away the darkness
And welcome you back to life
I’m the first thing you feel,
The first gentle touch,
The first good morning kiss.
You think you’ll outgrow me.
You’ll pack me away
Or send me to another child,
But I only have one baby.
And when the monsters grow up
And they come for your dreams
But you’re awake and alone
You will never be uncovered.
The monsters never give up,
But I never stop dreaming,
And I hope you don’t either.
I’m here in everything.
I’m keeping you safe,
But you’ll never see me
As anything more than a blanket
Because it’s easy to believe in a blanket.
Filed under Poems
Superhero Anthem?
A figure flies along the streets
Of a city, black and grey,
Equipped with special armaments
With which to hunt her prey.
Her foes are public enemies
Called apathy and fear.
She strikes them down with not a frown
But a flash of wit and cheer.
Her only superpower
Is a total lack of worry
With which she slays uncertainty
In one most epic flurry!
Who is this maid of mystery
And what can she not do?
We cannot know for certain
But I hope she might be you!
Filed under Poems
Very Grounded
The loyal tortoise ambles
Through a forest full of brambles
Where once a meadow full of flowers flourished,
Where once the stamens danced
And petals bright entranced
Now a harsher foliage is nourished.
The tortoise tries a bite
Of whatever plant’s in sight
Its mouth enduring savagery and pain
For the aged tortoise knows
That they who seek a rose
Will, in the process, find that thorns they gain.
The tortoise eats its pick
Though much may make it sick
In hopes of finding what it thinks is lost.
The tortoise chews and bleeds
Just to satisfy its needs,
To find its rose regardless of the cost.
Somewhere amid the brush,
In a pocket, dark and hushed,
A seed emerges from the salty soil.
Its leaves taste stale air,
But the seed does not despair
For beauty never grows bereft of toil.
Someday the rose will bloom
And emerge amidst the gloom.
Perhaps the tortoise finds it after all.
Fearless are the plants of old,
Or so another tortoise told
In tales to seeds and to the ones who crawl.
Filed under Poems
The Daily Travesty 