No Flowers

Send me no flowers


no pretty petals

velvet soft.

Send me no long stemmed

beauties

whose dewy fragrance

waft.

Send me no posies

that require

casual note

if you care.

for they will surely die

their purple blooms

will choke

into a speckled brown despair.

Send instead

a cactus or a weed

that will not wither

or get into a dither

from neglect

that can be left

to survive in a

brown thumbed void

unchecked.

Pleasant Dreams America

                                                               Obama proclaims

Osama bin Laden, dead

pleasant dreams tonight.

The Barber

He looks competent enough


standing there in his white shirt and dark trousers

as he makes slow deliberate steps

in a well worn semi circle

pivoting left and right

his sharp scissors shaping and clipping

carefully clicking along to a favorite tune

as dark mounds pile up on the floor

a shaggy witness to his art.

A trusty comb is well positioned in his back pocket

at the ready, set for its cameo appearance and then placed back

as the razor continues to hum

as he finishes up the Asian man before me

his neck freshly shaved and brushed

as the cologne is dabbed and the smock is removed and shaken.

The black and white checkered floor

quickly surrenders her dark wispy curls

as he turns from the polished chrome

and black leather chair

and announces

the next lucky customer.

It is gripping

like a one act play

and I am in the front row

then he looks at me and smiles repeating the invitation.

I smile back

it’s too late to retreat.

I walk the lonely mile

and surrender my locks

to his sharp shears.

The floor willingly accepts

my sacrifice

and the play continues

with one sold out seat

held over

as the patrons

continue to line up

down the street.

A Wedding Toast

Let us rejoice and speak of love
lift up our glasses and cherish this moment

the day, the hour when two have become one.

Let us witness the beginning of a marvelous union.

Let us revel in the beauty, lift it up,

nourish it, praise it and

protect it.

Let us allow it the freedom to blossom

into a ripening mature love

resulting in contented bundles of joy to celebrate

further broadcasting our hopes and dreams

for a better tomorrow, long life and prosperity.

Here is to the sharing of this splendid occasion and in so doing

we refresh our own vows to one another

in friendship, faith and hope.

Legendary

Hawaiian showers

color

rainbows prism.

-Legendary-

prism rainbows

color

showers Hawaiian.

Published

Three poems personify terror

two photographs

true plumbs

 Rain Bird

-Published May 2011-

Rain Bird

plumbs true;

photographs two

terror personify, poems three.

 ***Three poems and two photographs are published in this year's Rain Bird (An annual Art and Literary journal of Windward Community College Kaneohe, Hawaii) This is my fourth consecutive year!!

Missing

News
Bunny steals eggs
Steers were Mastiffs
Film shows balls
-Missing-
Balls shows film
Mastiffs now Steers
Eggs steals bunny
News

Medicine

Oh prescription
take this virus
burning red
drop me
back
into my bed
where fishes glide
in seas so blue
with rest restored
ill health subdued.

Dreamland

Mirror oh Mirror

deliver dearer

kind reflections to this mirror

this view surrender

now much clearer.

-Dreamland-

Clearer

much now surrender view this to mirror

Reflections kind

dearer deliver

Mirror oh Mirror.

Easter

Celebrate
dye eggs, eat chocolate
enjoy friends and family
-Easter-
family and friends enjoy
chocolate eat, eggs dye
Celebrate.



Scared

Doubt stalks lies
finds fools plenty
-Scared-
plenty fools find
lies
stalk doubt.

Earth Day Challenge

Change you

Start now

Recycle, renew, review

Earth Day

-Challenge-

Day Earth

Review, renew, recycle

Now start

You change.

Sentinel

Myna bird pair

sing raucous songs

silent warrior tiki waits.

--Sentinel—

waits

tiki warrior silent

songs raucous sing

pair birds

myna.

Cookies

Sweet and tangy
baked fresh daily

-Cookies-

Daily fresh baked
tangy and sweet.

Imagine

Sickness defeats health
acts normal
at clinic.
-Imagine-
Clinic at
normal acts
healthy
defeats sickness.

Breeding

Art molds story like
plovers change feathers
transforming winter
into summer.
-Breeding-
summer into
winter transforming
feathers change plovers
like story molds art.

Snacking

Poet

feeds world art

dry raisins

-Sunny-

raisins dry

art world feeds

Poet

The Agony and the Ecstasy

Low putts awarded

chipping in on the twelfth green

paid with nine iron.

Fine Art

 Motoring ahead
with the mind firmly harnessed
and all of its divergent frequencies

reined in

requires a large stone and a dash of genius.

To stick with a thing is to
cut deeper than anyone else
far beneath the surface of dim reality
uncovering the coarse dense layers
as each wedge further
manifests its own energy.

Only after
you have uncovered the truth

Only then does it release
the hostage
to ponder again transfixed.

Only of course

until the next precious pearl
is reaped from flatter tablets
to decorate cyber walls
for future generations to venerate
and complicate.

More on Common Sense

Common sense went to
Nepal got lost in a cloud
fell into crevasse.

Common sense journeyed
solitary on K2
nose-dived for nonsense.

Critical Thinking
hired for optimistic
journey, film at ten.