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.

Common Sense

Common sense eloped

with critical thinking schlepped

affair on Face Book.

Springtime

Sassy
Puppies
Run after everything that moves
Inspecting with childlike fascination their
Noses  checking the remains of dried bird poop.
Gregarious they plunge into the fishpond in their gourmand dash.
Tidily scooped out the rascals are then
Intent on ingesting lime green lizards and
Menacing bufo toads waiting for nightfall and
Equally keen to feast on delicate Formosan physiques.

Stalling

I was going to write

but visions of tuna chilling
in a cold closet dressed in celery and onion, drenched in mayo and
pressed atop whole grain slices flagged me down and held me hostage.

I planned to write a poem but had to do the dishes
cut the grass and reconcile my bank statement.
As I calculated the cost
I checked the mail,
watched Life is Beautiful
and folded a dryer load.
Before I could write
my son stopped by and
we shared a coffee. A poem

skipped through my brain
teasing me with
parallel trains of thought
which led me down a
primrose path
in pursuit of monarch
butterflies flitting from
flower to flower
purpose driven
in the valley
of soon and very soon
panting for more
pressing further and further
through the muck of have to and should have
until I finally arrived at the
corner of here and now
where I carefully penned this
rambling verse and post it now to you.

Three Ku

Exercise trainer
dawdles on tropical beach
slurping chocolate shake.

Neanderthal dog
crushes rocks with incisors
leaves huge cavity.

Steam bubbles conduct
quake seismic blue symphony
maestro behavior.

Self-Published

S weeping style suggests
E uphonious
L yrics
F ormatted by talented Authors, Artists and

P hotographers. An
U ninhibited
B allet of writing and art
L aunching an evocative brand of story;
I  nternal and external rhyme forming  fresh free verse that
S ketches a vivid assortment of characters. Altogether
H armonious
E nterprising and
D elightful.



**Acrostic/Review  Saturdays with Lillian: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2006721

Unstoppable

Freight train
Runaway car
horse trailer demolished
Slow motion pandemonium
Railroad.

 
*cinquain

Bright Objects Hypnotize the Mind

**Inspired by the Academy of Poets Poster celebrating National Poetry Month in April

Bright
objects
hypnotize
the mind, conceal
discernment in a
tapestry. A spinning
top wobbles and slams into
wall. A pear shaped diamond ring at
Tiffany’s. A shooting star. A slot
machine paying a huge jackpot. Bright things
hypnotize the mind. Sunshine mirrors sea
headlights glare inside island tunnel
the full moon’s steady starless ascent
a thousand candle watt light
shined into the starving
dark Chilean eyes
of trapped miners
surviving
major
stress.

**Double etheree

GOD Grew Tired of Us

That was when he created dogs


It was an off day

his son was lost in the wilderness

and he couldn’t find a decent grape

let alone turn it into wine.

No rest for the almighty!

Then his old buddy Lucifer

saw himself in a mirror

and suddenly thought

he was Caesar. And there was

some nasty talk about repossession.



So what was GOD to do?



He needed a friend

something that would love him

through the thick and the thin

the good, the bad and the ugly.

He needed good karma

to change the landscape

make the world a softer place.

It required creativity.

And lots of newspaper to soak

up those messy leaks and logs.

And GOD knew that

after listening Oi weh

to that voice crying in the wilderness

it was time to give his nephew

John the Baptist

a companion

someone he could cuddle up with

between those power locust lunches

with the new recruits.

So GOD created dogs

Tall dogs

small dogs

skinny, bald, muscled, hairy, yapping

howling at the moon dogs.

Spirited furry canines that didn’t bite the hand

that feeds them

who would love man and wo-man

no matter what they did.

And GOD relied on wo-man

to speak up and let man know

when he was getting crazy and warlike.

And although she tried to model good behavior

Man did not always listen, so sometimes he was sentenced to go to sleep in the dog house

which wound up being not so bad

because he could always rely on his furry friend

to lick his wounded alter ego

and show him that

he was still redeemable.

And if worse came to worse

his devoted friend would introduce him

to the new female dog

down the street

that’s

had all of her shots!

Alternative Publishing Panel

Saturday, April 16 · 10:30am - 11:30am

Kapolei Public Library

1020 Manawai St. Kapolei, HI

You have written a book but are wondering how to get it published. Join us for a panel discussion by three published local authors as they share with you a variety of different publishing  options you may not be aware of to get your newly finished book off to the presses. They will discuss self-publishing formats, publishers, online options and self-publishing. They will fill you in on the pros and cons of their choices and provide a list ot the publishers and options they discussed.

Easter Island

A single row
of moai statues
stare
from massive ahu platforms
out beyond a cloudless coast
their landscape now
arid and treeless.

They face the sea and wait
for no one in particular.

The old ones have long since passed over
their silence roars like a cannon.

Traces of their language
frame an obscure curtain
as one face cracks
crumbling at the chin.

Tiny shards slowly release
the life-force that plummets
soundlessly
towards the jagged rocks below
taking old knowledge and forgotten history
along for the ride. Hammered and
lost at the bottom
by conflicting views
and swept away at last
by the raging sea.


That culture's most famous features are its enormous stone statues called moai, at least 288 of which once stood upon massive stone platforms called ahu. There are some 250 of these ahu platforms spaced approximately one half mile apart and creating an almost unbroken line around the perimeter of the island.

The Legend of Captain Bly and the Mermaid

Word Bag

(deluxe, rope, weight, lifesaver, broom, gauges, battery, fishnet, tide calendar, cooler)



The Tide Calendar hung lopsided
its edges curled and yellow.
Water flooded the bilge
the relic listed to the port side
barnacles clung steadfast
to the thick rope tightly tied to the dock.
The cabin reeked of mildew
and stale urine. Pitted gauges
balanced haphazardly amid the dust and grime.
In the corner a couple of dead AA batteries rolled over a faded photo
of the vessel and her captain.
A beauty in her prime
she was in desperate need
of a stiff broom, spit and polish.
Rusted cans of off white deluxe deck paint
stood prominently
beneath the starboard seat cushion.
The scarred cabin door
hung on for dear life
like a holocaust survivor.

Captain Bly once a handsome rake
regularly drank
his dinner, his vessel was aptly named
The Heeia Kea Queen after The African Queen.

His cooler was always well stocked
with green bottles.

His weighty reputation had
stretched beyond the confines of the small harbor
and swept throughout the windward coast.

He always wore a black shirt
the collar ripped at the neck
thin against his salty frame.

Often comatose
he dreamt nightly
of snaring a mermaid
in his fishnet.

He was her Lifesaver.

The next day
he would wake in a cold sweat
as she disappeared
into the sea flipping her tail
splashing him with sea foam.

One fateful morning he was gone
that was better than thirty years ago
Some say that the mermaid took him
others say it was them green bottles.

Either way
he finally succumbed to his deeds.

So keep in mind

A full cooler
doesn’t float
as well as a life preserver
even if you are a lifesaver
and unless you have gills
you could wind up sleeping
with the fishes.

****

Leisure

You can do what you like

No strict guidelines to follow

No appointments to keep

Bliss.

~

Do you prefer dark chocolate

Or creamy vanilla

with your strawberries

heaven.

~

Currency has been

converted.

We now take

Room keys.

~

Time stretches

across an undulating

sea,

Anna Karenina rises.

Taking Back Custody

Write a story that is between 100 and 150 words. The trick is you must use the following words: drink - rock - damage - heartless - destiny - cruel - abandon - lost - regret - bastard. Words may be used in different formats (for example: drink, drinking or drank)


It’s a new day
to rock!

Amend some damage.

Make better choices.

Listen up.

Read the signs.
And not fall for the same
old mistakes this time.

Abandon the whine
and regrets
for the heartless bastard
that did you wrong.

Re-write that song.

Outwit the cruel fanatic
that led you astray
paved the way
for your friends who lost
the game of life.

Rewrite your destiny.

Because drinking to get drunk
or getting wasted
to unwind

for you

isn’t cool
it’s a crutch

And you are smarter than that.

So carve a new path

And never
ever
look back!

Rabbit Ears

We ran into

Peter Rabbit

at the Beach

and dared to ask the question

What do you get

when you introduce

two bull mastiffs males

to a fluffy white rabbit?



Wait

For

It





No-- it’s not,

a lucky foot,

Or rabbit stew



Do You Give Up?



These super smart canines know

that with rabbit ears

They can get not only

local network broadcasting

but with any luck

Animal Planet

and The Dog Whisperer.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

should scare the hell out of you.


We don’t even know how big it is

because it keeps growing.


Located somewhere between Hawaii and California

it is one of seven garbage islands

spread across the world’s oceans

funneled and trapped by planetary rotation,

converging ocean currents and wind.



6.8 billion people will inhabit

planet Earth by the year 2012.



As of 2005

33 million live in Tokyo alone.

Beijing has 12 million.

Los Angeles another 12 million.



And 80 percent of our garbage comes from land sources.



Garbage that

impacts our wildlife



that has the potential to hitchhike.



Imagine

barnacles attaching to floating garbage

not normally found in your neck

of the planet

that can infect another

area’s native species.



Ninety percent of these islands contain plastic items

like nylon nets, six pack rings, balloons,

straws and sandwich wrap.

Water bottles, cups, bottle caps, plastic bags

and billions of plastic pellets called nurdles,

a byproduct of other plastics manufacturing.



Plastic that chokes whales, seabirds and other animals.



Brightly colored plastic pellets

that are mistaken

for fish eggs and krill



that is toxic

can magnify over time

across our food chain



and have an effect similar to DDT.



Plastic that does not break down easily in water

that is cooled and coated with algae

shielded from sunlight and

will last well into our future.



Clean-up and removal of these islands is futile.

They are growing faster than we can clean them up.



Our task begins here



Get involved



Clean up local beaches



Suppress further growth

by recycling and reducing the amount

of trash you throw out.



Your future is at hand.

How many Friends Do You Have?

I have four hundred and forty.

He is a new friend on FB

but he doesn’t have any posts on his wall.

He is a relative

but his wall is a blank space.

We share nothing.

We do nothing together.

I have

added him

to my list

of friends.

Cyber space

can be so cold.

The distance

is unfathomable.

The point

relentless.

R.S.V.P.

Thank-you for including me in your event
regretfully
I won’t be attending your celebration.
I have a previous engagement
perhaps another time?

It appears that Madame Pele
has a big surprise in store.
She’s busy cooking up
a decades old favorite recipe. It is a spicy concoction
sure to overwhelm
it promises
to melt the taste buds.

She is rearranging the table
as we speak. Had to lower it a bit
underwent a major transformation.

Clever hostess
insists that everything be just right.

The invitations
have all been sent.
The seating is fixed.
The guest register
reads like a who’s who
on the endangered list.

Says here to take note
the ring of fire
welcomes all
comers.
Mind the dress code and
observe the boundaries.

Llama

Lovely diva brays distinctive solo. She

Lusts for a three year old male. Tamed they

Are friendly and pleasant company.

Mature llamas guard livestock. Once depicted

As the god Urcuchillay by the Inca.

Six Word Memoirs on Writing

Voracious words eat writers for breakfast.

Syllable stew simmers notably spicy syntax.

A and E unite against U.

I keeps date with lady O.

I O U an E Mail.

Consonants pick up vowels; add meaning.

Cross word puzzles create sharp minds.

Pencils consistently lose their terse point.

Red pens bleed over tabloid article.

Articulate writers never get over themselves.