Packed tightly in cedar walls
They sit folded but unused,
Purchased for the right occasion
But now forbidden by my wife.
Still many years later they stay
Because, she says, ‘old men
Shouldn’t wear shorts.
An earthquake of expression. A tornado of thoughts. A blizzard of boundaries. A Weickian world of wonder!
Packed tightly in cedar walls
They sit folded but unused,
Purchased for the right occasion
But now forbidden by my wife.
Still many years later they stay
Because, she says, ‘old men
Shouldn’t wear shorts.
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
From its perch high above
It watched the goings-on below
The diluvial transitions,
The wise men’s travels,
The 95 nails being struck by a
hammer.
Like a younger sibling
It played a lesser part,
The run to the campground pit,
The romantic couple’s overlook,
The chatter of friends beside the
waves.
While behind the scenes
It moved the world in subtle ways,
The boats that gently rocked,
The weather forecast altered,
The changing moods at home.
But when given consideration
It welcomes the attention,
The giant leap of mankind,
The terror of ancient tribes,
The home of the man in the moon.
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
Another shooting.
Another child won’t go home.
Blood belongs inside.
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Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
Sitting in the corner
Salty tears rolled
Between the outer layer of skin
And the inner soul of a man
Whose heart cried out
In screams heard by angels alone.
His family rolled on holding hands
And inconsequential banter
Between Pavlovian bells
From electronic friends
While hollow meals and chores
Marked an eternally passing time.
As days dissolve into lonely
fitful nights
With painful back, knees, head,
and hands,
And heart-hurting silences from his
loves,
His mind moves from corner to
corner
With salty soul watering tears
inside
And compassionate angels’ ears.
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
Napowrimo, you say.
A poem every day.
It’s best you don’t delay
Until you hit the hay
To decide what to parlay.
If you do wait to convey
A rhyming poetic display
The result might betray
The forced rhymes you slay.
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
Someone told the weatherman
To call his coverage area
A word the community would like,
So, he called us “the heartland”.
With agriculture in the area
It certainly was on land,
And everyone in the community
Has a heart in their possession.
The weatherman was new to newscasting
With the on-air presence of a geek
Who loves storm forecasting
More than public speaking skills.
So, he called the place “heartland”
Again and again and again and
again.
Thirteen times in the weather
segment
So we knew he connected with viewers.
All of us who live with hearts and
live upon the land
Appreciate his interest in making
us feel like friends,
… But not 13 times in one segment.
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
At the appointed start time all had arrived.
The professor watched a chessboard of faces.
Each square showing a living smile and bright eyes.
When questions arose a dozen blue hands appeared.
The screen sharing showed only what was intended.
There were no barking dogs or screaming children.
Education happened.
Isn’t it pretty to think so?
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
Fist bump
Thumb war
Inter-laced
Cross palm
Arm caress
Shoulder wrap
Waist cuddle
Cheek brush
Neck hold
Thigh rub
Lip touch
Breast brush
Midriff squeeze
Chest caress
Nipple pinch
Hairless surprise
Pearl pat
Foot rub
Dishes done
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
The wind’s been moving the dust around the grave
For 113 years but the brush
covered hill
Never grows any smaller.
The high valley snow measured in
feet
Blown by the same wind to mountain
drifts
Is never cleared from above her
head.
The wild grasses that grip each drop
of moisture
Struggle to break through the hard
pan soil,
Crushed by the occasional grazing cattle.
Her sweet mother Eleanor died in sweltering
Phoenix
But never did rise again after
giving birth
So the baby was given her mother’s
name, Nellie.
Her heartbroken father took her
and her brother home
To his mother’s ranch in the Idaho
wilderness
But he was taken by TB before she made
a year.
In 300 days grandma Mary lost a son
and a daughter-in-law.
After raising her own 15 children
she became
A mother anew to infant Nellie and
Ophel Jones.
The emotional agony must have been
supreme
As the 3-year widow struggled to
survive herself
Raising two tiny grandchildren on
the dusty ranch.
But a greater test awaited her as
the dry summer winds blew.
Consumption claimed orphan Nellie
from Mary’s gentle arms
Never to see even one full year of
life.
She took Nellie’s body to this hillside
and dug a dusty hole herself,
With weighty tears striking the
dirt like exploding raindrops
Mary buried the baby in the dark shadow
of the home.
In the high mountain valley of Dry
Buck Canyon
Nellie’s body rests alone in the
dust and grass today.
No stone or cross marks the place.
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
A baby big boy Burpee
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Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
at the end of Grouse Creek.
Oliver played within the warm spring
in his own back yard.
Eugene made camp beside the warm spring
known as Price's Plunge.
David swam in the warm spring pool
on the way to Featherville.
Marcus soaked in the same warm springs
Bathed in by his father, and grandfather,
His great grandfather, and great-great grandfather.
In mother nature’s South Fork playground
Nothing ever changes.
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
The first time I kissed a girl
She said I did it wrong.
(She told me eyes must be closed.)
The first time I kissed a guy
It didn’t take so long.
(I was really unprepared.)
The first time I wore a dress
A wig obscured my head,
(While rocking makeup, heels ‘n hose.)
The first time I saw a woman’s breast
A baby was being fed.
(I didn’t quite know where to look.)
The first time I proposed
She told me “absolutely no.”
(The second time she said “no” again.)
The first time I saw her glow
She told me she loved me so,
(And then I drove her home).
The first time I was engaged
She eloped and didn’t tell her folks.
(She didn’t tell me either.)
I’ve died a thousand little deaths since then,
Imagining places I’ll never know,
As age begins to take its toll.
But now I know to close my eyes,
To wear low heels and only glance, and
To not give up when first answered “no”.
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
Slide. Click.
L-P-E-D P-E-C-F-D
Slide. Click.
E-D-F-C-Z-P (maybe F)
Slide. Click.
F-E-L-O-P (or is it B) -Z-D
Slide. Click.
D-E (could be F) -F (two F’s in a row can’t be right)-P-O-T-E-C
Things begin to make sense
Slide. Click.
Which is better?
As the blurry world comes into view,
Flip. Click.
This one?
Facing life’s unclear choices,
Flip. Click.
Or this one?
And negotiating unexpected corners.
Slide. Click.
This one?
The ink and pixels, paint and light
Slide. Click.
Or this one?
Give clarity to the road ahead.
Slide. Click.
Which is better?
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
Tomorrow, God, could your hand touch
Those wrongly in incarceration,
Those suffering in isolation,
Those in eager anticipation,
Those overwhelmed by obligation,
Those seeking transformation?
Tomorrow, God, could your hand comfort
Angry men who trust in guns,
Mothers who cry for sons,
Shoulders that carry tons,
Those whose final breath departs their lungs,
And those who have lost loved ones?
Tomorrow, God, as we remember your Son arose,
Remember those confined to chairs and beds,
Remember those with chronic disease and addictions,
Remember those seeking refuge in distant lands,
Remember those desperately looking for a meal,
And then, after all that and more, if you have time, remember
me.
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
Duty whispered “consider me,”
When commencement tassels turned.
The Guard’s education was free,
For a few years’ service earned.
Parental support was not likely,
Yet in public affairs I would be,
Creating stories that honor duty,
And the adventures of a bear named Objee.
Several enlistment forms would I see
With paragraphs on each leaf.
I read each obligation closely.
To choose the waves of the sea.
Yet the recruiter failed to show
At the appointed date and time
And a different wave claimed me.
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
Written by Dr. Dave 0 comments
Labels: NaPoWriMo2021
“Some men see things as they are
and ask why.
I dream things that never were,
and ask, why not?”
― Robert F. Kennedy
(borrowing a George Bernard Shaw quotation)
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