Round 2

Posted on February 9, 2021 by sputterpub

This week we watch a new impeachment show,
although we don’t expect a just result
from citizens enrolled in MAGA cult.

Some facts will stun and shock is sure to grow,
when politicians act so un-adult.
This week we watch a new impeachment show,
although we don’t expect a just result.

The march for equity is steep and slow.
Conspiracy is flung by catapult
of Internet, toward chaos and tumult.
This week we watch a new impeachment show,
although we don’t expect a just result
from citizens enrolled in MAGA cult.

(English Madrigal)

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Under the Stump

Posted on February 8, 2021 by sputterpub

The Trump remove is like an autumn leaf.
The green is gone and what remains appears
attractive – varied colors, change motif –
but moribund in fact, as winter nears.

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Unwelcome Warmth

Posted on February 7, 2021 by sputterpub

I can’t hold climate change at bay, and sure
my situation could be so much worse.
My habitat is sturdy and secure
(remodel took a chunk out of my purse).
So my complaint is mild – I’d reverse
the forecast trend, away from early warm
that others see as anything but curse.
I yearn for cold; I crave a winter storm.

(Huitain)

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Ants

Posted on February 6, 2021 by sputterpub

I spent my early childhood back East
(Manhattan-born, Long Island reared to 8),
and sure I have strong memories, not least
the insects Mom would burn to death or bait.
She never minded summer fireflies.
She swatted other bugs and was appalled
whenever ants invaded. She’d devise
a death by seething water. Mom would scald.

Those bugs were huge compared to what beset
our California dwellings. Come the rain
and we have myriads of tiny ants.
We squish them with a fingertip. We set
out traps and Windex-spray. We find no train
or trail to treat. They’re here. I have no chance.

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Don’t Just Say No

Posted on February 5, 2021 by sputterpub

Distrusting where conflicted interests tend,
we say avoid appearance, even though
there’s evidence our characters can wend
through complicated thickets. Stop and Go
are terminals with infinite between.
Black & White are easy on the eyes
compared to every shade of gray that’s seen,
but really, we’re equipped to analyze.

So pack your zero tolerance away.
Put down the “just say no” inanity.
Accept the truth: we’ll always lose that war –
the more we bar, the fewer will obey.
Attend to harm reduction’s sanity
instead of interdicts that all abhor.

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Good Talking

Posted on February 4, 2021 by sputterpub

When knowledge is the favored stimulant,
then conversation’s best if thought-imbued.
The lack makes her impatient, seeming rude.

I heard her sounding harsh and arrogant,
but now I comprehend her attitude.
When knowledge is the favored stimulant,
then conversation’s best if thought-imbued.

To seem a know-it-all she never meant.
She sought to learn but many thought her mood
was smug and vain and ought to be subdued.
When knowledge is the favored stimulant,
then conversation’s best if thought-imbued.
The lack makes her impatient, seeming rude.

(English Madrigal)

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Body Talk

Posted on February 3, 2021 by sputterpub

I’m not an expert, but I know a thing
or three about how I exhibit stress.
It dates back to the turbulence the spring
of 1970 – Kent State, the mess
of us invading countries not our own.
I then developed pain bad doctors thought
was gallbladder-induced – they tossed unknown
no remedy. But later I was taught
I’m nervous (though I thought I was a rock –
a better doctor helped me comprehend
that doesn’t mean hysterical). The shock
was learning gas could hurt and never end.
Recalling then, I know in heart and soul:
of late I’m stressing way beyond control.

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Checking (With)in

Posted on February 2, 2021 by sputterpub

Of late I feel some tightness near my heart.
My pulse is up – is this when problems start?
Have I been cell-betrayed? Is there a mass?
Or maybe these are symptoms caused by gas.
I smoked too long; I’m growing short of breath –
I cough like some old codger facing death.
The fact is, I have never been this age,
and don’t possess a diagnostic gauge.

I exercise most mornings, and today
instead of contemplating poetry,
I focused on my body while I moved.
I’m ignorant but mindful, and the way
it went I didn’t glimpse mortality
just yet. When I was done I felt improved.

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Poetic Forms

Posted on February 1, 2021 by sputterpub

I may have overdone the sonnet form:
expressing my ideas in 14 lines.
Of late it’s like a cogitating norm –
an octave of descriptive thought combines
with resolution’s salve, confusion’s storm,
or declarations sharp as porcupines.
Perhaps I need to vary how much ink
I use, and modify the way I think.

(Ottava Rima)

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Processing

Posted on January 31, 2021 by sputterpub

A week ago, I felt dissatisfied.
I’d been a little off for several days.
I may not have complained enough – I tried
to weather symptoms and to get more rest
and also less caffeine. I didn’t hide
conditions, but nobody really asked.
I kept them to myself, in part from pride,
but more to grow accustomed to the phase
and learn from living what can’t be denied.

(Magic 9)

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