The leaves are falling
On your grave.
And I’m not there today
To say goodbye.
Instead, I’ll buy
Two drinks, one for you
Instead, I’ll raise my glass
and cry.
Instead, I’ll visit that wall
Next summer
And cry.
For Them
For those who died in muddy fields
or pressed on through the jungle
or those that fought up rocky hills
and found eternal slumber
They served, some died
they knew the deal
that blood secures our time
that freedom’s bells will peal
But now we cannot stand alone
apart from one another
we have to help each other up
as sisters and as brothers
A house divided cannot stand
a lesson paid in blood
we’ll have to learn another time
if we betray their trust
For those who served and only wept
instead of being buried
Who wait and wonder if
we forgot why they stood for us
We need to pay them back in coin
that only patriots earn
with unity and loyalty
to the Union that they served
Moral Combat
Watching it all play out
On national television,
All that I could think
Was that we really could do better
In the choosing of our champions
And the resolution of the combat.
In the back of my mind
I thought of Alice, Texas
In the fall of 1948
And the mysterious miracle of Ballot Box 13.
Yet there is quite a difference
Between knowing a bit of history
And actually making accusations
From the Whitehouse bully pulpit.
On this one thing I am certain,
That no matter who wins this battle
The process has weakened their position
And the standing of this nation.
There will be no mandate for action —
Only more cries from the sidelines
That a duly elected person
Cannot possibly be “my president”.
The process tears at our fabric
Reopens the old wounds
In our national psyche
Refusing to allow them to heal.
We should be saddened that the runup
To the 2024 election
Starts in earnest today.
Drumbeat
It’s in your head
the endless thrum
So many dead
and more to come
Jobs have left
and jobs returned
The poor look up
entreaties spurned
Stuff in the street
from jobless folks
To make an omelet
you break some yolks
The beat goes on
there is no end
Hope flees the scene
and madness trends
We blame each other
and people dance
To see the split
between our brothers
So turn it off
and lift your head
Work for the good
and mourn the dead
Pick up the pieces
and heal yourself
Give in to your
much better self
Time to reach out
to the other side
We already know
too many died
Sweep up the ruins
without a fuss
Build it back
for all of us
Spousal
She reclines and settles
the ache inside she knows
thinking of others
her own desires deferred
children and partner
compelled to adore
She reaches and sighs
the day is long and hard
for working and loving
these times to overcome
a malaise and temper
difficult to discard