Poetry

Stranger Danger.

Those are bad kids.

Don’t follow them.

Bad guys will take you.

You’ll never see me again!

Guilt,

Guilt,

Guilt!

Why are you scaring your child?

What happens if you become ill

or get hurt?

What will they do then?

Leave you to bleed?

Teach them instead to always ask you

before they can go with someone else.

Always know who they are with.

If someone offers them candy

they ask you first.

Same with looking for lost dogs

or even petting a dog.

Permission beforehand makes a better style.

Though,

Helicopter parents will never go away.

At least try to allow the child to grow up

guilt free, please!

You know you should care.

That it is important.

But you have no energy

or desire to continue

to keep nagging,

cleaning up after

and in general caring for another human being.

They can feed themselves

now that they are older.

Baths continue to be a fight

so the smell becomes familiar

until eventually it goes unnoticed.

This includes the caregiver.

Should a guest even arrive

outside is the only hosting venue currently available.

It is slow slide

but now a days it does not take much

to start rolling down the inclined hill.

Her point of view is different from mine.

She has lived through so many things.

Yet the stories she tells

are mere glimpses into her life.

I wonder if I seem that way to others?

Games of chance

are never a sure win.

Betting on a horse

it will come in last.

Looking for love

and all the opposites try to attract.

Finding a penny

it is usually stuck to ground.

The value of my work

drops every year.

Prices at the grocery store

mean inflation keeps me from eating.

Luckily for me

my favorite activity

means

I have lots to complain about.

When the sky darkens

you welcome the breeze.

The smell of incipient rain

permeates the air as you breathe deeply.

The windows left open

so you can enjoy the sounds

of thunder as it rumbles across the sky

after the flashes of lightning have lit it up.

The heat of the morning washed away

as you go towards the evening heat.

But for now

this moment nature calls

as it plays out an old game

of watch me or hide away little creatures

as I dance across the sky.

Dust and smog

lessen the glisten

from the machines

that patrol the streets.

Sirens go by

and the noise

reminds us

that time sure flies by.

So look for the metal

that makes up the heart

of the community

which we

as a society

do love.

I have tried

to get the showers

done every two days.

I have tried

to show how mouths

should be closed when chewing.

I have tried

to enforce the cleanliness

of the areas occupied by all.

I have tried

to use guilt to show

that wiping the bum with towels is gross.

And so

I have tried

to instill good manners

on this child who refuses to listen.

The one who just

picked up a hotdog

from the floor

and ate it.

Sigh,

all the while

knowing I was watching.

Staring blankly at the screen

Little sleep

yet still awake

Head hurting from last nights adventures

so how do we walk

up and down stairs

from the moment eyes open

and then collapse into a chair

to close the lids

from the bright bright sun

as morning coffee percolates

with forbidden hope

The weather turns

at the drop of a hat.

Sunny and windy

Warm and then clouds.

Blustery conditions

indicate indoors might be best.

As you watch the droplets

in your imagination

come to life outside.

Living in caves

Not seeing the sun.

Fearing the daylight

and what it has become.

Trying to breathe

and ending up alone.

Running from yourself

screaming at your bones.

Get up high in the mountain

and watch the moon.

For miles around

you can hear the loons.

Nobody to hear you scream your pain

As you watch the world go by again and again.