Wildcards (+2)

When writing the words,

are they thought or then felt

Which to come first,

cards different once dealt

But sometimes together,

as in straights or a flush

They win back the reader

—with more than potluck

(Rosemont College: December, 2021)

The Fleeting Motherlode

High minded but low brow,

and living the contradiction

of a greater truth

I’m caught between transcendence

and pontification

my pockets ladened

with a traitor’s silver

—in search of gold

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)

Meltdown

The bars of the jail

those electronics we serve

our cellphones and laptops

new wardens in stir

 Ipods and Ipads

to Tweet and I.M.

the virtual distance

created within

24/7

we Text back and forth

when Email’s too slow

 a much faster course

But nature is watching

and planning a storm

the power grid wanton

with darkness for sure

And who is to blame

as we cry and we scream

our minds have been sentenced

we no longer dream

The reckoning promised

has come home at last

and this time not virtual

—our prison recast

(Dreamsleep: December, 2021)