poem of the day January 31 

The snow seems

to make things 

quiet, still, pensive

in a stark kind of way

It is able to illuminate

deep shadows 

not reached by the sun

Shining snow light on
thoughts never seen in the light of day

 poem of the day January 30 

Big oak fell

at Lida's house

So big 

So strong

Oak was un-fall-able  

but it fell

still looking very strong

right across the road

landing like a big fan

Trapping the house

Oak had to be cut away

It took a while 

Too long for her kids

who could not wait

and needed to

be rescued 

from a change in plans

by a red car rescuer 

who waited for them

on the other side of big fallen oak

 poem of the day January 29

Wet snow

snowing

on an air full 

of thick moisture

A dark grey dawn

frames the

big full flakes

that fall all around

some melting on my face

some feel like tears

but not from me

 poem of the day January 28 

The power of delusion

repeated each day

seeded by scheming lies

hurled out of the mouths of 

charismatic narcissists 

Sometimes gets mixed

with the strength of faith 

leading the unknowing

to beliefs that can undo 

the world of truths

 poem of the day January 27 

Steam rising

off the snow

Thick clouds falling 

from above

The two mix into 

a grey see through fog

magnifying the meadow forest 

Especially the old tree trunks

that line the edge of fields 

 poem of the day January 26 

The rain

drove hard

throughout 

the night

determined to

fall straight down

with no thought

to anything in its way

Not caring at all

of who when or what

got soaking wet

 poem of the day January 25 

A full moon on

a rainy night

might appear

without a light

but if you look

within its spoon

the light you see

will be the moon

 poem of the day January 24

While driving through

the Shenandoah Valley

and into Gettysburg 

I felt the presence of ghosts souls

Lost spirits wandering battlefields 

of unbelievable carnage

unable to ever be at rest

To escape from this sad

overwhelming apprehension of unease

I turned on the radio only to hear

talk of a new Civil War

 poem of the day January 23 

At a busy rest stop

on a long highway

it was easy to see

the pained planks

of the old bench 

as they slumped down

with a tired patina

from years of

having absorbed

the weight of all

the weary travelers

who had rested 

their bones

while traveling the road

 poem of the day January 22 

The Mississippi Delta

America's vast bayou 

A grand swamp

where the forces

of land and sea

battle each day

with the weapons

of wet and dry

 poem of the day January 21 

A cowboy walk

Boots stride aside 

a big hat into

an old pickup

parked outside

a dusty Texan town

right in front of

big open spaces

where the deer 

and the antelope play

 poem of the day January 20 

Big news

The Big Texas desert

has finally run out of sand

like a slow moving hourglass

It happened so unhurriedly

so natural naturally

I almost missed it

The sparse struggling

flora has been replaced

by shade trees shading

green  growing pastures 

 poem of the day January 19 

Finding time

between space

Finding space

between time

The universal friends 

were floating outside 

in a river of air

right next to me

All three of us were

traveling the same wind

allowing me to study them

but just when I was coming

to some mystical understanding

a rogue gust blew

my hat off my head

breaking my concentration

and I was unable

to see if anything

had pulled on their time space

space time connection 

 poem of the day January 18 

Driving through the land

of living solitude

Giant Saguaros

ancient souls

rise on the slopes

of natural pyramids 

Standing stoic and tall

in the sandy wind

of an unforgiving desert

Guarding the sunrise

Guarding the sunset

One supergiant Saguaro

with human like branches

spreads its arms to embrace 

this impossible stillness

 poem of the day January 17 

What good is

a melting pot

if nothing ever melts

and everything

stays the same?

The heat just

making everything

More hot

More bothered

More entrenched

in the toxic broth of

us and them

Points of view

in a sided soup 

swimming

in the fear

of finding solutions

 poem of the day January 16 

I am a little city tree

living in a crack

on the ramp

of a busy freeway 

No one planted me

But here I am

beautiful for all see

All by myself

a little lonely city tree

so please honk your heart

as you drive by me

 poem of the day January 15 

A hard working floor

supports everything

that steps on it, over it

into it

but is only as strong as

its foundation

So tread lightly

when traveling

through the grounds

born of time

 poem of the day January 14 

I read in LA

even the sidewalks 

get plastic surgery

At first I did not believe it

but it is all true

And by looking around

I have to admit

some of it is

very pretty damn good

There are lawns of transplanted 

astro turf that feel

just like real meadow grass

Where beautiful

super fit toned giant squirrels

show off their fake tanned brown 

sculpted hybrid mega bodies

while flexing next to glamorous signs

advertising undetectable roofs lifts

guaranteed  for life

poem of the day January 13  

There were so

many people in

The City of Angels 

taking pictures

of themselves

that I had 

a hard time 

walking thru the

narcissistic flashes

that smiled or pouted

or pointed everywhere

around me

Making me feel

I was in warzone

with little chance

of escaping from

someone else's image

 poem of the day January 12 

Putting a direction

on the way 

life travels

in and out of

perceived reality 

becomes tainted

by the ideas

of those 

who paint

in colors bought

by the lust of

power and  money

 poem of the day January 11 

Driving through

the Mojave desert 

I am reminded of

how mankind

has been able to

cut paths through

wild almost impossible

to survive landscapes 

Where we are now in 

a world full of 

tame roads

driving comfortable cars

that take

the fear out of

hostile lands

Allowing one to focus

on the stark

inhospitable beauty 

instead of the danger

that is always still about

 poem of the day January 10 

Fossilized ideas

like fossilized bones

are dug out of the past

Buried ideas of humanity

lost in the graveyard of thoughts

get dusted off from time to time

Good, bad, moral, immoral ideas

full of petrified powerful  words

are pulled from ancient minds

and casted into fresh thoughts

for a new generations

 poem of the day January 9 

Air gives life to all lives

Air from somewhere

Air into someone

The universal breath

begins with lungs sucking 

on the same oxygen

Everyone breathing

Humanity sharing

the same air

billions of times

each day

with billions

of other humans

No exceptions

The good, bad and ugly

So give us this day

our daily breath

wherever it 

may be inhaled

 poem of the day January 8 

At one of the rest stops

as I was driving

through spiritual

Native American lands

was a murder of crows

Mystical creatures

full of supernatural wisdom

Gatekeepers

of the arcane

One rather ominous

crow hopped up 

right next to me

with a french-fry

in its black beak

and cawed

"What are you 

staring at Carlos?

Don't you know

Don Juan loves junk food

 poem of the day January 7 

The life of cows

seems so romantic

Thousands of them

roaming free in

untouched landscapes

Big open spaces

gathered around

in huge lazy herds

Eating grass

basking in 

the winter sun

So idyllic 

until I spot

the barbed wire

hemming their lives in

Reminding me

that all life

is bounded

with circumstances

and that freedom

is only found within 

 poem of the day January 6 

I wonder

how many

people born

in St Louie

named Louie

living under

the big arch

of western march

Feel dicky

when crossing

the Mississippi?

 poem of the day January 5 

Respect or Disrespect 

depends on feelings

riding on the winds

of prevailing attitudes 

Collective sensitivities 

Feelings that change

like waves in time

The state of Indiana 

was named in 1768 

to Honor the Iroquois

but now in our 

politically correct environment

I am wondering if

the state INDIANA

will have to be renamed?

 poem of the day January 4 

Someone else's

dreams in 

a hotel bed

unfold like a movie

An action movie

making no sense

unless one believes

it is possible for

lingering essences 

of others to exist

in the pillow of humanity 

 poem of the day January 3 

I like the grey

of an afternoon

It gives a chance

for thoughts that

are too easily

persuaded by

black and white

to have space

to evolve without

the distraction of color

 poem of the day January 2 

A shadow

cast of 

candle

light

drained

the dark

empty room

And kept

on shining

shadow bright

until the last

of candle burned

 poem of the day January 1

I woke up

to a new year

The year 2024

You did too

Perhaps all

of us woke up

on this first day

of the new year

with a new resolution

to change an old habit

into something 

good and new

Something needed

Something possible 

to change the first rise

of our old sun as it

spreads over dawn

with rays full of

the same old ideas

the same old problems

as the past of yesterday

I am hoping that by changing

ourselves for the better

we can all be small lights

able to change the world

for a better life 

for all beings 

big and small

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

HAPPY 2024!!!