It's Christmas season 

six months out of the year so

they can sell you more 

Horrors on our own

doorsteps but not in masks nor

makeup but real life 

Estranged from the strange

and thrust into midlife you 

recall wilder times 

Troglodytes beware

for there's a witching spell called

critical thinking 

Fully connected 

but still drifting like a boat

unmoored and alone 

The forest is a 

fireworks display heading 

towards its climax 

The world wanders by 

my window as I stare just 

as aimless as they  

Tourniquets of fear

keep reason at bay so they 

can let rage rule all 

Nature has its way

of signaling discontent 

so read them and weep 

 A snugging dog's sweet

little snores are the only 

balm you need some days 

A fragmented world

deserves sentence fragments (but

this isn't one)

Time stripped away like 

meat from a bone leaving just

calcified remains 

From a jetty we

watch the waters of the creek

join with the river 

In the lightning flash 

I saw a deeper darkness 

inching toward me.

Oh, that space cowboy 

tells me another stoned tale 

of debauchery 

Fallow fields presage

the coming winter when the

snow drifts germinate 

Idle talk from the 

next table while alone you

sit with your coffee  

Within the dark depths 

of the forest, there is a 

sun-dappled haven

I have nothing to 

say, but I will mention the

sun feels good today

Obsessed with youth and 

the new, we cut and sew and 

try to hide the truth 

The weeds and brambles 

have already begun to

reclaim their birthright 

Shimmering fountain 

in a chiaroscuro 

lit grotto soothes all 

Broken bones and scars

tell stories of our wilder days 

that always remain 

The peacock had no

place left to parade except

social media

Rumors abound and 

bounce around like echoes in

a cathedral 

You recall the gaffs,

blunders, and missteps but I 

just recall the fun 

The shoes drop these days

like torrential storms but I'll

cobble in the rain  

A couple appears

from the morning fog talking 

in a foreign tongue 

We bragged and boasted

and lied of experience 

to veil innocence 

Night held mysteries 

unlimited in their breadth

but now just dreams