Tag: life

Not That

I’m not that old when you look at the seas

not that young when you look at me

I know I’m male, maybe five on a scale

but I don’t know what that means

I’m not that white when you look at snow

not that dark when you look at me

not that dumb when you see a rock

not that smart when you talk to me

I’m not that bright when you look at the sun

not that companionable when you’re looking for fun

not that simple when you add one and one

not that easy when you take away one

not that worldly in the sum of my parts

not that able, strong, or smart

not that forgiving in what I’ve seen and heard

not that judgmental in the lessons learned

0

The Waves

Stressed and blessed

encouraged and discouraged

he’s riding the waves of the day

Angry and numb

frustrated and feeling dumb

she’s riding the waves of the day

cascading and rising

falling and sliding

the waves lift you up and

take you under

man and woman

no matter skin or order

all of us ride the waves of the day

0

Unknown

She stared at the letter. It was addressed to Mrs. She’d always been a Ms.

They used her first name, Barbara, but she’d her middle name, Sue, since she was three years old. (Funny story, there, but for another time.)

They did have the correct middle initial and last name, so it was fifty percent correct.

Shrugging, she tossed it unopened into the recycle. Whoever it was clearly didn’t know her.

0

The Gods of Beer

The gods of beer

won’t hesitate

to take a swig,

and make their play.

They don’t quibble

over a quaff,

nor hesitate to laugh

over another’s gaffe.

They’re there to spread humor

and good cheer,

because everyone knows,

life is better with a beer.

 

1

Saturday Afternoon at the Cemetery

A couple flirted, giggled, and kissed on a blanket under the cemetery pines while a woman sat on a towel, eating an apple and reading, in a splash of sunshine twenty yards away. Dozens of grave markers from them, a trio of fawns bucked and gamboled. A pair of does ate while a grave majestic buck chewed in thought. A gray squirrel, egged on by cawing crows and jeering jays, chased another squirrel around and up trees and over headstones as a flock of wild turkeys tsked, sighed, and tutted.

It was a lively place to be, in the cemetery that day.

0

A Surprising Twist

It seems like a surprising twist, but it probably isn’t. It’s probably one of those oft-experienced, universally known, but rarely mentioned phenomena of life. I will mention it in passing because it strikes me now.

Every night brings something different that I miss from the past. Tonight brings memories of sitting around, listening to music with my friends. I’m listening to some old live Clapton and remembering times and places, but it’s such a solo act.

Yet…this is how it is for most of us. We slip from childhood to our teenage years, to first loves and first jobs, to relationships and marriage, and then find ourselves looking back, remembering, think, and wondering.

I guess it’s not that surprising, or a twist, after all.

0

Manscaping News

I spread the good news to my friends. “Hey, the local WalMart supposedly has the latest manscaping products in stock, and it’s supposed to be the best!”

They, twelve retired professionals ranging in age from sixty to eighty-five, responded.

“What?”

“WalMart!”

“Manscaping.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

I was not put off. I’d already talked to them about anal bleaching. They often overlook these fine points of pop-culture. I’m the chosen one to educate them.

Many immediately said, “We don’t shape at WalMart.”

I said, “You might need to change your ways, if you want the latest manscaping products suitable for urbane gents such as as yourselves.”

Bill laughed. “Manscaping! I don’t have the eyesight for that kind of thing. I’d be afraid of what I’m clipping.”

“Get your wife to help you,” I suggested. “You can make it a romantic evening.”

“A romantic evening of manscaping?” Joe asked.

“Yes. Light some candles and have a few glasses of wine, and then strip down, lay back on the bed, and let her groom you.”

Bill roared. “That’d be a bloody mess. Her eyesight is worse than me.”

Andy nodded. “Enough said. No one sees me naked and I’m not interested in landscaping myself just for the joy of it.”

“Someone change the subject,” Chris said.

“Hey,” I said, “did you hear about the new waxing place in town, just for men?”

2

Friday’s Theme Music

Today’s was a direct and simple connection between walking, thinking, and my theme music.

Thinking about time, I was walking through some low humidity, ninety degree sunshine. Across the valley was clear from my vantage. It was its typical summer brown, the green baked away, a striking but depressing tableau under a crystal blue sky. With that vision of heat and dryness dancing with memories of wildfires from the last five years, I hoped for rain.

The opening words that Sting sings from “Desert Rose”, a duet with Cheb Mami (2000), rose in voice in my mind.

I dream of rain
I dream of gardens in the desert sand
I wake in vain
I dream of love as time runs through my hand

h/t AZLyrics.com

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑