Poetry – Page 6 – bendingtheneedle

Because this is all there is

When you reach the end

I hope you had more good times than bad,

laughed more than you cried, and

loved more than you hated

I hope regrets were few,

achievements many,

and that your wealth

could be measured in smiles

I hope you enjoyed your stay,

were buoyed by happiness,

oxygenated by love,

and were at peace when you left

Because this is all there is

Relentless Time Regardless

We begin life nervously

Waiting in the wings

Queued up and ready to take center stage

each of us a rusty fragile link

in a fractious chain of humans

We embark on our quixotic quest

for meaning and connection

The truth of our transience

evades us at first

Or maybe we just refuse to let it creep in

We keep those thoughts at bay

We bury them under daily routine

for years at a time

Until we begin to sense

the slowing of the merry-go-round

and we see and feel

the snarled and toothy grin

of the carney worker

All rides must end

We lean hard from our painted ponies

Elbow pit married to the pole

We reach and stretch for the brass ring

And it’s promise of another ride

As if more ride is a cure-all

it isn’t

As if more time will sand the jagged edge

of disappointment and regret

It won’t.

We don’t need more time.

We need understand how little we have of it

Donny Shakes the Jar

Donny Shakes the Jar

Donny stirs the pot

Donny knows that hate and fear

are really all he’s got

Donny peddles lies

He feeds them to his friends

They eat’em up

And spit them out

The cycle never ends

Donny knows that facts

are a death knell to his game

He always tries to bury them

And set the truth aflame

Insurrectionists as martyrs

And the freedom fighter lies

“A fraudulent election!”

His fake-ass battle cry

He’s got minions on the take

And congress in his pocket

FOX to help him spin the lies

Vlad Putin in his locket

We need Guardians of democracy

To fend against attacks

From Donny and his hateful gang

Of red hat wearing hacks

When you’re forced

to use fear and hate

To bolster your position

To inspire acts of violence

and treacherous sedition

And when you do so

For vainglory and the

Insatiable lust for power

Expect a mass gathering

To knock you from your tower

Blocked and loaded

Lately

when I try to write

Nothing comes of it

Just raspy thought-schisms

That fail to take hold

They fizzle and pop

And disappear

in a wisp of blue smoke

Leaving me

With faint and fading echoes

in the empty chambers of my brain

Mornings used to be a fruitful period

Now they’re as dry as the Sahara

Coffee used to be a thought lubricant

Now it’s just gasoline

for a stuck and revving engine

There’s a constant buzzing

a negative counterbalance

A marshalling of malevolence

blocking words and spilling ink

I’m waiting for a clearing

A splash of light

On an open field of possibility

The gift of an old dog

Through slightly cataracted eyes

A glint of happiness flashes

As I reach for the leash

that hangs from a hook

on the back of the door

Your nails

plastic-like clicking

on the hardwood floor

less sprightly than it used to be

but still, I associate that sound with joy

and I suppose I always will

We’ve engaged in our daily routine

for nearly a decade now

the wag of your tail

a little slower

your teeth tanning with age

are rounded and smoother

from pearly whites

to tiger’s eye

they tell the tale

of you and I

The pace has slowed

(for both of us)

but you still relish the ritual

Nose to the ground

intently sniffing clover and dirt

thistle and weed

the base of every tree and mailbox

a puzzle of smells

as you try to solve the

mystery of the previous day’s events

I used to tug at your leash

after a minute or two

when you were younger

and I was less patient

measuring my time

In meetings

and phone calls

Not frisbees

and thrown balls

But today I give you

all the time you desire

Because I don’t know

how many more walks

we have left in the bank

and a tug now

seems unwarranted

bordering on criminal

Sometimes

the wind kicks up

and you raise your head

towards that gift-bearing breeze

wistfully smiling

it seems to me

When we get back

you drink cool water from your bowl

find your bed

which has been warmed

by the afternoon sun

and lie down

Tired and content

you close your eyes

then open them

and then close them again

slower and slower

eyes open, eyes shut

until finally

you settle into a rhythmic rest

I will miss you when you’re gone

Sometimes

Sometimes

it’s a struggle

just to keep my eyes open

I feel anxiety’s weight

resting fixed

like a fishing lure

that’s been dropped

in the dead-center

of my thoughts

Sometimes

I hear the clock ticking

I feel the pages turning

Knowing that most of my days

are in the rear view

a fast-approaching horizon

through the windshield

One eye on the road

I fumble with the radio dial

musical snippets and static

trying to find that perfect

sequence of songs

before the ride ends

That’s the goal

Time to Marginalize Marjorie

Space-laser promoting
Gun toting liar
Bigoted Truther
Nine-Eleven Denier
Spewer of filth
Talker of trash
Dumber than dumb
With boat-load of cash

Kevin McCarthy
He ain’t no Vin Diesel
Afraid of his base
A gutless shit-weasel
Checking with Trump
Before speaking his mind
Removing that stump
From way up his behind

Where have you gone
Once Proud GOP
Afraid of the loonies
Who support Marjorie
You run from the truth
Like a squirrel from noise
Wyoming’s Lynne Cheney
Has more balls than the boys

Time to rise-up
Put an end to the slime
Recognize a Truth as a Truth
And a Crime as a Crime

A loss of some votes
Might be the toll
But at least you can say
You’ve still got your soul

Tick tick tick tick

Donny

Can you hear the minutes

ticking off the clock?

Do you see yourself

with ball and chain

Sledge-hammering a rock?

Do you feel the noose tightening

around your flabby neck?

As you scream and yell

in ALL CAPS:

“WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK!”

Donny

Has defeat’s fowl stench

finally settled in your nose?

As the ghastly pile of corpses

from COVID-19 grows

As your grip on power

starts to slip

from your puny, chubby fingers

The rot

you’ve wrought,

for the last 4 years

still festers and still lingers

Good riddance to you

You portly prick

You stain upon our nation

Just go away

and don’t come back

Your train has left the station

Bye Bye Motherfucker

We the people had our say

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

We dumped you on election day

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Clear your desk, be on your way

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

YOU DON’T GET TO FUCKING STAY!

The way you act is a disgrace

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Can’t accept you lost the race

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

We’re tired of your orange face

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

SO, GRAB YOUR SHIT AND PACK A CASE!

So long orange, hello blue

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

You bit off more than you could chew

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Let this be your Waterloo

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

TAKE JARED AND IVANKA TOO!

You’re a traitor and a louse

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

We don’t wanna to hear you grouse

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Be quiet as a fucking mouse

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

AND GET OUT OF OUR FUCKING HOUSE!

Trump, Lindsey, and Tortoise Mitch

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Drove the bus into a ditch

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Helped their buddies all get rich

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

AND GAVE US ALL A NERVOUS TWITCH!

You’re nothing but a pussy grabber

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Full of shit and constant blabber

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Your twitter feed is full of lies

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

YOUR BANK ACCOUNT HAS RUSSIAN TIES!

Your Christian views are fake as fuck

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

We’re tired of the “Rudy Tuck”

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Load your shit on to the truck

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

AND MOVE ALONG, YOU FASCIST FUCK!

You played the Christians like a fiddle

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

A simple folk, without a middle

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Save the fetus, cage the kids

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

YOU PUT OUR NATION ON THE SKIDS!

Ignored the data and the science

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Said fuck the mask with great defiance

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Got RONA from your noncompliance

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

AND STILL RELY ON PSEUDOSCIENCE!

Inject the bleach insert the light

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

Don’t stop until you get it right

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

You plunged our nation into the night

(Bye-Bye Motherfucker)

NOW GET OUT OF OUR FUCKING SIGHT!