Month: June 2022

Failed Purchases

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The Dollar General store is open

Selling cheap goods to bargain hunters

I bought adhesive tape there once

It did not stick 

Does 7 Eleven really  stay open until 23:00

Do people shop there because the name is a rhyme

I bought a snack there once

It tasted disgusting

A long line at Subway

Their sandwiches are named after submarines

I bought a 6 inch sub once

It tasted soggy underwater

Dominos pizza has a special

Do they sell real domino toppings?

I bought a Dominos pizza once

There was no double 6 on top 

People flocking to McDonald’s 

Sad faces buying happy meals

I bought a Big Mac once 

It did not keep me dry when it rained 

Rite Aid sells drugs

Handing over prescriptions with a smile

I failed to buy drugs there once

I don’t think I got the right aid

Burley Oak brews beer

The bar is full of bearded men

I bought a pint of beer there once 

It did not help my beard grow

Amazon sells goods on line

They invented cyber Monday

I clicked away while tipsy once

Boxes of useless stuff arrived really fast

Marsh Disco

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A stiff breeze over the bay this morning

Occasional gusts initiate the wind chimes in our yard

Their gentle notes carried along by the wind

The reflective chime sail is the marsh disco ball

Giving the signal that the marsh disco is now open

Ripples on the bay speed over the surface

Fast moving dancers skidding across the floor 

Hitting the marsh with a rhythmic slapping spray

Imitating a drunk disco dancer spilling his drink

The trees stand firm and just rock to the music

Leaves flickering remind me of sequin clad twirling disco dancers

Tree limbs bounce up and down doing the mosh pit pogo

Tree tops sway mimicking an aging arthritic hippie disco dancer

Her feet firmly planted on the floor

Fluorescent leg warmers hide her skinny limbs

Wrinkled smile glued to her over tanned and over make up well travelled face 

The marsh grasses lurch about erratically in all directions

Playing the parts of young crazy acrobatic disco dancers 

Desperately trying to outmoonwalk each other 

Inhibitions of youth suppressed by cheap booze and fake pills

Deer cross the marsh disco dance floor cautiously

Pausing to look and listen for danger with nostrils flared into the breeze

Sniffing for any trace of predatory human disco dancer scent

Seemingly oblivious of the disco around them

But a wagging white tail confirms they are dancing too

An eagle soars over the marsh disco flapping his wings to the slow beat

Mr Owl sits in a tree surveying the marsh disco below

He is a wall flower watching all the fun while motionless

Until he picks up the beat and his head does the twist

Suddenly the wind drops and the chimes go silent

Everybody stops dancing instantly

The marsh disco is done for now

Neighbors briefly make eye contact

Sobering up quickly from the marsh disco intoxication 

Wondering if they looked silly while they were marsh disco dancing

Nervously looking down at their own feet to avoid further eye contact

Praying for the next song to play soon

The silent pause in the marsh disco seems eternal

Marsh feet start shuffling side to side in anticipation

Suddenly the wind chimes sound again bringing smiles to all the marsh faces

And the whole marsh is once more dancing at the marsh disco

Please pass my tea

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Photo by Ioana Motoc on Pexels.com

They ate breakfast together in silence

He was engrossed in his morning paper

She was checking her FaceBook page

Back when they were first married

They used to talk for hours on end

Hanging on to every word said

Making each other laugh

But that had long since stopped

He reached over to pick up his cup

Avoiding asking her to pass it to him

She glanced at his outstretched arm

Resisting the temptation to speak

Why bother telling him he should have asked her

She lowered her glance to avoid eye contact

They had stopped looking at each other too

She went upstairs to get dressed

He had left for work when she came back down

Her phone buzzed with a text

I will be working late

Will not need dinner

No smiling faces or kisses in the text

He never made it to the office

Suffering a massive heart attack while driving

There was no suspicion of foul play

She washed the breakfast dishes three times over

Nobody knew she had a lover

They never communicated via phone or the internet

Leaving no digital fingerprints to trace

They met once a week on the same park bench

Making love in his RV to avoid hotel records

They always paid cash at bars and restaurants

At their next meeting she thanked him

Those pills you gave me worked perfectly

I put them in his tea like you said

Best wait a while before we live together he said

She collected the huge life insurance payout

A year later she was making breakfast

While chatting intensely to her lover

Can you please pass my tea he asked

She smiled as she passed the cup

Thank you Mr Teabag for your sacrifice

Ian Hunter3 Comments

I wake up feeling weary after a late night

Dragging myself out of bed

My limbs are sore and aching

Forcing me to shuffle along to the kitchen

I switch on the kitchen light but its far too bright

Nobody needs that much interrogating light early in the morning

Fortunately it has a dimmer switch and my sanity is saved

The kettle is there waiting patiently for me

Pre filled with filtered water from the night before

When my movements were more coordinated than now

A flick of the switch is the starting gun for the hot water race

The familiar soothing rumble of heating water calms me

I reach into the cabinet for a fresh teabag

Thanking the goddess of grocery shopping for stocking up

The bag lays motionless in my favorite cup as the water gets hotter and hotter

The water is now in a raging boil but the kettle refuses to switch off

Its a battle of the strongest and I watch the contest unfold

Wondering who will be the victor today

Will all the water boil away and escape in a steamy vapor

Suddenly the kettle surrenders with a loud click

The fight is over and the growl of the boiling water slowly subsides

I pour the still raging water onto the waiting teabag

Eleven clockwise stirs sets the teabag into a frantic spin

It rushes around the cup releasing more flavors 

I let it dance for a few moments before expertly trapping it

My spoon squashes the teabag against the inside of the cup

I hold it there in a suffocating wrestling move until it stops wriggling

The limp dead teabag is ceremoniously dumped into the trash can

Oozing dark tea like the blood of a slain corpse

I peer into the trash can like a graveside mourner

Mr Teabag led a good and very productive life

He was a fine example to us all

The funeral is over and its time discover what he left me in his will

I carry the full cup to my favorite chair and place it near the window

Steam from the cup rises up to peek outside

Soon its cooled enough to take that first magical small sip

My aches fade away instantly and I close my eyes to slow down time

Another sip of tea warms me from the inside

I am grateful for the gift of another day

Invigorated and ready for action

Thank you Mr Teabag for your sacrifice

thoughts, tea and action

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the sun is not long up

I step outside

the cool air is sweet

early morning stillness

heavy dew on the ground

the bay is flat calm

no breeze yet

everything is quiet

folks having their Saturday morning lie in

even the birds are still sleeping

its my time alone

I am not really alone though

I have my thoughts with me today

they got lost for a while

trapped in a Covid brain fog 

I could hear their distant muffled voices

but could not make out their words

it was not a pleasant experience

especially when combined with fatigue

hopefully that fog has permanently lifted

I missed my thoughts a lot

we have great conversations

sometimes the occasional argument 

today we are chatting calmly

I am wondering what to do on this glorious day

my thoughts jump in with ideas

interesting places to go

fun things to do

good friends to see

getting some long postponed tasks done

paying it forward activities

being nice to others

I agree with all my thought’s suggestions

they are so much wiser than me

its going to be a good day

a thoughtful day

I really appreciate my thoughts

we shall check in on each other

throughout the day

now its time for tea and action

Solitude and the loneliness coat

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sometimes solitude is a curse

those times when you are truly alone

when you are in need of human company

desperate to interact with others

aching for a friendly hug

primed for lively conversation

but nobody there to talk with you

loneliness drapes over you

like a heavy wet coat

it weighs you down and keeps you damp and dreary

you desperately want to take it off

but your fingers cannot undo the buttons

it clings to you

mocks you

its so hard to escape from that loneliness coat

some poor folks wear it all the time

sometimes solitude is a blessing

when people around you are not helping 

and you feel a bit wound up

you need to withdraw to a quiet place

let your emotions calm down

be alone with just your thoughts

have a one on one with yourself

think things through

meditate a while

focus on the white light

live through every breath

rediscover that inner peace

solitude is indeed a blessing sometimes

unless it forces you to wear that loneliness coat

I love trains

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there is something special about train travel

tracks make your route somewhat predictable

arrival is mostly unaffected by weather

the bumps in the track are hypnotic

the world seems different when viewed from a train

scenery flashes by like a silent movie

outside sounds are muted

its your own private low flying cocoon

steam trains are so romantic

monuments to the past

fire breathing smokey monsters

driven by grease stained men

electric trains hum

like a jammed sewing machine motor

occasionally emitting sparks

as a reminder of the unseen power source

drinking hot tea is a circus balancing feat

when the train is lurching along

would you like milk with that

says the very tired but still smiling attendant

however hard you try to appear really cool

your walk along the moving train

mimics the stagger of a drunken sailor 

as you are involuntarily thrown against startled seated passengers

on board announcements can always be heard

but never truly understood

they are spoken in a special secret train language

forcing you to ask strangers what was just said 

new friendships are formed

the age romance is not dead

you can really get to know people on a train

with the knowledge that you will never meet them again

Nature will outlive us all

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if you look at what is happening in the world

its easy to get depressed and anxious about the future

climate change and global warming

pandemics and monkeypox virus scares

raging inflation and economic uncertainty

supply chain issues and staff shortages everywhere

the war in Ukraine and the terrible tragedies there

political extremism on the left and right sides

rising crime rates in big cities

gun violence and mass shootings

the list is almost endless

I woke up around 3am one morning

my head was swimming in all these issues

then I looked out of the window

I saw the moonshining bright in the sky

Jupiter and Mars at her side

it was a very quiet night

apart from the hooting of the owls in the woods

then it struck me like a thunderbolt

nature is there despite all the woes of human civilization

she will still be there however we shape our future

the Moon will never invade Mars

Jupiter will never be at war with the other planets

birds do not stay awake all night worrying about their food chain

animals have no access to weapons to perform mass shootings

there are no politics played out in the woods

nature does a pretty good job of keep things balanced

so sad that humans are much worse at maintaining equilibrium

we came from the natural world 

but we have forgotten our roots

we have become too disconnected from nature

not stopping often enough to smell the roses

or to feel the breeze and watch the sunrise

people are too engrossed in watching TV to step outside and look at the stars

nature must be looking at humans with disdain

wondering however we evolved into what we are now

if the human race ever does become extinct

the world will continue fueled by nature

I used to live in the here and now

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Living in the present is widely promoted

Do not spend all day looking back

Waiting for the future is wasting your time

You should only focus on living in the now

But how do we define the now

Is it this calendar year

Is it all day today or just this hour

Is now this minute or this second

The smaller we make the now

The faster it becomes history

Future nows arrive much sooner

It gets harder and harder to live in the now

If the now becomes infinitesimally small

The merest billionth of a microsecond or less

So small that you cannot measure it

All you have left is past or future

As your brain constructs a sentence to speak

You are focusing on future words

While making them relevant to past words

All your words are either history or future

You might think you are reading my poem right now

But you actually started reading it historically

If you really want to be reading this poem in real time

I will write and transmit it to you at some future time