Thank you Mr Teabag for your sacrifice

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

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

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

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

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

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

Birds (and Humans) of Maryland and Delaware

if I were a bird in Maryland and Delaware

I would watch the bird watchers

Make notes on their habits

Study their mating rituals

Record their voices

Stare at them for hours

Make notes on their appearance

Guide them to secret bird watcher locations

Fool all the bird watchers

Into thinking we do not see them

Report fake rare bird sightings

Send bird watchers on wild goose chases

With no birds to be seen

I will follow the bird watchers home

Build a bird hide in a nearby tree

Observe the humans from my hide

Note how they sit around most of the time

Watching mindless daytime TV

Checking their phones every five minutes

Swapping bird photos on social media

Eating processed foods

Drinking beer from cans

Ordering stuff from Amazon

While neglecting their chicks

I will gather all my notes

Sort through all my photos

Write a human watching book

The Humans of Maryland and Delaware

It will be a best seller

I will retire on the enormous birdseed proceeds

Move to a bird retirement home

Spend hours tracking my birdseed portfolio

While worrying about humans becoming extinct

Some days seem destined to be dull

Some days seem destined to be dull, others are full of surprises and spectacular events.

Friday started out quite dull, it was over 90F at 9am and super humid.

I spent most of the day on a routine doctor visit and running errands.

Nothing exciting on the agenda for this dull day.

I came home to tidy up the garden, at the end of the afternoon I saw that the sky was darkening to the West

Maybe we will have rain I thought, a welcome interruption to this dull oppressive heat.

I was putting stuff away from gardening when I saw an alert message on my phone.

Within minutes the sky turned an evil black and big raindrops dotted the driveway, not soaking rain but an aperitif.

The main course soon followed, a torrent of rain, delivered in winds of frightening intensity.

The trees were rocking, garden furniture was skidding about and anything light outside took off in the heavy gusts,

The bay erupted as heavy squalls dashed over the surface.

Hail appeared with a crashing sound on the windows and it was intense for at least 5 minutes. The hail was bouncing off the deck outside.

The ground turned white, rivers of rain flowed down the street.

Lightening flashes accompanied by deafening thunder told us the storm was directly overhead.

Our emotions were mixed, excited by the display but somewhat anxious for the potential damage from this immensely powerful reminder of nature’s strength.

After 30 minutes or so the rain and hail suddenly stopped.

The sun emerged from the parting clouds and the crazy wild wind thankfully subsided .

Nature declared it was time for dessert.

A huge rainbow suddenly appeared over the bay, we could almost touch the end of it from our back yard

The temperature had dropped 20 degrees causing the wet road surface to evaporate in clouds of moisture like a London Fog.

Fortunately we had no damage from the storm and we prepared dinner dinner in awe of what we had just witnessed.

Later we settled down to watch the bay as the clouds lit up in breathtaking colors at sunset.

The previously raging bay was calm now, reflecting the bright orange light from the clouds.

Perhaps the spectacular sunset display was nature’s way of saying sorry for the storm, please forgive me and accept this gift.

Another surprise gift followed at 4 am, Jupiter shining bright in a sky full of stars, Mars and Venus sitting proudly to her left.

Nature gave another gift at sunrise on Saturday with a bright orange ball rising up from the ocean.

The artwork in our home lit up into a flaming inferno.

Of course we forgave nature for unleashing that storm upon us and we graciously accepted all her beautiful gifts.

There shall be no more dull days for us because every day is a wondrous gift in life.

Lollipop laughter

Mother

Child

Walking

Shopping

Window

Candy

Child

Excited

Pleading

Purchase

Lollipop

Mother

Succumbs

Lollipop

Given

Smiles

Slurp

Lick

Suck

Sticky

Mess

Loose

Grip

Lollipop

Dropped

Floor

Dirty

Child

Cries

Uturn

More

Cries

Buy

Replacement

Child

Calmed

Vice

Grip

Slurp

Lick

Suck

No

Dropping

Slurp

Lick

Suck

Dribble

Sticky

Fingers

SlurP

Lick

Suck

Lollipop

Finished

Child

Excited

Sugar

High

Running

Around

Jumping

Laughing

Sticky

Fingers

Leaving

Marks

Calling

Card

Sticky

Mess

Everywhere

Mother

Wiping

Vowing

Never

Again

Child

Overexcited

Mother

Fatigued

Lollipop

Laughter