Jupiter's Bright Red Spot

A storm so large and violent
That nothing is left in its wake.
Larger than the state of Texas—
It's been going since before the US was a country.
Some suggested it was slowing
Or weakening but nay,
They were wrong.
It defines the planet Jupiter
With a bright red spot.

A Paradox of Fear, A Sonnet

If there’s one thing I fear about this life
It’s growing old and having no one close.
No friends to count among thee and no wife —
No one with which to share the highs and lows.

The fear, it drives me daily to engage
In doing simply nothing to amend
These issues that fill me with fear and rage.
Though one fear drives me more than I intend.

That fear that keeps my soul from being shared
Is borne from giving someone else the key
And having hopes of ever after snared
Then dashed upon the rocks by Solemn’s Sea.

Therefore, I am a paradox of fear.
Des’prate but afraid to hold one near.

In My Country

In my country:
Almost 2,000 more people died today.
(That’s ⅔ the total death toll of 9/11.)
The president lied today.

Which just means it is a day that ends in ‘y’.

He’s becoming ever more dangerous.
He shut down all immigration into the country today.
As if
People were clamoring to get in.
Still, many will be affected by this rash decision.

The governor announced he would reopen the state today.
There were over 300 new cases of the disease in this state today.
The cases haven’t even peaked yet.
The deaths haven’t even peaked yet.
Elections have life or death consequences
I have learned.

No one knows what normal is any more.
Isolation is our new normal.
People are pining for the old normal—
Unaware that it is gone forever
Never to return.

We will get through this and it will require the one thing
That is all we seem to have in plenty:
Time.

A King Without a Clue

Upon a lifeless chair, I sit.
Upon my head, a lifeless crown.
With no intentions or a clue
I'm told to rule this realm.
This is not what I signed up for.
This is all too much.
They come to me and beg for things
Like food and cash and stuff.
But I'm not able — capable of
Delivering what they need.
I asked for this unknowingly
For want of coin and greed.
I am just a figurehead —
A King without a clue.
My subjects ask for many things
I know not what to do.

A Love Sonnet

Love is such a simple thing to conjure.
Whenever I’m in need of it she rings.
Still, I’m left here waiting ever longer—
Forever for the one whose heart has strings.

But another has complete control of
The strings of one I love forevermore.
Someone tell me this is just pretend love,
And that I can forget my heart could soar.

If my heart should wander I’d be lost.
And lost in love is nowhere to be found.
I love while I pretend there's not a cost.
On this, my heart, I’ve tied up, sold, and bound

Love is such a complicated feeling
I am in love and wow, my heart is reeling

Love is Complicated

Love is such a simple thing to conjure
Whenever I’m in need of it she rings
Still, I’m left here waiting ever longer
For the love of one whose heart has strings

But another has complete control of
Heartstrings of the one I love so dearly
Someone tell me this just isn’t real love
That minds are clouded and not seeing clearly

If ever I should wander I’d be lost
And lost in love is nowhere to be found
I love without knowing the taxing cost
On this, my heart, I’ve tied up, sold, and bound

Love is such a complicated feeling
I am in love and wow, my heart is reeling

Lady in Nashville

it was quiet in the bay
on the blanket where we lay
the evening sun was slipping past
horizons yesterday.
but tomorrow comes a flood
they'll be looking for new blood
and if i can get to Nashville
there's a lady there to love.

Conscious

a bohemian beauty
like ne'er before seen
in love and penniless
but her conscious was clean
they said we were peerless
both me and my dream
we danced like the movies
a consciousness stream —

Mother and Child

They lay in the bed
Mother and child
Affixed at the nipple
A bond that seems temporary
But has as much permanence
As the skies will be blue
The grass will be green

Time of Dying

Is this my time of dying?
Am I, every day, dying a little more?
Is this my time of mourning?
Am I mourning for those I've yet to lose?
I can't decide what to feel.
I just want someone to tell me.
I can't decide what emotion
Is driving me forward through days without names.

Covid Fears

They tell us we must isolate ourselves
A deadly virus crawls its way through us
In each of us is where it wants to dwell
Staying home and staying safe’s a must
We’re all a little scared a little pained
We all have high-risk people who we love
The hope is that we can disrupt the chain
So give your hands a twenty-second scrub.