Early morning bathe
In cool holy Ganges River
Brings contentment
160
Chop chop chop and slice
Always taking is not nice
Sneaky like scared mice
159
Eight years
In the can
No longer same man
Paroled
Desperately
Trying to secure foothold
Mops 1000’s of square feet every night
Grinding
On decaying bones
Inside his mind
Alone
Out of everyone’s sight
158
Spring blooming frenzy
Bromeliad flower spikes
Stand at attention
157
Hot weather is here
Daily afternoon rainstorms
Bamboo on steroids
156
Warm mid-morning
Iguana getting suntan
On backyard stepping-stone
155
The bricklayer
Hunched over
Under hot Florida sun
Working twelve hour days
Moving ton after ton
Six years ago
Came from El Salvador
Across American Mexican border
Stashes every extra quarter
Like a hoarder
Dreams of going back to wife and two kids
Yet every day
Becomes older and older
154
Had a moment that day
Decided
To throw it all away
Purchased
One way ticket
Going
South of the border
Now
Live as a loner
Spending days
Fishing
Drinking ice cold Coronas
Belly full of polo, ensalada, rice, beans
And
An occasional Senorita Bonita
Dressed in tight fitting jeans
153
I never laugh at others misery
However
This time it is worthy
Smaller and smaller
The number of places for the corrupt to hide
Stashing the cash
In safe locations
Is like sticking a finger in a beehive
The barristers who wash the money
Do not have complete control anymore
Setting up shell companies is the game
No one knows in whose name
For decades the scheme worked
The data kept in nice little paper books
Today information online
Compromised security
Could put all involved
In a very bad bind
Maybe time to go back to old school
Buy Private Island
And
Bury currency, diamonds, gold coins
Under the mansion’s swimming pool
152
The trader
Always glued to his computer screens
Charts, data, news feeds
Today on top
Next day may bleed
Wears the best threads
Custom made Italian suits
Silk ties
Aim for luxury penthouse
That reaches towards the sky
Weekends hit casino
Roll some dice
A couple lines of blow
To maintain high
Ego becomes oversized
Contact dominatrix
Expert at making grown men cry
Deep down
Not the money
That nukes the veins
It is being in the game
151
Bite Bite Bite some more
Laser focus on one chore
Only so much time
Grab a shovel dig mine
Results ring like cathedral chimes
150
My favorite pastime
Surfing top of storm clouds
That floats through the sky
149
Heavy Thunderstorm
Raccoons having a party
Inside of house roof
148
Hacking sugarcane
Scorched fields farmhand feels pain
Only bossman gains
147
Tokyo room
Shared bathroom with thirty people
Saved Yen for sushi
146
Endless Raking
Leaves fall daily on rock garden
Hermit learns patience
145
They come they go
Do not succumb to undertow
Maintain steady flow
144
Courageous black bamboo
Shredded by hurricane
Storm gone new culms come
143
Simple Go stones
Placed tactically on wood board
Devour silence
142
You’re irritated
I know that you are
May I offer you a chocolate bar?
Yes
Life is unfair
However
There is no need to despair
Bad luck comes and goes
At least you have beautiful toes
You say I’m a clown
Who only plays around
Come over here
Take my hand
I’m going to set you free
and
Whisk us off to a secretive magical land
141
I just purchased a rusty 95 Town Car
Grab some clothes
We will drive far
Cheap rooms
Hot sex
Along the way
Miami to LA
Driving scenic highways
If the lowrider dies
We can call a tow truck
Sell it to the crusher for 400 bucks
Laugh all the way back home
On a greyhound bus
140
Sorry
I’m very confused
You say that all the shapeshifters escaped from the zoos
Nothing about this on the news
How do you know this to be true?
What
You are one of them too
139
Forty years ago
The decades just come and go
My father and me
Fishing in Florida Keys
Casting lines shooting the breeze
138
Take Me Please Take Me
Faraway where we can play
bamboo flutes all day
137
How does person gain depth?
Only one way my friend
Life Experience
136
Dust balls on the floor
Reminds her of dreams no more
Life now one big chore
135
Why keep chasing?
Believing you are gaining
Face it you’re fading
134
Washing dishes by hand
Scrub dry plate fork frying pan
Relaxation
133
Catching butterflies
Warm spring morning sunny sky
She began to cry
132
Freshly poured cement
We put down our handprints
Forever together
131
Pompous Plutocrats will eventually fade away
Jackals unable to find prey
Corrupt souls permanently decayed
Malnourished ghosts chained in closets
Condemned forever to irrelevance
130
Do not hide anymore
Rip off bandage and show sore
Kneel in front of mirror
Naked nothing left to fear
Everyone gone who you held near
Go ahead release the demons no one can hear
129
Anyone can be your friend.
The question is what do they want and how much do they pretend?
When everything is fine
Friendship is like a greased wheel that runs smooth
All is jake until the dam breaks
Then who sticks
and
Who sneaks out the back gate?
128
Hot night in Bahia
It was obvious she was hurt like me
Well into our bottle of Argentinean wine
Ana moved forward in her chair
Pulled back her hair
Looked directly into my eyes
Started to cry
Without saying another word
She took my hand
Led me over to the beach sand
and
Made this man feel young again.
127
You say you’re Jet Set
Daddy took bribes got fat
Moved clan from hellhole
Princess parties Miami
Shanghai, London, Monte Carlo
126
Winter migration
Birds fly south for vacation
Paddling canoe
In Florida Everglades
Watching colors on display
125
Around 6am
Tsukiji fish market
Sushi Sashimi breakfast
Washed down with Sapporo Draft
Chilling with fishmongers
This Gaijin had a blast
124
Crumbs on table
Long ago became stale
Drinking cold coffee
Flip a coin to see who will leave
You take take when I just please
123
When I’m feeling blue
I eat a lot of chocolate
Then feel brand new
The Hermit Poet's Ramblings 