Retail store wasteland
Close layoff sell online
Change or rot on vine
Tag: poems
254
When will phone ring?
Feeding goldfish to keep busy
Rain falls no one calls
253
My car broke down today
Received
A high interest
Payday loan
No catching the bus
The mechanic
Will get paid
I work
For a dollar more
Than minimum wage
Scared
Lose sleep
About becoming homeless
Only a couple lost paychecks away
Eat no name can or box dinners everyday
I’m told
To put money aside
For my old age
Not in prison
But
Trapped
In a cage
252
Wife says
Men
Have too much pride
Husband says
Men’s pride
Saved women
During caveman times
251
Strong wind heavy rain
Ocean waves erode past
Pain gone now have clear path
250
Hot sand burns my feet
Eating cold watermelon
Watching seagulls fly
249
Leaky shower
Drip drip drip please fix me
Old home always needs some love
248
A picturesque night
Choppy sea who will help me?
Keep swimming forward
242
Wet chilly morning
Crawling out of warm bed
Chickens need to be fed
240
Shattered eye glasses
Nothing makes sense anymore
Ice thawing
Below my feet
Trying to keep alive heartbeat
You offer me a weathered map
We both know
It is a trap
Speak louder
I’m having trouble hearing
You say I should follow society’s rules
What for?
All I find is locked doors
239
Step inside my boots
They are wet cold will feel loose
Now beg for some coins
237
Chiseled out abscessed tooth
Tossed into rusty can
Lifetime of lost dreams
236
You now have the fame
Nothing will slow down your train
Why so unhappy?
234
May I offer you this extra-large heavy duty trash bag?
You toss away friends like old rags
No thank you needed
Everyone knows you are conceited
232
Snip Snip
Snip Snip Snip
The barber
His shop
Located on a luxury avenue
Some wealthy patrons
Would discuss a stock or two
No ordinary conversation mind you
Just juicy
Trading knowledge
He was privy too
Blue Chips
Small Caps
Bull Markets
Bear Markets
Decades gone by
Never married
Diligently
Investing every extra cent
Watching his portfolio
Climb up to the sky
One day
The barber died
Accumulating a sizable estate
No family
No close friends
No one knew
No one to give the money too
Snip Snip
Snip Snip Snip
231
Faceless nameless ghosts
Frantically stock shelves all night
Kowtow to machine
229
Craps was the game he played
Once a month
Took a round trip flight
Lauderdale to Nassau
Carried his cash in an old bag
Stood most of the night
At the table
Sometimes won
Sometimes lost
His demeanor
Always stable
Just a way to unwind
The game
Cleared his mind
227
Of course I’m employed
Work one full time two part time
Middle Class has died
225
Sweet corn on the cob
Boiled
Topped with butter and salt
Ice cold lemonade
Sitting under ficus tree
Lazy day
In the shade
224
Morning drizzle
Listening to Shakuhachi
Pruning bonsai trees
223
Barefoot simple dress
The Brasileira plays guitar
On front porch swing
222
Watching dry waterfall
No running water just rocks
Bird rests his mind
221
Snowshoes beef jerky
Don’t need lower 48
Free will solitude
220
Starting motorbike
Morning ride along A1A
Sea air soothes me
219
Winter cold snap
Honeybell oranges soon ripe
Gastronomic delight
Note to readers: Poem refers to Florida winter gardening. Just a bit of cold gives citrus a kick of extra sweetness.
218
Tropical storm gone
Angry Atlantic Ocean
Snatching my surfboard
213
Bought old pickup truck
Hitch up house on wheels
Let’s see America
211
He was a flash in the pan
Never took a break
Mind turned to mush
Like a milkshake
Always full speed
Crunch
Crunch
Buzz saw
Cut down the trees
Now
Sits every day on his worn chair
Wondering
How did it all disappear?
209
Late night
Walking cobbled streets of Prague
Had one too many pilsners
Met a street performer
On the corner
Done for the night playing his violin
After an hour of shooting the breeze
I asked my new friend
Why is it that you are so at ease?
He replied:
“I play for spare change
I’m the only one who needs to be pleased
Some people call me lazy and completely crazy
But
Too much ambition would no longer be fun being a musician
I accept who I am
No need to try to be on top of the highest mountain”
207
Nippy morning
Fly fishing for rainbow trout
River moving slowly
204
Garden vegetables
Mixed with herbs in slow cooker
Love is in the home
203
Grabs everything she can
Does not need a permanent man
Prowls clubs along the beach
Fuck
Shower
Brush teeth
Walks out the door
While her lover sleeps
Next Weekend
Repeat
198
Heliconia
Queen of tropical garden
Hummingbird’s best friend
189
Some place
Central America
Woke up soaking wet
All through night
He sweat
Looking at mosquito net
Got up
Walked down to the sea
Rendezvous
With the señora
She asked
“Is everything ready?”
Symbiotic relationship
Based on greed
Both tangled together
In the weeds
He is her token gringo
Because he always succeeds
Complicated
Dangerous
Game
Living under an assumed name
Continues playing
Only himself to blame
100
Humble on my knees
Casually pulling weeds
My garden comforts me
99
Sitting peacefully
Back straight facing the blank wall
My blood pressure falls
70
Peaceful morning swim
In Atlantic Ocean
Will not wash away sins
69
Parlez-vous français?
She looks fantastique
Wearing her silk lingerie
67
Dusting eight track tapes
Resurrects memories of
Carefree high school dates
The Hermit Poet's Ramblings 