POEM: Cyborg

it's the bits of machinery
that play out the chicanery
the cogs that grind against the gears
are devils without whims or fears
only sins writ in corrupt code

traced out by the edges and nodes
systems of systems are networked
to play the game, then go berserk

and I'm a ghost in that bad code

DAILY PHOTO: Kashmiri Creek Bed

Taken on the Naranag-Sonamarg Trek in August of 2016

POEM: The Shepherd Dream [PoMo Day 23 – Eclogue]

I lie on the sloping hillside;
damp grass tickles my neck.
I hear the bleating beasts kibitz
as dogs keep them in check.

My eyes closed to the azure dome,
until eyelids grow dim.
I open wide to see the sky,
and note that it grows grim.


It's time to consult my sheepdog,
"Should we beat it, or stay?"

He barks to me, "Now can't you see,
the clouds 're dirty wool gray?"

"I see it clearly as my hand,
but what does that shade mean?"

"It means you're not a shepherd, and
you may need the latrine."

POEM: Infinite City

In my dream, the city stretched out
beyond what I could see.
Colorful concrete pillbox roofs
spread to infinity.

Oh, such an infinite city
must have some great allure.
Miracles, mysteries, mayhem,
and madness - that's for sure.

What secrets reside behind those
thick and dampening slabs?
What unknown fortunes have been lost,
that now are up for grabs?

How many souls are lost right now?
Panic starting to rise.
How many will be found in time
due to those spying eyes? 

There's some magic in this city,
I'm sure that there must be.
For everything can happen when
you stretch to infinity.

DAILY PHOTO: Vajdahunyad Castle from the City Park Lake Side

Taken in the summer of 2011 in Budapest

POEM: Leaky Roof [PoMo Day 22 – Senryū]

a leaky roof:
a man weighs patching it
against worrying

POEM: Into the Unknown

There's a block of gloomy darkness
beyond the gray yonder.
Since I can't see what's sitting there,
I can't help but ponder
whether there's solid ground upon
which a guy could wander.
Or would one fall into a void -
a life forthwith squandered.

Who can know if they don't ever go,
but leave it to the guessing?
No staked claims or stated aims, I find
the mystery distressing.
I listen to the stories, but
can't sup what they're expressing,
I know they've never been there either,
and it's creed they're professing.

So I'll start in that direction,
moving slowly as I go,
and if I should fall before the wall,
I'll bear that I can't know.

DAILY PHOTO: Two View of the Thu Bồn River

Taken in December of 2015 in Hoi An

POEM: Floating in the Nowhere [PoMo Day 21 – Narrative]

In the lunatic asylum,
it's quiet after the meds round.

R's mind was in the madhouse,
but his body was in a lifeboat,
or maybe vice versa,
he couldn't tell for sure.

He only knew that he was floating,
and, sometimes, it was too choppy,
and if life got too happy,
he felt that it was fake.

The open sea 's a harsh place,
but no worse than the where he carried
everywhere he ventured
inside his dense brainpan.

A fatal, futile option
was selected with a button
that may -- or may not -- have resided
within his very soul.

So thirsty and so lonely --
side-effects of something.
It might have been the meds,
or, perhaps, the salty air.

He chose to think he wasn't
bounded by a nutshell;
though his brand of crazy
was quiet before the storm. 

One day his kidneys gave out.
Who could've ever imagined
that such a thing could happen
in such a place as that.

POEM: Immune Intelligence [PoMo Day 20 – Rondeau Triolet]

Antibodies tell other from I.
A thing my brain can't always do.
To unbid guests they're never shy --
antibodies fight other not I.
If It seems odd, they'll freely pry,
to ID that old sneaky Flu.
Antibodies tell other from I -
a thing my brain can't always do.