Things I Taught Today (2-12-19)

Fractions,
Kindness,
Responsibility,
The word is "your,"
Listening,
How to find evidence in text,
Following directions,
Teamwork,
Using evidence from a text when writing,
Failure happens,
Learn from failure,
Honesty,
The word is "their,"
Integrity,
How to add details from a text to an essay,
Independence,
Dedication,
Don't write in the margins,
Geology,
Patience,
Self-respect,
Um, evidence?

Determination,
The word is "there,"
Punctuation,
No one is perfect,
Especially me,
Margins,
Punctuation.

Perseverance,
Humility,
Parts of speech,
Confidence,
The word is "you're,"
Accountability,
Punctuation?

Punctuation!

Humor,
Public speaking,
History,
Time mangement,
Did I mention not writing in the margins?

Acceptance,
Empathy,
Manners,
Sportsmanship,
Commas not comas,
The word is "they're."

Margins, man, margins...

You know, your typical socialist agenda.

2-12-19

Limericks These Days (2-1-19)

There was a young lad whose poems were bawdy,
People complained that they were too tawdry,
So sad to hear,
You don't know Ed Lear,
And I'm sorry that this one's not naughty!

2-1-19

Be My Velveeta (1-30-19)

Roses and violets and undying love,
All songs where an angel is sent from above.
And while we're at it,
Those earnestly spoken,
The songs where the singer never seems to be joking.
He stops singing and speaks,
Right straight from the heart,
Like, "Girl you know it's true,"
Ew!
Don't even start.

Shakespearean pronouncements,
And Rom-Com junk,
Every movie in which,
Gosling's a sensitive hunk.
All the dribble and drabble,
And saccharine prattle,
Apologies, Benatar,
But love is not a field of battle!
It's beautiful,
It's human,
But explain to me, please.
Why do we insist on love stories dripping with cheese?

1-30-19

Dusty Form (1-22-19)

'Tis the realm of wordy, nerdy,
Hirsute English professors,
Infatuated with Yeats and Poe and Plath.
Seuss, as well, if you ask!

Prone to pithy pronouncements and,
Obscure references,
Entirely and arrogantly,
Moribund.

So, why bother?
Uninhibited thoughts and images,
Continually crawling from my brain,
Keeping apace and cleansing my,
Soul.

1-22-19

Misty Morning Hop (1-25-19)

A song plays in my head while I run,
Up before the sun,
Stuck on a loop from the soup of my mind.

On a morning like this,
With the mist,
In the fog,
It has the perfect cadence and time.

But strange thoughts make me laugh,
And the miles pass,
While the lyrics and the scene create chaos.

Zombies sing Zeppelin,
as they lurch in the park,
All alone in the dark,
I can't help if my imagination is boss.

1-25-19

Never Be a Zen Master

High aspirations,
Looking for zen,
But this human condition,
Has me wondering when.

With a smile I weather the storm,
I want to bend like a reed,
That could be the norm,
If only my soul were freed!

I try to walk the path,
That leads to calm resolve,
It's a funny kind of math,
That will help me to evolve.

It takes constant effort,
But I fail all the time,
And in that there is a comfort,
To make mistakes is no crime.

6-6-19

Un-Grateful

I feel I must confess,
Blasphemous though it may be,
(Especially in Northern California),
But it's hopeless,
I tried.

Really.

I'm convinced that I am,
In truth,
Too sun-drenched,
Too dehydrated and desert blown,
Too desiccated to be Dead-icated.

Just not enough mellow in this fellow.

Maybe I was infected at birth,
Imbued with the callow pop dust of SoCal,
The sugary sprinkles of glittering lights,
And palm trees.

Too many peaceful easy feelings,
Not enough fog,
Or bluegrass,
Or acid,
Or revolution.

Too much Topanga Canyon,
Not enough Haight-Ashbury.

The Grateful Dead are lost on me.

Give me bouquets of begonias,
And magnolias,
Let me make ripples in still waters,
These things make sense.
Trouble ahead and behind,
I understand.
I see the allure,
But the secret in the music,
I don't hear it,
Not like Jerry's Kids did.

And do.

The Dead,
Indeed,
Keep on truckin'.
They will get by,
But alas,

I do not have a tie-dyed soul.

6-4-19