All writing

I met a man who tried to have it all.
It was hard work but he did want to try
A man of rock, he was, to find his role
he thought he must do more than just get by.
Are men like these a dime to ten or twelve?
I do not know, have not seen one like him.
I'm not like that, I tell you, my own self
puts too much care in looks and how they seem.
Did he get what he wished for in the end?
We do not know, as he is not done yet.
The rules were bent, the means fought foe and friend,
and at that end what is it that you get?
The words must match the deeds, that much is done
Hard to know, though, if he can be the one

Ah, Ozymandias, in college;
I think it was in English class,
still in pursuit of carnal knowledge,
struck up a convo with a lass.
I wasn't sure about my chances;
my weak attempts, hardly advances,
did not at first amount to much.
But lyrics, rock, she liked as such.
I first impressed her with Tom Sawyer,
Rush, gilded cage, a Shakespeare riff,
and my performance, a bit stiff,
at least did not seem to annoy her,
and though I laid it on too thick,
Ozy and Ozzy did the trick

Author notes: Pushkin narrative sonnet

she is, indeed, the crown of thorns
her petals, crimson blood
her stem -- barbed wire, reminds and warns:
best leave her in the mud
it's not for you, this velvet crown
you can but taste her scent
try -- brush your cheek against her gown
she murmurs her assent

fingers raw from salt and water
go again if you are able
skinned alive for inner beauty
oysters laid out on the table

Ask. Always.
Be Better.
Cure.  Care.
Do Deliver.
Enjoy Effort.
Forgive. Forget.
Give. Grieve.
Hear. Hug.
Idolize Ideas
Join Joy.
Kindle Kindness
Love Life.
Mom Matters.
Need Not.
Open Other
Pause.  Play.
Quote. Quorum.
Run. Read.
Stop.  Stare.
Tip Toe.
Underpromise. Understand.
Veni. Vidi. VOTE!
Wonder.  Wander.
XO XO
You're Young
Zoom.  Zen.

whatever they say
the trident is not. is not!
a phallic symbol.

Sunsets, drowning in the water,
gentle breezes on the skin.
How I envy you, my daughter,
your book's ready to begin.
Stay awhile beneath my sky.
I'll stop time. Don't say goodbye.

Her glass reflects a Botox skin
His, one too many gins
Their story, where did it begin?
He looks at her, and grins.
"Remember!" they exclaim. Then, "Jinx!"
Then tell the waiter: "Stronger drinks!"

a bird, a plane! yeah, she's all that!
that little girl knows what she's got
the crayons are her castle's keys
with them she'll go just where she please

I named my donkey Alighieri
not cause the poet was a jackass
I meant no disrespect or fracas
I named the other one just Xote

And here of course is donkey Shane
the handsome one, he's a bit shy
and here's the mule, he does get by
I think he goes by just Abstain

Snowfall covers the canyon,
tents bend under its weight.
Your indebted companion
drowned in powder, and late.
Memories flood and backflow,
laying back on my bed.
I am flying to Moscow
to return my late debt.

Haven't heard from you lately.
I've stopped counting the days,
but I wait here, irately.
Are you there? Distance weighs.
Take the Moscow bus, can it,
banal paint, window view,
ride across the whole planet
from "I hurt" to "Love You".

Laying claim to your name
and to conjugal rights,
others came, all the same,
words and names in their sites.
As I've called for the hunt,
lost my trail among barks,
fog above the old bog,
I've mistaken for parks.

Building houses, for others,
never ever for me.
Ruled the world of our brothers
never happy or free.
All I've left from those days
I have yet to unpack.
Books and letters part ways.
There is no going back.

Pilots sleeping on couches,
airport closing its gate.
Your indebted, and grouchy,
drowned in powder, and late.
Why do messages travel
looking back as they run?
Meanwhile, life does unravel
as though it had begun.

In my half of the world, promoted
Comets show off their tails, their birthright
In my half of the century, bloated
my eyes see but one half the sunlight

In my half the winds blow, unruly
and the plague riddled feasts continue
but the searchlight does blind, and duly
wipes all mention of death and sinew

And as madness retreats within us
sadness permeates, moves right through us
We have chosen our fates, it's in us
Pushing back on this plague, our shoulders

We will block this infecting slurry
Stand across from the nightmare, our staff
blocks it, it shall not pass, don't worry
We will not let it go to your half.

Author notes: Над моей половиной мира Распускают хвосты кометы. На моей половине века — Мне в глаза — половина света. На моей половине — ветер, И чумные пиры без меры. Но прожектор по лицам светит И стирает касанье смерти. И отходит от нас безумье, И проходят сквозь нас печали, И стоим посредине судеб, Упираясь в чуму плечами. Мы задержим её собою, Мы шагнём поперёк кошмара. Дальше нас не пойдёт — не бойтесь На другой половине шара!