Going for Broke

Aug. 28, '13

                             Going for Broke

      I always wanted a picket-fence happiness -
      Fluttering white curtains gladly letting in the days -
      Yellow daisies on the sill catching the breeze -
      Neighbors stopping with their 'hi' to express.
      Oh pleasant streets with no outcry night or day -
      You are elusive  -
       I'd have to search in small-town U.S.A. -
       Or live in a suburb gated and exclusive.
       So if the King grants whatever I ask, I'll go for broke!
       Bring on, O King, the vine and fig tree bona fide good -
       In one stroke, the whole world would be
       A picket-fence neighborhood!
       In such event, I might go into real estate soon -
       Supply and demand would give the housing market
                                                a spectacular boom.

Breaking Free

      Aug. 14, '13

                                   Breaking Free

      We're told and I believe it:
      The world every second is being created anew -
      On the atomic level, this is shown to be true -
      But not till 'end of days' will we see it.
      I try to imagine making coffee in the morning -
      (Likely to appear mundane) -
      With cup and spoon constantly dawning -
      Old habits of seeing block and constrain.
      It's shown moving only a milimeter
      Makes a sea-change in the mind as in space -
      I saw things from a fresh new interior,
     When I had my coffee in a different place.
     Who knows! I may break free from the straits of the sonnet,
     Though it's no secret I'm exceedingly fond of it.

The Reckless Choice

     July 31, '13


                                 The Reckless Choice

                                           "I shall set forth for somewhere.
                                             I shall make the reckless choice..."
                                                                          Frost

                  I saw a woman 'of a certain age', as they say,
                  Riding a bike in  the center of town, -
                  I said to myself - 'write that down' -
                  I also will make the reckless choice some day.
                  I'll travel in style to Tel Aviv -
                  And walk for miles by the Mediterranean -
                  I'll dance in a show with joie de vivre -
                  Or take a class in the artifacts of Mesopotania.
                  I'll spend a fabulous summer in Atlantic City,
                  Where I'll walk the boardwalk and take in the ocean,
                   I may try a casino on a wild notion -
                   Or get my photo taken on the beach "sitting pretty".
                   Whatever I don't do, I'll write in a sonnet -
                   Which is almost as good as acting upon it.

Rap Song of the Sixties

July 31, '13


                             Rap Song of the Sixties


        Ain't no way I'm gonna stay on this no-exit street -
        Move back people  -  I say move back!
        I'm comin' through on a march and high-stride feet -
        I'm takin' a radical new tack.
        People say:  "Sink on down - make no fuss!" -
        I'm raisin' a storm, man, -  I'm gonna act!
        No more sittin' in the back of the bus -
        I'm takin' a right and left new tack!
        Gonna get me some education -
        I'm talkin' 'I-V' leagues - Harvard and Yale -
        Gonna bring more justice to this fair nation -
        Ain't no way - no way! - I'm gonna fail.
        This here is my country too - I also got stakes -
        Don't be surprised if one day I get to be
                                      President of the United States.