There once was an ambitious apple
that wanted to be apple Snapple.
It was turned down after pleading its case
but it still had a smile on its face
as it aged into a wise old dappled apple.

*The aging, sliced apple on the counter had
dark markings that showed up as a smiling face.

seas rise and winds blow.
our actions cross all borders.
so much for a wall.

The unbelievable, in-depth,
Perhaps, unconscious self-loathing
Results in constant projecting
On others, attacking the length and breadth

And depth of people’s character.
Those duly elected now cult followers
Swear and shout acting like identical chemical polymers.
All of it is something to make every American shudder.

But because of the House vote,
There is something, now, to give us all hope….

As a seventeen-year resident of the
great Commonwealth of Kentucky,
the man who was raised in Northern
Illinois, loved a Southern accent, the

silky smooth, rich and sugary conson-
ants, the sweet, elongated vowels.
Whenever he heard it, he tasted honey
swirling on his tongue. While the accent

was not native to the upper Midwestern-
er, he practiced and practiced and got
to be pretty good and easily could switch
back and forth from that slow, drowsy

drawl to his native, clipped, nasally
accent, but now, his having listened
to the impeachment proceedings ad
nauseam, those once melodious tones

have turned into high-pitched shrieks
of sputtering ignorance and lies uttered
from the mouths of mainly old, fat, white
angry, Southern males. The man remem-

bers as a child having eaten two boxes
of sugary, sweet Dromedary dates. He
had loved Dromedary dates. To this day,
he can’t stomach the thought of consum-

ing another Dromedary date; besides,
all that sugar is a fooler; it tastes good
but it is poisonous to the health and
wellbeing of the body.

Everyone thought him to be a deipnosophist*
Until he rose from the table with a clenched jaw and fist.
He then spewed some vitriol and made for the hall
To get his coat and his wife’s Christmas shawl.
The man, before slamming the front door,
wished the family a Merry Eradication Forevermore.
He then opened the door again
And sheepishly asked his wife if she were coming with him.
She stared back daggers from the dinner table
And shouted, “Maybe by next Christmas if I am willing and able!”

*A dictionary word for the day meaning someone good
at table talk.

Someone asked why the Republican
legislators stay with Trump in spite of
the fact that, in private, many say (or

did say, when it was more advantage-
ous to be honest) that the Occupant
is despicable and the answer is that

they love the sixty-million cult follow-
ers of the Occupant and look to them
to secure for posterity the future of our

democracy. Kidding. Those legislators,
sworn to protect the Constitution of
the United States, just want reelection

and a lot more money — a whole lot
more money. Actually, it is all about
the money for them (and some about

just about the cushiest job to be had)
not the economy in general, as previous-
ly stated by a Democratic strategist, “It’s

the economy, stupid.” Actually, it’s about
legislators’ pocketbooks, and I’m not go-
ing to insult you by calling you stupid

because I don’t think you are even though
the Republicans look down on the sixty-
million and think they are really stupid.

Daughter Rachel and I have sent the formatted manuscript
of our third book to be edited before publication. The book
is titled Comedy and Tragedy And What’s In Between and
features original watercolors by Rachel and photos of wife
Chris’ mixed-media sculptures to go along with my poetry.
The book has a January 1 date for publication and will be
available from Amazon Books and Barnes and Noble. Photos
and more info. later.

I suppose we could plead ignorance
but there is no pleading ignorance

of the law, especially the law of
nature. It has been there from the

beginning and out of our selfish-
ness we just plundered that law

for ill-gotten gain and it certainly
is ill-given because the earth is now

ill, the water is now ill, the sky is
now ill, the animal world is now ill

and we humans are ill unto death
as we continue to plunder the earth

ill-gottenly and ill-givenly and not
treat it at all heavenly.

I got  old
somewhere, somehow, suddenly
and if the story be told,
I thought forever I wasn’t very old
but I paid the penalty with taking risks almost deadly,
but very abruptly by Father-time, I was told,
“Be wise. Own up to your aches and pains
and don’t look sideways,
but face it straight on as a way to gain
a heads-up on life’s wiser ways.
It doesn’t mean to sit it out
and it doesn’t mean you have no clout,
but leave the big risks behind
so you don’t fall on yours. Period.”

She sat in the balcony watching
others singing her songs. She

was honored with a Kennedy
Center Honors award. As the

singers belted out “You’re No
Good,” and “I’ve Been Cheated,”

she teared and cheered and
he was taken back to a trip to

St. Thomas, Virgin Islands
and a visit to a bar late at

night in a section of town
the tourists were instructed

to avoid. Well, he made it to
the bar without incident, and

he sat watching the celebrity
love of his life — Linda — on

the big screen. He left the bar
made it back to the hotel and

when his wife asked where
he had been, he said, “Oh,

just shacking up with the
only other love of my life.”

His wife rolled over and
went back to sleep.