Three Epigrams on Silence

Silence says what can’t be said:

Speak a word and then it’s dead.

*

Blessed the man with nothing to say;

Woe to him who chatters all day.

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*

Three Rules For Everything

1. Slow down;
2. do it again;
3. don't give up.

Dear God,
prod here.

If you don't know what to do,
Bite only what you can chew.

embrace
his grace

practice whittles wood
performance whets iron

Tourette's Triolet

I must apologize again.
There's really no controlling it.
While some are shocked, others just grin.
Still, I'll apologize again.
It can't be willed, so it's no sin.
fucking-asshole-cocksucker-shit
I must apologize again.
There's really no controlling it.

Some Music

Some music is coffee
Don't talk to me before I have it

Some music is wine
But pair it properly

Some music is beer
I want it straight off the tap

Some music is cola
Effervescent adolescence

Some music is milk
I feel it in my bones

Some music is scotch
An acquired taste

Some music is iced tea
Could I get a refill?

Some music is bottled water
A prepackaged scam

Some music is bourbon
Smooth as a summer breeze

Music is water
Most of my life is covered with it

UP A CRITIQUE

Critics critiquing
Critics' critiques.

RECITE

Quiet reading can skip over
Things that the tongue would trip over.

ON TURNING ANOTHER YEAR OLDER

Birthdays must come
And they must go,
Which one's the existential
Oh, no?!

ECCL 4:6

One open hand in silence
Covers two fists in violence.

READER RESPONSE

Those epic works are such a scam.
Read one? I couldn’t give a damn.
I think I’ll stick to the epigram.

FOUR SEASONS

In spring love is the call.
Summer echoes lust.
Then fall is my fall.
And winter is my dust.

FIT WIT

Don’t sit.
Get fit.

If not,
You’ll rot.

LIKE JACOB

Like Jacob jostling in the night
I tumbled, trembling in my mind;
Struggled, attempting to unwind
Proud, dour doubts dissolving in the light
Found in the warm relief of day.
Daylight's delights felt far away.

But then I sensed a subtle shift:
No longer a fearful muddled man,
But a diviner of the holy plan.
This passed by, revealing a rift --
A rush of cool uncertainty
Unhinged my hallowed victory.
I woke at daylight, rubbed my head,
And limped out of my tossled bed.

The early bird may get the worm,
But the night owl dines on rabbit.

SUBURBAN PLOT

Soccer moms, shopping malls,
Sunday's best for God;
Please, don't let them bury me
In this suburban sod.

KING DAVID

King David listened to the Lord
And heard an unheard melody.
He asked him for the hidden chord.
King David listened to the Lord.
The major third was his reward.
Be still and hear the harmony.
King David listened to the Lord
And played a holy melody.

THE ART OF LIVING
after Martial

Though life is rarely forgiving
Here’s my list for the art of living:
My numbers hit the lottery;
Huge house with lots of scenery;
Lawyers unbilled in a dispute;
Never the need to wear a suit;
A stomach smoother than a table;
A mind much more diverse than cable;
True friends, straight talk, and home-cooked food;
Enough good wine to ease my mood;
A comfy bed warmed by a wife
Who’ll keep my interest all my life;
Untroubled sleep throughout the night;
No snooze alarms; up at dawn’s light;
No courting death as a close friend,
But ready for my final end
And asleep in bed at my end.