Nature, Unleashed

Seldom is it that we
pause to consider just how
fortunate we are
to live with the liberty
to be what we will
to access clean air
water, medical treatment,
an abundance of foods
and climate-defying shelter
as though these are
all benefits of existence
reflecting our singular
value as human beings.
Until time and the
capriciously unnerving
tide of Nature invoke
eruptions on the Earth's crust,
its cooking core interior,
its vast and restless oceans
to diminish our hubristic
conceit culminating
in the anguish
of unfathomable suffering.

Insomniac's Lament

It is simple enough to
convince one's bone-weary
body to rest; the conundrum
is how to persuade the mind,
feverish with impressions,
ideas and resolutions to
join the body in life-sustaining
rest. The frequent and
all so implacable resistance
as mind meets resolve
yet refuses to acknowledge
weariness baffles and
discourages the
most resolute of
mind-weary survivors.

Take Heart

Photo: John Moore/Getty Images)

All will be well, after all
for this particular crisis
is well in hand. NATO has agreed
to be thrust into oversight position
by anxious coalition partners
who cannot bear the prospect
of civilian slaughter by their
very own vengeful government
and who cannot bear either
the monumental burden
inherent in yet again assuming
control and responsibility. So the
U.S. clamours for a dictator's
ouster, ignoring the dire
presence of far more destructive,
threatening tyrants and the UN
authorizes this option but not that,
while the Arab states wax hot
then cold, and NATO pledges
its neutrality to satisfy
Turkey, giving advantage
neither to government troops
nor to the al-Qaeda-backed rebels
in a spirit of fairness, for which
Western democracies are well known
posing that aeons-old dilemma of
which is the lesser of many evils?

The Pumping Heart

The amazing calibration
sensitivity of that
small electronic device
whose cuff embraces
my arm like an ardent
lover whose passion
to possess is so
palpably a fusion of
medical science and
technology of exquisite
dimension. But yet,
the child remarks
how absurd it is,
that tightly possessive
grip to establish
the psychological equanimity
of one given to emotions
ruling the pumping heart.

Steady On Our Pins

Good thing we old codgers
have invested in sturdy limbs
and reliable lung capacity,
honed over dedicated years of
exploring nature's geology and
seasons through mountain climbing,
exhilarating hikes, canoeing and
portaging lakes and rivers
and their connecting byways.

Rendering us fearlessly fit
to risk life and limb. For
this is an unusual Spring,
in the depths of cranky Winter still,
afflicted with season-extreme
cold and bitterly flagellating winds,
where snow is loathe to go
and the melt a coldly brilliant sun
negotiates turns rigidly to
all-encompassing ice ways,
the length and breadth
we have never before seen.

So we teeter and twist,
seek footing advantage on the
glass-slick surface resistant even
to our cleat-shod boots.
Invigorating, the lengthy
ramble, exciting our endurance,
relieving, our success in
adroitly evading disaster.

Fame, Fortune Wealth

Is it not truly amazing
to note the aplomb
and insecurity both
evinced by those in the
teen years as they
survey their options,
shed the nascent personas;
layering and adapting
with increasing awareness
and serendipitous
understanding of their
place in society and the
world at large
finally emerging from
the still unformed state
to become insouciantly
self-assured, ready
to tilt at all those
windmills, behind
whose whirling blades
beckon fame,
fortune and wealth.

Self-Imposed Retreat

It is still there,
the febrile, responsive
femininity deep within
her psyche that responded
like a fresh and lovely
flower bud languorously
opening its dew-kissed petals
to the rising sun. There,
but wounded, subdued
under a protective cloak
shielding her from the
manner of rashly trusting
response that has led her
toward use, abuse and
puzzled abandonment.
Now, wary, uninviting,
she lives in
self-imposed retreat.