Thursday, March 21, 2019

maybe nowhere


the shortest distance
may have been a challenge
but was always the preferred
and expected path

cutting yards, hopping
fences, dodging traffic
stealth and timing
were imperative

movements adjusted to
ensure avoidance of hawk-eyed,
cranky, blue-haired neighbors
or the occasional police cruiser

to race or meander
going wherever, whenever
or maybe
nowhere at all

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Y're Out!

Porter was a mean somabitch. Old-timers said he made Cobb look like a choirboy. Put two in the hospital, one ‘bout died. Suspensions, Anger Management, 12 Steps, maybe he got religion. Commissioner said, “Last chance!”

Vegas had a line on how long he’d survive. Late August, he’s flirting with 400. It’s baseball, the world of redemption and miracles.

Blazing, sweaty afternoon. He’s up in the eighth, one for three. Swings early at first and low at the next. Ump calls third strike and is ravaged by a flailing bat. Benches freeze. Cops wrestle Porter off the field…for the last time.


extra info:
My micro-fiction (short, short story) placed 3rd in the Cascadia Weekly 2019 contest (March 6, 2019 edition). For details and more stories follow this link: Cascadia Weekly Fiction 101




Saturday, March 2, 2019

Worry No More


I’m turning 65 in a few, too short days.
Another of those seeming inevitable happenings,
a lesson in the passing of time,
the stages of life,
and, oh yes,
a reminder of my begrudging lack of control.

I stand at the intersection of, “I don’t want to die”
and the certainty that, “I don’t want to live forever.”
You know, trying to choose between my fears of pain
or that dwindling “quality of life” business.

One thing I ask. And I hope it’s not too much.
If there is any possibility,
please, don’t let death have its way
while in the midst of this political sewer.
I mean I’ve got kids and grandkids.
And I’d like to think I could have the peace
of leaving them in a better place,
with a whisper of hope,
when I say that last goodbye
and cross over to that place
where I hope to worry no more.

February 2019

Read at SpeakEasy 23 - March 2, 2019