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PLAIN CLOTHES©

STEEPLECHASE RERUN

the first chandelier that comes along

might twinkle over cardboard boxes on the street

over people who need a fleece

three jobs, a college degree, another day older

and deeper in debt

bring them on between the jobless report

and the weather

tweet and twitter, say what you please

this is the free world

enlightenment is free

the weather, however, is getting crazy

tweet and twitter, change your world

or at least entertain friends

god is dead but still loves you

or not, but either way

it could be fatal, depending

on your enemies

foul weather as the climate changes

media airways threaten minds

Spare the Air!

trying just to breathe

acidic ocean, hot

oysters and coral reefs

melting ice caps won't save them

or the 1% elite —

drumming fingers on something shiny

or soft, depending

how dare say we are One!

take the dare, I say

clear the mind and breathe

just breathe

you are the app for that

when the air clears you will see forever

though no one will last that long

perspective and prospects will change

for the perpetuation of suffering

as it becomes insufferable

right where you are is a climate of opinion

which affects climate change

nothing illegal, immoral or unethical

about becoming One

PASSAGES

as the spirit moves, so does the jogger

as air moves, so do birds

feathers or running pants

seeing it whole

one cannot pick and choose

FIVE RAINY DAYS

storms on the way

last time we saw this much rain

was two years ago

get the rain spouts cleared

leaves raked up

lawns mowed

the daily news: Black Friday is news?

bad as ever

the drought isn't be over

the knot in my gut —gone

fixing the world still there

but if no one agrees —so be it

of course I'd like people to read this stuff

but one catch — Google for what?

it's raining, it's pouring

the old man is snoring

maybe in the morning . . .

EVERYTHING POSSIBLE

part the veil of words

speak to a goat or a bird

there is no mystery

listen when nothing is said

it is eloquent

and symbols

even here

are brushed aside

DAYS OF HAZE AND ROSES

most of the universe

is what telescopes can't see

is dark matter evil?

what about the depths of a rose

or your loved one's eyes

the pit bull that lives next door

an enemy known for torture

when shopping for potato chips

what about chocolate bars

or that dark skinned person at check out

freedom is not as easy as abracadabra

I used to favor dark, semi-sweet chocolate

based on experience

cosmology was a persistent topic

but not for any tangible reason

then M&Ms, even the peanut butter ones, were good

black holes were not evil

the brutal observation:

some choices are called self-evident

others are not my call

even the ones proudly called reasonable

are subject to revision when more is known

these ruminations might end in a grand conclusion

as deliberate as the final chord

in a grand symphony

immovably logical

freedom is not easy

another cup of Sleepy Time Tea

I used to wonder what would happen if I smoked it

Heavenly Blue morning glory seeds worked

and they didn't cost very much

dope worked when illegal, and it would save the world

now it's legal and the world's the same

now toll house cookies are just as good

as when they came baked with dope

dope, cosmology, seeds, good and evil

all gone

no abracadabra and freedom is easy

take it and run . . .

REPOSE

does a flower recall its seed?

your original face before you were born

calls no place home

can be found anywhere

does not smile or frown

shadow birds

winging blue skies

right through falling leaves