Ghazal: rough sleepers

I learned to consider both the upstream and downstream work as part of the process to understand what was being done in front of me

During my commute to Boston, de-training at South Station, walking into the Financial District, I found the rough sleepers in front of me

What approach does one take to write a poem to send to Europa, is their water like the tap water in front of me?

A melody can transport me back in time to a place, a point, usually significant for what was happening in front of me

The sounds of the street, traffic, voices, a symphony of life, even if a hard life, always for the rough sleepers in front of me

What will Europa make of the poem which will come to it, or will it be treated like the rough sleepers in front of me 

Ghazal: trial balloon

The heat seemed to stop on what was the coldest 

day of the year, or ever, who's counting, 

And how do we figure out this human interface 

The thermostat has only 2 wires, White 1 and Red heat, to

Complete the circuit, yet the battery wasn't charging 

It should have be easy to make sense of the human interface

In the old days, you put logs on the fire and as the logs 

burned down, you added more, later it was coal, or gas, 

or oil, the flickering flame provided the human interface

The Nest has its own mind, located somewhere up in the cloud, 

the workers remote, diligent, but unreachable in this new 

hybrid world with a cryptic human interface 

The simpler device comes back from storage, gets wired,

Time set again, and programed for generating heat while

Suspicious minds work out the human interface 

Turns out the balloon has flown before, a few times, with

many not knowing of it; this time, it came down with a shot

We need to take back the human interface 

Ghazal: is it live?

Don't say AI, say what it really is; artificial intelligence. 

yes artificial for sure, not really sure if it is 

intelligent yet. Is it live or is it Memorex 

Yet another shiny object catches attention, draws 

the media talking heads briefly and all too superficially 

discuss the latest. Is it live or is it Memorex

The daily writing or reflection time can center oneself 

in comfort and solitude, can allow for putting things 

into perspective  Is it live or is it Memorex

AI is an algorithm based upon data, the data set could be

Good to use or worthless depending upon what the data 

is trying to anticipate Is it live or is it Memorex

One talented individual with a high vocal range

Can hit the proper note, the proper pitch

To shatter fragile glass and ask is it live or is it Memorex

Kenyan proverb, the sun will rise tomorrow, simple in what 

It says and just as important in what it doesn’t say; 

Will we see the sun rise tomorrow? Is it live or is it Memorex

Ghazal: Thoreau's chairs

Part 1

Rectangular tables are an efficient use 

for maximizing space within the room where 

there can only be so many chairs

Why is it that sitting alone is the hardest

Thing to do, solitude can be so beneficial 

when there is only one chair

Round tables use more space, yet no matter 

where you sit, you are on the same level

With the person in the next chair

At the breakfast table, I go fetch my phone

Because you asked for my schedule which 

we review when I sit back in my chair

The conversation will go around and round

The square meal when the whole family

Sits together in each their own chair

Take a walk to Henry's place, he will

Welcome your visit, and he will bring out 

for you to sit on, one of his chairs

Part 2

Without tone or body language it is

Just the words that are shared with the app

That you use while sitting in your chair

Emojis and photos are added to provide the

Thousand words left out inconveniently

By you sitting impatiently in your chair

The party game is now online, of course,

And when the music stops, who is the one

Left out when they don't find a chair

The rain continues after dark as the storm 

forecast comes true, water runs down the gutter

Filling the background while I sit writing in my chair 

I ponder at what age will the youth need a smart device

to get by in this digital world while you 

increase your device time sitting in your chair

What is more authentic, the auto-generated chat

Text, or me reaching across the table, to hold your hand

While I sit patiently in my chair

Ghazal: street people

He walks with a swaying gait leaning

Forward, occasionally stopping to

Pick up a coin from the concrete sidewalk 

Coins used to be good currency 

For vending machines and toll booths; now

They seem to be tossed to the sidewalk 

What will become of 'Dropping a dime' 

When there are no functioning phone booths 

At the corner stores or along the sidewalk 

I considered it a lucky day when I would  

Find a penny, or a quarter, now it seems I can 

Hit a jackpot of coins along the sidewalk

Spending has become a plastic swipe

Coins will jingle only in pockets of the people 

Who pickup the coins from the sidewalks

What will become of the city street people

Who would ask for spare change as they

Mingled at the corner stores on the sidewalk

Ghazal: both sides now

Immigrants found themselves in the cold outside 

the Vice President's home on Christmas Eve; a cruel joke to

Bring the adjacent possible to both sides now

Providing inclusionary zoning or delving into zoning details

To create the right amount of affordable housing may

Bring the adjacent possible to both sides now

Not too many years ago the church had standing

Room at most Christmas services, this time plenty of space to

Bring the adjacent possible to both sides now

Indicator lights create a glow in the dark room

Light enough not to flip the switch to navigate and 

Bring the adjacent possible to both sides now

The holiday gathering was joyous for those present 

Those absent were missed in more than one way to

Bring the adjacent possible to both sides now

The two year old enjoys endless presents on 

Christmas day, sweet dreams are made of those to

Bring the adjacent possible to both sides now

Part 2

My father and his friend Jonesy were assigned

To check that the caves on Tinian were clear, that task

Brought the adjacent possible to both sides now

Why does someone need a board game to bring about a

Conversation across multiple generations; doesn't life itself

Bring the adjacent possible to both sides now

When she turns on the TV, I change rooms to 

Continue reading, or writing, a slow dance to

Bring the adjacent possible to both sides now

I wonder who the mysterious folks are who walk 

so that the area rug moves to a new spot

Bringing the adjacent possible to both sides now

Frustration grows when you tell me something 

that I already know, maybe because that won't help

Bring the adjacent possible to both sides now

Ah, the realization is that she is not happy unless

I am always working on what she wants

Brings the adjacent possible to both sides now

Ghazal: 3 words for 2023

I traveled 300 miles to bend over, cup my hands for snow crusted

at the driveway edge making the first snowball

of the season, cold and full of life

A straightened wire clothes hanger, same as my father taught me 

to use to fish something from a hard place, was lying 

on the edge of their driveway, cold and full of life

You can despair when the band of clouds hides what could be 

a glorious sunset, or turn and look the other way to see 

a white orb in the distance, cold and full of life

Just out of reach of the tree branches the white orb flies, 

an almost orb at same time, whole yet not completely 

revealed in this light, cold and full of life

I filled the 3 bird feeders, emptying 40 lbs of mixed seeds 

to nourish those winged ones in what's left 

of the light of this day, cold and full of life

SHARE, LEVERAGE, & EXPAND reveal themselves 

as my three guiding words for this new year providing nourishment

for this day which otherwise is cold and full of life

#my3words

picking up something I had dropped after 2015

https://steves2cents.blogspot.com/2015/01/3-word-goals-mentor-leverage-exercise.html

Find the rationale behind the three words 

https://steves2cents.blogspot.com/2023/01/my-3-words-for-2023.html

sherku: 2 sides

Pine needles

Soften the forest floor

Or a pain

To pick up

At Christmas time

------

Snow falls so gently

Or listen

To the grunts

And curses 

Of the shovelers

------

Inventory: updated Dec 7, 2022

Four be the things I am wiser to know:

Love, patience, process flow, 

and the joy of snow

Four be the things I'd be better without:

Anger, impatience, jealousy, 

and clothing inside out

Three be the things I shall never attain:

Perfection, completion, 

and the last word on any train

 

Three be the things I shall have till I die:

Bruises, scars, 

and hope for the sky

In response to the writing prompt for the Franklin Senior Center in December 2022. Akin to Dorothy Parker's "Inventory" https://poets.org/poem/inventory

You can listen to the monthly Writer's Group podcast  https://senior-scribblers.captivate.fm

You can also join us in person at the Franklin Senior Center each Wednesday at 1 PM, except for the last Wednesday each month, we meet at the Franklin TV & Radio studio to record.

sherku: small things 2

It should be that

Calories count

Less the more family

And friends you eat with

sherku: small things 1

Goodness is

Wiping up

The last bit

Of soup or

Pasta sauce

With piece of bread

sherku: catching up

Air travel is

Exhausting

Maybe the

Soul's effort

Rejoining

The body

sherku: return

From short sleeves to

Long, green leaves to 

Autumn glory

Welcome home to

New England

sherku: chocolate pudding

I will vouch

For the fact

That the joy of

Chocolate pudding

Can be lifelong

St Ray's 50th High School Reunion

Time lapse, 50 years in a couple of minutes 

to answer the question: What does one say 

to someone they haven’t seen in 50 years

I am sorry? Yes, and then …

People want to know, who we are, who we are

So we tell 'em, so we tell 'em

We are the Saints, the mighty might Saints

We weren’t always, folks understood that we aspired to be

And Peter Pan is still my hero, I never wanted to grow up

Yet words like retirement, grandfather, 50 year HS reunion

Are now part of my vocabulary, and it is hard getting used to them

What of the days at McCoy playing pick up baseball, 

or Novelty Park basketball, or delivering the Times making some 

money to pay for school, books, and the occasional

Ring Ding and Yahoo at Mike’s Corner market

High School commencement was the end

Of one path, other paths opened with college

And beyond; the world of work, family,

Moving about the country before coming home

What is home? Pawtucket is where my story

Started, St Joe’s & St Ray’s were key parts of it

Even returning for a spell as an assistant coach for

track and cross country before corporate moves took over

Now up the road a piece; Franklin is my home base

From which I also found that railroad lines

Used to come down to Valley Falls and into

Pawtucket back in the day when trains were king

Can you go home again? An age old question

But yes, if you want. Aside from visiting

The cemetery and walking among the neighborhood streets

You can’t ever get fully away, the ties are binding

So I’ll quote Rumi:

Out beyond wrongdoing

And rightdoing, there is a field

I’ll meet you there