5. thread « Ninepatch OnLine Magazine

EIGHT MINUTES

Count them!

Long enough to make

Three pieces of toast,

Boil water for eggs,

Vacuum one room,

Give a short speech,

Make words for online

Scrabble—

Think about how long

Eight minutes is—

How painful

How we ask for medication

When pain is excruciating—

When there is no relief

Is why people gather,

Move […]

ISOLATION

Watching the fallout of

isolation,

grimness confined to

inside spaces,

people weary, looking for

change;

businesses closed,

restaurants empty,

masses out of work

the question begs

wondering,

where is the money

going to come from?

Whoever wanders streets

goes a lonely path,

en-masked.

Even the homeless are not

asking for money.

We lack touching,

[…]

FURTHER DAILY OCCURRENCES

Chicago, 2002

Blessed beauty man

behind me in L seat

spouting off’

spitting deliberate cusswords

in muffled amused ramblings.

Me trying to make out what pure rambling wisdom

may be forth spewing from his filth

but all I can make out

is the “muthaf–as.”

It’s the sound of the urban preacher

which haunts all […]

MOTHERS’ DAY

Taking time to

Honor

All mothers whether

Birth or sacred –

Friend or aunt or

Foster mother

Whether near or

Far, whether

Gone –

Today a daughter

Or son’s

Spirit is celebrated

If only in remembrance,

And, too, a grandmother

And a mother,

Our minds can go

Back over years

Memories stay fixed,

Can […]

UNINTERRUPTED TIME

A plant grows through a crack in pavement.

Mother Nature

Needs time…

Uninterrupted,

And lots of it!

Simon Stargazer III (Mar. ‘20) observes, “As spring approaches, what I see every-where is a reminder that mother nature never sleeps and is ever vigilant and pursuing her goal of reasserting her real ‘green-ing’ of America and the […]

URTHER DAILY MUSINGS:

On Foot, Chicago, 2002

Big commotion

On the East bank

Of Magnificent Mile –

A disturbance in the rhythm

Of sidewalk shoppers –

I see

Two people,

Heads cocked similarly

Talking on cell phones

But seem to walk

In different directions.

Dude in suit

Brushes past me, signals

Approaching traffic cop,

Points back,

“Woman […]

CHANGING PERCEPTIONS

Mae-mae and Gayle

What we think ofAs losses,May be just pauses,Long or shortDistortions.As our minds makeAssumptions,May be too-early conclusions.

What we thought just yesterdayCan change the next day,Like stormy weatherLasts only so long,

The sun takes its honoredPlace,What we count on.

Ahead is what isAhead,

Night’s breathingHas its own rhythm,

The next dayIn measured […]

PUBLIC TRANSIT MUSINGS

Hinged bus courtesy of Wikipedia

PUBLIC TRANSIT MUSINGS Michigan Avenue, Chicago, 2002 Old express buses awesome with the double swinging-hinge middle, the old smell of leather ancients. These transits are ghosts, no air-conditioning, and I’ll tell you what else is awesome – elderly woman bent over toddling, her shuffling, white hair with clutch purse […]

WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT

Beauty is everywhere! And now and again Sometimes when You least Expect it. Thank you, God.

Simon Stargazer III (Feb.’20) says, “I used to carry a Cannon camera everywhere. Now my phone has taken over with almost instantly-sent pictures. (I miss the quality and editing abilities though.) My favorite subject is God’s beauty […]

OUR APOLITICAL PETS

My Mae-Mae

The nice thing about Pets, They have no political Affiliation, No preferences of Candidates, Limited their likes, To which Dry or wet food, Adamant about Treats, (you would Think they could read Labels), Love they give Indiscriminately, Unconditionally, Not Needing to be Analyzed, No marriage counseling Is needed— The issues we question […]

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