Slump
Now, every player knows that it's just a simple game,
But we want to look good, and have them know our name.
We're slugging our guts out for fortune and fame,
Before Mother Nature makes us pull up lame.
Maybe I should step forward or backward in the box.
Geez! All my teammates want me to change my socks!
I'm wearing a Cross now to ward off the pox.
And my vision is better since I got out of de-tox.
Yeah, I tried changing the timing of my swing,
But that last pitcher's fastball could really sing!
I know if I had connected with the darn thing
Those upper-deck pigeons would be out on the wing!
I've told the batboy to leave mine out of the rack.
Gosh, I'd like to hit just one all the way to the track.
Even on the road, I'm early to hit the sack.
I don't know. Should I try to get my ex-wife back?
Gotta get better, 'cause my contract's going to expire,
But I know I'm way too young to haf'ta retire.
That son-of-a-gun in Jersey -- he's a real liar!
I know, deep-down, somehow I can still stir the fire.
Rookies suffer through slumps and never blink;
Hall of Famers roll along - I teeter on the brink.
What can I do, so I don't look like I stink!
Am I playing out of my league, do you think?
m.s. 4.20.00
For Maxine
I may be somewhat out of time,
But the fact remains, I like a rhyme.
I like to read it. I like the sound.
I'll deal with the metre. Pound. Pound. Pound.
Dickenson, Browning, Frost and Keats
Have earned a niche on higher seats.
I'll go my own way, use my own style,
To copy the Masters seems woefully servile.
Do you think God hears only the Tabernacle Choir
Or the individual voices of the entire?
m.s. 2.1.00
Apis Mellifera Dilemma
I watched it struggle with a large, heavy object,
Far too important for its conveyor to neglect;
Food or nesting material, I had to suspect.
As it wrestled with its burden, I began to reflect.
Anything of value must be harder to obtain;
A person has to be willing to endure the strain,
Overcome the self-pity that results from the pain
Of working towards the reward he hopes to gain.
From most arduous tasks I am wont to desist;
If it's not done easily, it's not hard to resist.
But, I understood, now, why the bee would persist!
Because I thought of you and the love I've missed.
m.s. 2.1.00
Intervals
After yet another prolonged, brutal absence
Spring arrives with promises she won't keep.
But you are eager for her warmth and beauty
And her charms erase your memory.
Everything appears to blossom in her realm,
Enticing the newborns to explore her.
Soon tiring of this, they go on alone,
To study the normal order of life.
She develops into Summer
Favoring you with magnificent sunrises,
Enhancing the calm of the haven
You share with a one-legged crane.
Sultry days melt into evenings
Amidst the sound of loons conversing .
Graciously she is recast as Autumn
And intrigues you with elegance.
Admiring her new colors,
You watch and dream as the birds,
Ending their sojourn, pass by.
The wonder of flight.
Your gaze shifts to the water,
Her reflections are pleasing.
Without adequate warning,
She is Winter again.
Lonely snowflake tears fall,
Icy barriers form everywhere,
She has deceived you again.
Still you are anxious for Spring.
m.s. 2.1.00
Labor of Love
Lazy.
Stupid.
Loser!
Meant to invoke subordinence and dependence.
If you submit to your condescendence.
Alms.
Qualms?
Psalms!
Don't depend on some long-forgotten kin:
A gift should come from Above or within.
Work.
Earn.
Live!
Experience provides a rewarding reflection.
Get up. Move on. Seek your perfection!
m.s. 2.1.00
Penny's From Heaven
A long time ago,
I drifted in life's sea,
Then the Lord above
Sent you near to me.
But I didn't recognize
The love I'd found in you.
I didn't fully appreciate it
Until you said we were through.
It wasn't in my plans
When you went away back then,
That I would pay so dearly
Yet never have you back again.
(Refrain) That's what tears were made for,
Someone that you care for.
Skies don't only give us rains -
Penny's from heaven.
Above my clouded eyes she still reigns-
Penny's from heaven.
I miss you so much,
I think about you for hours.
Tell me, how can I forget
The love that once was ours?
I feel my spirits falling
Further and further down,
I wish I had tears of happiness
To wash away my frown.
So, when I hear the thunder
I don't try to flee.
I dream that it's Penny, from heaven,
And she's coming back for me.
(Refrain)
m.s. 2.1.00
Waste Not, Want Not
You've seen them in the parking lots
Of convenience stores and malls,
I've even seen them in other spots;
No matter where, it galls.
They don't appreciate its value,
They think, "it's only one cent!"
They know that the adage is true,
Still, they don't appear to relent.
When I see one lying on the ground,
I pick it up and ponder,
Why it was thrown aimlessly around,
Why do they do it, I wonder.
I wish they were more concerned;
But that's easy for me to say,
Because of the lesson I've learned.
You see, I once threw one away.
m.s. 2.1.00
Magic Mountain, Minnesota
Just a stone's throw from the hamlet of Gheen,
We found the greatest treasures we'd ever seen.
My brother lost his. What a mournful scene!
I threw mine away; my ignorance is obscene.
The mountain protects its treasures with a curse;
But, I'm not certain which effects are worse.
He has her children, her love they can disperse.
All I have is a memory, and this dismal verse.
m.s. 11.4.99
Penance
I must have been bad;
I don't remember.
That wasted time,
I had others to dismember.
Now later in life I realize
how it feels.
Their memories avenge.
Time wounds all heels.
m.s. 11.4.99
The Masters
Life is emotion. I know that I am alive.
But it is for true empathy that I must strive.
I have loved, hated, regretted and rejoiced,
What matters is how these feelings are voiced.
The Masters' works flow like sweet red wine,
Their ability to relate vastly exceeds mine.
But, I doubt their passions were more fierce --
I, too, have felt joy and pain my heart pierce.
No, it's not an issue of competition.
I only hope upon my life's fruition
I will have been able to convey
What I had experienced along the way.
m.s. 11.4.99
