poetry

worshipping with words
the human experience
this tabernacle

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

swish of corduroy
brain freeze without the ice cream
late December stroll

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

any port

the eye is still
of the storm
or is it
I

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by Uma Venkatraman's untitled piece beginning with "You bring me a steaming cup of coffee".

perhaps

perhaps if I'd show some restraint
you'd pay a little mind
and arch an eyebrow or the like
while I explore in kind
the treasures you've put on display
but hadn't quite revealed
until you'd come to see my way
submitting to the feel
of rough attentions slowly
dealt within a velvet glove
both hot and cold administered
and lingered o'er with love
then on the cusp drawn back a bit
withheld like indrawn breath
to lengthen the experience
which fingertips and lips incite
as embers blown to flames ignite

perhaps when conflagration ends
with cuffs unbound
begin again

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

California crisp

it started out west
a new confection
carmelized and smoky
what we thought tectonics
would render the seed
of a new Atlantis
actually a fuse
lit by the oligarchs
well ... really Beelzebub
in their name
he's heard that final Trump

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by one of RC deWinter's Shorties with Selfies.

divine franchise

new england windstorm
power grid blown all to hell
darkness reigns supreme
campaign signs swept clean away
glimmers from an ill wind come

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

         - With apologies to the Bard.

unspoken

(any chance
that you might want me
with abandon)

dare I ask

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

chance coherence (alt)

wavelets
born of random wakes
collide
                    just so

watch
                   and see
that rogue wave
go

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by M. D. S. Hall's Erato's Love Notes Part 7.

chance coherence

wavelets
born of random wakes
collide just so

watch and see
that rogue wave
go

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by M. D. S. Hall's Erato's Love Notes Part 7.

litany

monday full of trepidation
creeps in on sunday's tail
tuesday's little consolation
in week's glacial travail
wednesday's apex is a thrill
then thursday starts the slide
when friday comes we get to chill
into the weekend's glide

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

civil

spent
and sundered
rage expressed
at cuts
unnumbered
silent incredulity resounds

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by Cumulus Furorem by Fergus Martin

youth

dilettante and rogue-ish waif
sparkling smile and doubtless faith
in every little quip you make
and how they giggle in response

oh in this moment how you shine
eclipsing every other rhyme
and reason doesn't stand a chance
all hearts a flutter as you dance
and ache to feel your warmth

bright and hot oblivious
to wake effects insidious
you channel something pure and light
eternal but for you one night

and as your nova does abate
we rest in our disheveled state
not knowing of you what to make
just dwelling on the little glow
hoping that it never goes
the embers that your passage sowed
within our hearts and minds

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by RC deWinter's calling out the jester

inside out

armor keeps the world without
while sorrows dwell within
the insulation it provides
a blessing and a sin

security but at what cost
at arm's length foes are held
while fear and anger foment hate
which leaves an empty shell

perhaps a wrench is called for
to provide an open door
for free communication
trading armor for amor

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired, yet again, by one of RC deWinter's shorties with selfies.

antinome

oh such delight
the poet takes
in singing antinomes
as much about the clothes eschewed
as what she's got in view

©2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by dictionary.com's word of the day 9/11/2017

delicious

here
there is a tasty thread of pasta
wound into a rich and varied sauce
of many colors textures flavors
each and all deserving our attention
pause and savor
as we follow that infinite thread
of nourishment

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by Le Hornet's Wet Wednesday

look no further

lean in they say and never stop
the path well worn and so inclined
to take us to the stars
in time
so they'd have us believe

exhausted at the end of day
with crest attained and goal in sight
we take deserved our rest
at night
proud of what we've achieved

daybreak reveals a different view
the path once more worn and upswept
a change profound wrought while
we slept
a massive excavator's deed

curious we trudge uphill
eternal climb resumed today
while vorticose thoughts spin
away
dirt 'neath our fingernails reveals
our dreams

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

rendered moot

monument's predicament
turns obelisk to Obi less
lending linkage chilly shrinkage
shaken and not stirred
olive the way the dry and dirty goes

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

unplugged

a pile of books, the iceberg's tip
Billy Collins has my immediate attention
but I will flit betwixt the lot
until the browser's speed bleeds away
and slowing, I go hull down
take a breath
and dive

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Popham in late afternoon

beset by gulls we lounge upon the sand
on Disney beach towels
Ariel and Ursula embrace me
the tide is low lower than ever I remember
yesterday's humidity is just that
the air is clear and warm
the susurrus of waves propels my reverie
but not enough to let the gulls
upend the cooler down the strand

she walks seaward stopping on occasion
collecting and examining the bits of intertidal treasure
she always finds
how lucky I am in the midst of all this impermanence
she always turns and brings her treasure home

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

hell(p) desk supplicant

I come to you with hat in hand
as you have knowledge, I understand
which may relieve a nagging pain
that’s strong and sharp and in my brain

I think it comes from our friend Bill
who set us on this path we till
so many years ago
when once at Xerox on a screen
he spied a cursor move it seemed
as if in search of cheese

I am a rat inside his maze
with walls that move within the haze
between the objects libraried
in seemingly obtuse series
and yes I guess one might suppose
viewed not through Gates only windows

I do know what advice will come
now that the ritual has begun
you'll tell me turn it off then on
and though my problem won't be gone
our dance will render me serene
lulled by familiar sight and scene

I come
I think
I am
I do
whatever code I'm tethered to

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Requiem for a Duke

he is going and I know it
it is written on his face
in the grayness of his muzzle
and the way he stays in place
'til I call him twice or three times
when I get inside the door
he isn't up to greet me
like he always was before

oh but once he makes his entrance
even though he's not quite spry
there's little doubt he loves it
when I get down to say hi
and tell him all about my day
'twixt nuzzles and the licks
his language of forgiveness
he repeats until it sticks

because rescue is the term we use
describing how we met
about who and whom we get confused
it's mutual I guess
although in my heart I know it
must be him that made me safe
despite the fact before my home
the shelter was his place

but far too soon to comprehend
his time is growing thin
his body battles weakly
'gainst the demon lodged within
his spirit never falters
though his eyes often grow dim
I struggle with the knowledge
time is near to release him

I remember most the head bumps
and the zoomies 'bout the yard
excitement for the biscuits
and the walks both near and far
but best of all were quiet times
with belly rubs and pats
and kisses on that big dog head
and every little chat.

and sitting on the top step
of the deck stairs out in back
keeping tabs upon his kingdom
calm alert for all attacks
whether squirrel or bird or antlered
any foe would turn and run
from his brown eye blue eye pirate gaze
one look and they'd be done

just as I was the first time
by that gaze my heart was stung
and just as fast forgiven
baptised by his big dog tongue
Akita pitbull terrier
my Duke
the only one

he came home on that first day
to a promise freely made
the sting now reasserts itself
the promise has been paid
in full
my Duke's forever home

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

cold comfort

phthalates in box mac and cheese
nitrites in the franks
neonics that kill the bees
the standard in seed banks

they say we hurt the ones we love
the ones by whom we're blessed
it seems our diet's taken note
our favorites love us best

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Ivy

Ivy that damn sneaky bitch
she crept up from behind
bestowing her exquisite itch
where sun don't norm'ly shine
my gait's assumed an awkward hitch
remarkable most find
and I've a new relationship
her name is Calamine

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by unfortunate events.

thirst

shallow water here about
takes several eons to wade out
to anything substantial

time I can't afford to spend
mind numbing small talk without end
the cost beyond financial

I crave oceans of great depth
enough to sail and dive bereft
of constant fear
the bottom's near
full of mysteries to plumb
adventure beyond ken of sun
where darkest night
to hope gives flight
that I just might
perceive your light

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved.

Inspired by one of  RC deWinter's Shorties with Selfies.

all about you

he sits at the kitchen table
speechless
furrowed brow and mouth agape
the plate of fish and kale
intact
mostly and largely untouched

she returns the ice cream tub to
freezer
single bowl with several scoops
the flavors mingling
sweetly
as she leaves a parting shot

"It's not, you know."

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

was

there was that thing
she used to do ...

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

eddy

in a bubble out of phase
with mainstream wants and wishes
courting with an icy glass
the rocks they roll
make whiskey splash
while others stroll oblivious
enamored with their dream

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by Evelyn Elizabeth's American Dream

point?

the shoes for once
are comfortable
no longer an excuse
and yet the relish isn't there
to stray far from that
cursed chair
engage in more than
laisez faire
hell why should I think to compare
it isn't in the cards

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

edge

arching and afire
yet restrained
I pause a moment

or eternity

to savor you
and where you are

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

red again

I like the way the embers glow
in pyre all but dead
a little breath and blackened coal
consumed by cherry red
with total disregard that soon
all will be conflagration
the memory of what's to be
spark of anticipation

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

saccharine

gently and so slowly placed
her hand upon his chest
he ceases inane prattle
closes eyes and takes a breath

the warmth of palm and fingers spreads
where once pervaded cold
in mind's eye he perceives a smile
for him - a thought too bold

for when he seeks to close the gap
and form a warm embrace
her hand holds firm the distance
resolute he keep his place

nearby but never intimate
for her a bridge too close
that he of all will never cross
despite eternal hope

to which they cling
through orbit neat
forever dancing
bittersweet

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

shade

yes I am but an insubstantial shade
to supple flesh and bone of which you're made
so comely and so cunningly arranged
to strike me dumb my heart and mind deranged

by grace and beauty writ upon the stel-
lar dust condensed to so sublime a shell
about the soul which as the sun burns bright
save one small flaw as blind as darkest night

to my existence though I oft draw near
you gaze right through eliciting a tear
of sadness equally unseen that seeks
to join the sea descended from my cheeks

the saddest aspect of this reverie
I'm just as  blind to others I should see.

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

inept

festive gathering
they drink they dance and they flirt
and yet i write verse

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

retrograde

journey long from done and yet
more often do I coast
as others pass I realize
to them reverse I float
a trick perspective likes to play
like mercury from earth
seems to proceed the other way
though vector's shared by both
but I digress and that's the point
it's often that I do
and dwell on moments in my past
the present points me to
though grayness has encumbered most
like when one night on jetty that I dove
to harvest lobsters from a nearby cove
I paused to look away
and in the haze heard cellos start to play
a too familiar tune
remembered most I reminisce
the wish for dive's end soon

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

bully

the bully's pulpit
If Teddy could but eyeroll
that's not what I meant

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

crisis

nothing comes as what it seems
perfection promised is a dream
reality eschews

guarantees​ are only worth
the ease with which they are disbursed
bureaucracy ensues

techno-whatsis cutting edge
should simplify life's dreary dredge
engenders more reviews

margins meant for pers'nal play
are getting thinner every day
efficiency induced

it's true we all should have a job
but meaning's scarce in swelling mob
truth is we all are being robbed
by leaders who refuse

but wait

turn the problem on its head
dependency their hope to bred
remember they're just overhead
we lead by what we do

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by the critical lack of leadership.

Ladies

so many
the flavors the sizes the styles
with attitudes ranging from nurturing to wild
so many
providing exquisite distraction
oblivious of your own unique attraction
and talents and skills and inestimable wealth
of character strength intellectual health

beyond all my longing
what I wish you could do
is see through my eyes
the phenomenal you

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

curious

curious
how awash with feeling
no
desire
a much better word
you submit
and I become the slave

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

flow

all this turbulence
is bad for my digestion
peace of mind a luxury
I haven't seen in ...
since graduation
when frame about vaunted degree
asunder ripped the fall was free

preoccupied with shape and form
nascent disasters are the normal
serial of champions
we feed too much on crisis ...

truth is the hero is the guy
or gal or other wise enough
to persevere
persist through practice
endless mindless numbing
'til something elegant is born

... and with enough humility
to clean the grime up from the day
engaged in creativity
thrilling in the feel of clay
or taste of words
or any sensual release
of who they really are

so meta have we all become
instant the gratification
we all depend upon

some turbulence shakes off the dust
aerates the stream disrupts the rust
spurs (r)evolution of ideas
but constant turmoil just adds years
in very little time

I'd rather let my breathing slow
attain a rhythm resonant
within the ether where I go
an existential resident
dependent on laminar flow
and glide
                 gracefully
                                   glide

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired, yet again, by one of RC deWinter's Shorties with Selfies.

left wanting

seeing me
for what I am
despite their appetites
the sirens' chorus
silent grows
from time my ship
into view hoves
until behind horizon goes
the tallest of my sails

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

tidal bore

safety net
as way of life
it wasn't meant to be
fishing school seems boarded up
perhaps it's just a hologram
an image of devoutly wished
intended to attract the fish

leadership
both left and right
more than a bit behind
selfish fools or one fry short
perhaps it's just a bit of both
more than a little ego stroked
some larger fish's agenda stoked

the change has come on fast and hard
left quite a few behind
It's not as if we didn't know
that siren song of global flow
the riptide sucking from below
and out
we stood onshore and watched 'em go

and as the labor eddy ebbs
up rises automation's head
a perfect storm to watch with dread

how big's the net and who it's for
distractions from the problem's core
how to employ this dividend
of freed human capacity
look up for opportunity
the stars they beckon nightly
let's not ignore the call

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

divest

a moment's quiet introspection
turns to natural connection
with what matters ...
here and now

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by Gianfranco Aurilio's On a late afternoon in springtime.

heavy

health coach appointment time again
an interlude approached with both
anticipation
     for she is lithe and full of grace
     inspires hope for something more
trepidation
     for goals discussed and set in place
     remain as goals and nothing more
as I wait before I weigh
heavily it dawns
her time wasted
my time waisted
all the something more
that this will ever be

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

hard

when we so want it to be
and it isn't

trick of the light
of the night
or the reflection
of an empty space
the muse left
in your heart

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by Mel Mel's Pretend

focus

the paddle is an illusion
we're all up the creek
going with the flow
might as well hold hands
and float together
sharing upstream lessons
and downstream dreams

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by Fergus Martin's New Beginnings

nocturnal

darkness the anticipation is
exquisite agony
will the next exhilaration be
terminal velocity
or the brush of something sweeter

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by an untitled piece by Anthony Nappi.

indignant

denatured by rage
in this advanced age
when one would have hoped
we'd have long turned the page
on myopic self-serving avaricious intent
to destroy opposition
instead of relent
to inclusion and kindness and being the tide
that raises all vessels regardless of size
or color or flavor or shape or belief
but it seems in our gestalt the best we can do
is enlightened moments surrounded by goo
into which we descend with inexorable ease
drawn by shadow controllers not wise to displease
whose reptilian motives would make you recoil
driven by the emoluments proffered by oil
it seems one step forward then two or more back
awareness once raised quickly falls to the hack
of the mind games and lawyerly drone of the quo
before long the movement somnambulant  grows
and the cadence complexity turns things on tail
we find ourselves court side pants down on the rail
rudely awakened and consciousness razed
when we see our goals violated and displaced
by the greed and the hunger for power from fear
this cycle is endless
it brings me to tears

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by one of RC deWinter's Shorties with Selfies

statecraft

do they know
at what they work
its curvature
of space and time
its unrelenting
gravity
complete implacability

do they know
at what they play
elaborate
geometry
interminable
hierarchy
intransigent stability

set in motion long ago
since then been building steam
controls
not one we'd recognize
those few and far between

taking turns up in the cab
they've given it a go
eight years
or seconds said and done
more sacrificed below

as it accretes and rolls along
its relevance a long lost song
engraved by rote upon us all
oh beautiful we do recall
in principle still is

the elegance
of parts and wheels
the tarnished gleam
the cab-formed feels
the spin with which
they've made us reel
and dance to their designs

if we look in
each other's eyes
trade shoes and tales
for just a mile
and act upon
what we will see
the juggernaut
will cease to be

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

exquisite

hope
a fragile vessel
eternally renewed
and shattered
once again

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

maelstrom

coriolis force
deflected from intended
political spin

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

leader ship

the monster is a gaudy hoax
despicable that's certain
he's hollow though
so I'm afraid
of those behind the curtain

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

kennel regret

there was a young boxer named Sasha
who slept with her mistress and master
'til the night they discovered
she took all the covers
and banished her thence ever after

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

shame

a shame it is how quickly
the charismatic chrism
grows so rancid
and how often

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

recycle

a week's long vacation is essence
of a much needed pers'nal frondescence
but I'm in quite a state
when I etiolate
after moments in my work desk's presence

© 2017 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved

Inspired by two Dictionary.com words of the day.

greed

I love the way the chalice sings
her crystal tones so stark so pure
but so enamored of the ring
it's easy to think she'll endure
the wetted finger on her lips
forever and forevermore
but soon the ring becomes a scream
though I cannot discern between
oblivious to what's obscene
accelerate the patter
until she has but one recourse
to resonate and shatter
and still my finger dances 'round
cut and bleeding  on the ground
where all her shards are scattered
wish I could tell what mattered
And dance with her once more

© 2016 Frederick Andrew ~ All Rights Reserved