April 30, 2021: Making My Way

                  Making My Way

Warehouse work can be mindless,

And the laborers come and they go.

The bosses aren’t known for kindness.

Work is hard and the wages low,

 

But the bosses seem to like me here

Because I earn each dime I make.

They can always be sure my face will appear,

Even if I’m sometimes late.

 

It may not be much, but at least it’s a start

Until I find myself something better, . . .

At the interview, you can bet I’ll look sharp.

I hope they’re impressed by my letter,

 

Since I haven’t got much for a resume.

I hate those damned applications.

I never know the right words to say for

“Excuse my cut short education.”

 

But I know I possess great intelligence,

And I’m keen for a chance to learn.

I know how to be a gentleman.

I just hope for a fair return,

 

As I struggle each day to better myself,

And as I pray for my sisters and brothers

That they’ll help support Mom, who is not in good health,

But I don’t mind my bread without butter!

 

It’s just that sometimes, I feel so low

Then I step out into the neighborhood

Where there are so many people with nowhere to go

Who are jealous of anyone’s good.

 

How do you get to peace of mind

When everyone’s into your business?

Yet where  people look on when they see a crime,

‘Cause they’re afraid to admit they’re a witness?

 

The dealers and the gamblers party all night long,

And talk in the hallways is crude,

But when you live in the ghetto, you’ve got to be strong.

I know it’s a matter of attitude.

 

I’ve learned how to hustle, and to follow my hunches,

Because nothing is sure when you’re out on the street.

I’ve learned to scuffle and to roll with the punches

As I strive to be clear and to stand on my feet.

 

Success will be on by that last extra mile,

And I’m hip to action that’s all across town!

Life is good, and I choose to smile:

Nothing of this world’s gonna get me down!

April 30, 2021: Kind of an Ode to Duty by Ogden Nash on www.poeticous.com

Kind of an Ode to Duty

O Duty,
Why hast thou not the visage of a sweetie or a cutie?
Why displayest thou the countenance of the kind of conscientious organizing spinster
That the minute you see her you are againster?
Why glitter thy spectacles so ominously?
Why art thou clad so abominously?
Why art thou so different from Venus
And why do thou and I have so few interests mutually in common between us?
Why art thou fifty per cent martyr
And fifty-one per cent Tartat?
Why is it thy unfortunate wont
To try to attract people by calling on them etither to leave undone the deeds they like,
    or to do the deeds they don't?
Why art thou so like an April post mortem
On something that died in the Ortumn
Above all, why dost thou continue to hound me?
Why art thou always albatrossly hanging around me?
Thou  so ubiquitous,
And I  so iniquitous.
I seem to be the one person in the world thou art perpetually preaching at who or to who;
Whatever looks like fun, there art thou standing between me and it, calling yoo-hoo.
O Duty, Duty!
How noble a man should I be hadst thou the visage of a sweetie or a cutie!
Wert thou but houri instead of hag
Then would my halo indeed be in the bag!
But as it is thou art so much forbiddinger than a Wodehouse hero's forbiddingest aunt
That in the words of the poet, When Duty whispers low, Thou must, this erstwhile youth replies,
I just can't

My Boss, The President at the Boat Yard

               My Boss, the President at the Boat Yard

I am all that I seem

On a power trip,

I’ve created this scene,

And I captain my ship!

 

I balance my caring

With what needs to be done,

For I am deeply aware

Of my place in the sun.

 

We offer the best to all of our clients.

You have a suggestion?  Show me the science;

That it’s worth it to change a rule!

I still remain the company owner,

All my life, I’ve been playing the loner,

And I won’t be anyone’s fool!

 

I know sometimes, I may seem remote,

But it takes some detachment to choose.

I’ve got to keep this ship afloat

Or everyone stands to lose.

 

The sailors all have something to say,

But I’ve got to steer the course.

I’ll hear their ideas, but I’ll do it my way

If I have to do it by force.

 

We offer the best to all of our clients.

You have a suggestion?  Show me the science;

That it’s worth it to change a rule!

I still remain the company owner,

All my life, I’ve been playing the loner,

And I won’t be anyone’s fool!

 

Sometimes I wish we could all get together,

And pool our thoughts about how to do better,

And address our divergent needs.

I do my best to understand.

If I feel I am able, I do lend a hand,

But the company’s got to succeed!

 

You see -- my whole life is invested.

I can’t afford to take it slow.

I can be autocratic, just the way you’ve protested,

But you can pack up and go!

 

I’ve always had an open door,

But don’t tell me what to do.

I’m not afraid, though I’m waging war!

Show me you’re with me, and I’ll be with you.

April 29, 2021: Sea Fever by John Masefield, in "Treasury of Great Poems (Untermeyer)", page 1100.

Sea Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea's face and a gray dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again to the vagrant gypsy life.
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over. 

April 28, 2021: Blessed the Soul

Blessed the Soul

Blessed the soul who understands that he works for more than his pay.
Blessed the soul whose awareness expands absolute when she chooses to pray.
Blessed the soul with an open heart to the loving of every day.
Blessed the soul with an open mind, yet who follows along his way.
Blessed the soul who knows it’s vain to expect good fortune to stay.
Blessed the soul with an exquisite pain, yet who does not yield to dismay.
Blessed the soul who knows the conventions and chooses her own role to play.
Blessed the soul with control on attention, whose doing conforms to his say.

April 28, 2021: Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, #66, Gia-Gu Feng and Jane English Version

Sixty-Six

Why is the sea king of a hundred streams?
Because it lies below them.
Therefore it is the king of a hundred streams.

If the sage would guide the people, he must serve with humility.
If he would lead them, he must follow behind.
In this way when the sage rules, the people will not feel oppressed;
When he stands before them, they will not be harmed.
The whole world will support him and will not tire of him.

Because he does not compete,
He does not meet with competition.

April 27, 2021: Holding Hands

                Holding Hands

 

Your hand –

Only a hand

Until you touch

Me.

 

If it were only your hand

  It would only be a hand –

If it were only your body,

  It would only be a thing.

 

If it were not intentional,

But also unintentional,

It would not be from the heart.

You touched my love.

Joints, muscles

My fragile love –

Bone, skin

With your hands

Connecting tissue

Your fragile hands

Nerves

Which are precious to me

Blood vessels

Because they are fragile

Hair follicles

And yours.

 

Your hands could never be

More precious

For the rings and bracelets of a queen,

And a statue of precious stones

A thousand years old

Could never be

More valuable to me.

 

Your hands,

Only hands,

Until you held me

 

In your gentle hands.