Poetry For Everybody

MY DREAM OF WHITE CHRISTMAS
(Japanese Tanka)

my dream of Christmas
buried in knee-deep white snow
I shovel it up
and keep ‘til the twenty-fifth
in time of celebration

Thao Chuong Tran Quoc Viet
21-12-2022

Christmas Question for Myself

Too many gifts to buy;
Not enough money in my budget.
What should I do?
Must I tight my stomach
or bury myself
too deep
down
to the bottomless depth of debt?

Thao Chuong
21-12-2022

Hello, My dear, dear Friend! Wonderful to see you again!
Both been through the mill and back, HERE!
Can’t. wait to see, read the “regulars” and your newest thought provoking Poetry.
My cupboard is bare
Of anything rare……….sigh,☮️🙏

My short verse for Vivian Anderson

no way to forget
my sweet friend of good old days
is it too cliché?

Thao Chuong
22-12-2022

Hey there my snowed in friend. It seems we are all getting a very cold and white Christmas. Here is one I think you will appreciate.

Let it Lie

Even a dead wasp can sting
you reach to pluck the inert
creature from the floor then

Shock and awareness as
a hot sting from the insect
penetrates your finger

You cry out in pain drop
the wasp and ponder
“How could this be?”

An old argument is akin to a
dead wasp when you think it is
moribund it can still sting

Like an expired stinging creature
it’s best to pick it up with a tissue
then deposit in a waste bin

There are things that should be left
alone until they are fully deceased
including wasps and old arguments

In Love

Although the past has seen hazy days
You’ve always smiled and gleamed
I’ve joyously enjoyed the ways
You’ve coped with my never-ending means

To say, I Love you everyday
Seems only truthful in how I feel
So we’ll clear the airs and reacquaint
The true friendship and Love that’s so real

You Loving Husband

The Last Yellow Flower

I saw a yellow flower that day
They came in a scurry and rushed it away
They say it was an important find
The last yellow flower of its kind

I sat and watched the earth where it grew
It must have been weeks, I think it was two
A new yellow flower began to grow
Don’t worry I whispered, they’ll never know

Years have gone by, I never uttered a sound
About the little flower that grew from the ground
I look from my window, and what do I see
A thousand yellow flowers smiling at me

Dave Dehner

Thank you for returning
Sometimes words are missed
And the thoughts that go with them
I ponder what is said
Is deeper meaning always there
Or a treasure to be discovered?
re-discovered?

I wrote this one for a Christmas card I made. The cover is Santa and a reindeer holding bottles of wine.


Tawas the night after Christmas and Santa was soused,
All the presents delivered, all the elves tuckered out

And what to Santa’s wandering eyes should appear,
But a bottle of wine and a tipsy reindeer

He sprang to his feet, and they shared some good cheer,
They thought of the plans, they would make for next year

And I heard him exclaim, before he passed out,
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

the dao of viet

i thought i had written the last poem of mine
emptied the tank so to speak
but today when i foraged onto the ww-web of deceit
i surfed to this island of stimulation replete complete
now with an poetic old friend of mine
we both lost in time
that sets our clock
in serendipity
Hello Old Friend
good to see
good read you again

edmeredith
12-22-22

Good to see and read you too Kevin...

my echo to your wasp and arguments, "Let it Lie"


Argument #1

i lost the argument
with the idiot today
it wasn't the first time
i had gotten the upper-hand


Argument #1 re-thought

i argued with an idiot today
as he stood there in the mirror
staring with blank eyes
and open mouth
breathing all the oxygen in the room
your an idiot
i shouted
he gave no reply
so i think i won
today


edmeredith
today

Thank you all for swinging by and sharing your fun. Nice to read your nice poetry, Kevin Callahan, Ronald Lunn, David Dehner, LA Feldstein, and especially my long-time friend Ed Meredith


An echo in Japanese Tanka to Kevin’s poem Let it Lie

Of Men and Insects

an insect’s hot sting
will go away pretty soon
no way to get rid
of bad arguments with foes
pains remain in big ego

Thao Chuong
22-12-2022

Viet glad you made it back this year and have a White Christmas




Fogged in


Fogged in
Am I in a dark den
Amongst animals in there hidden shelter
Or a valley deep

The fog drifts up to the foothills from the fogged valley
It covers the yellow sun turning it grey
How long
Who knows
I’ll ask the weatherman in the sky
Does he really know
Can he move it out
No

I awaken to a thought not long ago
Sun burning summer when I prayed for fog
just give me cool clouds
As if I really have a choice anyway
If I’m in an animal den
Just don’t bite me

James 12-22-22

Good to see you too, my good friend Jim.

A quick echo to James' poem Fogged In


My Foggy Mind

I had looked everywhere
all possible locations
at
which
I thought I had left it.

where could my damned set of all keys be?
Finally I gave up the search
Since, I hopelessly believed
I had certainly lost it
somewhere
inside the black hole
of my messy universe.

At the most unexpected moment
when I warmed up my cold hands
inside the cozy pockets
of my winter heavy jacket.

I unexpectedly found my key set
Alas, I have really lost my foggy mind;
Where on earth could I look for it?

Thao Chuong
22-12-2022

This is a song that I wrote for my first music album last year.
My hometown of Kewaskum, Wisconsin is rumored to have a creature living in the woods there.


Goat Man Road

Was with some friends and drinking brews
And three years shy of twenty-two
A clear warm night and a bright full moon
When a scary tale led to a dreadful cruise

There's a dirt road out in the woods
A cabin dark, in a mile or two
You should stay away, the story goes
Cause livin' there is a fearsome foe

Said there's this thing, part goat, part man
Can run as fast as your truck can
We wanted to see if it was true
They had their doubts, I had mine too

Don't dare you drive down Goat Man Road
Not by mistake, in case you don't know
South Mill Road is Goat Man's abode
Don't dare you go down Goat Man Road

All ten of us got in the truck
Went down the road to test our luck
There really was a cabin there
The windows dark, the girls were scared

Then glowing eyes began peering out
And something large, it moved about
The shadows jumped and so did we
This thing to fear is real indeed

Don't dare to drive down Goat Man Road
He's livin' there, just so you know
If someone dares you to just say no
Don't dare you go down Goat Man Road

Goat Man Road...Stay Away
Goat Man Road...He'll make you pay
If you come near your knees will bend
So Stay Away from that dead end

We turned around, we've seen enough
It creeped us out, our stomachs sunk
The road was mud and full of ruts
Deep in the woods when we got stuck

We all got out and tried to push
The tires were set deep in the mush
We were stuck with no way out
The cabin opened, now we're out of hope

It shocked our eyes at what's standing there
Was eight feet tall and full of hair
And horns came out just like a goat
We froze in fright as he approached

Don't dare you go down Goat Man Road
He'll creep you out just so you know
If you see him then you will know
Why to stay away from Goat Man Road

We got a whiff of his nasty breath
He saw our truck and why we hadn't left
When he got near, he gave our truck a shove
Our truck set free he said, "Hi I'm Bud"

We talked a while and gave him a brew
He said he drinks Old Milwaukee too!
He likes to eat onions and steak
And fish he catches at Mauthe Lake

If you dare to go down Goat Man Road
He's said to have a heart that's cold
But he's as nice as you can be
If you see him, please say Hi for me


https://www.bandlab.com/post/10e3bae5-3b7e-ec11-94f6-0003ffcd3240

@ Bruce Bodden: Many thanks for sharing your interesting song lyrics

@ Ed Meredith: Your poem "the dao of viet" is a challenge that reminded me of our dialogues in the past.


I had some fun to write an echo to Ed's poem

The Way of Nature and the Dao of Man

water runs at will from high mountains to immense oceans.
cloud floats leisurely in the infinite sky.
nature effortlessly takes the day as is
it neither struggles nor resists.
it gently follows
the flow
of each instant.
regardless how fast or slow each moment goes.

mortal man often rejects his day as is
he tends to go against its natural flow
not for his survivals
but for his desire for being in total control.
he prefers resistance to submission.

he misses sunshine on foggy days
he dreams of moonlight in rainy nights
It’s how man enjoys the self-made “Dao”
his challengingly interesting
but never-boring
Way
of living.

Thao Chuong
23-12-2022

Musing.........I do a lot of musing, ..................

Everything trite and beautiful
Christ/mas is now/ here here,
I'm full of good cheer?

What a beautiful thread and what wonderful words I'm reading here! This is one of mine:

YULE

Blesséd Yule
When quiet darkness reigns
over the hallowed breath of spirits’ cries
of worship in the sacred stillness
of the night.
When Summer’s bloom and Autumn’s blaze
surrender
to the frozen ground and icy sky,
Revealing other wonders of ethereal dawns
and the lovely, twisted branches
of trees.

Songs become crystal spears aimed at the
Universe within each heart,
their colored rays touching the stars
whose descants are heard later in
the night’s silence.

This is the best.
Our fires are brighter
and our homes are warmer
while the Earth lies back
and gives us room to see the gods.

Thank you very much Vivian and Jodi Diliberto for sharing your fun time today

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY THE NEW YEAR 2023 TO YOU ALL
WARM LOVE, GOOD HEALTH, COZY HAPPINESS, AND GREAT SUCCESS.

My Christmas Eve
(Japanese Tanka)

it rains cats and dogs
heavy downpour the whole day
miserably wet
not much left, but the gray sky
my white Christmas’ washed away

Thảo Chương
24-12-2022

What would they say? We all know someone.

Beyond the Grave

Beyond the grave our message to you, a message that should be clear. Our message concerns substance misuse one that offers no an excuse, for there is no excuse when playing the game where the dragon's game is simply to tame. Make no mistake at first it's great taking control at a notorious rate, nothing to fear all of us thought, under control we took what we got.

Without concern for our family so dear we genuinely thought there was nothing to fear, full of regret and full of remorse never realising the one true cost.
So here it is as we play our cards from beyond the grave, regretting our loss.

How we can learn is how we can help remembering the day's when we couldn't be told. Learning of mistakes we once did make you have to listen for heaven's sake, our message to you is one to embrace play your part in the human race.
Our message to you is one of fear, don't play with the dragon just stay well clear.

Everything said an all things done keeping control in the game with the gun, make no excuse for substance misuse It's just a weakness just something loose. Open your eyes don't follow the blind substance misuse it's all in the mind. Over to you, we wish you well, never going through that life of hell.

Written by Doug Brown 2015
All Rights Reserved.

https://twoiceartanddesign.pixels.com/featured/beyond-the-grave-poem-douglas-brown.html?product=art-print

no one visited us for Christmas this year and that was a good thing...

however last year was this:

Christmas is past
the family was here
they ate all our food
and drank all my beer
they ruined the rugs
and stained the couch
i tried to laugh it off
and not be a grouch
but the longer they stayed
the angrier i got
someone pulled a gun
and granny got shot
so there we were on Christmas Eve
at the hospital trying to fix granny's big toe
god i couldn't wait for those people to go
and when we got home
i pack their bags and shoved them out the door
and shouted at them as they drove away
DON'T YOU DARE COME BACK HERE ANYMORE
but they were singing and laughing all in good cheer
as they drove away shouting back at me
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR
i slumped to the ground in welcomed relief
and as i looked up and saw what was beyond belief
eight tiny reindeer pulling a sleigh
but hey...
that's another story for another day...

A belated Very Merry Christmahannukwanzadan to All

I tried to write a poem
(wrote them all the time,
when I was a child.
I tried to make them rhyme.)

I sit here at my desk
trying to be clever,
But everything I write
is just a big "whatever."

Maybe I'll try later
when I am inspired,
But here's my paltry effort,
sounding pretty tired.

@ Douglas Brown Thank you very much for sharing your poem Beyond the Grave. Your awesome poem has sent an emotionally strong message.

@ Ed Meredith: You have always defied the law of gravity. Your poetic drama has shot my mind up high to the sky

@ Jon Woodhams: Thank you for swinging by and sharing your poetry on the Christmas Day



Senryu

1- On Christmas Day

empty parking lot
likely something wrong today
shoppers take a break

2- Rain Storm

heavy rain whole day
thick snow cleared off rooftops
no more white Christmas

Thao Chuong
25-12-2022

Viet, like your two Senryu; "On Christmas Day" and "Rain Storm"
I am no longer in the Christmas mood but I am preparing to celebrate the New Year... party that is... lol


Beginning of the End of 2022 in Tanka

one man’s happiness
can be another’s despair
thoughts of life and death
both are rather humous
thinking of them makes me laugh

edmeredith
26-12-2022

Another Quick Thought on Joy and Despair
in Tanka

funny emotions
the joyousness of despair
living one's fiction
helps when mind believes it's true
who am I to say it's not


edmeredith
26-12-2022

A Poem to Artist Gary Eklund on Your Protest Against Injustice
(My thought on your artwork: "A Happy Day Suddenly Turns Sad")

You sound desperately hopeless in your strong protest:
“They have guns.
They have handcuffs.
They have money.
I have nothing but a pain in my stomach that will not go away
And the sleeplessness that comes from never ending stress and anxiety
from years of white supremacist stalking and harassment under color of authority.”

Your complaint has made me feel as if you were
living in Germany under the Nazi regime.
You’re currently an American artist.
It’s impossible for me
to comprehend
why
what
and how
you were treated
like a villain
or a piece of shit
by your civilized nation.

You had painted artworks on wood
and displayed
on your back door
of your own property.
You absolutely had your full legal right to do it.
(It didn’t matter whether you owned or you rented it).
I don’t think
you had done anything wrong
neither had you painted any graffiti to deface any public properties
nor you had sprayed urine on smelly walls or defecated on messy alleys

I’d assume
your chaotic junkyards
(full of paints,
brushes,
artworks,
and everything else sightlessly left outside)
would be the bad cause leading to your painful plight;
Or your religious painting would be also the culprit
that had offended some narrow-minded atheists
Or the color of your skin could particularly trigger racists’ hates.
It’s hard to know
who had forcefully requested your town
to reinforce
its city bylaws
on public eyesores.
It could be an atheist, a racist, a bigot
who would happen to be a neighbor,
a passing-by stranger,
or someone else,
whom you had pissed off in the past.
Only one of your dissidents above could have driven your peaceful life to Satan’s hell.

I may be wrong
It’s an assumption
It’s my own perception
of your unbearable plight.
Please don’t feel
offended,
furious,
bad,
or sad,
by my personal bias.

Please accept my apology
for not sharing the same thought with you
as I was not at the scene
to witness
by
my
naked eyes
what really had happened to you.
I didn’t share the same bed;
I don't stay under the same blanket;
I didn’t get the same bedbugs’ bites;
So, I didn’t experience the same torment as you did.

It would be impossible for me to understand your pain
inflicted by the injustice of your nation
that is well-known
on
liberty,
justice,
freedom,
and democracy.

Thao chuong tran quoc viet
Feb. 12, 2024


Title: A Happy Day Suddenly Turns Sad
Artist: Gary Eklund Mr Dodo B Bird
Medium: Painting
Description:
AKA misstint number 1. 100% all mistint paints for unfinished site specific artwork exterior paint on wood intended to be finished in 2023 and to stay by my backdoor forever. This painting was declared illegal debris on July6 and I was given 30 seconds to get inside or it would be put into garbage truck. 100% all mistints paints for this and other artwork was destroyed in what was-alleged by me- to be a massive white supremacist hate crime. This work was intended to be finished as a bright happy colors painting to greet me coming in and out. due to the destruction of all my paints purchased for this and the emotions it now provokes I plan to never finish this and will probably put this up for sale sometime... hopefully to a museum willing to document the face of American fascism in 2023. I feel I have seen the face of pure evil up close and personal. I am a city declared "lowlife" who does not pass city's wealth and one drop tests. i have decided to embrace being a city declared lowlife h 1930s Germany style government declared degenerate artist type. If they are willing to declare all the black tenant children and their entire families to be inferior lowlifes than fine after 2 plus years of white supremacist stalking and harassment and theft and destruction of property than fine......I am lowlife h degenerate artist type in an uapolititcally white wealth income landlord government employee extreme wage inequality supremacist town. consider myGOFUNDME...."MY PUPPY WANTS A CHEESEBURGER" life at the bottom. They have guns. They have handcuffs. They have money. I have nothing but a pain in my stomach that will not go away. And the sleeplessness that cones from never ending stress and anxiety that comes from years of white supremacist stalking and harassment under color of authority. Superiority means never having to say you're sorry!!! "YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS TO GET THAT IN THE HOUSE OR IT'S GOING IN THE GARBAGE TRUCK WITH ALL YOUR PAINTS AND BRUSHES AND ARTWORK AND RELIGIOUS ART DISPLAYED OUTSIDE ALONG WITH EVERY THING ELSE YOU HAD OUTSIDE.....AND IF WE COME BACK AGAIN AND FIND ANY ARTWORK OR ART SUPPLIES OUTSIDE AGAIN ITS ALL IMMEDIATELY GOING INTO THE GARBAGE TRUCK AGAIN" THAT ALMOST AN EXACT QUOTE FROM OUR "DEREK CHAUVIN WAS RIGHT" CITY GOVERNMENT WORKERS........THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXACT QUOTE AND IS THE COVERT MOTTO OF THE HIGHEST LEVELS HERE "IT'S THE JOB OF THE CITY TO COME DOWN HARD ON THE LOWLIFES ON BEHALF OF THE HIGHER CLASS CITIZENS". Mississippi has the reputation Iowa deserves. Please send Merrick Garland and Kristen Clark we are not so patiently awaiting your arrival. MR GARLAND, MS CLARK THIS IS ALL REAL LIFE TRUE AND WAS DONE NOT QUITE AT GUNPOINT BUT WITH OPENLY DISPLAYED GUNS AND HANDCUFFS AND REPEATED THREATS TO ARREST ME IF I TRIED TO KEEP ANYTHING THEY WANTED TO DESTROY WHILE THEY LAUGHED SAYING OF COURSE IT WOULD BE LEGAL IN THE POLICE CHIEFS YARD. THEY THOUGHT THAT WAS ALL HILARIOUS GOOD FUN.

Who Am I To Judge?


Who
am
I
to judge his way of living
from my own assumptions
about his own situation
just
based
only on
my biased thoughts, grumpy perceptions, and touchy emotion.

I
have
no knowledge of his private life
zero experience of his personal pain
nil awareness of what he had gone through

I
am
trying
to judge
maybe to ease my jealousy at his success
also probably to boost up my inferiority complex to his exceptional talent
or it would be to douse my frustration at my fruitless effort in my own life?

To judge someone else
I must base my judgement
on rock-solid facts
not on my
mental
state

Anyway
who am I to judge others?

thao chuong tran quoc viet

‘The Superlative of Art’

A pause
or awkward moment
at a cusp of metaphor;
as it seeps paradox into scrutiny,
from hidden current,
during Nature’s vast;
Yet evading mere cliché
or formula of self-absorption… [tdp, 10feb24]

To Viet Tran etc

Yesterday I read your 2 most recent posts and felt compelled to try to reflect and respond in poetry. A long one that may take weeks as I cannot focus on this right now. And a shorter one poem I almost finished yesterday and will post soon.

Explanation of long descriptions without paragraphs. I did not know how to make a paragraph on my cellphone until art and technology genius FAA Abbie kindly pointed out that on my cellphone there is an arrow button that magically makes paragraphs. Who knew?.......I will gradually make paragraphs now that I know how.

I hope you don't mind me posting here as brief poetry my recent contributions to the "6 word story" thread that I recently began looking at.

The rock salt is all gone.

Poetry? Flowers? Chocolates? I think not.

Hungry, your cat food tastes good.

Sirens wail, my dire wolf howls.

City hall sign says "Whites Only."

As in Mississippi 1950 Iowa 2024.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830.

"But.... we're west of the Mississippi".

Movie theater....."Negros And Mexicans Upstairs."

"NO DOGS OR INDXXXS ALLOWED" Still?

All I can say "thank you:"

6 am...........Why am I awake?

Nonviolence...........they threw me into prison.

"Equality?" They blacklisted me from college.

Alderman uses Nword and won't apologize.

Tired of me............. public comment eliminated.

Door open............ strange pitbull in house.

Today.......... I'm blogging about my podcast.

Alderman uses Nword........ sues black Alderman.

(And not to destroy literary mystery but.......except for eating cat food and blogging about my nonexistent podcast all the others are 100% true stories. Though signs referenced have been taken down in this town the sentiment lingers on.)

Best wishes.

(Copyright 2024 Mr Dodo B Bird)

I read in dismay:
Meanness prevailed
Pettiness persisted
Grudges lingering
Hate festered
And could not understand
Why we are this way?

Cannot niceness reign?
Fairness by everywhere?
Kindness be paramount?
Smiles returned?
I would read of goodness
And feel warmth
Towards all

Thank You, L A, from me and most/all who read your heartfelt prayer/question/dismay, and SIMPATICO from my heart, too.

An echo to VIVA Anderson's Artwork: Want That Love - MAHA



On Valentine - I’m falling in Love

I’m falling in love
in my free fall
down
to
the infinity.

I don’t want my love driving me to high mountains.
I don’t need my love sailing me on the immense ocean.
I dream of my love that would fly you high up to the blue sky.
I hope my love that would make your glazing sun much brighter.
I wish my love that would be a silver full moon shining on your dark night.


I’m falling in love,
flipping my wings,
and riding on breezing wind
in my peaceful journey
with
YOU
to the infinite silence.
May I hold your hands and be with you on the paradise of your own choice?

Thao chuong tran quoc viet
Feb. 14, 2024




Title: I Want That Love - MAHA
Artist: VIVA Anderson
Medium: Mixed Media
Description: VIVA Anderson Valentine Art...."The silence of eternity".........

I WANT THAT LOVE ~ RUMI........
I want that love that moved the mountains.
I want that love that split the ocean.
I want that love that made the winds tremble.
I want that love that roared like thunder.
I want that love that lifts us to delight.
I want that love that is the silence of eternity.

Dedicated..June 2020

An echo to Artist L A Feldstein's "Catch Me If You Can"



On Valentine - Today unlike Any Other Days - Catch Me If You Care


We see each other countless times in downtown,
on the other side of the same intersection
at the similar time
every
morning
on weekdays,
while we are waiting for green lights.
You and I always
walk
by
in a hurry
to the opposite direction.

We have collided with each other on a daily basis,
for a couple of months.
You have seen me
flesh and bone,
in-person,
face-to-face,
not online but in real life.
You always walk straight ahead
without looking at me
No smiling,
No saying “hi”,
as if I were an invisible ghost or an alien from outer space.

You’re colder than an iceberg that sank the Titanic.
Somewhat, I have been fallen in love with you
It could be your beauty melting my fragile heart,
or the wild imagination from my own loneliness,
Or there could be other unknown reasons.
I often whisperingly remind myself many times
I
am
Mr. Nobody,
only a stranger to her on my way to work.
I know how silly
I
am.
by driving my love
on a one-way street.
Such self-defeated belief has driven many windows of opportunities away.

Anyway, today is unlike all other days.
On
Valentine,
I really don’t want to see
you fly by and disappear at the infinite horizon.
I’d better let you know I have fallen in love with YOU
I expect your sweet response
to my urgent
call
“Catch me, if you care.”

I wish our coming days will not be faded away
Without YOU
and
ME
hand in hand
being together forever.

thao cuong tran quoc viet
Feb. 15, 2024



Title: Catch Me If You Can
Artist: L A Feldstein
Medium: Painting - Watercolor
Description: Big and Little or Catch Me If You Can is another abstract watercolor based on the inner workings of an old mortise door lock. These are hold back levers. The inside of mortise locks are proving to be fascinating places full of all kinds of shapes. Visit my Mortise Madness Collection and you will see what I mean. What do you see? I see two children racing their go-carts. It could be a parent and child. Are they wearing hats with streamers?

Story: Harold an Sylvia's Third Date

Sylvia, Um, uh, I'd like, uh, to invite you, uh, um, to be my partner Saturday at the, um, shopping cart races? I, uh, know it's only our third date.....but, uh....

(the what races? If this guy doesn't stop stammering, it'll be our last freakin' date)

Harold, what's a shopping cart race? You don't actually get into shopping carts and race do you? I mean, really? (Ugh, that sounds soooo 6th grade).

Well, uh, um, it does, uh, sound that way, Sylvia. But it's really a lot of, um, fun. We put on, uh, funny hats and then after, uh, uh, uh, we have pizza and ice cream.

(Funny hats, groan). Harold, I don't know, it sounds a little silly.

(If this gal, doesn't lighten up soon, it'll be our last date!) Come on, Sylvia, uh, give it a, um, try. Um, anything for pizza, right?

Later – wheeeee, wheeeeee, hahahahaha, hehehehehe, Oh, Harold, this is such a blast! I can't remember the last time I laughed so much!!!

Haiku
The morning moves on
Without me, but do I care
Afternoon is near

© L. A. Feldstein 2023

Viet - thank you for your words to go with my art. I think, yes, they have found each other and have happily fallen in love.

Still in love are these two
He said 'I love you' ; she said 'I do'



Thank you.....

Dear My Dear Friend.Viet..........I'm overcome, yet again, and so proud, and so grateful , TO YOU !
Please, My Friend...........yes,yes..........'hold my hand' , as always you do. because our love is true.💓

:)))))) - From my treasured archives, 2017...............


Thank you, Viet Tran, poet extraordinaire, for this your
Senryu on Valentine

“without gravity
love would drift to milky way
how could I hold you?”

Thao Chuong
2017-02-14 copyright

Thank you very much, LA Feldstein and Viva Anderson for your nice feedbacks and Gary Eklund Mr Dodo B Bird and TdpArts Gallery Terrance DePietro for your interesting poems. My poetry reflects my inspiration by your wild imagination, unique creativity, and your awesome artworks.

An echo to Artist Terrance DePietro's Artwork:"Pandemonium of Autumn Folding In Upon Itself"



On Valentine - I Have No Time to Wait for You

Autumn wind has already kissed awesomely colorful canopies goodbye.
No more leaves hang on dead fingers of non-evergreens.
Snow falls down from the winter gray sky.
It’s burying
me
alive
with lifeless leaves,
under deep piles 'o white cotton.

Nature takes its course.
Time flies nonstop,
in a hurry,
washing
away
all
living beings
and anything else,
on its destructive path.

How fragile I am to ride on the swift flow of time!
I am swept away to the unknown eternity.
In no time, I could wait for you.
Please no more delay.
Not tomorrow,
Not today,
Not the next second,
But right away at this very instant.

No
more
rosy promises!
Give me your hands now
Dig me up from freezing snow
Pull me out of my own lonesomeness
Put my head on your lap.
And warm me up
with your bright smiles
and with your timeless love.

Thao chuong tran quoc viet
Feb. 16, 2024





Title
Pandemonium of Autumn Folding In Upon Itself
Artist
Terrance DePietro
Medium
Digital Art - Photography
Description
Not long before the season's end, autumn reminds that our bodies, minds, and surroundings are always emergent properties, arising in effect of complex causes. Time, in its invasion of the heavens, allows our tiny sanctuary its procession; and without eyes beholding it, it endlessly streams into new proportion.

And yet when a tiniest of its magnitude can be discerned, what marvels and excitement can fill one conscious mind - perhaps as well a dream. Looking downward in 2009 such thoughts had not a measure of connotation; yet something drew my attention – call it intuitive or inspirational – causing a moment to become a timeless event and now, a decade after, even a source of contemplation!

Just mere inches in any direction of space, a complex of nature tumbles upon itself; weaves every heaped up particular, and then tightens its grip by finally folding in upon itself. Shriveling so, each extra special species of plant life brings character to the confusion; painting emotive strokes of charisma, as well as resonating harmonic symmetry that implores some sort of poetry to be complete.

And then there is a finale of mysticism that might be attained - but not to just any viewer! Select as these initiates are, their numbers ever grow; nurtured on innocence and hope most any admirer of creative sport can don said chapeau – all an issue of attitude and awareness; curiosity, diligence and faith! What more have you located, imagined, while gazing into the static pandemonium within reach?

27aug20 - tdp
Copyright, 2020, Terrance DePietro, Palenville, NY, all rights expressly reserved.

Thank you Viet for taking time in my collection... much appreciated is your symmetry and harmony in our discordant times - I will try to visit more often. Best-of-Life, Terrance

Thank you Terrance DePietro for your nice words


Here í my echo to your awesome photo "Catching a Morning"




Morning Dews on an Abandoned Web

Gentle wind blows an unoccupied web
Where is the spider?
Why did he abandon his trap?
Is he still alive or already dead?
Did he move to a new web?
Or did he become a victim of other predators?

He isn’t here to weave his web
The fine silk threads are
swinging,
back and forth
spontaneously
in response to gentle rhythms of the morning breeze.
Thousands of delicate dews are twinkling
like
tiny stars
or crystal diamonds
in the early light sunshine.

The sky brightens
as the sun rises up.
All diamonds turn to mist
and disappear in thin air.
Nothing is left on the web

How fast, how fragile, and how mystical would a man’s life be!
too much shorter than an eye’s blink
also too fragile like morning dews
too mystic to catch each breath
I’d better enjoy each instant,
before it’s fully sucked
into the black hole
of infinite
time.

Thao chuong tran quoc viet
Feb. 17, 2024



Title: Catching a Morning
Artist: Terrance DePietro
Medium: Photograph - Photography, artwork, fine Art Prints, artists Greeting Cards
Description: None

"...How fast, how fragile, and how mystical..." How true, how true...!

I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED


I do not know

This

And that

Or why

I do know

That I

Ask of you

That I

Ask of you

Please

Please be nice

Please

Please

Please

Do not tailgate me!!!

I just really really hate that!


Copyright 2024 Mr Dodo B Bird

Written last night Feb 17, 2024 to be description of "fine art" photograph titled "lf love could have saved you" when I entered into a contest and thought it needed a description.

Breaking News: No News Is Good News

The justice system smartly grabbed this fake emperor in its court of law,
not by his greasy neck,
but by his fat
wallet.
The presiding judge has already known
He’d better hit this scam-artist where it hurts the most.
Hence he drained roughly four-hundred fifty-three million bucks
out of this conman’s
well-protected
pocket.

This professional criminal is crying foul;
since he feels the burning pain
from his selfish blood
baldly
bleeding
out of his callous heart.
Yet, he always plays his renowned victim game
of being a defenseless prey of an ongoing political witch-hunt.

No big deal at all!
Four-hundred fifty-three million bucks
is only
a tiny drop
leaking out of his full bucket of billions
The wannabe emperor doesn’t care,
since he sees it as an excellent opportunity
for his new fundraising scheme.
He’ll get millions of big and small donations

Alas, most his diehard fans are starving old chaps
those would be barely
survive
on
their very limited income from old age pension or government handouts.
(They live from hand to mouth
mainly depending
on food stamps
ands food banks
to fill their empty stomachs.)

Let’s say,
for him to break even,
each hungry folk donates five bucks.
It takes nearly one hundred million folks
to tighten their belts for their most supports to his urge for help.
He is a shark that only takes any bite as big as the whole cosmos.
He would love to get
at least
triple times
of the amount
that he has just lost.

The people of his nation had successfully kicked
her former emperor
off
his throne.
He had been fully stripped naked,
He becomes a normal citizen like anyone else.
In fact, this wannabe emperor is still kicking alive well.

It is interesting to see whether this talented scam artist
would achieve his dream of taking back his lost throne.
Or would the America’s legal system successfully drive
his real estate empire
to the verge
of
bankruptcy.

Even in his worst scenario, this chronically clever cheater
would never become a homeless chap
that opens
his filthy mouth,
and begs passers-by
“Spare change please!”

thao chuong tran quoc viet.
Feb. 18, 2024

WHAT IS HE TALKING ABOUT ?


PROWAR ?

ANTI WAR ?

WHAT WAR?


NOBODY CARES

WHAT I THINK

ABOUT ANYTHING

ANYWAY


BUT


SAVE THE

MONARCH

BUTTERFLIES

COPYRIGHT 2024 MR DODO B BIRD


NEW POEM ADAPTED FROM "PROTEST SIGN" SIGN MADE RECENTLY AS PART OF MY OCCASIONAL CREATIVE PANHANDLING PROJECT.

SIGN ONLY USED TWICE SO FAR BEFORE THE "BUT....SAVE THE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES" WAS ADDED.

PEOPLE WERE 'CONFUSED"!

FROM "PRO WAR ANTI WAR WHAT WAR NOBODY CARES WHAT I THINK ABOUT ANYTHING" PHOTO ARTWORK.

My response to Artist Gary Eklund Mr Dodo b bird's "WHAT IS HE TALKING ABOUT ?"


MAKE LOVE NOT WAR

You’re an antiwar activist.
You’re a pacifist
You always say
You
wanna
make love not war.
Practically, you do the opposite
You always go to your specific war on various battlefronts.
You’re willing to die
in your ongoing
fight
for
peace
Isn’t it sardonic?

What are you talking about?
What kinda love do you want to make?
What war do you want to get rid of?
What peace do you want to achieve?
Which side are you on in your fight?
War or peace?
the left?
or the right?

Every man is acting exactly same in their fights as you do in yours
Everybody loves big gain with no pain
Everyone wanna win
Nobody wants to lose
Do you still wanna
make love not war,
while you’re singing the blue in your peace?

thao chuong tran quoc viet
Feb.22, 2024

WAR IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS


WHEN NORTH DAKOTA

WENT TO WAR

WITH SOUTH DAKOTA

OVER WATER RIGHTS

OR OIL

AND THEY BUILT

BRAND NEW MUNITIONS FACTORIES

AND THE HOMELESS PEOPLE

WATCHED

THEY SAID

THE PEOPLE OF NORTH DAKOTA

ARE EVIL

AND CRUEL

OR MAYBE

THEY SAID

THE PEOPLE OF SOUTH DAKOTA

ARE EVIL

AND CRUEL

I CONFESS

I GET SO CONFUSED

WHEN I SAID

" MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST

STOP ALL THIS KILLING"

THEY SAID

"YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND

WAR

IS NOT JUST GOOD FOR BUSINESS

HERE WHERE YOU LIVE

WAR

IS THE BUSINESS!"

AS THEY DRUG ME

OFF TO PRISON ...............

I SHOUTED

"YOU CAN THROW ME AWAY

..............IF YOU WANT TO

BUT

PLEASE

SAVE THE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES

BEFORE

IT'S TOO LATE!"

YEARS LATER

YEARS LATER

HE DIED

BROKEN

MURDERIZED

AGAIN

AND AGAIN

AND MURDERIZED

YET AGAIN

STILL "CRAZY"

HOMELESS

IN THE STREETS

NO BLUEBERRIES

NO RASPBERRIES

NO THORNLESS BLACKBERRIES

NO STRAWBERRIES

NO ASPARAGUS

NO TOMATOES

NO PEPPERS

NO PUMPKINS

NO OTHER SQUASHES

NO CUCUMBERS

NO RED RUSSIAN KALE

NO DINOSAUR KALE

NO GIANT CURLY
PURPLE MUSTURD GREENS

NO FRAGRANT FLOWERS

NO MILKWEED.........

NO MILKWEED

NO FRAGRANT FLOWERS.....

THE LAST MONARCH BUTTERFLY

WAS SEEN

IN 2031

IT WAS NOT

A GOOD YEAR

FOR THE ROSES

WAR IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS

WAR IS THE BUSINESS

MONARCH

BUTTERFLIES

DO NOT BUY ANYTHING.



COPYRIGHT 2024 MR DODO B BIRD


POEM DEDICATED TO THE FOREIGN POLICY AND NONVIOLENT VIEWS AND ECONOMIC VIEWS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE VIEWS OF OUR NOW "PAPER SAINT" MLK JR. POEM INSPIRED BY CROSS POLLINATION (POEM) BY VIET TRAN. MY THANKS TO BOTH.

IS “MAGA” A CULT IN POLITICS?

From A to Z;
A is the best;
A is the greatest
A is at the very beginning.
A could not be absolutely erased from the American/English alphabet.

Relax;
No worry;
Be at ease;
Hold our breath,
No need of protection for the A of US.
None of US would be going to die in any fight.

Since, we belong to the A at first,
We are the US of “A”,
Don’t tell US; we are not Number One.
Does anyone dare compete with US?

“Make the A Great Again”
is
in fact
not a NEED but a WANT.

“MAGA” is NOT a dream.
It is a reality;
It’s kinda a religion;
It’s a cult in politics;
It’s an undisputed truth.
Everyone sees it coming;
and many are afraid of it.

When shit hits the fan,
all people hate it,
since everybody
without
exception,
would catch its foul smell.
MAGA has the same effect;
It has hit the political fan of “A”
it has created confusion,
chaos,
and anarchy…
on the well-established system .
It’s impossible for any of US,
to get away
safe and sound,
from its negative impacts.

The cult leader loves his former MAGA’s throne
He would certainly “Make the A Great Again”.
The god-chosen prophet
wanna take over
full control
of
the American alphabet from A to Z.

He has always declared
he fully commits
to
his rosy promises:
He has miracle solutions to all of our problems;
He would stop all wars in the world in a day or less;
(Let’s say Ukraine would gain her peace in no time,
Israel would instantly defeat her so-called terrorists, etc.)
He would totally obliterate socialism, communism;
(especially bringing Putin and Xi Jinping on their knees)
He would turn your living place into a safe fortress
No illegal aliens from outer-space could break in
(A China-styled Great Wall would be constructed
along the Southern border
and paid by Mexico
in his worthless
pesos.
And a look-alike Berlin Wall would be erected
along the Northern border
and paid by Canada
in her weak
dollars.

He’ll keep our American alphabet fully intact
and turn our troublesome A
into
the utmost A plus,
a paradise on earth.
Wouldn’t it be what we are always looking for?

thao chuong tran quoc viet
Feb. 25, 2024

In the Forest at Night

Darkness, save for the silver-green light of the moon.
Silence, broken by the eight-note call of a barred owl:
Who cooks for you, who cooks for you-all?
The last note slurred,
descending into the broken silence of the forest.
Sacrilege, or close to it.
Eyes, low, near the forest floor,
reflecting red against scattered patches of moonlight filtering
through the leaves in the canopy.
Eyes disappear.
A skunk scuttles deeper into the forest.
Silence again, an all-pervasive silence, a silence so
dark as to be nameless, shapeless, formless,
fathomless. A thick, almost palpable silence.

Huff. Cough. A deer, startled. The silence
broken anew. A twig snaps underfoot. The
air is scented and moist and cool, full of
pine-needle perfume.
Overhead, in the trees. Getting closer. Closer.
Leaves rustling, moving, an almost imperceptible sound,
bordering on silence, a sound so faint as
to seem almost unreal, almost imaginary.
Silhouetted against the sky,
drifting across a gap between two
trees, floats a flying squirrel. Another.
No sound now, twin ghosts floating through a window in the night.
Silence. Utter silence. Waiting.
Darkness, silence. Silence. Ineffable silence.
Silence at the edge of the world,
at the center of the world.
The forest is the world,
the world is the forest.

PRAYING MANTIS I HEAR YOU


YOU THERE WITH YOUR PIERCING EYES

THAT LOOK ME IN THE EYES

AND WIN

EVERY STARING CONTEST

EVERY TIME

YOUR THOUGHTFUL EYES

ON YOUR PERFECT SWIVEL HEAD

YOU ALWAYS SEEM .......

SO MUCH SMARTER THAN I AM

ENDANGERED

JUST LIKE ME

I HEAR YOU TALKING TO ME

SOMETIMES I COMPREHEND

SOMETIMES I KNOW

WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT

SO......................

WHY DOES IT SEEM LIKE

NO ONE ELSE

CAN HEAR YOU ?


(Poem copyright 2024 Mr Dodo B Bird. Poem written March 24, 2024 Sunday to go with Praying Mantis artwork titled IM NOT SCARED I WANT IT TO CRAWL ON MY HAND and especially to go with the "PRAYING MANTIS" contest in late March/early April 2024 Mr Bird is/was curating.)

Mixed Up

Sometimes it mixes together
Tried to keep it separate
But why even really try

The right mix is good
When good mixes with good
Then it is a good mix
Compatibility prevails
Mix it up
Lay it down
Celebrate when it mixes well
Hoping those mixed dice land right
With so much riding on them
Luck or predetermined fate

James
3/30/24

Misty rain

So glad those thought dreams came
I don’t know from where
But they come like random rain
It may not shower
But a little mist is appreciated
No cost
Just some effort in return
They do come when I’m open
So I try to keep the door open
Welcoming any good guests

Let the misty rain
Flow to the creek
As the fish swim by
I’ll catch and release them

James 5/30/24

Memory lane

He lives on Memory lane these days
Its right off main street
At the end of the cul-de-sac
The two story house he built years ago
The old oak still stands
A wondrous survivor
It stands at the top of the driveway
The old gravel driveway winds down to the house
With over grown plants and aged yard art sculptures
The high mileage old car sits waiting
Mother nature is patiently waiting to take her course
He walks up the driveway for his daily morning walk
Enjoying the moment
Viewing the distant mountain peaks

James 3/30/24

Weird scenes haunt my dreams
Nightmarish and unexplained
I long for morning

Now hours later
Sad images still linger
Blanketing my day

Where do they come from
The vividness of the dreams
I long to forget

© L. A. Feldstein 2024