big deal

August 22, 2026
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you learn to your alarm

when you awaken and read the news

that the runners of your country

continue to thieve.

..

the outlets have been so bombarded

with a variety of similar crimes

and new revelations of past, different crimes

that the psychic circuits of the electorate

have been blown.

..

collaboration with a russian oligarchy?

big deal.

abuse and extortion of the underaged?

big deal.

innocent citizens killed by paramilitant thugs?

big deal.

propaganda compelling mistrust of vaccination?

big deal.

gunshot deaths becoming commonplace in schools?

big deal.

undeclared war turning schoolgirls into corpses?

selling schlock to fill executive coffers?

making pharmaceuticals unaffordable?

coveting and then invading oil-rich countries?

insulting and belittling truth-seeking journalists?

befouling the sea and the air?

building concentration camps?

rigging, cheating, killing, lying, destroying?

..

we are numb.

numbness is the worst poison.

A non-exhaustive list of thanks

August 21, 2026
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To the farmer who sent hominy: O wow, I am so gritful.

To the general who sent the Panzers on consignment: Tanks allot.

To the co-worker who gave me the Tupac CD: OG thanks!

To the crowd of screaming fans who conveyed me around the concert arena: Thanks so mosh!

To the venture capitalist who commissioned a Faberge egg for me: I cannot thank you en oeuf.

To the greengrocer who sent me bananas, radishes, and celery: Thanks bunches.

To the friend who did a week’s worth of my laundry: Thanks loads.

To Millicent Newsome, DDS, who provided my cosplay Dracula false teeth: Fangs à Millie N.

Finally, to the founders of the university of grateful puns and fruit composting:

Thank U (Berrymulch).

measures

August 20, 2026
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measures

inches from the finches on your backyard chain link fence

you may wonder if they blunder with their brightness and intents

but they measure with their pleasured procreation and a sense

of fulfillingly and willingly made scenes from yore to thence.

..

in the yard a scarlet cardinal makes wind with swoop and rise

in his belly is a jelly of his hunting enterprise

not a bishop nor the pope but hopes he reaches heaven’s skies

and the symphony and tympani that measure far and wise.

instance

August 20, 2026
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instance

each birth has been an instance of emergence

each shut door is an instance of confinement

and your comeback comes with wavelets

of resurgence

and a syzygy’s an instance

of alignment.

..

bake your bread to cause an instant freshness smile

win a race and add accomplishment anew

win a friend and you’ve a teammate

and it boosts your self-esteem, mate

and your cheer-squad reconstruction crew

this while.

.

and that all is well and goodish

but that guy with garment hoodish

waits so patiently with scythe and stopwatch ready

but defy him all you can

and put cessation in the distance

make a shreddy

track and rack up legioned instants.

ope

August 19, 2026
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ope

ope was shorthand slang for the son

of sheriff andy taylor

in the mythical town of mayberry

on a tv show of the sixties

..

usually people called him opie instead of ope

and usually we say open

instead of ope

but sometimes we are theatrical

..

it would be dopie to continue

but we must cope with preserved structure

and hope for resonance

so we end with a microscope

doctorkus

August 18, 2026
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need an appointment?

new in town? just do a search

and easy peasy.

..

toledo oh aitch:

promedica or mercy health.

flip a coin here, friend.

..

you say “have mercy.”

there is an office nearby.

you call the number.

..

a nice lady spoon-feeds

you through the questionnaire and

hey presto and done…

..

d.o. pcp,

appointment in a week,

link in your e-mail.

..

it took just ten minutes.

a week early but you feel

better already.

My Girlfriend Is My Shepherd

August 17, 2026
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My Girlfriend is my shepherd. I shall not want

For guidance. She counseleth me

To take my raiment, food-soiled by my clumsiness,

And soaketh it in the magic blue fluid

Anointed by the cold still waters

Until the stains are annihilated.

She leadeth me in the paths of righteous hygiene

For my self-respect’s sake. She restoreth

My Dr. Scholl’s.

Yea, though I walk through the Valley of Cluelessness,

I shall fear no misstep,

For Thou art with me,

Thy speed-dial and spank-ruler

They come for me.

Surely, For-My-Own-Goodness

And You’re-Not-Going-Out-Dressed-Like-That,

Are-You?? shall follow me

All the days of my life,

And I shall dwell in the house of Watch-Your-Step,

Buster

For ever and ever.

Amen

(Apologies to the author of the 23rd Psalm)

sousapalooza

August 16, 2026
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sousapalooza

by the quarter note we march

by the grace of God we play

epaulets and oomph and starch

pro patria on display

celebrating independence

stirring steps with knees brought high

borrowed valor hot air blend hence

lutefisk packed up in lye

merrily we reach crescendo

jollily we reach the exit

many concerts round the bend o

we got muscle and we flex it

surfeited subsurface access

August 15, 2026
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surfeited subsurface access

the street is torn up

the hydrant across the street is uprooted

and it is a jaw dropping seven feet long or so

..

local residents ignore the ROAD CLOSED signs

to wobble their way home and away from home

..

the noise is incessant from 6am to 5pm

and then the silence is somehow high-pitched

the neighborhood dazed

in the gravelgrit haze

..

but the crew has been good about cleanup

and the asphalt saw cuts fine and true

and the waterlines look new and sturdy

and the street will be flatly unlumpy

and the sidewalks less dangerous too

..

that’s our tax dollars truly at work

tax dollars not frittered away

well worth a fortnight’s inconveyance

to be bringing us up to okay