Playing Dodgeball

I've been playing dodgeball with COVID,
And up to this point, I have succeeded
In dodging the many balls tossed my way.
I haven't let warnings go unheeded.
 
True, it's been a wild game,
And all the balls sing a medley
Of different tunes; some are muted,
Some are stronger, and some are deadly.
 
As they all go whizzing by,
I twist, I turn, I shelter in place.
Protecting myself as much as I can,
I'm finding it hard to keep up the pace.
 
It's an equal opportunity
Virus, for COVID doesn't care
Whom it hits. Whoever gets
In the virus's way had better beware.
 
Extra precautions help us immensely.
Our chances are better that we won't fall
If perchance we're caught off guard
And suddenly get hit by the ball.
 
Some folks are pelted ever so slightly,
And as each one of them disappears
From the circle of COVID escapees,
Other folks are knocked on their rears.
 
The balls keep flying. The game gets even
More befuddling, more demanding.
It makes one wonder if any of us
Can win the round and be left standing.
 
When this game's over--if ever it is--
Will a new one have its say--
A brand new virus, much more virulent--
A new game we'll be forced to play?

-by Bob B (12-29-22)

In Memory of Ed (4-19-1931 to 12-23-2022)

Back in the 1950s my cousin

Met a guy, and later they wed.

For sixty-four years they were together,

Until her death parted Shirley and Ed.

 

They moved to gorgeous New Mexico--

The state where their three kids were bred.

The mountains, mesas, and desert splendor

All were captivating to Ed.

 

He worked for Sandia Laboratories

And therefore wasn't a knucklehead.

But we never knew what he really did.

A top-secret kind of guy was Ed.

 

When people didn't use their brains,

He likened them to the living dead.

Critical thinking was high on the list

Of priorities for wise ol' Ed.

 

A die-hard atheist he was.

One thing that made the man see red

Was forcing religious beliefs on others.

That was anathema to Ed.

 

No, he was a man of science and reason,

Astute and knowledgeable. He said

That all religions are based on myths,

And myths are myths, according to Ed.

 

Some say that without religion you can't

Be ethical, but there's no shred

Of evidence to prove that theory.

A perfect example was honest Ed.

 

He wasn't what you’d call a big spender.

Wasting money was something he'd dread.

Thus, he lived quite frugally,

Though comfortably, if you'd asked Ed.

 

But he loved friends and family

And welcomed them with arms outspread.

Though he could be a curmudgeon at times,

You couldn't help but like dear Ed.

 

Until recent years, it was

Quite an active life that he led.

When he was still in his 80s, you could

Play a match of tennis with Ed.

 

There are people who'd benefit

From following the path he tread.

An active life and an active mind

Were key facets of life for Ed.

 

Now that he's left us, I can no longer

Chat with him on the phone; instead,

I will rely on my memories--

My memories of dear ol' Ed.

-by Bob B (12-24-22)

 

 

Sad Santa Again

The call came in on a frigid morning—

An SOS from Santa’s elves.

“Help!” they cried. “We can’t find Santa,”

And they were all beside themselves.

 

“We’ve searched in every nook and cranny--

In every toy shop all around--

But we can’t find a trace of him.

He is nowhere to be found.”

 

Joining the search, I scoured the cities,

And hunted for him in snow and rain.

Then I heard there were reindeer tracks

In a bombed-out village in eastern Ukraine.

 

I entered a hospital hit by bombs,

Where innocent people were injured and dying.

Santa sat on the floor in a corner,

Holding a child in his arms and crying.

 

“I have had it with human beings,"

He said, wiping away his tears.

"I have tried to bring happiness

To people on Earth for hundreds of years.

 

"But look what's happening all around us.

I try to spread good will and peace,

But vile and vicious humans will not

Let war-caused pain and suffering cease.

 

"And please don't feed me the line about

Pain and suffering making us stronger.

To see children suffer like this…

Well, I can't take it any longer."

 

"I understand how you feel," I said.

"I am just as discouraged as you.

The thirst for power is so destructive!

I'm at a loss as to what to do.

 

"Finding more ways to nurture compassion

In human beings is what we need.

That is one of the only ways

To conquer ignorance, anger, and greed.

 

"All you can do is to keep on attempting

To open folks' eyes, to give them hope

That kindness will win eventually.

That is the only way we can cope."

 

Taking the child from Santa's arms,

A doctor said, "She'll live. Don’t worry.

But I can see that your reindeer are getting

Antsy, so you had better hurry."

 

Santa kissed the child on the forehead

And walked to his sleigh on that wintry night.

He turned to me and held up his hand,

And crossing his fingers, he drove out of sight.

-by Bob B (12-20-22)

Donald the Showman

(This poem could be sung to the melody of "Frosty the Snowman" by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson.)

 

Donald the showman

Is a miracle they say,

For it always seems that despite his schemes,

He always gets away.

 

Donald the showman

Is a grifter and a con.

Though a real nutcase, if you ask his base,

He's their "father"; he's their don.

 

His recent big announcement was

New digital trading cards.

Supporters bought them up and then

They all sent him their regards.

 

Yes, Donald the showman

Has been conning all his life.

People shout out "Wow!" and they wonder how

He could ever keep a wife.

 

Donald the showman

Wants to win a second term,

But as walls close in and as ice grows thin,

You can watch the con man squirm.

 

His picture's on his trading cards;

His ego knows no bounds.

The more he speaks, the more he rants,

The crazier he sounds.

 

Donald the showman

Will invite you to his pad

If you make the news with extremist views.

That will surely make him glad.

 

Donald the showman

Looks for folks to string along.

He thinks he'll stay free with impunity,

But let's hope that he is wrong.

 

Trumpity-Trump-Trump,

Trumpity-Trump-Trump…

Will he ever see…

Trumpity-Trump-Trump,

Trumpity-Trump-Trump…

Accountability?

 

-by Bob B (12-18-22)

Be the Peace

Be the peace that you would like

To spread around the world and know

That it comes from deep within,

And when it's nurtured, it will grow.

 

Be the laughter you want to hear

Fill the air with glee and mirth.

Let its contagious sounds extend

To people everywhere on Earth.

 

Be the light that you want to see

Radiate both near and far.

Let it serve as a beacon of hope;

Let it be a guiding star.

 

Be the love that unites the world--

A love that's meaningful and real.

Let its radiance gloriously

Embrace all living things with zeal.

 

Be the antidote to anger.

Let compassion fill your heart,

For ill-will tries to overpower

Love and tear the world apart.

 

Be a person who always seeks

To make the world a better place.

Let your glowing smile be mirrored

On every other person's face.

-by Bob B (12-17-22)

Oneness

This body that I call my own

Is air, water, earth and fire.

The urge to be--to live, to persist--

Forms the basis of desire.

 

Manifesting in different forms--

Countless forms that I call "me"--

I'm like a river that flows through life

And longs to be at one with the sea.

 

I'm like a wave upon the ocean.

At times I whisper, but often I roar,

Especially when I move too close

To land and crash upon the shore.

 

My bodily form--shifting, amorphous--

Is constantly changing its shape, its form,

Similar to the clouds in the sky

That float, that tower, that wildly storm.

 

I'm one with the past and one with the future,

Immeasurable in time and space.

Since I am what I am, I

Can never truly be out of place.

 

I'm the range of human emotions:

Happiness, sadness, love, and fear.

At times I'm a vision that no one can see;

At times I'm the sound that no one can hear.

 

I am the stars; I am the mountains;

I am the wind; I am the rain.

There's never a reason to worry because

There's nothing to lose and nothing to gain.

 

I breathe along with the universe,

Imbibing its force with every breath,

Thus transcending mass and light,

Distance and time, life and death.

-by Bob B (12-15-22)