Novel

I am going to work today. Then I have 2 days off. Then I work Friday. Then I have 9 days off for my 10 year wedding anniversary. During most of my vacation, I will visit Arizona, specifically the Superstition Mountains, to conduct further research into my novel. I finished a significant part of my story, the first 30 pages, but I have reached a point in the book where I must pay even closer attention to detail. I love authors like Dan Brown and Robert Ludlum whose books draw me in and make me feel like I am actually there. I am sure these men spent time in the places they wrote about and I intend to do the same thing in my books. I may even post some pictures of my trip, especially the scenic part during my research. Between my poems that I work on, I am also writing my book every day. I cannot wait to share it with you, but I must. Otherwise it will not be as fun.
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Band

Band

The drums got the bass

And they keep the beat

The guitar adds to the song

And makes it sound sweet

The singer adds words

And gives the song meaning

The song reaches out to you

And makes you want to sing

The three together

Make it sound grand

When they all work together

The product is a band

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Thought Limitation

Thought Limitation (written in the 1990s)

Cogitation
Cerebration
Deliberation
Rumination
Meditation
Cessation

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I Love You Mom

I Love You Mom (from 1994)

Mom is there to love and care

And tuck you in at night

She pampers you when you are hurt

And makes you feel alright

She’s the one you mostly miss

And long to feel her gentle kiss

She prays for you and stays with you

When you have had a nightmare

No matter what the trouble is

Mom will always be there

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What Good Would it do?

This was written in 1994 when I was 14 years old.

What Good Would it do?

What good would it do

if I ran away?

How would it help me

to this very day?

I know it would cause

more bad than good.

It would cause more grief

than anyone should

have to put up with

throughout their life.

Noone should have to

cope with the strife.

What good would it do

if I started to smoke?

What do I think?

Do I think it’s a joke?

It’s not really funny.

In fact not at all.

If I was a smoker

I would start to fall.

Fall as in

to go down hill.

Go downhill as in

lose all of my skill.

What good would it do

if I caused more grief?

How would it help

if I turned a new leaf?

How would it help

to be in someone else’s shoes.

How would it help?

What good would it do?

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Cacophony of Constantly Coughing Kids

This piece was first published as a Facebook status update 4/28/11 when my wife and I and my two sons all had walking pneumonia. It is 100% true. I was actually eating cold cantaloupe while writing this.

Raphael is confiding in the crown-capping, corporation-kowtowing, cutlery-cupping, cockroach-crushing, crap-kicking, calf-castrating, cow-killing, caliper-calibrating, caravan-casting, car-chroming, coin-compensating, code-cracking, cuticle-clipping, corn-cultivating, coupon-cutting, creditcard-collecting, carol-crooning, calendar-checking, card-creasing, course-cramming, creature-collecting, collie-calling, cat-cuddling, concerned, capitalist country that he is…

…currently cornered on the couch consuming cold cantaloupe while being cajoled by a cacophony of constantly coughing kids carrying and catapulting cantankerous, colluding, clingy critters who are comfortably and contentedly camping in their craniums and carpooling cunningly through cartilage in their collarbones to their coccyges creating carnage that cannot be canceled unless a courageous captain cleverly conceives how to conclude the carnage through a careful campaign of codeine, consoling, comforting, and cold-presses that coincidentally is completely catastrophic for the conniving, crappy little con-artists….

…At least there’s no crying from the couple of cute, cuddly children sipping cool water out of colorful crazy, company-created contraptions: cups.  

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Wake Up Late

Wake up late, groggy
Rush through a shower
Skip breakfast, no time
Slip on shoes without socks
Speed on the freeway
Don't swear at red lights
because they allow time
to get ready for work
Walk quickly through parking lot
trying to look professional
Get inside, check in
right on time

Breathe a sigh of relief
Make idle promise
never to stay up so late again

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My earliest poetry - Nature

Nature

The sky so blue

The birds in the trees

The grass so green

The flowers, the bees

The mountains so high

The rivers, the streams

The ponds and the lakes

that glisten and gleam

The plants and the wildlife

The moon and the sun

They all fit together

and they become one,

Nature

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My earliest poetry - Haiku

I began writing poetry when I was 14 years old. Most of my early poetry was written in 1994. I excelled at rhyme and meter. I liked rules when it came to language. I also had just enough trouble in my life to inject real emotion at times. It was quite sophomoric, but hey, I wouldn’t be a sophomore for a few more years. I guess that means I was ahead of my time. I want to share my early work a little bit at a time. Today is Haiku day. Enjoy.

Haiku

Inevitably

Contrary to some belief

Everyone must leave

The powerful wolf

Stalks his prey with great caution

Then springs, chases, closes, kills

A wise man thinks much

He ponders about nature

And how man fits in

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Running Into Trouble

A woman sprinted up a narrow trail in the Superstition Mountains of central Arizona. She leaped over large rocks as she ascended the tan-colored goliaths. Her heavy breathing filled the early morning air as her sandals pushed desert gravel.  A light brown lizard scurried from atop a rock and settled under a bush. She didn’t acknowledge the small creature; there was no time. The Arizona desert gets quite cold overnight—cold to reptiles. Cammi concentrated on the summit. It was out of site, but not out of mind. She had learned to focus on long runs, especially with a race coming up so soon. This was a speed workout, not a leisurely jog. She pushed herself harder, knowing that this was her last hill-workout before the 100-Mile race in Leadville, Colorado next week. The summit came into sight. She dug deep. She had been pushing herself hard the entire way, but she still had a little left. She sped up, practically sprinting the last 300 yards. Her heart pounded. Her lungs ached. She loved that feeling; and she embraced the fatigue. This is it, she thought. With one last surge she reached the top and began walking immediately. The mountaintop was flat and, apart from cacti every few feet, quite clear. True to its name, the top of Flat Iron Mountain looked like an upside down iron. The flat area, roughly the size of a football field, curved on both sides and came to a point. Each edge was a sheer drop hundreds of feet down. She was alone, the way she preferred it. She was always heading back down the mountain before others arrived. Arizona was relatively cooler before eight in the morning. She would rest a few more minutes before heading back down.  From the summit she could see several miles in every direction. Houses were now only a few miles away; they seemed to grow out of the desert like weeds. Soon, they would creep right up to the edge of the mountain, but for now, Cammi simply enjoyed the view. 


Just as she was turning away from the edge a glimpse of motion caught her eye. A yellow convertible sped into the parking lot and skidded to a stop at the trailhead followed closely by a blue SUV. The blue SUV stopped directly behind the yellow convertible boxing it in. A large man in a red shirt jumped out and began running up the trail with three men in pursuit. The fleeing man kept looking back at the pursuers and stumbling on the loose dirt. One of the menacing figures pointed an arm up the trail and the victim collapsed immediately. A second later she heard a thunder clap. They immediately began looking around to see if anyone on the mountain had heard the sound. Cammi ducked then crawled away from the cliff. 

*   *   *

With twists and turns this story is rarely what it seems on the surface. Set in the Arizona desert just outside Phoenix, this action adventure follows a world-class runner in her journey to exact revenge on her attackers.