"Surely there was a time I might have trod
The sunlit heights . . ." --Oscar Wilde, "Helas"Monday, April 5, 2021
Sunshine and Shadow
Friday, April 2, 2021
Must We Fall in Love?
Eve and colleague Adam
tripped over an apple and fell.
A snake smirked. I myself
have fallen in love
after stumbling over
a load of infatuation,
or bumbling through
a course of social
obstacles: slapstick
Casanova. This falling
in love sounds so fateful,
injurious, actionable--
beset by heartfelt
soreness, bruised feelings,
ego deflation. We're liable
to dislike it. The idea of love
sells tickets and products
and rosy futures: thus are
we encouraged to take
risks, show caution the door.
Well, we might think of
leaning in love, after a
light repast and several
laughs. Or rolling in love,
weaving like in-line
skaters near the beach,
glad and balanced.
Yes I know it's counter-
cultural, but what about a
steady climb into love?
One foot after another?
No, I guess not. Passion's
ever the fashion. Good luck.
hans ostrom 2021
Thursday, April 1, 2021
What the Shadow Cat Said
Friday, March 26, 2021
And Hope for the Best
Strange Feeling
Short Ideas
at work she endured
lot of short ideas."
She laughed and images
of those faces
surely faded.
The Skipper
dissolve in water.
offbeat swells shrug
the craft. sun glare
stuns. you sense
the sea's in touch
with forever,
a distant cousin.
headed back to port,
you try to remind
yourself you're you.
gulls shriek, nobody
talks, land magnets
the boat close.
wobbly on a dock,
you again accept
your position: the
skipper of your life.
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
Hobbies?
Friday, March 19, 2021
Sometimes You Meet a Very Good Tree
Tuesday, March 16, 2021
Velton Stopped Cheering
Monday, March 8, 2021
Old Man, I'm Talking to You
[revised a bit]
Friday, March 5, 2021
All Electric Poem
In Heaven (If Heaven)
in heaven (if heaven)
laughter must surely roll
in endless echoing squalls
when former people speak
of achievements, wealth,
and fame--then catch
themselves, seeing successes
as less than a dissolved
banana peel in a garden
compost; and giggling with
others and others and others,
everybody foolish and free,
nothing to prove, no one to prove
it to in heaven (if heaven).
hans ostrom 2021