2022 Fly-by-Night Bagels

 Reconciliation blues 

quest to be  fair 

no mandates over there 

always on your mind 

life so unkind 

detest 

no rest 

protest 

at best 

conquest 

request 

address 

If you don't want to lie in bed 

with tubes hanging out of you head

get a jab

if you're feeling kind of lonely 

tired of hearing the bologna

get a jab

Bad blood runs deep

history repeats

humans learn nothing 

Lon says, "I'm coming, Uncle Ned"

your guests will soon be wed 

under a stormy backyard 

organ grinder pumping hard

here I sit without a point 

die right here 

stink up the joint 

When I was young 

I could hit a home run 

got around the bases with ease 

with age I struck out with rage 

first base was a distant place

The whims of our parents 

are the whims of our children 

Too many mansions on the hill 

not enough shelter for the people 

Triple glass of wine evening 

watching mummy adventures from Cairo 

too late to say sorry 

too late we were too young 

old on a planet cold 

long Johns all summer 

lost a dear friend 

a scorpion in the playpen 

dogs bark through the night 

Line'em up, let'em go 

take a tour through Toronto 

intrinsically safe for awhile 

wear it while it's still in style 

deep red, deep blue 

party with the seismic crew 

They cut off the chowder 

the music got louder 

ran into an old friend 

after 40 odd years 

she said she was still looking for love 

I said I was still searching for 

the perfect oatmeal cookie 

Has radical politics consumed you into the dark side?

Take hold, my friend, for help is on the way 

You'll be free of grievances 

light will shine through your window once again

Uncle Ned, Aunt Clara & Aunt Martha 

to the rescue

Blueberry waffles, 

champagne and popular mechanics 

It's a shindig thing 

where the gila stings 

the town crier pours a glass 

to close out the day 

in worship 

at the church of choice 

For public health considerations 

it's recommended that everyone 

carry a barf bag 

as a precaution 

against the unexpected 

the epical weekends 

the social media bragging rights 

may induce nausea 

Is something hanging over your head?

an effort to make linear 

what's fragmented 

to not amplify what has past 

the ruby slippers 

did not come off on their own 

you can still take a stand 

against pollution 

in all it's Devine forms 

air, water, noise 

and plain old human pollution 

it could have gone better 

had we held it together 

pressure relentless 

issues endless 

we met on the stairs of Ketchikan 

With a new bag of tricks 

you make a new mix 

you'd be better by far 

if you mute the guitar 

there's a chorus in your head 

got to put it to bed 

there's a juicy refrain 

by some other name 

History will not be kind 

to the baby boomers 

hypocritical, self-centered, 

short term thinking 

Love is a treasure, 

love is a vase 

love is snow white, 

love is black magic 

love is sorrow, 

love is tragic 

Someone painted 

an antelope like a zebra 

and there was a kitten 

on it's back 

We've seen a thousand hens 

make believe how this world ends 

She gave me a sigh of relief 

she said, "don't worry, we've got time" 

she pedaled a hundred miles

in front of a big screen 

Not much more to say 

it's out there anyway

bastille bacon 

trailer park dawn 

shoe horn evidence 

moss covered retail porn 

Bashaw farmers 

talk Lennon over coffee 

pirates lurking over seniors 

subway snow bird trapped 

patrol the halls at lunch 

cut the fence and run for joy 

pleasure in the treasure 

of the moment 

soap suds sofa over the balcony 

Not much more to say 

it's out there anyway

Foreshadowed scapegoat 

power without purpose 

dry blood on the tile floor 

cereal bar cheerleader 

parking lot pillow 

holiday guests without warning 

cartoon quests Saturday morning 

urban style age denial 

artificial bones in place 

outlet lamp boxcar tramp 

darkness yearning auto pilot 

horizon overkill 

holiday gamble 

people scramble 

Not much more to say 

it's out there anyway

8 ball in the side pocket 

all is fine, 

no wear and tear 

all Devine, 

no glare no hair 

8 ball on the resume 

leaking prune juice down the aisle 

toy production assembly line 

8 ball on the down payment 

calling for a reset 

drawing your get-away 

when you reconnect the circuit 

something is not the same 

golfers in wheelchairs all over town 

Nosey

the day is crisp and clear 

and nosey

If you die in a mansion 

or you die in the gutter, 

it doesn't make any difference, 

you're still dead

We know, Pedro,

Pablo went to sea ... 

They say that shopping 

around for a sandwich ...

When there's no one left to talk to, 

and you're home all alone,

the branches scrape the window,

the wind chills the bones. 

I'm sorry for the mackerel 

that was planted in the couch

Leechcraft,

sumptuous wayfarer ways,

companion-train of thought, 

cup-companion, not 

History repeats itself 

over and over again 

humans are idiots 

My lady Latina 

your scent is like a flower 

bending in an April shower 

Scoring at Rochdale 

we were young, 

a teenage quest 

to go downtown 

you can guess 

our common goal 

to get a buzz 

just because 

it seemed like the right thing to do 

Mary Jane prohibited 

U of T distributed 

dorms and lecture halls 

beckoned us all 

scoring at Rochdale 

a teenage right of passage 

There were crickets chirping in the warehouse 

Please defriend me, go in peace 

over kitchen floor covered in grease 

There's no comfort in the web 

there's no island for the cruise 

there's no going back 

there's no more Union Jack 

the ball bounced off the wall 

single file down the hall 

Ask Loray about today's special 

get tips to survive the plague 

we gather at the club 

for wired Wednesday 

plan the next event 

based on the amount of copper in stock 

Someone else's train wreck dream

conspiracy flag waving scene

Can't put your heart in it 

everyone's a critic 

tea leaves in heaven don't reply 

soapy injunction, repeat the lie 

inherit enemies by association 

it's better to pretend 

than to let go of sanity 

Keep the routine alive 

the name of the game is maintain 

Charms so bright 

lift thy veil slowly 

stretch forth 

flow with wind 

in which I was 

dormant in peaceful bliss