2024 Wood Ticks in My Head

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Every flower bends 

every roof top springs a leak 

all the colors fade 

I wander in the sun seeking shade 

What do you call home? 

What do you call success? 

The fortress where you hide 

protected from the tide 

I die alone regardless 

of what gets left behind 

so ends the poem 

the celebration is on me 

I die alone 

Attending another class 

for one of life's ugly lessons 

I was watching Natasha 

when the phone went dead 

rolling blackouts 

jackhammer fables

squeeze out your diet 

hope chest in the basement 

chuck wagon dinner bell 

left the heard feeling complacent 

the real McCoy alter boy 

sipping left-over wine 

angels disguised 

over hallowed ground 

Gazette out of print 

How many can relate with 

the times of youth?

Hoomak 

something in the post 

about covid stress

always working hard 

stories men tell wives 

Some have ethics with your best interests at heart

some are petty-politics cry babies 

paid to whine all day 

crosses and ghosts we live with 

no way to say "I'm sorry" 

to all the women hurt 

no way to reconcile 

short windows for getting the job done 

know the rules early or miss the boat 

With war on the soil 

your fantasy world comes crashing down 

groundhog lurches in the shadows 

events like ducks in a row 

late night text from an old friend 

suffering serious ailments 

an invitation to kindly not send 

photos from a death-bed 

one prefers memories of life 

every now and then we need to reset 

slip out of sight 

a phantom in the night 

mystic clouds circle 

razor sharp sediments 

dulled by time and medication 

comfort in the moment 

non shall keep 

smile fond memories 

an old grey man 

sunset on the horizon 

regrets to eject 

second uncle from the son 

They tell me

rich folks are eating alone 

reacquainting themselves with new found freedom 

A simple mistake on the fly of impulse 

you pay for the rest of your life

Our family got along as long as we were apart 

Are we all going insane for a reason?

You run a risk no one knows 

stormy weather 

we're chained together 

the world turns 

the planet burns 

Find freedom on whose terms 

constant threat in the air 

better beware 

be prepared 

something is looming 

I miss the sound of a train in the distance 

No memory of drug fueled high school years 

yet childhood days come in waves crystal clear 

There was a time

my lover processed insurance claims 

down the Younge Street terrain of good and evil 

teenage rebellion in full swing 

when the phone would often ring 

peers acted like they would live forever 

Never saw it coming 

washed away so much loving 

we struggled to make ends meet 

feels like a witch's curse

something meant to be 

Ask the referee 

sometimes you just can't see

no explanation 

for what you put yourself through 

A death wish coming in 

those ghosts start to grin 

haunting you with baggage 

talking in a foreign language 

a horror movie script 

in there somewhere 

I could ramble on and on 

sing a lazy boring song 

make no waves 

in the ocean of insanity 

In summary I would like to say 

to all a good morning 

to all a good night 

At the refreshment bar

beside the car 

stay clear of the herd 

preaching the good word 

drive-in feature 

about a zombie teacher 

the world is just a ball 

we keep kicking down the hall 

That train rolled past long ago 

from Scarborough to McCowan Road 

fire broke out in the parkade below 

evacuate the building 

hang out in limbo

walked to school in the driving rain 

high on drugs

block the pain 

like the last person on earth 

wandering around for what it's worth 

count your blessings 

you don't live like them 

Hang in there 

as long as you can 

stay on the fence 

until they force your hand 

everyone looking after number one 

seems like turbulence will never end 

they pause for awhile 

then start up again

the older you get 

the more you regret 

Prattle 

politics of termination 

blind marauder strikes again 

lives in a fridge 

avoiding trends 

a lecture on how to express emotions 

half the attendees camped at salsa lagoon 

rumors spread about the depot heist 

they got away with the loot in a wheel barrel 

head of the household 

determined what news went to the tenants 

news got filtered 

in the event of emergency 

head of the household beat a cowbell 

sitting in the airport parkade 

watching shopping carts roll by 

when you hit the point of no return 

when words are useless

your only option is leave 

she goes west of the lawyers 

stays east of the badgers 

brother John and sister Flo 

used a compass to find home 

Prattle be thy name 

thirteen years in council consensus 

the Courtenay kid misplaced the lid 

prune juice trail along the aisles 

bitter sweet the love we shared 

ringing ears and broken glass 

acid reflux haunts the church 

bells toll over maple glen 

brass bands march 

pipe bands jam 

a special offer 

flocks of geese 

rubber gloves stripping wire 

copper music hall 

comedy freefall 

zodiac zoo 

major repair in the attic 

run away senior 

free at last 

word-game media 

amphibian close up 

morning project

rejected script 

propane leak 

Window dressing 

I don't mind 

be here now for human kind 

Connor takes a castle tour 

real estate wrapped in manure 

sell you a home you can't afford 

arm you with a rusty sword 

wine glass rolling down the hall 

spaghetti plate smashed the wall 

carpet ride through the old hotel 

patrons laugh and wish you well 

the present day fading fast 

reconciling past 

she climbs back into my head 

some things best left unsaid 

They became unacquainted 

with their own 

irrational behavior

earmarked for the love of a fallen angel

pressing matter 

things we say and shouldn't 

things we don't say and should 

The talkie-walkie 

cursed the vampire 

from Hope to Mary's motel 

she found religion 

red ants and gunfire 

under the carpet 

calendar filled 

with aqua appointments 

Leon looney acted so meek 

angry street corner 

where deals went down 

rope recover mode 

whistle so sweet 

a changing beat 

with dead calm glances 

fire consumes you 

away we wander 

fade to black and white 

I believe 

I believe we're stranger 

I believe no one's safe 

baby walk away 

your political views 

mean nothing to me 

your religious beliefs 

mean nothing to me 

T'was known in shackles

a maiden so poor 

on the morning meadow she toiled 

I often rambled in her view 

I remember her still 

she was good in an air raid drill 

Now that I'm old 

with tales left untold 

still feel out of touch 

I met her in the meat section 

on a Sunday afternoon 

she was stocking up on ground beef 

bratwurst and Sheppard's pie 

we use to date in trade school 

we went our separate ways 

she married a technician from the refinery

I slugged it out in a factory 

no one knows which way the road goes 

every now and then 

the road takes you back 

those days of benevolence 

You've got too much stuff 

from the past 

nipping at your ass 

The teacher asked the class,

"What's your definition of success?" 

The consensus was money and a big house.

No one mentioned contentment. 

Defiant until the end 

the wolves escaped the den 

Joy of the evening 

I strolled the hills in solitude 

over the glen

down by the shore 

where the sun sank 

low in glory 

Enjoy the road 

when it's good 

Treasure of the highlands 

wash away the fog 

let the mist settle in the valley 

I lost sense of time 

standing in the breeze 

overlooking pine covered hills 

where spirits convene 

windows of ruins 

features carved in copper leaves 

rusty ferns swaying 

silent harmony 

Fangs of the buckwheat ghoul 

riding on the wind of a storm 

crushing cartilage in the yeast 

mask of red and gold 

performing unholy rituals 

on a hardwood floor 

feeling of grandeur 

swept across the scaffold 

lifting and rewrapping old bones 

in a compound dreary 

something eerie 

figures float in shadows down the hall 

attempt to escape this tombstone fate 

council resorts 

to hunting for sport 

the people who live on the street 

clever with the letter 

long hair of the law 

strange as it seems 

they divided the team 

T'was forty off years ago 

I could not believe 

the broken heart 

I wore on my sleeve 

lost her somewhere 

a gradual thing 

Banished from the temple of Moloch 

waiting for the word at Boar's Head Inn 

she lived up to her reputation 

as the town tattler 

those words 

we wish we could take back 

haunt us forever 

I was traveling home 

in the pale moonlight 

needing rest from a late work shift 

got out of a bad situation 

without too much collateral damage 

my loss was somebody's gain 

your loss was somebody's gain 

our loss was somebody's gain 

Have you got one more 

I'm not sure 

flame you doubt 

is ringing out 

it's not the same 

you're not to blame 

seasons pass

move so fast 

Gina faced the world 

debauchery and vice 

arcade corner 

rolling dice 

baser side of life 

pity the victims

systematic corruption

we had good times 

that ship sailed 

too many kings 

who don't feel loved 

too many common people 

seeking companionship 

in small doses

con people out there

believe who they are 

they lift up their latches 

and load up their cars 

while homeless encampments 

surround the shopping mall 

To alleviate the persistent housing shortage 

send all seniors sixty and over 

on a one-way flight to Mars 

like ragweed loneliness looms across the land 

waiting for a nightmare like you 

when the billionaires have you in their pocket 

when the rich ditch accountability 

you live out your life 

on a corporate agreement 

with terms catered in their favor 

too long and drawn out 

with legal jargon 

nobody reads 

just agree 

Naomi disowned me when the will was read 

she decided she preferred her ex boyfriend instead 

so I hopped on a westbound train to a life of squalor 

when no explanation will suffice 

it's only seems nice to just disappear 

our luck and hereditary determine our fate 

Time is the controller 

sex the obsession 

I'm going slower 

next comes recession 

follow the hearse of Capistrano 

at the Isle of Wak 

she had an astrological awakening 

point the finger at me 

in the caves of Jinn 

where questions begin 

the crowd thins out 

you're left holding a paper 

you thought yesterday 

was dead and buried 

hounded by hard luck cases 

on every corner 

you'll be in a kangaroo courtyard 

until further notice 

Limpy McGee had a bad case of gout 

pictured in a moment 

a freeze frame in your life