Annie in Pursuit

My granddaughter sprinkles fairy dust
On hair, body and people in close range.
She tells me it will wash off
Over the next two months.

Annie is a teenager.
Her life is devoted to Adam Lambert.
Adam is a talented entertainer.
Annie electronically stalks his every breath.

Adam performed in our town on Friday.
Annie and her posse were on hand.
Some of her cohorts had crossed the continent
To worship his every move.

Idolizing Adam gives her social life focus.
It does not seem to promote
Criminal behavior,
Only hours of dress preparation.

I still detect an atom of the 4 year old
Who was very curious
And the 8 year old who
Could not put down her first Harry Potter.

We Have Seen the Whites of Their Eyes

Having covered the agenda
It was venting time,
And the Republicans
Were the object of our disdain.

Comments were both reasoned
And otherwise.
Some succinct,
Others not.

My world teems with Republicans,
And I can’t entirely dismiss them.
These guys may be right...
About something.

Distraction

Perhaps if I could agree with the Buddha
I would accept my life as a distraction,
A mere illusion that conceals
Clarity and knowledge.

What terrible vision would be set before me?
Family and flowers, love and hate,
Might be recognized, if at all,
As impostors, hiding the greater reality.

And that reality?
Beyond words or any human comprehension.
Or perhaps merely a drug induced dream,
Temporarily suggesting that there is a way.

No doubt it is fear and lethargy
That prevent me from such a journey.
No road signs to mark my path,
And eventual safe arrival.

To lose belief in the possible,
And find something far greater,
Is a precarious trade,
And beyond, far beyond, my limits.

Four Ones

Four ones might be propitious .
No doubt astrologers will find a coded message
From ancient astronauts
Foretelling a galactic catastrophe.

When was the last time
Our calendars arranged themselves
So that four short, straight vertical strokes
Told us month, day and year?

Perhaps this year the descending ball
Signaled the end to world strife?
All peoples read a message in the sky
A message of peace and understanding ... or not.

Culture

Lithuanians don’t say hello to strangers.
Too many years of government oversight?
They don’t say hello to first time retail customers.
No names are put on receipts.

Woman’s place is vouchsafe
And strictly enforced
In orthodox middle east countries.
So much baggage.

Barbaric describes the “other”.
To cross into universality
Requires acceptance of “truth”
Beyond our cultural borders.

A “Brave New World” would surmount
Our inexhaustible inventory of identity
In exchange for agreement
And the inherent loss of “humanness”.

If we all agree to the King’s splendid clothes
How can we see his nakedness?
I will set you free from sight
And burden you with miracles.