think

by chuck leary

think of a flower think of a gorilla picking the flower think of a ham sandwich in the refrigerator back at base camp think of an intrepid traveler suddenly coming on the base camp at the foot of the mountain think of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the backpack of the intrepid traveler think of a deposed king think of a lock on a door think of a man walking in the rain i will never go back though the door be opened wide my part has been played and my path lies before me quite so, quite so, i understand perfectly returning from his enforced sabbatical sadly, he began to repeat himself there were too many reports to be ignored the master understood and acted accordingly very soon it will be over where were we when we were interrupted? expecting rain, if i recall it was your turn to think of a suitable theme for the annual celebration i have no experience in such matters and always forget something in my reports beastly weather, isn’t it? not to mention the constant requests for updates from the continent the door was unlocked after all that and the room was empty think of a flower think of a gardener planting a whole row of flowers

life coach

by chuck leary

illustrated by roy dismas

i want to be a life coach and teach people what to do they have been waiting for me their whole life through i want to be a life coach and set people straight i will have them up and running just you wait they need a little shove to get on the right path a long walk in the evening in the morning, a cold bath spinach, broccoli, berries and nuts are the only things to put in their guts clear spring water is the only drink there was something else did you think? yoga in the morning, run a mile at noon sit beneath a tree hear the birds’ eternal tune sit by the river, or the ocean shore meditate, meditate and meditate some more religion and politics fall away like leaves all that nonsense no one really believes if you want the true truth there is only one source and that is myself, the life coach of course

reformer

by chuck leary

i woke up this morning and swallowed my pills took a clean sheet of paper and cured the world’s ills it took but one morning of one single day and when i was done there was no more to say o you who crave glory and need excitement to live i regret to destroy you i have no solace to give the dark clouds have parted the sun does now shine if you die of boredom it is no fault of mine your sad fellow creatures have prayed for this event they asked for a savior and i was sent hear the whisper of the river the babble of the brook i have written the pages and closed the book

edward

by chuck leary

edward was a guy who lived on a hill he ate and slept and took his pills he watched tv but never the news to engage in argument he did not choose one day a man came to edward’s door edward had never seen him before he wanted a little of edward’s time and asked him for a nickel or a lousy dime edward was naturally courteous and polite but something here did not seen right he asked the man in and offered him a drink but part of his brain did not know what to think edward gave him a sandwich of cheese and ham but part of him suspected a scam edward kept his money in a paper sack safely buried in the yard out back he had a dog named joe and a monkey named jim they were prepared to give their lives for him but edward was a human when all was said and done he was a dreamer and not the only one edward did not understand quite why but the stranger had a friend in a bank in shanghai the friend knew the details of a terrible affair shocking things of which the public was unaware of betraying the planet the friend was accused and there was not a moment to lose the stranger asked edward to help his friend there is only one way for this story to end edward should have listened to joe and jim but he trusted the stranger so much for him why can not stories have better ends? because people are lonely and want to have friends what is wrong with this story? what is wrong with this tale? why did the stranger come to edward’s door and not send him a letter in the mail? o humans with your tablets devices and phones demons wait beyond the hills and stars and are calling in their loans

red and blue

by wiggly jones, "the little hippie boy"

i wrote this poem just for you my eyes are red and my heart is blue i cry all night my brain grows dim you left me behind and ran way with him they tell me my story has been told before but my eyes are still red and my heart is still sore i went to the station to report my loss they said they were sorry but fate was the boss i told the police there was no justice they gave me a lollipop and said, trust us i went home and went to bed i wondered what the moon said when the first human whose heart was broke smiled and tried to tell a joke i lay on my back and looked at the ceiling red never knows what blue is feeling<

wild

i used to be wild, i used to be free i loved everybody, and they loved me i was the king of the road and the queen of the may and woke up with a song in my heart every day i had a message of love in my heart and took to the highway the message to impart friendly strangers in volkswagen bugs gave me rides and i gave them hugs it was time to turn the page and greet the dawn of a new age war and hatred belonged to the past the new kingdom of love was built to last life was one long celebration of the gathering of the tribes and nations one night in the throes of ecstasy i passed out on the shore of a shimmering sea how long i slept i do not know but i woke up covered with snow the night was dark and covered with clouds i sat up and cried aloud where have all my comrades gone where is the rainbow, where the dawn what is this ice that covers my bones where is anybody - am i alone? i forced myself to get to my feet rain fell on me and then sleet i had no hat upon my head and wondered if i was not dead then i saw a light in the distance and summoning some persistence and a desperate flicker of hope through the darkness i did grope to make a long story short i ended up in court charged with murder in the first degree oh what, i thought, will become of me i saw and heard the judge from afar as he cried, o prisoner at the bar what have you to say in exculpation of your exercise in widespread desolation will you show a sliver of repentance before i pronounce sentence? but i had no reply except to hang my head and cry poor boy you’ve got to die poor boy you’ve got to die dawn lights up the jailhouse and rain falls from the sky

true story

by horace p sternwall

everybody has a story to tell everybody has something to sell a story has a beginning and an end that does not mean you are my best friend i was mistreated as a child and so i started to run wild and took up with a bad crowd but then i heard a voice from a cloud saying, ————, you are unique a fate-appointed freak you are not like others you have no sisters or brothers of the universe you are the center it is your kingdom they must enter if you decide that they can live that is in your power to give this message gave me hope that i was not just some mope that people were right to despise and to fame would never rise i proceeded down the street with a new bounce in my feet but suddenly i was not alone a gentleman with a microphone said, i don’t want a nickel or a dime but just a moment of your time if you could spare a few words for the members of the human herd now that you are the ruler of the world with your teeth so white and your hair so curled will you allow humanity to flourish or do you in your heart still nourish an implacable hatred of the miserable race that has punched you in the face and knocked you down and on your face put a permanent frown or will you find it in your heart to give the planet a new start - as the man with the microphone continued to blather a crowd around me began to gather and then the people in the crowd started to chant my name aloud and all their faces began to blend into a road that had no end and i was walking down the road toward a sun beginning to explode and then awoke to my true story - a rat in a laboratory professor smith smiled down at me little fellow, i’m glad to see you looking bright this happy morn are you not glad that you were born?