Human and Mortal

After entertaining words like "epitome" and "epitaph" beforehand, I woke up in the night knowing that the title of yesterday's guest poem should be "SERVICE." The word is used, of course, in referring to a funeral or burial service.

080912

SERVICE
(for Ford Best)

Do your best
and then do more.
Be a giver.
Don't keep score.

Be your best
and then be more.
Life's a challenge,
not a chore.



A poem start from a few days ago also got a title:

080909

BEYOND EXHAUSTED

A poem.
Damn!
A poem.
Damn--a poem!

Now I lay me
down to sleep.
Here's my poem:
Bleep, bleep, bleep!


This was another example of intuition possibly overriding good sense. It suggested I do a poem before sleeping, which drew a strong reaction from the contrary-minded parts of me.


080913

DISTURBANCE

Not all the houses on my street
face the street.

Some pair off to face each other
across entrances to cul de sacs.

One such house leaves its bathroom
lit all night, making a sideshow
for my early morning walks.
It isn't what you think.

I wondered why lizards congregated
on the bathroom window pane,
silhouetted together like a screen-saver--
until a moth or bug
made a momentary blip on the screen
and everything went frantic.