Sensibilities

Would it offend your sensibilities
(And would that be so bad?)
If at this late date the proclamation
Would boldly state
That there are periods of scheduled randomness
And that one could place a winning bet on the seemingly unpredictable?
How can you be so certain that there are times of uncertainty?
Are unplanned events, well, planned; well-planned?
And does the fact that there is so much more
Make you lock and bolt the door
Or piss you off
Even more?

Quiet Spectacle

There is a quiet spectacle going on
In the background wheels churn the highway pavement sand rattling roadside leaves
The sound strikes a harmony with the near-distant drone of the refrigerator chilling the bones of the beast
The radiator punctuates this opus with contractive metallic claps and expansive off-beat rolls
A Christmas tree is swooning some and hanging low are Santa and his entourage of bells and balls stretching like a glass-blown cat
The lights themselves pulse and flicker radiating photons just moments short of going super-nova
Portals swing on throaty hinges everything is on the move and can be clearly seen by moving even slower, much slower
It is a quiet spectacle relatively positively

Christmas Tree

A feather tumbled from the Christmas tree
And then a moth loosed up and flew out free
They came and spoke, as if they could,
Grow voice to speak from balsam wood:
There are stories here of days and times
That you might know from verse and rhymes,
Of quiet rain and searing sun
Of long nights passed and days begun
Of vigils held and moments mourned
Ovations received with outright scorn
Of births and deaths to celebrate
Not marked by stone to dedicate
The lives and times of pure plain stock
From wind and snow and earthly rock
The same old story daily told
The same great novel never sold.
And so they stopped and talked to me
This evening from the Christmas tree.

Peace Rant

Peace is being challenged
When you are strong
And encouraged when you are weak.
Peace is not being criticized
When you are doing your best.
Peace is a friend who knows what this is like.
Peace is a do-over,
Peace is a chance.


Peace is starting the day with a full belly
After sleeping under a dry roof.
Peace is clean water.
Peace is a purposeful day;
Something to do
To make the day full.
Peace is a book
To visit in
And a teacher
To learn from.
Peace is having someone to protect you
From those around you
Who do not know peace.

Peace is understanding the struggles of others
And sharing when you can,
And sharing what you have.
Peace is having a friend
And knowing that you are not alone.
Peace is hope
For both of you.

Paul Sanderson