Sign

 

So here we are again,

another day for some.

Here we are again,

for some, another day

of joy and pain.

The squirrel is a greedy

persistent creature

gathering what he can

to survive,

taking in all he can

to stay alive.

Funny it seems,

mankind is the

only species who

is aware, for all

creatures there is

an end in sight

as day goes on

inevitably

followed by night.

The fallen acorn

sprouts into the oak.

Squirrel follows squirrel.

Oak follows oak.

Day follows night

The squirrel digs

into Earth

for the acorn

never knowing.

And for us

there is a reckoning,

the end is in sight.

The last acorn

was unearthed

in November.

One more oak tree

never came to be.

             -30-

Chris Hanch 5-29-2022

A Prayer

Several years ago in 2000 after

the Columbine masacre when

Charlton Heston was president

of the NRA, he gave a speech

to the members claiming

(and here I’ll paraphrase him):

They (the governmemt) would

have to pry his gun from his cold

dead hands. Well, fatefully

Heston is dead now. Unfortu-

nately, thousands of innocent

unarmed people (including

children) have been victims

of gun violence preceding and

following him to the grave.

I wish that I believed in a just

and reputed God. I would pray

that Heston and his kind be

damned to hell for complicity

to the heinous slaughter.

And for Governor Abbott, Senator

Ted Cruz of Texas and the like,

I’d pray for the same. Not to be

offended, dear reader, apparently

God has “better things” to do than

act on a plea for the innocents

from me.

-30-

Chris Hanch 5-29-2020

All in the Game

 

Yesterday was the last day.

Today is the first.

It is finished, done all over again.

What has passed will never

be the same.

It was not my fault.

I have only myself to blame.

There are two sides to the story.

Believe what you may.

Tomorrow, who can say?

It’s all a mystery to me.

I like my eggs over easy.

Pass the butter, please.

                  -30-

Chris Hanch 5-26-22

One Hell of a Mess

 

Thinking of mankind’s mess today.

After the slaughter in Buffalo, the

massacre of innocents in Uvalde,

Texas and all the tragedies before,

how could a sane mind not be

preoccupied with such atrocities?

Congress will again be handcuffed

by the NRA beholding Republicans

and the 2^nd Amendment fanatics

who claim the right of Americans

to own and open carry military style

weapons without common sense

regulations is more valued than

the precious lives of unarmed innocent

people. I used to say that our country

was going to hell. Well, I am here

to report that it already has. Hell

is not a punishment for those evil

of mind and spirit in the hereafter.

Hell cannot be more real than it

is for the living in the USA today.

Hell is ablaze from here to Ukraine.

Hell is more apparent for the

living than it is for the departed.

There is no god to come forth

and redeem us from ourselves.

And shame is the unquenchable

hellfire flame which consumes

us all.

                   -30-

Chris Hanch 5-25-2022

Truth be Told...

 

Lies, ever wonder

in life how many

lies get told,

how many lies

we are lead

to believe?

How many lies

dictate the lives

of folks

such as you and me?

I’m not speaking of

the moon is made

of green cheese lies.

No sir, no ma’am,

I’m talking about

the two-bit lies

by which we

live our lives,

you know,

the kind which

always make you right

and the other guy

wrong,

lies which always

make believe you are

superior to

the other guy,

the holier than thou

kind of lies.

Ready for this?

Huh, you really ready?

Hold fast, hold steady.

Truth be told

nothing, not even

lies will survive.

There is and end

to the road

for each and

everyone,

your life of lies

and mine.

               -30-

Chris Hanch 5-24-2022

The Time Machine

 

I am ever amazed at how

fast children grow. I have

watched babies on Facebook

grow into young women

and men. While I pass the

hours of my life growing

more wrinkled and gray.

Why, children of today can

look at me as an old man.

Yesterday, today and on

the ‘morrow to come. Me,

the Old Man in perpetuity.

Children, they see no change.

Squirrels in the back yard

remain the same year after

year. So common and prolific,

they have no names. One

squirrel after another, always

the same.

I am the Old Man to the ever

growing child. Old I am from

birth to death, old and gray

worn, day after day, through-

out eternity. From life and

into death, old I shall remain.

Young Ones, I too, as with you,

was one time young, you know.

As the world turns in passing,

day after day, Tuesday follows

Monday rounding the sun. We

age not so graceful. Every so

often, even the Golden Gate

gets a fresh coat of paint.

                     -30-

Chris Hanch 5-23-2022

Somethig about Wishes

 

Let me slide by today

with something to celebrate—

waking up in the first place,

coffee, the first satisfying sip,

music, a wide variety to soothe

and titillate.

Oh Spirit of Mind and Heart,

I wish, let me slide into today

with something good to celebrate.

Doesn't have to be enormous

or grand, mind you, but I wish

it other than mundane or bland,

something smooth and soft as

house shoes slipping into and

gliding effortlessly and unim-

peded into my day.

Some poetry, perhaps, to

illuminate and stimulate the

process of thought would

be nice.

For heaven’s sake, I wish, let

me slide into this day with

something to celebrate—

cherished memories of times

gone by would be fine.

Sufficient funds in the treasury,

I wish, plenty of food in the fridge

and pantry would be sublime.

Then there is always the sun,

moon and stars, day and night,

wishes for quiet and considerate

neighbors above and next door.

Something simple and sublime

to celebrate today is what I

wish each and every day.

And that mankind around the

world is as fortunate as I

having had met their basic needs.

No wars, no famine, no pestilence,

I wish, no disease, no Republican

confrontational grievance politics,

no prejudices or autocracy, no

no Supreme Court Injustices' right

right-wing biases, no political and

corporate power mongering and

greed. 

This is my wish which makes me

hopeful for life today. And I plead

with every socially-minded person

in this country to take responsibility

for repelling the loathsome audacities,

voting to preserve our precious and

threatened democracy.

Personally, I wish to slide into this

day with something special to

celebrate—equal rights for all under

the Constitution, folks. Vote for all

it’s worth!

And as an old friend of mine used

to say about wishes, “Might as well

wish in one hand and shit in the other.”

For the sake and well-being of us all,

I wish it wasn’t so.

Wishes are one thing, but the other

is a whole different matter. 

                      -30-

Chris Hanch 5-22-2022

It's Entirely Up to You

 

The landscape is fractured

Distant mountains rise before the eyes

The fox was in the hen house

Wise men tell no lies

The old oak tree holds its secrets

Our roots were meant to be removed

The farmer's crop went to market yesterday

Stories will be told for generations to come

Landlords will continue to collect the rent

Try as he may, Bruce cannot put a name to that face

The mythology of raccoons has been erased

This will not be the first time a period

Did not finish a sentence

Go figure

                                            -30-

Chris Hanch 5-21-2022

I Once Was

 

I once was one of those,

cherubic arms and legs,

ten fingers, ten toes,

tactile feeling pleasure

and pain, developing

dexterities, a blank slate

empirically, contectually

for a brain.

One of those I was before

I knew who or what I was.

I once was one of those

infantile, preverbal and

nearsighted thrust into

a wonder world of the

impossible unknown.

Yes, I once was one of

those, even though I have

long since lost recollection

of the creature I used to be.

And now at age seventy-five

I am one of those who has

survived, having amassed

a vast array of experience

who is blessed and cursed

with a treasure trove of

emotion.

After learning my ABCs, 123s

and a plethora of social amenities,

life has afforded me a smorgasbord

potpourri as it was meant to be—

some of it a struggle uphill; some

of it bestowed natural as a breeze.

And be that as it may, I have

managed thus far as one of

those, benevolently endowed

with my memories, still humbly

equiped with ten fingers, ten

toes, arthrictically challenged

as they may be.

                    -30-

Chris Hanch 5-20-2022

Lost and Found

 

Ever get lost in a dream

looking around, but never

finding a way home?

Happened to me once again

today. 75-years and

here I am today still not

knowing. Running out

of choices. Might as well

make myself comfortable.

Here is where I’m

bound to stay.

Wake, my friend,

lost and found,

always on the way.

You are where you belong.

                  -30-

Chris Hanch 5-17-2022

Just about Time

 

Christianity claims there is a place

called Limbo, a somewhere in between

where a soul waits their turn to enter

into heaven. I suppose it was instituted

by God for sinners to cleanse themselves

from minor infractions committed over

a lifetime, kind of like the ice hockey

version of the penalty box, I suppose.

Fortunately for me, I am not a believer.

Now, there’s a region on Earth known

as the Doldrums. It is a spot in the ocean

bordering the Equator where generally

air and waters are calm. Sailing vessels

in years past would sometimes float for

days in motionless stagnation, hence

the derivation of the word, “doldrums”

defining a person who finds themselves

stuck in an inactive spot in life. I am a

believer in science and know this

to be true. For some time now I

have been going through what

many creatives over the years have

experienced from time to time in

their careers, a veritable purgatory

or doldrums called writer’s block

where nothing sensible or of value

comes to mind. For “the believer”

this period may mean a deserved

penance for their minor transgres-

sions. For the science based person

such as I, it may be considered an

extended “brain fart” of the mind.

However, given my advanced age

and diminishing mental acuity, I

could assume, what in hell, it’s

just about time.

                     -30-

Chris Hanch 5-16-2022

Life, the Process

I watch the newborn.

Her smile and frown

are developed naturally.

I see an infant with

its random herky-jerkey

movements not yet fully

familiar with its own

arms and legs, not under-

standing of its given

flexible fingers and toes.

The mind has to learn

what it needs to know,

a body off discovery to

develop and grow.

I am reminded of

what it shall take,

the process in stages

to become an athlete,

a gymnast or ballerina,

who knows perhaps

an artist or musician,

a mechanic or technician,

the dexterity, the balance

the exercise and the strength.

Ah, the infant so tender and

defenseless. How shall she

learn to love and hate, to

to become a productive,

or destructive, an active

or passive member of the

human society? Oh, the

potential is so great.

Here she lies able to

smile and cry, freely

manipulate expressions

of the face. But now,

old and gray, I am able

to process my own thoughts

and movements.But now,

I’m getting ahead of myself.

And yet my stiff and aching

arthritic fingers are still able

to deliver a gentle, coochie

coochie coo. What a precious

and natural wonder this.

And isn’t she cute?

                    -30-

Chris Hanch 5-14-2022