Another New Year Here

 

A New Year tomorrow,

and I am certain, more

of Mankind the Same—

Some good, some evil.

Always the shame and

the blame. The goodness

of the good hopeful to

remain. I for one have

seen the best of days

as I hobble my weary

way toward the Finish

Line, leaving trailings

of my best and worst

behind. Ah well, as

they say, life is lived

that way, one day at

a time. Fortunately,

I have had a heap of

those one days to

claim as mine. As I

have been told, nearly

eight billion humans

here on Planet Earth

with Time, The Captor

of All, having no

where else to go.

          -30-

Chris Hanch 12-31-2023

Some More about Words

 

Words, I love the sound

when spoken.

Words, I love their

presentation on the page.

Some words excite,

some are meant to entice.

Droll and voluptuous words

be that as it may.

I find words quite sufficient,

whatever the words may say.

Words to pick and choose

meaningful words, enunciated,

spelled out letter by letter,

words chosen, words dispatched

casually or in an emergency,

words which appreciate,

excoriate to regurgitate,

words selected to communicate,

words between you and me

transmitted each and every day.

                    -30-

Chris Hanch 12-30-2023

Perspective

Oceans rise and fall.

War of worlds

shall shamefully take

their place.

The moon has its phases

to consider in orbital rotation.

Loved ones have come

and gone.

Ah, the wonder and madness

of it all.

Bittersweet memories ripen

on the tree of life.

Each of us evaluate the gift

of today in our own way.

Win, lose or draw, it’s all

in the game.

Nothing real or imagined

ever remains the same.

               -30-

Chris Hanch 12-25-23

 

Evolution V

 

Apparently (seems to me),

peace on Earth struggles

to find its way.

Where humankind is concerned,

turmoil is prevalent on the

field of play.

Neither good nor evil, but

the Cosmos and evolution shall

impartially govern the day.

                   -30-

Chris Hanch 12-23-2023

Shit-face Amazed

 

Shit-face Amazed

My son turns 57 this Saturday;

my daughter celebrated her 54^th

this past November. I have grand-

children in their mid-twenties.

In my old age, I play memory

mind games with myself going

way back in time just to prove to

that I’m not losing it.

I laugh because I didn’t forget

where I last left my car keys.

I recall, I gave up diving six

years ago, or was it seven?

One thing I do know—like-

lihood is, an auto crash will

not be the reason for my

demise. But soon, one day

soon, my end shall arrive.

For now, I’ll take each

day as it comes, and still be

shit-face amazed at how old

my children and grand kids

have become. Another Christ-

mas, another New Year soon

to be into the annuls of history.

And I, dragging the memories

of mankind along with me.

So much over time and millennia

to remember.

                -30-

Chris Hanch 12-22-2023

What It Takes, Chapter and Verse

 

It takes curiosity and persistence.

It takes will power and strength,

sometimes love, sometimes hate.

It takes replication, day after day.

Ingenuity and creativity. It takes.

Tenacity, some say. You have the

will power and moxie to pursue.

Change, adaptability, guts and

gumption. Loses and gains.

Acceptance. You have it in

you to do. Life, you’d have

it part and parcel, chapter and

verse, no other way.

Get on with it!

                -30-

Chris Hanch 12-18-23

Artistic Objective

 

My Artistic Objective

is to fill the world

as I see it

with mirror images of itself,

a Memorial to Life if you will.

                -30-

Chris Hanch 12-17-2023

Cosmic Calamity

Right or wrong,

good and evil,

“this way and that”...

as human beings,

we are the

species charged

with making

sense from

and applying

congruity

and order

to Universal

Randomness.

The exploding

super nova.

Even light

cannot escape

the gravitation

pull of a black

hole. Chicxulub

Asteroid causes

extinction of

the dinosaur.

1556, Shaanxi

Province, China

earthquake kills

an estimated

830,000 people.

On Tuesday

last week, while

walking his dog

In Longmont,

Colorado,

Raphael Muñoz

steps in a fresh

pile of dog poop.

Ladies and

Gentlemen, I

submit: Throughout

13.7 billion years

of cosmic history,

regardless of

the who, what,

when, where,

why and how

of it all,

shit still happens.

                  -30-

Chris Hanch 12-3-2023

 

In This Lifetime of Mine

 

I am who I am,

I got what I got.

I am not

who I am not,

Figure I am

this way,

striving to be me

most every day.

I live my life

and love it

that way.

Inspiration

and muse

come from

the who,

the what,

the when,

where,

and why,

the people

I have met

and the places

I have been

in passing

along the way.

And then the

creative quest

a must—

to maintain,

finding

suitable words

in black

and white

to describe,

capturing

vivid portraits

in living color

alongside,

memories

to revive.

In this lifetime

of mine,

I am who I am,

I got what I got.

                -30-

Chris Hanch 11-30-2023

Something about Time

 

Is it okay if I ignore all

the sign as I while away

the hours in my day?

Suppose so, that’s just

the way things some-

times go. After all, it’s

my time, you know,

a time to fiddle and

piddle away.

Some will say

I’m crazy; others

claim I’m lazy, but

either way, be that as

it may, time will hold

me responsible as it

continues to tick away.

And so be it if this is

all I have to show for it.

My day, my way, short

run or long shot, regardless.

With my time I’ll surely pay.

                   -30-

Chris Hanch 22-28-2023

Analogy

 

As a child and young man of the ‘50s and ‘60s,

as an avid St. Louis Cardinals fan from way

back when, please indulge me with this base-

ball analogy:

Today, a fine day indeed, another one of many

to celebrate. Me, having made it to third base.

And then on the next pitch somehow managed

scoring yet another day in life by sliding safely

face-first into home plate.

                            -30-

Chris Hanch 11-27-2023

Destiny and Reality

 

You are here and now,

the past has been,

the present your reality

as the future remains

a blurred mystery

for all to be seen.

Yet they should know,

the people should see

in remembering,

you once were a child

then grew to become

someone whomever,

whatever was meant

to be—A lovely

picture in time,

a vision presented,

nonetheless, for all

the world to see.

                 -30-

Chris Hanch 11-26-2023

Friendships

 

In my lifetime approaching 77-years,

I have had many friends, not all at

once, mind you, but generally spread

out in ones or twos over various periods

in time.

I never played organized sports and other

than poetry have I ever belonged to clubs

or other organizations. In my time, I moved

around a lot, having had various jobs where

I gained and lost many of my contacts and

relationships. 

These days of my advanced age, I have

the time to recount some of my best-of-

the-best friendships which include both

men and women of upstanding presence

and character from all racial persuasions

and social standings who are identified

as just “plain good people all around.”

Now, I realize no one is perfect, and I

know these people alluded to here would

be among the first to admit that they too

have their own problems and imperfect

human flaws. Their affability and honesty

are definite traits which qualify them among

the finest people I have had the pleasure

of knowing.

I have heard through other contacts and

reports that some of my favorite folks of

all time due to age, illness or accident

have passed away. Life is life, and death is

inevitable that way.

I know and am gratified in being able to

say that my life would be far less than it

has been without having known them.

Peace an love to you, my dear friends.

                            -30-

Chris Hanch 11-25-2023

Sights, Sounds and Smells (Essence of Dad)

 

L & M Cigarettes

Old Spice Aftershave

Half & Half Pipe Tobacco

Esquire Shoe Polish

Gun Smoke

Have Gun Will Travel

Victory at Sea

The Music Man

Finlandia

“Give me five I can’t spend!”

                    -30-

Chris Hanch 11-24-2023

Timeline

 

My photography, artwork

and writing serve as a

lifetime timeline for me.

I can recall the many stages

of my progressive and

digressive phases which got

me here to my seventy-six

year.

It has been a long and winding

road indeed. Given the ups and

downs, the ins and outs, I am

ever amazed yet grateful I made

it this far.

To have witnesses my children

and grandchildren’s progression

into adulthood over time has

been the most enlightening

gauge or barometer of passing

time.

I suppose a part of me will

carry on with them when

I’m gone. Hopefully, it’s

inherently the best of that

which we possess as gifted

Creatures of Creation.

                   -30-

Chris Hanch 11-20-2023