There is a Place

There is a place far flung from the galaxies,

a deep space beyond the stars, a birth place

from where a profusion of big bangs begin

and end. The Alpha and Omega, my friends,

where all time is dark, silent and still. Some

say death; some claim resurrection, a burial of

that which was and conception of that which is

to be. Science discloses that which is deduced

mathematically; poetry reveals the degradation

and elation of new imaginings. Together in light

of everything which seems to be, lies the violently

frightful and wondrously delightful netherworld

of our existence.

Chris Hanch 12-16-18

Something About Mars and Me

Today I’d liken my brain to the landscape

on Mars, a bit dusty and dry, a wind-driven

surface of iron oxide red, devoid of high-

ways and byways to facilitate getting about.

No folks meandering to and fro either, just

wind and dust blowing, and unusual atmos-

pherics wherever you go. No sea to shinning

sea, no purple mountain’s majesty, no star-

spangled banner waving, no anthem to be sung.

Just you and you alone with no one else around

to blame. No music or poetry to soothe a parched

and malnourished brain. You know, kind of like

Earth’s destiny in an up and coming epoch to be.

Ah, but don’t despair, that’s Olympus Mons over

there, largest volcano in the solar system. And,

ain’t she a beaut? Hasn’t shown any signs of

activity in quite a long time, kind of like this old

brain of mine, dusty and dry sometimes. I’m not

hung over or crazy, mind you, just showing signs

of personal planetary degeneration, I suppose.

Chris Hanch 12-15-18

Something about Love

Something about Love

It has taken some time,

but eventually I have

come to understand

what the true meaning

of love is in all actuality.

Have you ever loved

someone with every

fiber of your being as

a man loves a woman,

as a woman loves a man,

as a man has loved a-

nother man or a woman

has loved another wo-

man, as a mother or

father loves a child?

I am talking about a

deep and sincere love,

the unwavering, un-

conditional love, the

kind which spreads like

wildfire beyond you and

joyfully affects everyone

and everything which

comes in contact with

such a wondrous thing.

That kind of love affair

goes beyond you and

reaches out to every

living thing. I love you,

man, because of that

wonderful woman who

for reasons beyond my

comprehension happens

to love me. Funny how

that works, and I don’t

even know your name.

Hell, I’d even hug and

kiss an alligator if it would

let me. My but you look

so radiant today. This kind

of love is not silent, but a

drumbeat from the heart

heard around the world.

Chris Hanch

A Plan Today

Let us build something worthwhile today,

something of simple or complex config-

uration, an upside down tower, perhaps,

which leads us back to ground, a tunnel

which turns us inside out so that we arrive

back from where we began. Let us have a

plan so ridiculous it seems grand, a roller

coaster ride, could be, propelled backwards

on the flat track of eternity. I’ll bring a hod

of bricks, you shoulder buckets of mortar.

Let’s begin early, at the crack of dawn, and

work all day long until our idea is complete.

Here’s a blueprint plan in hand to ensure

we get it done right this time. See here, two

lines which intersect? That happens to be

you and me in the middle joining hands.

Lord knows, we’ve wasted enough precious

energy taking about all the possibilities.

I see a museum made out of mostly glass

where the art on display is that starving

children of the world come to get fed

every day. Impossible, you say...It’s about

time, roll up your sleeves, let’s get the

job done.

Chris Hanch 12-13-18

Oh, My Brother (for Dave)

It is hard for me to imagine,

my brother, what you have

been through, the failing

kidneys at first, one removed

due to cancer then eventually

the weakening other, and

dialysis to keep it functioning.

You held on until a donor

provided an extension of life

for you. Then there was the

ailing arteries to the heart,

and quadruple bypass with

which to contend. And with

that fighting spirit, you man-

aged to pull through.

But that was only the begin-

ning for you.

Eventually, the cancers reap-

peared—skin, lungs, esopha-

geal and who in hell knows

where else? Seems to me you

were the unfortunate brother

who inherited those conditions

from mother’s side of the fam-

ily. Damn those Deichmann

familial traits anyway!

Ah but, as they say, the piper

must be paid.

For me, it is the depression,

addiction and anger genes

passed on to me unwittingly

from our father’s side. Oh

well, I suppose something

has to get us all in the end.

Sure is a hell of ride, all the

shit to muddle through some-

times in order to survive.

Years ago in the movie, All

About Eve, Betty Davis

warned, “Fasten your seat

belts, it’s going to be a bumpy

night.” And she was partly right.

I believe, however, that Little

Orphan Annie nailed it more

succinctly for folks like you

and me when she sang…

It’s a Hard Knock Life. Painful

as it may be, let me hum a few

bars of that for you.

Chris Hanch 12-12-18

From a Stack of Photographic Memories (For Tracie and Jennifer)

Photographs, throughout my adult lifetime,

I have taken a few, perhaps a few more than

most. Not so nowadays, for most everyone

has the digital capabilities afforded them

with camera equipped smart phones. Now

folks of all persuasions and shades is a

photographer these days. Having seen my

better days, I don’t get around much any-

more as my traveling days have become a

cherished part of my past history. Be that at

is may, I do have a sizable stack of memories

now stored on computer and flash drive to

joyfully review from time to time. Far away

and exotic places to see, people of humankind

variety from childhood to old age. And one I

ran across the other day—Faith, in Nana’s

kitchen, then a young lass of five or six, rolling

out the dough for perhaps something special

to eat. In January, she will turn 23, I believe.

The beauty of photography and the ability to

capture precious moments for her family long

after her Nana has passed away. Oh yes, Nana

would be proud to see the young woman she

has grow to be. Those of us who have survived

certainly are.

Chris Hanch 12-11-18

Oh, Say Can You See...

Ask the Syrians or the Yemeni about

The Better Angels of Our Nature

spoken of so eloquently in Lincoln’s

First Inaugural Address. Gandhi,

Mandela, Mother Teresa, Martin

Luther King Jr. may come to mind.

But only, I suggest, should they be

fed and educated well enough to

know. Should they not live with the

constant terror of war, disease, exile

and starvation.

We in the Land of Liberty bask daily

in the golden light of luxury. Most of

us are well off enough to know those

folks (Better Angels of Our Nature in-

deed), and the impact they may have

had on history.

On Sunday afternoons we fill the

stands or get to watch our teams

on TV as we sing along in chorus..

Oh, say does that star-spangled

banner yet wave O'er the land of

the free and the home of the brave?

Those Better Angels of our Nature

could as well be the name of our

home town team for all the good

in the world that might do.

Chris Hanch 12-10-18