Some Other Place Far and Away

 

David Anthony, a resident like me at a government

subsidized apartment complex in Denver, warned

me to never give up my car. Said, one day I may

need it to escape. I would have to have my wheels

in order to get somewhere.

David knew what it was like, for he himself was

trapped in life as a paraplegic confined to one of

those motorized wheelchairs. You may need to

escape, he repeatedly warned me. And he was right.

One day I did escape that place leaving poor David

behind. I moved on and managed to find a more suit-

able place where I maintained sufficiently for several

years.

As my arthritis progressed, and I became more unable

to get around, I had to eventually give up my car. I

needed to find a new place to live where I was able

to adjust to the limitations brought on by my disability.

As things are for me today, I have not been away from

my apartment and it’s walk-out patio for over a year.

My son comes once a week to do shopping for me. My

daughter makes a visit every two weeks or so to clean

my apartment.

Over time, I have become more restricted from doing

basic physical activities. I can no loner get my mail. The

mail box is halfway across a large parking lot which is

physically unreachable for me. And likewise, taking my

trash out to the communal receptacle has become an

impossibility.

I now know first-hand what David was talking about

several years ago with the ability to leave when need

be. I’ve had to give up so much. No car, unable to even

get up, get out and walk away. These days, my music,

my reading and my writing, Facebook and the Internet

are my only connections with outside realities.

At least I no longer have the need to scrape ice off my

windshield or negotiate snowy and icy roads and walk-

ways. Although, these days if I’m not careful, I can still

fall flat on my ass inside my apartment being frozen

right here in place.

Still I frequently reminisce, missing my ability to either

crash and burn outside, or escaping to some other place

far and away.

                              -30-

Chris Hanch 11-9-2020

The History of Me, A Brief History

 

Stumble

Fumble

Mumble

And

Drool

Conceived

Born

Crawled

Waddled

Walked

And Grew

Stumble

Fumble

Mumble

And drool

Taught

Sought

Fought

And stewed

Did

And didn’t do

Stumble

Fumble

Mumble

And drool

Learned

Earned

Burned

and Brewed

Achieved

Withdrew

Stumble

Fumble

Mumble

And drool

Tanked

Sank

Taxied

And flew

Piddled around

Moved

Kicked ass

Ran out

Of gas

Stumble

Fumble

Mumble

And drool

Accepted

Rejected

Abused

Excused

And Refused

Hired

Fired

Quit

Eventually

Retired

Conflicted

Disabled

Restricted

Bemused

Stumble

Fumble

Mumble

And drool

And through

It all

I managed

to survive

Making it

To the bathroom

In time

Without a fall

Whew!

                    -30-

Chris Hanch 11-8-2020

Take Away, A Game Played

 

Take away two from three, or nine-hundred and ninety-nine

from a thousand and but one remains.

Take away the outside and the inside remains.

Take away the verse and the chorus remains.

Take away the hen and the egg and the rooster remains.

Take away the vote of the people and democracy

cannot remain.

Take away light and the glow of the candle remains.

Tale away the legs and only pictures and words remain.

Take away the future and beauty of memories and

a presence of today remain.

Take away the soul and the spirit cannot remain.

Take away the desire and will to live and there is nothing

of value left to claim.

Spend time and energy wisely for that which is given by

nature is incrementally and inevitably taken away.

Take the eyes and arms away from the pitcher and there is no

vision, no fans in the stands, no batter-up, no balls and strikes.

And baseball is no longer a game to be played.

                              -30-

Chris Hanch 11-6-2020

Lies Lies Lies

 

As a child

It took me awhile

to learn

that the moon

was not a balloon

You lied to me

That things would be

okay one day

you told me

Besides in 100 years

none of this

will matter anyway

I believed

but you lied to me

Dogwoods bloom

in another room

The door was closed

and the key you gave me

didn’t unlock

the glory of it all

I was lied to

flat out

lied to

about an eternity

of reward for good

and hell to pay

for evil one day

No one I knew

was ever risen from

the grave

It was a good story

and like

the fool who grew

into believing

I waited patiently

for the truth

I pounded

bent nails

into wood

and the results

were always

the same

I never got to see

the Danube

Outer Mongolia

the Steppes of Russia

or the Sea of Tranquility

how is one

to believed

in that which

is unseen

The Golden Rule

turned out to be

A lead-filled

bedtime fantasy

Those sweet kisses

you gave so freely

were not from

the woman

you led me

to believe

Lies

a life of lies

never knowing

for certain

what to believe

I remember

the day

I learned

from a friend

how babies

were made

I was appalled

From what

I have seen

personally

ashes to ashes

paying the rent

on time

and Fig Newtons

make the

most sense

to me

Wake me when it's over

-30-

Chris Hanch 11-5-2020

Elections Have Consequences

 

Millions of folks will line up in their

respective places around the USA to

vote today. Almost 100-million have

already cast their ballots in the 2020

presidential election.

Tonight the pundits, the historians,

the commentators and interviewees

will commandeer the airwaves and

disseminate a flood of information

to an anxious American audience.

It’s most probable that all the votes will

not be counted for several days, but per-

haps enough will be known by late evening

to predict or indicate a likely winner.

I’m pretty sure I will wind up retiring for the

evening around 10 or 11 PM after nodding

off and no longer able to keep my eyes open.

So, I’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to

catch up on the results, figuring we’ll either

have four more years of hell to pay or perhaps

be on a more hopeful path moving forward as

a nation.

Now at my advanced age and waning physical

and mental condition, I can’t count on many

more years surviving on the planet.

Without any assurances, I can’t even look for-

ward to being around for the next presidential

election in 2024. Of course should the incum-

bent president be re-elected, eternity in hell

for me may a more suitable place to be.

But then I must consider, given his age, his

detestable and hideous sinful ways, the cur-

rent president will most assuredly be con-

demned to hellfire and brimstone himself,

joining me in the same place.

Damn! Seems at bedtime or in death even,

sometimes, a poor soul just can’t get a break.

                       -30-

Chris Hanch 11-3-2020

Read 'em and Weep

 

In my old age and limited physical ability,

I take a mental accounting of my history—

the Best and Worst of Me, all the hits and

misses of the past nearly 74 years.

Like most of us who had to swallow our

pride, I took on many a disheartening and

displeasing job in order to scrape by and

earn my way financially day after day.

Oh well, again like most of us here today,

I managed to make it to my uniquely per-

sonal retired time and place. Ah, but I had

an ace secretly and securely placed in my

brain which the boss man and naysayers

could never belittle or take away.

Given the many hours, days and years I

wasted working for pay, I was always biding

my time waiting, ever-searching for the next

beautiful or whimsical face to draw, sculpt,

paint or photograph.

Unlike all mindless jobs which over time have

been laid to waste, those lovely, powerful and

graceful images I managed to render in the

meantime will forever in my memory remain.

To all those former employers and the corporate

world of self-serving bottom line greed, I proudly

proclaim—four aces, Suckers, read ‘em and weep!

I’ll gather my chips and leave the table a winner

after all.

                          -30-

Chris Hanch 11-2-2020

I Am Here

 

Here I am waiting

And no one knows

Being me, I too wonder why

And for what

I have my thoughts

Not of tomorrow

But of today

The only one

Which accompanies me

On my way

Through the time allotted me

It is all I need

More than I could have dreamed

No need for more

No one on the phone

No one at the door

Even the sun gives praise

Beaming a new day

Today, one more place

One more minute

One more hour

Sifting through my brain

One more day

I am here

I am on my way

Thinking of you

Hoping for the same

There now

Everywhere now

Something to write

Home about

I am here now

With something to say

                   -30-

Chris Hanch 11-1-2020