Something to Say about Time and Change

 

Nothing of great value to say today.

Pretty much the same as yesterday.

No one is listening or paying attention

anyway. You open your eyes and every-

thing appears to be unchanged.

Some move forward hoping for a change;

others with trepidation linger on, wishing

all that was yesterday remains securely

in place.

You do realize, although most clocks are

silent and L.E.D. these days, some will

persist in saying that time continues to

to tick away. I suppose that’s an old

fashion, romantic notion.

Appears as if I did have something to

say today after all. Whether that has any

relevance in in your day or not, only you

can say. I’m pretty sure that won’t have

any profound affect with the goings-on

in your day. Seems most days, I tend to

have that affect on people.

Do what’s best for you to muddle through.

Whether you are aware of it or not, changes

have been made, and time is ticking away.

                               -30-

Chris Hanch 11-30-2021

Perhaps It Was I

 

I skip along singing a song.

That’s a fabrication. I never

skip along and rarely sing

a song. Neither would be a

pretty sight to see and hear.

Even imagining such a

ridiculous thing would

likely alarm the innocent

child and drive their parents

wild. Instead, I shall whisper

a tune privately to myself,

as I walk nonchalantly by the

unsuspecting eye. No one shall

ever know that I was that guy,

the one who may have been.

                       -30-

Chris Hanch 11-24-2021

In Life Passing By

I bat an eye and miss the whole damn thing.

Could have seen that thing in passing. Could

have shared it with you, but in the blink of

an eye, it passed me by. A split-second in

life is sometimes all we get. Make the most

of your days, they say. An ingenious thought

comes and goes. Oh well, being rich and

famous slips away. Tomorrow is yet another

day, full of opportunity, but mostly for every-

one alive, pretty much the same. Blinking

and thinking is not unusual or abnormal. It’s

what we humans have the propensity to do.

With my eyes open wide and looking the

other way, I see you missed it too. Oh well,

what in hell? Maybe next time.

                               -30-

Chris Hanch 11-23-2021 

Word Salad (At Times a State of Mind I find)

 

confusion

delusion

thoughts

streaming

screaming

teeming

blindsided

side-winded

at times

untenable

lost in

an ocean

the deep sea

contusion

of profound

and pathetic

profusion

dredge me up

buttercup

                -30-

Chris Hanch 11-21-21

The Fates Allow, Some Will Say (for Helga)

 

Some exercise, some eat healthy foods,

others pray or sing their way through. There

are those who look straight ahead before open-

ing doors or left then right before crossing the

street. There are no guarantees, my friends.

Your are still here because the Fates allowed

you passage through to your present place in

time. Surely, caution and advanced planning,

certain choices at the right moment may

have added days or years to your misery or

prosperity, but there are the many whose

good fortune ran out as they stepped off

the fateful curb into the speedy inevitability

of an early demise.

Face it, should you take another breath,

and see another season of leaves changing

before your eyes, I submit to you, from my

own perspective—praise be to a higher

power, guardian angels or plain old good

fortune, some of us are damn lucky to

see the light of another day alive.

                        -30-

Chris Hanch 11-18-2021

State of Affairs

 

You have given up a lot to

get here. Mostly, you had

very little to do with it.

Luck and the earth

circling the sun with

timing and consistency

are responsible for the

life you have led which

got you here.

Old age is

about conceding to the

inevitable, removing oneself

from the dangerous and

provocative.

You gave up fried foods,

women and bars some

time ago, adding years

to your longevity.

You were forced socially

and biologically to give

up control, buying yourself

less stress and more time.

Your leaking bladder

and irritable bowel

remind you who really

run the show now.

                 -30-

Chris Hanch 11-17-2021

One Last...

On the 24^th of November, 1964, I took an

oath to the Constitution and was inducted

into the Army. I was seventeen years old

and my mom reluctantly gave her written

permission for me to enlist. I was still half

a year away from legally being able to do

so on my own.

That was, it seems to me eons ago. I was a

teenage rebel who needed a good deal of

regimentation and stability in my life at the

time.

My mom and dad had divorced several

years before. I had dropped out of high

school and needed some firm guidance

into manhood.

Beyond everyone’s expectations, I

managed to do well in the military.

For me, I got what I needed at the

time. I had to do what I was told to

by drill sergeants and officers who

held sway over me.

Three years of service taught me

everything I needed to know. Fifty

seven years later, approaching my

seventy-fifth year in life, I have

come to realize that all which remains

for me is the unlimited and unattainable

everything else.

It is said that time heals all wounds.

In reality, and with a fair measure of

cynicism left in me, I’d have to say,

Yeah right! There is never enough

time for that.

I cannot personally rely upon a heaven

or hell to extend my life eternally. Nor

can I abide that reincarnation thingy.

However, I do believe for some folks

that those nine lives cats are afforded

may apply. I consider myself fortunate

to have experienced as many in my time.

To those who have known me personally,

you can imagine any hereafter for yourself

and me that you choose. Before I go, how-

ever, the expulsion of one final fur ball and

a gruff “Meow” would be sufficient enough

for me.

                     -30-

Chris Hanch 11-15-2021