Untitled

 

The cedar was amused to see

the dogwood barking up the

wrong tree.

                 -30-

Chris Hanch 8-15-2022

Words to Live By

 

Aptitude and attitude,

that’s what it takes.

A willingness to learn

and ability to earn,

to make

your own way.

Life is a gift

given and received

every day.

Count you blessings,

share with the less

fortunate along

the way.

Respect others

and in kind

expect respect

to be paid.

Seek and speak

the truth

come what may.

Justice delayed

is justice denied,

or so they say.

Could be true,

perhaps a ruse,

or simply

legal palaver

to defuse

and confuse.

In any case,

palaver is a fun word

to use.

                 -30-

Chris Hanch 8-14-2022

What It's Like

 

What is life like here on Planet Earth,

the landed aliens from another galaxy

want to know?

For me personally I’d have to say, it

resembles the photographs I took

moments ago, days, months and

years ago, people, places and things,

you know.

To be sure there is a whole lot more,

that’s only a representative slice of

the pie according to me.

Only so much one can do in an

Earthly lifetime, you know, if you’re

lucky 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 years or so.

My question for you is, what took

you so long to get here?

We’ve got so much to discuss. Let’s

do lunch. My treat. You like pizza?

I happen to know a great place. Do

you prefer St. Louis thin crust or deep

dish Chicago style?

                         -30-

Chris Hanch 8-12-2020

Time's a Wastin'

 

Got a late start today

That means more

music and less TV

one day closer

to the grave

for my pup

and me

If I continue

at this pace

who can say?

Lunch and dinner

will follow late as well

What in hell

got no where to go

no appointed

time and place to be

Just my pup and me

toe tappin’

and snackin’

to all that jazz

cool, calm and cozy

slummin’ it

doggin’ it

breezy

free and easy

Time’s a wastin’

figurin’ it’s

now or never

for pup dog and me.

-30-

Chris Hanch 8-11-2022

Beethoven Dream

 

In a dream of mine, Beethoven told me

I had a long way to go. This of course

was after he became deaf. He had written

it on a piece of paper which sat atop his

piano.

The note he wrote was in German

of course: Sie haben einen langen Weg

vor sich. It was my dream, so I could

understand.

I am old, I wrote back to him in English.

He understood for here again, it was my

dream. In my time, I wrote on, fame and

fortune have illuded me, and now it’s too

late. But that’s okay, I wrote on, at least

I’m still here.

He nodded his head and wrote back.

I’m glad of that.

Now you stay right where you are,

he told me, I’ve got something

I want you to hear. I hope it’s your

Ninth Symphony, I told him. That’s

one of my all-time favorites. And he

played the whole damn thing, even

including the Ode to Joy Chorus.

You may be wondering where the

choir came from? It was my dream

after all.

                        -30-

Chris Hanch 8-10-2022

Why Even Try?

 

I read from obscure poems,

so many written, even the

famous author has never

bothered to memorize.

Once committed to paper,

published in a book, there

they lie, these puzzle pieces

on the page, to be glanced

a few times by the curious

reader’s eyes. These are

simple works about farm,

field, wind and snow,

following in the footsteps

of the poet as he travels

through his day. And here

I sit of a summer’s morning

sipping my first cup of

coffee reading this verse

as I smoke my first cigarette

of the day and listen to jazz

music and the neighbor dog

barking across the way.

I shall not attempt to

memorize these lines and

they likely will not attain

the published stage. So,

all this fuss over nothing.

Why, I wonder to myself,

why even write this un-

interesting piece no one

else is likely to see. Life

is packed with boring,

routine, everyday images

such as these can be found

most everywhere. It’s either

him or me, here or there.

And as I write these lines,

summertime here; I am sure

snow is falling on a mountain

top somewhere.

                 -30-

Chris Hanch 8-8-2022

Kingdom Come

 

No peace or war looms in eternity,

no grief or relief either. It is said

those dark days of reality are bound

to arrive. There are no feelings of

pleasure and pain to proclaim in

the nothingness of the realm of

the everlasting. Heaven and hell

are meant for the living. And

the before and after are all which

exist for for the living as the present

is a nebulous condition lived through

every day. Today, my dear friends,

is the visible star at night seen

light years away. Only the ever-

lasting darkness of timelessness

lasts forever. Whimper, bark or

howl—the end, Kingdom Come,

an incredulous condition of which

even a keen watchdog cannot

forewarn. Not even I, a lifelong

advocate of freedom for all, look

forward to the day.

                       -30-

Chris Hanch 8-7-2022