My Dog and Me

My dog doesn’t lie around and worry.

She doesn’t ponder life and death,

couldn’t give a hoot about Putin or

Trump, never considers why, what if?

She couldn’t care less about tomorrow

or plans for the future. She is basically

an instinctual critter who responds to

the here and now, and reacts naturally,

immediately and accordingly. You have

an itch scratch it. You are disturbed, bark,

bite, run or chase, tail wagging or tucked

between the hind legs. She can be taught

and is willing to learn without concern.

Generally, if treated well, she is loyal

to her master and is willing to follow

and obey, sit, stay, fetch, sic em…

good girl! My dog is a true and faithful

companion to the end, even though she

has no concept of a beginning or an end.

She responds to attention, good or bad, in

the moment, my best friend with the given

that she and I are not physically, mentally

or physiologically alike. I am merely human

with all these concerns and stressful shit on

my mind which at times worries me

considerably. Needless to say, I am

supposed to be responsible for the

care and feeding in this family.

                        -30-

Chris Hanch 7-20-2023

Chances Are

 

Waiting for some forecast

rain today.

Waiting on the right words

of enlightenment to say.

Waiting for this and that,

great and simple expectations

to come into play.

In many ways, I am no different

from you and a multitude

of other folks all the same.

After months of waiting to

here from a publisher on some

poetry and photos I submitted,

I got a rejection notification

by email today.

Acceptance and rejection are a

part of life and living every day.

Millions of folks have their hopes

on winning the 900-million dollar

Power-ball Lottery at stake today.

I’m betting on the forecast 40%

chance of rain.

And as for my poetry today,

profound or inane, accepted

or rejected, won’t make a bit

of difference. Odds be damned.

100% chance, I’m going to write

it anyway.

                -30-

Chris Hanch 7-18-2023

In Between

 

Before and after,

mountains, sky and sea,

who knows?

Something or nothing,

perhaps you and I.

Who or what to become,

reality or but a dream?

In time we shall see.

Time, the brevity of life

and light in between.

The before and after,

darkness...

the forever of eternity.

                -30-

Chris Hanch 7-16-2023

Something About Being Okay

 

The problem with me

is not you. I have my

own issues to deal

with. Those are mine

alone, mine to own,

problems I can solve,

problems to fix or to

leave alone.

At my age I can either

accept the way things

are or change that which

I can. (I learned that in

the AA, 12-Step Plan

years ago.)

And now, given my

advanced age and

waning physical

acuities, I see and

accept my limited

capabilities.

And I have come to

realize that life and

mankind are not here

to please and satisfy

me.

Stupid and obnoxious

as you may be, if I can’t

either vote you out of

office or say my mind

and walk away, I shall

still be perfectly okay.

The hell with you anyway.

I’m not capable of much

these days of my old age,

but I’ve been around this

here Rodeo long enough

to know the foul stench

of bullshit when I smell it.

                 -30-

Chris Hanch 7-15-2023

Good Lord, Another Day

 

The silky smooth styling

of saxophone jazz is what

I choose as a lead in to the

opening of my day today

as Mood Indigo plays.

Some days I crave the full-

some symphonic sounds

of Beethoven’s classical

orchestrations.

Could be I fully awaken

to the soulful sounds of

R & B or perhaps country

western tunes to move me.

Even a born and bred citified

guy such as I can relate to

some good old Brad Paisley

down home, shit-kickin’

country.

Mornings these days with

all the bad news TV leaves

me anxious and deranged.

Got to have black coffee,

a cigarette or two and

choose the music of my

changing mood to awaken

and see me through.

Another day they say,

one more one of a kind.

I’m not the religious

type per se, but Good

Lord, I pray—Let the

music play on.

                -30-

Chris Hanch 7-13-2023

The Gambler

 

So far, nothing Bukowski has

to say has inspired me today.

Five or six horse race track

poems in a row. I’ve only been

to the track once in my life,

and that was at my brother’s

insistence.

Brother Dave loved to gamble,

the ponies, poker, the slots. He

won some and lost a lot. He

loved betting on or against the

odds.

He was the brother who was

riddled with hospitalization

for much of his adult life, bad

kidneys, failing heart, the gout

and such.

Dave drank and ate a lot which

facilitated his losing streak

physically speaking. Sent him

to the grave at age seventy. I

was amazed he made it that far.

But he never complained.

Figured he did in life what

he was meant to do.

Had he been a race car driver

or mountain climbing exercising

as much fervor as he had for gam-

bling, chances were those likely

would have sent him to an early

grave anyway.

Might as well have a little dare-

devil excitement in life was his

philosophy, I recon.

As for me, I took many chances

in my time, smoked and drank a

lot, moved about from place to

place, job to job, woman to

woman. Suppose I had a lethal

devil may care attitude of my

own fashioning which I am

paying for physically at age

seventy-six.

I guess you could say,

given my waning condition,

I have walked up to the

mutuel window to place

a bet on how long I have

yet to live.

At my age, physical and mental

condition, my odds for longevity

are not so great. Besides, even if

I netted 20 to 1 winnings, what

in hell good is that going to do me

anyway?

I suppose I should feel lucky that

Bukowski and my brother Dave at

least gave me something to write

about today. I am grateful for that.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Hell, I feel lucky. Make it fried!

                  -30-

Chris Hanch 7-7-2023

Time

 

Time, ours to waste or apply.

Time, either way.

Time, all we have here and now.

Time, a limited supply

As  time flies by.

                -30-

Chris Hanch 7-5-2023