Quiet Corner

 

He sat alone in a quite corner of his room,

settled into a quiet corner of his brain,

soothing music playing, visions of

cattle grazing in green pastures,

blooming memories of people and

places, bygone days of goodness

and grief. All life is worth remembering

he believes. Without all his experiences,

where on Earth would he be? Disabilities,

old age and all considered, he feels fortunate

to be who and where he is—old and gray,

settled into the quiet corner in a life of

his own making. The sun, moon and stars,

the good green Earth, and the quiet twilight

of eternity often come to mind.

                            -30-

Chris Hanch 7-12-2022

 

Lights Out

See that little dot over there?

See that minute swirl up and to

the left?

Those and so many more

were recently taken by the

James Webb Telescope

showing stars and galaxies as

they were some 4.6 billion

years ago.

Living glowing proof that

mankind, we here on Earth,

shall in our lifetime never

ever truly catch up to the past.

Light years into the future,

or perhaps right now, some

beings out there may see us,

an itsy-bitsy, teensy-weensy,

insignificant, little speck of

dust in a long-gone galaxy

lost in space.

Some other outer one to wonder

if our life insurance policy had

been paid up, with no one to

kiss us good night before the

lights went out?

Us with all the unknown,

Earthbound us, suspended

alone in the vast and end-

less darkness of space.

Gives one pause to wonder:

Are we the past with others

looking back at us?

                    -30-

Chris Hanch 7-12-2022

Says Who?

 

The kitchen faucet drips incessantly.

The Ferrari wins the race.

The last page of the novel has been read.

A friend or family member dies unexpectedly.

Pass the mustard, please.

A squirrel is flattened on a back road

in rural Montana, no one knows, no one cares.

The sunset in the West has come to an end.

The skyscraper, a tribute to mankind’s ingenuity,

glistens in the light of the sun.

Even after the death of millions, Hitler got

what he deserved.

Repeat that last question, please.

This is not what the Founding Fathers had intended.

Even your best shot was not good enough.

Everything is a random happening.

Mostly, the laws of mankind do not apply.

Face it, you’re just along for the ride.

The window was left open overnight.

With or without you, the monologue goes on and on.

A full house beats three of a kind.

You’ll be happy to hear, after all these years,

James Taylor finally got a mocking bird which could sing.

And sleigh bells ring, are you listening?

Don’t ask me, you’re on your own.

What’s up with five lines after five lines then three at the end?

You know, the best tomatoes are generally home grown.

A happy ending is not a given, my friend.

                                          -30-

Chris Hanch 7-11-2022

What is Left to Say

 

On Facebook today, I reviewed

and posted a Memory I had originally

posted 7-years ago. Since that time

many things have changed for you

and for me. As the old saying goes,

Time and tide wait for no man,

(or woman as well, I might add).

Today, I would say, and this comes

as no surprise to either of us, that

the number of days allotted us has

dwindled appreciably, leaving us

closer to the inevitable.

With a certain measure of surety,

I can say that the likelihood is that

I shall not be around 7-years from

now given my advanced age and

condition to re-post this offering

of mine today.

Who knows, perhaps even Facebook

will have since crumbled into the dust

bin of obscure history. And thoughts,

words and pictures we have shared here

today shall never again appear.

So, here’s to today I say, to 7-years ago

today, to 7-years forward, to the young,

old and in between who are thriving

and still alive with something profound

or mundane to say.

                            -30-

Chris Hanch 7-7-2022

In My Dreams

 

In my dreams, I am free, free to run and

dance. My awakened arthritic pain does

not follow me. I am free to meet the dead

again face-to-face. My deceased brother

accompanies me. We revisit past memories

of our childhood where we were free to

be what we wanted to be. Dreams too are

free to put you in unfamiliar places you

have never seen, fantasy worlds of make

believe. The thunderstorm awakens me

halfway, the pitter-patter of the rain lulls

me back to sleep. I am there again, almost

there.

                              -30-

Chris Hanch 7-5-2022

In the Heavens and on Earth

 

Life and how to live it successively

has been handed down historically

and biologically from one generation

to another.

Indeed the Rubik’s Cube of Life is

and has been the wonderment of

mankind.

Over and again, we have somehow

succeeded in aligning the pattern of

various colors respectively in place.

The key then is, given all the twists

and turns it takes, how in heaven’s

name did we manage to arrive here

on Earth?

                       -30-

Chris Hanch 7-5-2022

Incongruity, a Word Salad Potpourri

 

The sausage is made

and lies in wait.

The clothes on the rack

are ready to wear.

The mustache grows

beneath the nose.

Tomorrow arrives

everyday on time.

A plug nickle

has no worth.

Apologies are made

and accepted.

A full house beats

three of a kind.

The bread has gone stale,

the convicted sentenced to jail.

Words work their way

to the landfill.

The day passes

silently away,

and the mare

crosses the finish line.

20 to 1 were the odds

for first place.

Heat is applied

to the muscle ache.

Let’s pick up

where we let off tomorrow.

You have been duly warned,

every day is not the same.

Try the hat on

for size.

Starry starry nights…

Your pants are on fire.

                -30-

Chris Hanch 7-4-2022