The Cusp
The Cusp
October 25, 2024
I am at that point in my life
That no matter what direction I look
I am looking down
I currently reside on that precipice
Known as the cusp
I adore this locale
Higher than I have ever been before
Precariously balanced
Pivotable 360 degrees
All eyes are on me this day
But, I cannot remain in this pose forever
I cannot remain indecisive for long
I am adorned with the accoutrements of choice
Spectated by guests who expect more than a ceremony
They expect a decision
Whatever I do decide
Will lead to other hills to climb
But I will never reside
Here again
My one and only cusp in this life
Vuja De
Vuja De
October 19, 2024
“The calibration must be within .7 seconds for the device to work. This one has altered his memory with his drug use, so the margin for error is small.”
“How many times can we use the device before the subject can no longer be repaired?”
“For this subject, only once.”
I walked to work during that last morning. The news reported the end of the world began precisely at 1803 GMT. That would be 2:03 pm in Buffalo, New York, until the daylight saving time caught up.
It never would.
The shadows arrived first. An hour later, we saw the ships. An hour after that, I decided to get drunk and high on whatever I could find. I have been in this state for nearly two months now. That is why I am still alive.
The aliens sent droids, then bots, then retrievers. They had no inclination to show themselves or expose themselves to the myriad of viruses, bacteria, and/or parasites Earth had to offer. They did, however, expose the entirety of humanity to the viruses, bacteria, and/or parasites their God-forsaken world had to offer.
By sundown, nearly two-thirds of mankind died in ways too unspeakable to mention. Most of the mammalian populations died also. The insects thrived. The avians suffered. I located a pharmacy. I lost track of statistics after that.
Dawn matched the visual devastation with its olfactory partnership. The survivors wished they had perished. The retrievers gathered who they could find only to dissect each into portions more easily digestible to our new guests.
“The tolerance is still too large. It keeps shifting from one band to another. Couldn’t we track another? Perhaps someone more stable?”
“Find another to track. This one is the last human remaining.”
I roam aimlessly, easily avoiding the bots and retrievers. How? I do not know. Maybe I am invisible. Maybe, just maybe, they no longer view me as worth the effort. Somehow, I keep finding drugs to take. At first, I took them to feel good. Now, I take them to feel nothing.
“A lock! We have a lock! Activate the device immediately!”
I walked to work that morning. The newsman on the radio reported many sightings of “dark clouds” overhead, without a single object to create them. The man said it was something akin to an atmospheric plasma storm, something between a solar flare and the Northern Lights. A few flashes overhead mirror fireworks, but in the daytime? That isn’t right. Either way, I have to get to work on time.
I passed a homeless vet strung out from the night before. He wants money. He tells me he knows that “they” are here, but not to stay. He knows the truth. How can anyone that is drugged out know anything?
Incomplete 7th Grade Cheese
Incomplete 7th Grade Cheese
October 10, 2024
Note: I wrote this using a dictionary and thesaurus in 1977, thus the cheese and the incompleteness
Have you ever loved someone?
The way that I love you?
Will you ever need someone?
The way that I do,
when I am missing you?
Can you find your happiness?
I know that I found mine.
If you’re ever in distress
you can count on me
all of the time.
I can always live my life,
without your smiling face.
I can always drift again,
aimlessly passing,
from every town and place.
But, that’s not what
I want to do.
I want to get
close to you,
every night and every day.
Linda, I love you.
Passing on your loveliness
Yeah, let a lot pass me.
I look for your true caress,
every moment,
for all eternity
Slipping
Slipping
October 09, 2024
Til’ death do us was always part of the agreement. I watched the monitor in her hospice room. Not today was my only thought.
Not today.
She lay peacefully on her new pillow and crisp linens. Her blood pressure was 60 over 30. Her pulse was 32. Last hour, both were higher.
Last hour, she told me she was feeling fine.
We had planned for this day, although I hoped it would never come. I was to go first. I was the oldest. I worked jobs that should have killed me. She lived the life of the Queen she was (in my mind). No harm would come to her.
No harm ever did.
But, time did instead.
Slowly, ever so slowly, time crept, in plain sight, upon her.
Today, it began its sprint.
Her BP dropped a few more points. Not enough to erase the smile on her face, but drop it did.
I smoothed her silky, gray hair for the last time. I did not need a machine to tell me her breathing was erratic. Her DNR meant we would not be disturbed.
She would pass quietly.
That is what she wanted.
When I heard the flatline of the monitor, I closed her eyes.
She died without pain.
That is what I wanted.
Somewhere in Time
Somewhere in Time
October 09, 2024
I lost my love
Not where
But when
She is distant
She is afar
Our paths may cross
On their own account
But
I cannot rest
My aspirations
On that coincidence
I must locate her
Bring her back
To me
Or
Remain with her
From where
And when
She resides
Would I forfeit
My life
As I know it?
Forgoing
All I have
All I will have
For just one more moment?
Yes!
I would move the stars
For the chance
I will find her
It’s the price
I pay
For this
Life
(together)
I choose
And she is worth it
Papasan Chair
Papasan Chair
October 05, 2024
Discovered for free
On Craig’s List
Obtained by convincing another
I should be the rightful owner
She explained she
Already owned the cushion
I explained
I already had the space
The previous owner
Suggested a game of
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Two out of three
She shot with paper
I countered with scissors
Advantage moi
She counterattacked with rock
I faulted with scissors
Deuce
For the finale
She suggested a change of locale
Perhaps my deck
I suggested she bring the beverage
And the cushion
Perhaps a Merlot
A date lasting into the night
Covering the duration of two movies
Finishing the bottle
We never
Partook
In the last shot
Today is my 60th birthday
Today, I am going to revel in the wonderment I made it this far.
Later today, I am going to reread everything I have ever published.
Tomorrow, I am going to begin the second chapter of my unfinished life.
Tentatively entitled, "My New Bucket List."
Then start knocking it off, one by one.
Thanks - Andy Betz.
RACECAR
RACECAR
September 10, 2024
Too Hot to Hoot
Too Hot to Hoot
Too Hot to Hoot
Tenet
Terret
Tut-Tut
Testset
Desserts I stressed
Refer
Rotor
Radar
Redder
Red Rum, Sir is murder
Noel saw I was Leon
Norma is a selfless as I am, Ron
No lemons, no melon
No word, no bond – Row on
Gag
Gig
Gug
Gog
Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog
Sagas
Sexes
Solos
Stats
Star Comedy by Democrats
Tuna nut
Stacked cats
Tsetse’s Test
The best bet is the Betz (shameless plug)
See, few owe fees
Nurses run
We panic in a pew
Now I won
Too Hot to Hoot
Too Hot to Hoot
Too Hot to Hoot
Madness Stalks the Forest of Your Mind
Off the
beaten path.
No street lights,
nature has
embraced you.
Solitude has
been found.
Suddenly,
feeling as if
you’re not alone.
The darkness
becomes palpable.
Shadows embody
subtle movements.
Heart rate increases,
breath quickens.
You begin
walking faster.
Trying not
to panic.
It feels like
something is
following you.
Now what?
Dread sets in,
anxiety starts.
Your eyes
say you’re alone.
Yet your mind
says otherwise.
Footsteps echo
in the growing
silence of the night.
As phantoms dance
in and out
of sight.
Each one becomes
more terrifying
than the last.
The mania
of the mind
begins to manifest
in your vision.
Shaping fantasies,
promoting nightmares.
Your mind is
fatally infected
with the delusion
of paranoia.
Now you begin
to question
your sanity.
It feels like
the entire forest
is watching you.
Are those really
tortured souls
in the trees?
The Auditorium
Vast
Empty
when it’s full
of hollow people
auditory dissonance
Hear what we want
Selective
Echoes bounce
Off wooden floors
solid as any foundation
Built on sand
On the podium
innaccuracies
polished floors
false shine
The soulless
sycophants make
ill wishes
Karmic answers
thoughtless words
rhetorical responses
filled with doubt
Chamber of echoes
peripheral souls
stirring
irrationally within
the auditorium