All I Have is This Photo

November 18, 2024

All I have is this photo

Taken at the beach

I asked her if I could

She replied with a shrug

It was an older camera

I purchased it in my youth

It used film

It was my last exposure

I wanted to strike up a conversation

The original premise of my asking

I expected a cheerful change of demeanor

She remained sullen, incredibly distant

Her eyes looked everywhere

But they focused on nothing,

Nobody,

And nowhere

Had she been hurt

Had she been ignored

The indifference someone instilled in her

She now instilled in others

So, if by chance you should encounter her

If by chance you have an inclination

Drop a hint

Whatever it is, it too shall pass

Shhh! I’ve got a secret.

November 03, 2024

Two years of talking

Two years of promises

Nobody has ever offered

To limit government

Or expand rights for all

Every cycle begins the same

Lots of rhetoric

Lots of name calling

Neither freedom nor liberty

Gain during the process

This is by design

This is a distraction

The natural path is that of erosion

Of rights and choice

By tyranny and force

No matter who wants the job

Thousands more want the power

And the money, and the fame

It will always be this way

Because it always has

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

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

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

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

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

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, 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.