what's underneath the skin

some handy hap will no doubt occur
the next arrival we hope will announce
what does not in its way end but recur
or will out of this room go with a flounce
not now but later measured by the ounce
the answer will not on this day be heard
the prognosticators have yet to pronounce
not given but earned is how we have the word

not from a notional heaven this sharp burr
but from a source that we cannot renounce
the beast within with tooth and claw and fur
upon its target will most lightly pounce
never could we this plain nature denounce
the very thought of doing so's absurd
the syllables of hate we mispronounce
not given but earned is how we have the word

our vision's not one that we can simply blur
the future we can't just now announce
but in its way the sense we have can't err
there's room to move and even more to bounce
the savage beast not only lynx or ounce
our very thoughts and secrets overheard
cannot its own thoughts and mind renounce
not given but earned is how we have the word

prince though your enemies with ease you trounce
you cannot overcome the largest herd
the delators from every side come to denounce
not given but earned is how we have the word

all that remains

the sight of rain does not this day depress
there's nothing to do now just simply wait
the time to come may not harm or repress
it's too late for that now far far too late
the chance to go will come again that's true
the chance to see new places and new folk
all sorts of things will soon come into view
but all of it's no more than nature's joke
the force that holds us in our proper places
is artificial it cannot prevent our choice
it cannot hide from us our proper faces
and cannot silence any person's voice
life is a jest some say and that is so
but every jest requires someone to know

the world expects

the space constricts in absence of full light
nothing remains but what we can allow
each day's completed by the fall of night

too much of anything will lead to blight
we can't prevent it with a simple vow
the space constricts in absence of full light

doing the right thing requires more than might
we'd undertake it if we knew just how
each day's completed by the fall of night

upon our shoulders no wise bird will alight
nothing our senses overcome or wow
the space constricts in absence of full light

still do we seek to announce just what is right
we will not free the ox that pulls the plough
each day's completed by the fall of night

at noon we cannot see with fullest sight
our eyes seem dimmer underneath the brow
the space constricts in absence of full light
each day's completed by the fall of night

travel meme

Patrick Nielsen Hayden passes on the following: "List the towns or cities where you spent at least a night away from home during 2006. Mark with a star if you had multiple non-consecutive stays."

Mine would be

Chicago, IL
Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
Columbus, OH
London, England
South Padre Island, TX
Boston, MA
Savannah, GA.

Next year, I hope to visit

New Orleans, LA
Chicago, IL
Oberlin, OH
Philadelphia, PA

new year's eve

walking the distance
a job not just a duty
ignore the rainfall

end of a sad year
next year possibly sadder
still soft rain falling

we see no shadows
the darkness enveloping
avoids all answers

what i see

the water comes up from the warmest seas
the temperature's been rising the whole day
spring in the heart of winter seems to tease
we've naught to gain except a certain way
but focus and desire merge in the spray
a hoped-for ending would not be amiss
we've not seen a single encouraging ray
the rain falls down on our heads with a hiss

there's little wind today a lightish breeze
the shrubs outside move little hardly sway
nature seems afflicted with a bleak ease
the muting lack of colour or display
give us a feeling just as dull and grey
as when we're closing on on the abyss
a blending of our fear and our dismay
the rain falls down on our heads with a kiss

at least there's no chance now of a hard freeze
but that thought doesn't our dim mood allay
the rain's enough to make the hardy sneeze
and colour seems completely drained away
brightness and hope both appear to decay
and life itself's bereft of joy and bliss
still some attempt at pleasure we'll essay
the rain falls down on our heads with a hiss

prince who desired that the whole year were may
be not so harsh on our desires nor miss
that we reject the dullness and the gray
the rain falls down on our heads with a hiss