leaves and twigs

so much may happen in the twisting stream
we watch as leaves and twigs pass and go by
all seems so easy in the summer beam

the sun makes all the world to smile and gleam
only a fool would dare now to deny
so much may happen in the twisting stream

we claim the moment cannot be extreme
and no one here has got reason to cry
all seems so easy in the summer beam

you want to laugh and take the time to dream
a little hour of life when none would sigh
so much may happen in the twisting stream

those are the symbols of a better theme
than wailing for a world that has to die
all seems so easy in the summer beam

so here and now the sunshine is supreme
and joy is what appears to every eye
so much may happen in the twisting stream
all seems so easy in the summer beam

stagecraft

you measure time in seconds and you seek
so much of it that it will fill your heart
and leave some over for trade at the mart
and fill the birds up till you seal each beak
this is no place for humble or for meek
each person that you see must play a part
and be a master of dissembling art
no room is left here for the merely weak
offstage a calm director sets the scene
instructing each character where to stand
and setting out the breathing of each line
the very air must know just what we mean
and comprehend each gesture of each hand
as for the rest that is the realm of swine

literacy exercise

these are the roads that take us to no rest
so much of time has passed since we were there
and still the tin signs in the village square
swing in the breeze as markers of our quest
for mental freedom and to know the jest
that causes laughter in this heavy air
we stand now at the border of old care
and wonder if we still can pass the test
another comes to name the old one brute
to tell us how we fail to reach the goal
since we have shown no force of honest will
in a place where all truth is absolute
and none who comes will ever depart whole
since what must heal must also in time kill