In case some don't remember Bernstein is the mathematician who came up with Bernstein's Postulate which states simply : Murphy Was An Optimist......................

Bernstein is Jewish you know
but observes Christmas even so
decorates his house real festive
on Christmas eve his kids are restive

Well, before last Christmas eve
he asked what they'd like to receive
his wife and little lads and lasses
( hoping for toys or cheap sun glasses )

Sometimes, my love, it's hard to understand
Exactly what God wants,
What is his plan?
When we are betrayed by acts of man

Our disillusion fogs our mind on things that matter
Our confidence is shaken as it shatters
It is easy to fall prey to our perception
Of how others may judge and their reception

There are no Vulcans anywhere
no Darth Vaders or androids
cruising around way out there
having fun with humanoids

Think of all the forms on Earth
all the myriad variations
why should another planet birth
semi-sapien imitations ?

Why not four legs, six, or eight ?
why have any legs at all
they might all well have the fate
to swim or fly or even crawl

Perhaps tentacles, not hands
octopi get by just swell
and even on the solid lands
elephant trunks work as well

Little birdies leave their nest

To pass or fail the test

Creating emptiness

In hearts of moms and dads

It’s happiness to see them fly so well

Feeling misty, knowing when they return

They’ll be reformed

No longer a mother’s child

Life is not the same

Now that they’ve matured

Final strings have been trimmed

They never return as before

An empty nest, quiet, filled with memories

(1)
The more it's broken the stronger it is
it oft occurs during a whizz
now that this is at an end
what oft gets broken is the wind
(2)
The smell of corruption's everywhere
it permeates the very air
an aroma of something rotten
or a bag of old groceries forgotten
what is it smells so much like death ?
sad to say that it's your breath
(3)
A potted flower just now wilted
shriveled up and sideways tilted
the cat has choked, begun to bawl
seeking fresh air down the hall

I've conversed in rhyme
through thought and meaning
needling the hidden stitch
which unravels in verse.

Difficult themes taken from
shallow streams, interrogating
connotation a confessor of
truths, the sterile and the rhetoric.

Speaking of the gray impending
doom meets light of day,
my inner nature this
intolerant creator.

Impressions broil not perfumed
some considered choice cuts
consumed, what never was is
not what can't viewing patterns
from a different slant.

Lips, stained with shadows,
Shout out profanities
Not giving a damn
Who might hear;
Hell bent on robbing
Innocent ears

Lips, sneering with sarcasm,
Frown with cynicism
Not giving a damn
Who might listen;
Hell bent on tainting
Innocent concepts

Lips, dripping with hate,
Plant prejudice seeds
Not giving a damn
Who might be hurt;
Hell bent on destroying
Innocent lives

Write a poem, then wait a while
after it sneaks out to view
did it make folks laugh or smile
when it underwent purview

Imperfect just like the writer
awaiting the pointing of mistakes
the web is the final best arbiter
opinion that both makes and breaks

Go away for just a bit
and fill the mind with mundane things
then get drawn right back to it
ignoring other far flung flings

I can't waken from this nightmare
where I'm old and fat with scarce white hair
and ambulate with painful stride
( at least I still have my child bride )

Even with the skills I know
work has become scarce and slow
knees hurt when I climb a ladder
and I now posses a tiny bladder

Banks are asking Me for money
'cause they are broke, now ain't that funny
to get to space we'll soon need hitch
tell me now ain't that a bitch!

As promised here are 3 more forms

Free Verse

The high wind swirls in this ravine
setting off whirl winds, scattered
mostly defined by dirt and duff
save one

A single golden poplar leaf
freshly fallen and still perfect
twists and turns pirouetting
joyfully

Climbing higher, ever higher
becoming a mere speck
then releases for a terminal tumble
floating in a lengthy falling
its final swan song ballet

Western Classic