Lion Rampant

The devil is like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour

• 1Peter 5:8

He came to me with the emblem of a lion;

See my majesty, hear me roar - I trample and triumph

I’m clothed in honour, steeped in courage - like a lion.

Yet, only like: “the hood maketh not the monk”.

They are brothers too,
in some not so civil war,
playing sides against the others,
wounded hearts, and open sores.

Friendly-fire took him down,
in mistaken identity.
A shadow caught out in the open,
dissolved in light's acuity.

Nay, do not weep for lack of direction,
give him compass, guide him home.
Turn the lights on, Baby,
your brother's likely stoned.

No injunction set against him,
there's nothing to forgive.
A brother is always welcome,
he's got the right to live.

the universe sparks
when ideas clash, wars break out

evolution keeps grinding, smiling
"It is what it is"

the scarred heart grasps at 'sugar straws'
but carbohydrates fill the soul

parallel paths side-eyed forever

People say I shouldn’t remember
For I was not yet two
But as I lay, on that warm spring day
In my pram I swear its true.

I heard a sound, like a million bees
That hummed in the cloudless blue,
A shape I saw with flames behind
That stuttered and smoked as it flew.

Then mother was there in panic,
In her arms she swept me high,
Had that airborne monster crashed nearby
Then surely we should die.

Paralyzing pain as stones grind through,
Stabbing white hot needles to make you choke,
You freeze, crouched low as pain subsides,
And you know that soon they will eject.

But more will follow, though it be days or weeks,
Pray no one will see as you grimace, grind teeth.
No way to know when the hour may come.
Just know, and wait, as life goes on.

It's springtime, I'm into my garden.
Sowing, weeding and such.
It's a very hard slog when you get too my age
But I’ve always enjoyed it so much.

The fuchias now all are potted
There are beans, radish, onions and such.
Potatoes soon ready to harvest
Oh, the peace and God's bounty is much.

But now as I sweat, as I labour,
Out into the garden she comes.
Instructions fly forth from lika gatling,
From trees plummet unripened green plums.

Secret readers, I see you,
while you don't leave your name.
I see that you are reading,
and I thank you all the same.

You read all my little ditties,
my poems, large and small.
My fantasy, truth and fiction,
I guess you read them all.

I wish that I could tell you,
how much you mean to me.
But you are my secret readers,
I guess I'll never see.

What prompts you to pick my writing?
I wish, I really knew.
I think about you out there, reading...
and I send my thanks to you.

Let's talk about your comments,
tell me what you think.
We can lead your horse to water,
but we cannot make it drink.

Comments on your poetry,
commenting back on theirs.
That's the way it works here,
that's the way we share.

If you're not getting feedback,
excepting from A.I.
Try a comment on your neighbor,
the results can help you fly!

Speed heightened all their senses,
brought them awful pleasure.
With blood and oil; throbbing engines,
they hunted up their treasure.

Switchback curves throw them sideways,
tires smoke against the tar
A five-speed tranny, dual exhaust,
an extraordinary car.

Flashing thighs, feet pumping pedals,
shifting down, she lets it roar.
Third gear, she stomps the gas,
and puts it to the floor.