Half Tasking

My friend Alan introduced me to the term "half tasking" once when a phone call and a dropped casserole converged.  This morning my friend Ron said "you can't save time.  You only spend it."
Thanks guys.

Half Tasking

He had always
Saved time,
Doing two, sometimes three things
At once.

He believed
If he did this with small things,
Cleaning,
cooking, sorting mail,
He could spend those hoarded moments
For contemplation, entertainment,
Love,

So he cooked dinner
While paying bills,
And when the phone rang,
He didn't hesitate.
After all,
Even a novice juggler
Can keep three balls in the air.

His girlfriend had not had a good day,
He listened sympathetically,
Stirring sizzling potatoes,
Murmuring condolences as he
Tallied the entries
In his check book

When the numbers didn't add up,
He must have missed something.
How long
Had she been waiting
For his response?

He began his apology
As he pulled the burning potatoes
From the stove,
But the smoke alarm
Swept his words away

By the time he
Stood on a chair,
Covered the alarm with a plastic bag,
And, in the deep, sudden silence, 
Picked up the phone to apologize
She was gone.

Oxymoron

Oxymoron

In the midst of the
Heady, philosophic 
Conversation
She said
"He is cosmically Grounded"

The phrase caught us all by surprise.
First, the humorous
Oxymoron,

Then
The vivid image,
As we each saw him.
Sturdy, battered work boots
Planted firmly
On nothing
Compact form in jeans and
Plaid shirt,
Pleasant, smiling face,
Brown hair, graying beard,
Against a backdrop of black space, and
Infinite stars.

Like what's his name,
Standing in space
With his lever,
Moving the world.

　

Struck

Struck

I was struck by an idea this morning.
Not like being hit by a baseball  bat,
Like the one that nailed me yesterday
Thank god!
That one laid me up for the day,
Trying to think it through
Make sense of it.

This one was like the gentle,
Swift blow i remember
From a childhood game
Of  "duck, duck, goose"

Still, I wanted to get up
And chase it around.
Catch it
Before it sat down
And left me
Unanswered
Unresolved.

Such blows to the mind
From the light slap,
The gentle nudge,
To the open ended smack of a
Bold new  concept
Demand attention

Otherwise
I cease to feel them at all
Even when they bear down on me
Horn blaring
Tires squealing
And I
Have no where to go
At all
No resilience
And am squashed flat
By a speeding,
Negligent
Idea.

The Burrito of My Hopes and Wishes

The Burrito of my Hopes and Wishes

My horoscope said
Today would be
The burrito of my hopes and wishes.

The warm, soft, lightly browned tortilla,
Filled to bursting
With everything I've ever wanted,
Or will want.

Pulled pork, substantial as wealth,
A little messy, but life is like that.
Green picante, and a dash of habanero,
Bold and interesting,
Painful now and then, you know how peppers are,
Cheese, melting and bubbly,
Holding it all together,
Security and flavor combined.

Lettuce and tomatoes
Giving the semblance of health at least
And luscious guacamole,
Sour cream, more salsa, olives,
For those hopes and wishes
I haven't even thought of
Yet.

Parable of the Wooden Duck

The Parable of the Wooden Duck.

Teetering on the edge
Of the whirlpool
They are playing a game
Three year old children  testing the adults
"Look how close to the edge
We can play!"

I too am on that edge
Not by choice,
A wooden duck
With wheels, whose
String is tied loosely
Around a fat wrist.

The children call to one another
High pitched cries of excitement
Joy in rebellion,
Loud,
To carry over the deafening waters,

"Look how close I am!
"See me hop on one foot
"I'm not scared
"You can't make me

They dance,
Sure that they can not fall,
They
have this safety line
Attached to a
Reliable old wooden duck

And I
Wonder when
All of us will
Fall into the punishing waters
Because I know
That I am a duck on wheels
With no traction
Or power to
Pull us to safety

Nor can I quack caution
Over their shrill
Voices
Or the roar of water
Crashing on rock
I am made of wood, for Gods sake!

Reason
Has no place here,
Only
A dance
On the edge of destruction
And a wooden duck,
Wishing
That the god damned string
Would break