It’s been fun

To the page members
For reading these prose of mine
Thank you for your time

Cultivating life long relations

As we’ve laughed and cried
Together we’ve grown closer
Forming special bonds

Sewing seeds of fellowship

From a chance encounter
And simple conversation
Friendships oft begin

Expand your horizons

Stretching our limits
We may find hidden talents
Learning of ourselves

In the shadows

They say truth is bare
So lies people tell must be
Fully enshrouded

Rainy day blues

As the clouds roll in
With bleak and dismal pallor
Disappointment spreads

Creative input

Find inspiration
In the entirety of life
Wonders do abound

Inner turmoil

Head to head combat
With brutal competition
The demons within

Loose lips

Gossip may gain you
The attention you seek but...
Cost you their respect

Cold sweat

When the fear subsides
What’s left is pure and raw,
Palpable and real

Good times

When conversation
Fits like a familiar glove
You know you’re with friends

Catching up

Back and forth it goes
Easy flowing dialogue
Served with beer and cheer

Standing the test of time

What makes friendships last?
Maybe it's as simple as
Picking up the phone

Fear the reaper

A cold hand crosses
An ethereal abyss
The icy grip of death

Almost done

My year of writing
Draws close to a finish now
I hope you’ve enjoyed

Quit wasting time on yesterday

Bitter is the taste
Of jealousy and regret
Of what could have been

The wellspring of hardships

With experience
Comes a fountain of wisdom
Even when it’s bad

A nobel cause

Discrimination
We fight this ancient blight with
Determination

Escape from reality

Imagination
Just a short journey from here
And all in your mind

The crashing waves

Like sparkling feldspar
The ocean spray at sunset
A glittering mist

The MS Bike Ride

I ride for a cause
One-hundred miles I’ll pedal
Fund raising for cure

The stormy sea

Unfamiliar world
Feeling so lost and bemused
Bearings are confused

The road to erudition

Each and every step
Is most valued when it’s earned
Through work and ardor

Back to school

My new journey begins
Walking the path of learning
A pursuit for more

Streched to the limit

Flexibility
Is good; but too much and you
No longer unbend

What you see, is what you get

Always remember
That perception is nine-tenths
Of reality

Remember

Today we reflect
What our country means to us
What we believe in

Mental block

Painful memories
Long since achingly repressed
Trying to surface

The need for speed

Free-wheeling down-hill
The rush of tunnel vision
Wind flooding your eyes

The cyclist creed

For every down turn
There’s an up coming your way;
So face it head on

Tied down... it can be a good thing

For the moored vessel
The roped knots were not for naught
They were the anchor

Expressionless

The stoic face reads
Like a blank piece of paper;
Not very novel

Discovery

Mysteries are found
In all aspects of our lives
When we go looking

A many splendid thing

Love takes many forms
Those forms that are most simple
Are often most pure

Tactile sensation

Like gossamer threads
Her touch gently brushed his face
Caressing his cheek

Obsessive compulsive

Look inside the box
Nothing there so try again
Anything this time?

Meh

This ennui gives me
Apathetic indifference
But nobody cares

Unnatural event

Death of an infant
One of life's great tragedies
Gone in an instant

A very simple girl

Her credulity
Was only exceeded by
Her naivety

Careful what you wish for

Once it is attained
Possessing what we covet
Comes with its own cost

Eye on the prize

Goals give us focus
A crux upon which we aim
To ply our resolve

On my sleeve and then some

Worn upon my face
My mood is an open book
For the world to read

A hodgepodge of deoxyribonucleic acid

Many traits swimming
In the gene pool of my life
Some deep; some shallow

My forties

Where has the time gone
What about all my grand plans
Retirement looms

My thirties

On top of my game
Working hard and playing hard
Plenty still to live

My twenties

Cocky, self-assured
Life of adventure I’ll live
The world at my feet

My teens

Nervous and awkward
Yet rebellious and guileful
Seeking acceptance

The driven wedge

Destructive force plied
A friendship torn asunder
By simple blunder

Take the good, take the bad

Life can be a treat
Though sometimes, just getting by
Is really a feat

Storms and emotions

As the tempest calms
So tempers the turbulence
Peaceful for a while

The spinster

She carries the weight
Of a thousand broken hearts
So she stops trying

Stupid on purpose

Like a moth to flame
Though destined for certain death
Seems a bit insane

Life in Kansas

The infernal dust
Settles, settles, everywhere
Cleaning is a bear

Satisfy versus sustain

Wants and needs differ
The former feeds the ego
The latter your life

Seasons change

Hot days behind us
Cooler days ahead of us
Ready for the Fall

Linguistic similes make me smile

When feet feel like lead
It is difficult to lead
And more to be led

Around the block and back

Like scars of battle
Our experiences show
A  map to our past

The optimist

With eternal hope
Every waking day she sees
A new light dawning

When fear sets in

Panic hovers close
Like a vulture sensing death
Preying on your angst

Covet not

Unflattering mask
Jealousy becomes no one
Concealing nothing

Friendship dyed in the wool

Woven love and care
Fabric of relationship
Textile to be shared

A straight line, is not always so straight

Looking for shortcuts;
We think they will save us time
But forget true costs

Brief reprieve

A break from the heat
Cooling rain falls from above
Sating arid soil

Ticking timebomb

So much frustration
With no where to pent but up
She bottled her ire

It’s a scorcher

The hot, humid haze
Hangs heavily in the air
On these summer days

Ode to the Joker

Some call me bike freak,
Some... the messenger of bleak
I speak in haiku

Guess who

I’m a house painter
I'm a geek manager I’m
A midnight cyclist

Not seeing the forest

The faster we went
The quicker we reached the end
But we missed the goal

Thank you mom and dad

Their rearing left an
Indelible impression
One that won’t be lost

Life's short...

Death takes the good ones
Long before their time seems due
Their hours here too few

Something to ponder

When do these haiku
Reflect the mood of the day
When are they just words

Close encounters of a religious kind

Light envelopes Him
Bathed in the Holy Spirit
Savior of our souls

Need for self motivation

What drives us to reach
If only for someone else
What then were they gone

A turn for the worse

As the cream rises
The remaining milk curdles;
Turns fetid and sour

What if it were reveresed

Please consider well
When the next words from your mouth
Rule another’s fate

A snake by any other name...

Grand are the gestures
Made by silver tongues, full of
Empty promises

Knight in shining armour

Some say dead and gone
But one act of gallantry
Proves there's chivalry

Seuss gone mad

Toiling and moiling
With trouble ever boiling
And mischief roiling

Words hurt

Like water through rock
Over time, the cutting quips
Left deepening marks

A dogs life

All my Buddy wants
Is a hand to scritch his ears;
A lap for his head

Treat others...

Decisions we make
Profoundly impacts others;
Choose responsibly

Weekends with my Honey Bear

Spending time with you
Is the highlight of my day
Whiling hours away

Good versus evil

Pesky conscience
When I’m bad, making me aware
Lurking ever near

Time changes all

I will never be
The person I was before;
Yesterday is gone

Beginning of the end

Her devastation
Was finding motivation
From her libation

Looks can be deceiving

She sits very poised
But the edge she sits upon
Is fragile and weak

Flexibility required

Friendship dynamics
Often end up with their bounds
Stretched beyond the norm

Reunions

Far and near they come
Kin gather to pay respect
Why does this take death?

The embalming room

Lingering odor
Of liniment and lotion
The sour smell of death

Up, up, and a pain

Muscle quivering
Climbing the gnarly riser
Pedals moving slow

Definition of deadbeat

Crushing is the weight
Of countless broken promises;
He misses his dad

My name is Inigo Montoya

You thrust; I parry
The deadly dance of dueling
Harsh and grueling

Wanton cruelty

Hand crafted drama
The most useless kind devised
Spun of hurtful lies

The roads we travel

Varied paths we take
Each unique unto our plight
Require strength and might

Beauty of the ball

Her gaze electrified
Her mere presence charged the crowd
With fierce energy

Independence Day

Celebrate freedom
From oppressive tyranny
Thank our military

Eye on the prize

Grimly bracing on
The journey too much to bear
Were reward not there

Nuptial bliss

Life begins anew
As the two join, becoming one
By saying "I do"

Young Love

The ardent couple
Their love a burning passion
No force could allay

Wicked Wordplay

Mischievous malice
Unleashed upon unwitting souls
Wrought wilful wreckage

He died alone

The old man weeping
While ever closer creeping
Death came a reaping

A long day in the saddle

Finished; head hung low
My endurance defeated;
Body depleted

DIY my %@$!

Seemingly simple
And really more art than skill
Still... mine looks like crap

Tread carefully

Jealous is the love
Whose desire is neglected
For another’s want

Gone but not forgotten

Giving goose bumps rise
Like cold wind on a damp day
Memories of you

And then it was gone

Her hopes plummeting
As the last chance she clings to
Slips her weakened grasp

Chillin’ on the back porch

Watching wispy clouds
Floating lazily by me
On a summer’s eve

The flood

The turbulent force
Rolls mercilessly forward
Death behind its wake

Very, very frightening

Blue tendrils streaking
Across dark and angry skies
C R A S H !     P O P !     S I Z Z L E !     C R A C K !

Steamy season

Summer’s heat rolls in
On the heels of a short Spring
Sweltering and hot

Father’s Day

Though he may not know
He taught me by his actions
Mentored without show

Canvas of the ages

Most call them wrinkles
I fancy Time an artist
Etching lines of life

The big guarantee in life

Old age marches on
The feet of time stomping by
With naught to stop it

Another perspective

To see more clearly
Try looking through other’s eyes;
Learn their point of view

Reaching out

Extend the olive branch
To your fellow man, receive
Inner peace and cheer

No turning back

The friendship now marred
Stained by foolish aggression
And obdurate pride

Lost

No light at the end
Just dark endless catacombs
She seeks to escape

Finishing my first triathlon

Every year I age
Aches and pains more prominent
Strains more dominant

Similar fuse / opposite affects

Love and fights both start
When passion builds to tempest
And boiling point reached

Beyond empty?

Blank slate is one thing
But what to do with a void
That won't be filled

Stop and smell what?

Always hurrying
Slow down... be hit from behind
Never enough time

Let it go

Holding the bygone
Tortures the soul; pique should be
Released not fostered

Too much for too little

Excessive measures
Taken for slight infractions
Often come up short

Growing up and apart

Cherish family time
For not always will it be
As years divide thee

A long day in the sun

The punishing heat
Enshrouds me; robbing me of
Strength and fortitude

The Power of Good

Healing energy
Of love, laughter, and kindness
Cures many ailments

... and the world smiles with you

A smile warms the heart
Like a campfire warms the face
Burning, fierce, and bright

Beacon of trust

Single ray of hope
Brightly shines, guiding your way
Let faith be your stay

Think first, act later

Flagrant disregard
Of the impact of ones choice
Leaves others at risk

Different sides of the same coin

All in the context;
How you choose to receive it
Decides good and bad

Memorial Day

Salute them one and all
Brave men and women who died
Our freedom they vied

Guard well your hand

Foolish is the man
That shares more than he’s required
Thus leaving him mired

The redeemer and the rebel

Rage against The Man
But then for your fellow man
Show him compassion

The inner critic

Am I good enough?
Can I do more, or better?
I shall ever strive.

The invisible one

People walking by
But no one to stop and help
Maybe I’m not here

The unfunny comedian

Seeking attention
At someone else's expense
Less funny than cruel

Only because they care

Tough love hard to take
But even harder to give
From parents who care

The inner child

Courageous facing;
But behind the bold facade
Nervous and timid

Mental illness

Like the ebbing tide
Slowly, as it progresses
The mind regresses