the impertinent squawks
of blue jays during
the presidential address
they must know that troops
are still being deployed
to afghanistan

the flap of 500,000
pigeons at sunrise
I'm happy not to be part
of the inflated crowd
at the glenn beck rally

a step back in time
into the narrow booths
of crown candy
where there's no plans to expand
anything but the patrons

In business since 1913, Crown Candy Kitchen is a St. Louis landmark featuring great ice cream, candy, and other food items. 

http://crowncandykitchen.net/about/

well protected
from the midday sun
a bee resting
under the parasol
of a squash blossom

a chipmunk eyes me
from its rock perch
perhaps I'm
the only nut it's met
along this overgrown trail

a dimly-lit waiting room
as if this were a restaurant
where the waiter
is about to give me a bill
I don't want to see

Quotes by George Orwell:

"War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. "



"Political language - and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists - is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. "


"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. "

"Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act. "


Source:

http://www.george-orwell.org/l_quotes.html

cardinals surveying
the Garden's ProgresS
neither the government
nor the birds respect
a citizen's curtilage

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2013150,00.html?iid=tsmodule

as though
they were campaigning
for a political office
the dark and disfigured leaves
of an american elm

the repeated flatness
of the interstate
I roll down the windows
and sing anything out of tune
just to stay awake

ready to vent
over a canceled class
I stare at a phone number
on the bulletin board
about kickboxing

living in
a bilingual household
since two years of age
I've known that "nein"
means "no" in german

60 mile per hour winds
the windows start talking
to each other
as if they are about to ask
for better working conditions

a sense of abandonment
in the brooding
water tower
and the patches of rust
going up the conveyor

dawn at the sunset hills
country club
a goose looking around
as if it had just lost
a golf ball

no room for sleep
listed on this itinerary
the bags under my eyes
all packed and ready
to go on vacation

in the part of town
where laws
are merely suggestions
a boy skateboarding down
the yellow line of state street

the day quickly sinks
into the ribs of a chair
with few of us caring
if blagojevich is
innocent or guilty

in the fourth edition
of the american heritage dictionary
I'm not sure how kerouac would feel
about being wedged between
"kerosene" and "kestrel"

a ride to school
in a taxi
dad flips on the meter
to let me know how much
this trip is costing him


In 1907, the first taxicab started on the streets of New York City.


After serving in the military, my father worked for Laclede Cab Company and retired in the early 1980s. Thankfully, he retired before the rise of Uber.

in a place
that reminds me
of a football field
the goalposts of woodhenge
tracking the sun

http://cahokiamounds.org/explore/cahokia-mounds/woodhenge

This photo was taken before a thunderstorm.  It's unfortunate that the view surrounding woodhenge contains busy roadways and a fenced-off area that looked like a school bus repair yard.

Woodhenge

"Parents were invented to make children happy by giving them something to ignore." 

~ Ogden Nash

as if that part
of me still existed
a social security card
in an envelope sent
to my childhood address

greenland
real estate
cracking up faster than
late-night comedians
can joke about it

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/07/petermann-glacier-giant-i_n_674326.html

mom waits
with her camera
expecting great things
         from a young boy's
                            first trip
                                 down the slide

In the past few days, I've added several more tanka to the Marjorie Content tribute.  I plan on writing poems for at least three additional photos. I wish more of her images were available on the internet.

the yellow butterfly
not settling
on any flower
until it reaches the one
nearest the drinking fountain

"Speak when you're angry and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret."


~ Laurence J. Peter (1919-1990)*


*author (along with Raymond Hull) of The Peter Principle  


The Peter Principle demonstrates how some politicians get elected to office.  It also applies to certain CEOs whose names are currently in the headlines. 


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Principle

a full swing
and another miss
the evening star
waiting outside
the batting cages

voting day
as if I could
right any wrongs
armed with a ballot
and felt-tip pen

The tribute to Marjorie Content has been updated with three new tanka inspired by a Canyon de Chelly photograph.

Marjorie Content

ensconced on
the fireplace mantel
a flowered vase
I love how it reflects light
without knowing its age

hoping to eradicate
any signs of neglect
I brush my teeth
with renewed vigor
before going to the dentist

undoing an entire game
of solitaire
with control z
I wish it were as ez
to take back careless words

"If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they will kill you."

~Oscar Wilde

Irish dramatist, novelist, and poet (1854 - 1900)


There's another variation of this quote attributed to Billy Wilder.

as though
they were expecting
an honored guest
the leaves of hydrangea
rising up to greet the rain

after running up
two flights of stairs
to answer the phone
a salesman tells me I've been
pre-approved for life insurance