The Truth of the Matter

BLOGGER.COM HAS LOST ITS MIND

As far as I can tell, my blog-publishing service, blogger-com, has gone crazy. All of a sudden, it's stopped doing any kind of line-spacing, e.g., indents, line breaks, blank lines between paragraphs, etc. Instead all text appears as one non-stop stream from beginning to end. Consequently poems can have no line breaks and look like this: Roses are red Violets are blue Sugar is Sweet And so are you. So far I've been unable to figure this out and solve it. Last night I dreamt that I should take a photo of a poem and post that. So that's what I plan to do for a while, starting today. :>(

All About Iko

 

The Orphan 

Iko grew up in a house of  ill repute  

A seedy motel in Mid-City

The ladies of the night thought him very cute 

Iko grew up in a house of  ill repute

Then he ran off one night in a raucous dispute 

Our family saved him from a life that was gritty 

Iko grew up in a house of  ill repute

A seedy motel in Mid-City

Iko the Sniffer 

Sniffing, we agree, is Iko’s best trait

The stop sign, the hydrant, the pole 

Who are the dogs who have passed by of late?  

Sniffing, we agree, is Iko’s best trait

His ears are okay but his nose is great 

That’s why he enjoys a good stroll 

Sniffing, we agree, is Iko’s best trait

The stop sign, the hydrant, the pole 

The Marker 

Iko is serious about leaving his mark 

Each of his walks, fifteen times or more 

His favorite location, our Dunore Park

Iko is serious about leaving his mark 

Sometimes he’ll toss in a high-pitched bark 

Just to let big dogs know the score 

Iko is serious about leaving his mark 

Each of his walks, fifteen times or more 

The Fighter 

Iko goes crazy to have a good fight 

He rolls on his back, kicks his feet in the air  

He does bare his teeth but he’d never bite 

Iko goes crazy to have a good fight 

He pushes on my forearms with all his might 

I go rub-a-dub-dub on his hair 

Iko goes crazy to have a good fight 

He rolls on his back, kicks his feet in the air

Pandemic Dog Thoughts 

For me the pandemic’s a marvelous thing 

It means we’re together all of the time 

Staying at home makes me want to sing 

For me the pandemic’s a marvelous thing 

All this attention I feel like a king 

The hugging, the petting, it’s so sublime 

For me the pandemic’s a marvelous thing 

It means we’re together all of the time 

Iko Brightens Our Lives  

With Iko our house is a happier place 

He’s like a fount of good cheer 

He wakes in the morning with a smile on his face  

With Iko our house is a happier place

His bed on our floor is his favorite space 

So long as the humans are near 

With Iko our house is a happier place

He’s like a fount of good cheer

Farewell

RIP, Alex, that’s it for your run

We watched you at dinner for years 

Right or wrong, we had oodles of fun 

RIP, Alex, that’s it for your run

For millions of fans the world is undone  

So many sorrows, so many tears

RIP, Alex, that’s it for your run

We watched you at dinner for years 

 

Digital Friendships

We’re pretty good friends, me and Stephen Colbert  

He tells me new jokes every night 

Disgust with Trump, that’s a main thing we share 

We’re pretty good friends, me and Stephen Colbert  

Steve could know me better but I don’t care 

When he comes to Cincy we will be so tight 

We’re pretty good friends, me and Stephen Colbert  

He tells me new jokes every night 

Shaggy Visage

Untouched for eight months, a pandemic beard 

Three oldies mistook me for Gabby Hayes 

The message: We’re stuck in a time that is weird   

Untouched for eight months, a pandemic beard 

By New Years I hope that I’ll have this beard sheared

But only if first I’ve reduced my malaise   

Untouched for eight months, a pandemic beard 

Three oldies mistook me for Gabby Hayes 

Crusty Old Guy Triolets

                 Eighty-Three

My eighty-third birthday to me was a fright

Who could imagine I’d still be around? 

The perils of old age still leave me uptight 

My eighty-third birthday to me was a fright

Though reaching eight decades I’ve done something right

Thanks to whiskey and Miltown I’m still above ground 

My eighty-third birthday to me was a a fright

Who could imagine I’d still be around? 

Loneliness

 

All my friends have gone away 

A fact that leaves me lonely 

No chums left with whom to play  

All my friends have gone away

I wake each morn to loss, dismay

Finding myself only 

All my friends have gone away

A fact that leaves me lonely 

The Worst Idea  

This is the worst idea of all 

Each hour that we’re here, one hour closer to death

The very thought of it casts a dark pall 

This is the worst idea of all

The truth is we need to confront our downfall

Every creature on earth has to breathe their last breath 

This is the worst idea of all

Each hour that we’re here, one hour closer to death

Polymalgia Rheumatica 

I wake each morn in abject pain 

My arms, my legs, my shoulders, my spine

To walk ten steps, a cruel strain

I wake each morn in abject pain

By afternoon I’ve made some gain 

My knees, surprise, now feel just fine

I wake each morn in abject pain

My arms, my legs, my shoulders, my spine

Too Many Docs  

It seems like I go to a doctor each week

The lung doc, the heart doc, the skin doc and more 

My body’s turned into a creaky antique

It seems like I go to the doctor each week

Each visit I’m sure that my prospects are bleak  

But the doc always says he finds life in my core

It seems like I go to the doctor each week 

The lung doc, the heart doc, the skin doc, and more