Poetry

Water Trick Stone


~ Dedicated To ~

The Power of Peace
&
Environmentalists Everywhere
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Water Trick Stone

by

Duane Short
April 21, 2002
~

Lichen part, line hero’s path, as crowd bow low, defy powrs’ wrath
Glisten, listen, babble not ~ hardened sandstone ~ all for naught

Indi-go tree so high ~ flutters, shutters limb on sky
Black an’ blue beak an’ wing never knew so great a thing

Tree where perched silent sway, wave g’bye.... 'nother day
Leaf to root and back again, more than thirst, soil so thin

Droplet born, trickle grow ~ pure an' healthy water flow
Stubborn, gritty, harsh, and hard ~ sandstone attempts flow to retard

Easy, fluid, gentle, soft ~ wisdom time, waits aloft
Moon, sun an’ stars oversee peculiar journey ta yon sea

Tick o’day an’ tock o’night ~ pow’r o’rock an’ peace o’flight
Up ta down the excess flows ~ straight an’ narrow, crooked rows

Days of dry an’ nights of wet ~ flow continues broken yet
Weeks an’ years of battle wage ~ stone and water slowly age

Blister sun an’ biting frost ~ battle won and battle lost
Cedar tree where indi-go ~ taller now but, oh, so slow

Decades gone and scent-trees two ~ hard an’ soft both old, yet new
Stubborn stone by day by night ~ resists water’s gentle flight

Day by day an’ year by year ~ stone so strong thinks, "still here"
Water gentle day an’ night ~ touch so soft, so smooth, so light

Which will give as eons age ~ make indi-go and cedar wage
Who will have its way today? Who will leave its mark...... to stay?

Cedar old and indi-go ~ cycle come and cycle go
Pass their being ring to ring, song ta song an’ song ta sing

Root grow deep into stone ~ feather float to seas unknown
Timeless process beyond man ~ beyond his will to understand

Law of Nature will not break, nor bend, nor melt, nor one bit shake
Laws of Nature man seeks to break though never, ever exception she make

Law of Nature will endure ~ outlast human thought.... for sure
Mankind honors pow’r an’ might ~ wages war an’ loves the fight

Nature honors peace and calm ~ in depth, in space, no hint of qualm
Nature seeks out entropy ~ divides herself so selflessly

Nature shares her space an’ time ~ altruism most sublime
Millennia now in their genes ~ Indi-go and cedar gleans

Knowledge now in core an' marrow ~ tree and bird opinions narrow
Which will win is now quite clear though human heart an’ mind find queer

Stone so rigid, harsh an’ hard ~ so powerful, so strong..... so scarred
Does not win as man does bet ~ not then, not now, not ever...... yet

Water gentle, soft an’ light ~ victory’s mark a gorgeous sight
Channels cut so deep an’ smooth ~ victor’s badge, a sandstone groove

Water gentle, battle won ~ but won in peace under sun
Carried gently one by one stonesand free on beaches run

Run on surf an’ run on wind ~ grain o’sand... now water’s friend
Gentle battle but a myth ~ when sand did water carry with

Stubborn pow’r cannot win ~ gentle wars that never en...........
Tree an’ indi-go together ~ learn the lesson even weather

Even 'weather' man does not ~ respect Her Laws..... Laws Nature wrought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Snid and Ol’ Yelvin
Learned Only to Add

A Story So True • A Story So Sad

by

Duane Short


Water and grass did Snid find in mass
Snid ate and he drank and he slept and he stank

Snid was not fowl... or anything like that
but his feathers did hide him from elk and wildcat

No siree not a bird or he might have done better
than selfish ambition and soul all afetter

Snid’s chest filling lungs sucked in crispy, clean air
and carbon dioxide exhaled everywhere

Taking it in and dishing it out
Snid had his way, of this there’s no doubt

Energy, energy, energy please
is all that Snid craved... just a life of plush ease

Snid rumbled on feet of peculiar dimensions
and felt his way forward with unsightly extensions

“Yet feet aren’t enough to move me about,”
his brain and self-service did constantly shout

Something, yes something, must surely be fonder
than two ten-toed feet to get over yonder

Wheels he invented to speed him along
the rest is familiar; a well known old song

Much meat did he eat and prey upon prey
slept mostly by night but sometimes by day

Snid’s only rival was Ol’ Yelvin the mumphf
who had little vision and even less umphf

Life by all standards was easy, you see
food all about and water was free

Arrows and bullets and slingshots and things
made all the land creatures wish they had wings

Farther and farther Snid’s weapons would reach
‘til finally the heavens could even they breach

Hunting the hunted for food and the sort
for Snid and his kind became quite a sport

Hiding in bushes with fine camouflage
no prey could escape Snid’s ammo barrage

John Deere still had yet to chisel the earth
Caterpillar, the iron sort, had yet to give birth

Mountaintop sharp, still pointing to moon
‘til smoke belching creature emerged its cocoon

The worst of Snid’s kind was still yet to come
but, for sure, was now here... according to some

Day creatures like Snid crafted goggles for night
to give them owl vision, to hunt by and fight

Inventions aplenty Snid did enjoy
some for good things; some merely a toy

Science was good and remains a good thing
but how it is used... is what it will bring

After good science comes technology...
...a dreadfully different matter, you see

Night vision goggles, Snid’s sight did give more
but how did he use them... he used them for war

War over more, more anything he wants
Snid’s “come a long way” from his Pleistocene hunts

More vision at night but does he see more...
...when after all this time he still justifies war?

Carbon, the soul of ancient life here on earth,
what a shame Snid discovered it’s spellbinding worth

Petroleum the product of creatures and plants
Snid learned possesses energy, for which he so pants

Trees mostly gone now, enter coal and oil
Snid travels the globe and penetrates soil

Driving Snid’s politics... energy reigns primary
...no matter the warnings of coal mine canary

More, more, and more his platform of freedom
stood on the notion that carbons... we need’em

Energy, energy cannot be created
but this, nature’s law, Snid convincingly negated

Balance of nature, her power and such
played out for Snid’s needs and Yelvin’s as much

Snid and Yelvin dawdled a bit...
change came to them quickly in terms of “the fit”

Scales and spurs and stingers and armors
they did not develop but became noted charmers

Supposedly brains gave them the edge
over all other creatures... or so they allege

Munching and hunching and dancing about
Snid and Ol’ Yelvin mustered this shout

“Now listen to us yes listen, don’t think!
There’s plenty for all, so eat up and drink...

...abundant is this, abundant is that,” and Yelvin continued Snid’s bellicose rant,
"...now Snid’s tired of hearin’ he shouldn’t and can’t!”

Creatures from here and creatures from there
Creatures from just about everywhere

Creatures they listened and listened real good
but knew all too well their own neighborhood

Snid was a glutton, his sidekicks were jerks
they thrived on great excess; luxurious perks

Even though not funny but rather quite sad
creatures of all sorts knew Snid’s ilk were quite bad

They mused over antics of go-lucky Snid
and how Ol’ Yelvin was such a big kid

Compete they did not for food was aplenty
more than enough for two, even twenty

Never go hungry or thirsty or faint
“Runnin' out of resources? ...no sir, we ain’t!”

Oblivious to the finiteness of stuff
Snid and Ol’ Yelvin could ne’er get enough

“Why worry? Why bother?” Snid sneered one day
“Run outta grass? ... I’ll just settle for hay!”

Ol’ Yelvin the mumphf echoed Snid’s thought
for Ol’ Yelvin seldom thought like he ought

Follow the leader; Ol’ Yelvin was prone
Rarely hatching a thought of his own

Positive thinking was plain good enough
for reality facin’ was just too dang tough

Creatures aplenty observed with disgust
as Snid and Ol’ Yelvin did their warnings distrust

“Look all around you,” Snid snarled with a grin
“Just look at this prairie where does it en...?”

Ol’ Yelvin all wet with cool, clear lake water
“You mean this is endangered?” he quipped to an otter

Pretzel the otter just torpedoed away
having little useful comment to say

Some never listen. Pretzel knew all too well
Some facts are just wasted; no reason to tell

Motors and turbines and chemical things
now speckled the landscape, some sprouting wings

Meadows and mountains and forests and skies
grew smoky resulting in redness of eyes

Candy canary shuttered and then sleepy became...
...flying squarely into Snid’s expiratorial shame

Carbon dioxide and sulfur and such,
only Snid’s species would dare yield so much

Beetles and nymphs and even the mosses
detected and warned of nature’s great losses

Slugs and fungi and spleenworts and frogs
cried “trouble ahead!” from seep springs and bogs

Snid saw no value in old rotten tree trunks
or virtue in mildew, mosquitoes, or skunks

Only in things and creatures that serve
did Snid and Ol’ Yelvin find favor in nerve

“Cast out those pests who his comfort disrupt
and make life unpleasant and dismay erupt!”

Shallow and narrow and deaf and quite blind
Snid and his cronies cared for, only, their kind

It should be noted that a few, very few,
of Snid’s own kind actually knew

They knew what fishes and insects and ferns
and other such life forms throughout history learns

Creatures and plant life from dust whence they came
warned and forewarned, each problem they named

Superfluous consumption and pollution were touted
Warnings explained, pleaded, and shouted

Extinction of species; of creatures and plants
were listed, highlighted, and written in rants

Brainless and thoughtless, yet wiser than Snid
Yes wiser than Yelvin who from the truth hid

Ridicule, mockery, and hate to the core
great prophets endured these... and yes, even more

Millions of wolves, great bison, and bears
killed by long-rifled, short-sighted men riding stallions and mares

Anything obstructing Snid’s privileged way
was simply fair game... for Snid had the say

Indigenous people who best knew the way
were abused, confused, and slaughtered each day

Survivors now struggle in Snid’s reservations
when, not long ago, they stood as great nations

Now, mostly in silence, they’ve watched and they’ve waited
but their spirits soar high, their anger abated

Snid’s kind, a few, the few aforementioned
are feverishly working and so well intentioned

Snid and Ol’ Yelvin and followers of theirs
“entitled” they claim and of riches are heirs

Nevertheless, the few persevere
and shout resolute warnings to those who will hear

Some of the greedier sort of Snid’s kind
stop at nothing, no nothing, to silence the mind

Some protesting to save this one planet earth
give all that they have and all of their worth

Some meet the worst of Snid’s horrible wrath
even to die in bulldozer’s path

Those few who gain wisdom from forest and sea
will not be deterred from making their plea

Opponents of life sprayed environmentalists with mace
called ‘em political creatures... with agendas to chase

Snid twisted logic and painted the truthless
Ol’ Yelvin just followed no matter how ruthless

Children, now hear this story I tell...
...of how it all ended and not very well

How life as we knew it came to an end
How life as Snid lived it, destruction did send

Snid cried this slogan via airways and ink
“Go to the mall and spend to the brink...

...buy this and buy that, need it or not
consume til ya drop... you good patriot”

Money is “God” or so Snid had us believe
though never profess such... just buy, sell, and deceive

Rich became richer as money was relieved
from those like Ol’ Yelvin and all those who believed...

...all those who believed they must always have more
more money, more riches, more power, more more

Green trees and clean water did quickly recede
as Snid and Ol‘ Yelvin did their dutiful deed

Buy this buy that, consume at all cost
didn’t matter to them if all would be lost

According to Snid, yes grass was aplenty
for one, two, or ten... or even for twenty...

...but nature’s math; a law no less
could not be ignored as time would progress

One more consumer meant depletion of plenty
added to that meant there wouldn’t be any

Along came Snid junior and Ol’ Yelvin had four
plenty now begged for more than before

Nature struggled to balance this unnatural need
her life torn and tattered by consumers of greed

Earth spun and cycled as only she can
while Snid and et al took all and ran

Always another frontier to master
to exploit, to pillage, to harvest disaster

Yet one plus one all times equals two
now what were Snid and Ol’ Yelvin to do?

So imprisoned by gain of more than they needed
so deaf, blind, and needy... stern warnings not heeded

Snid and Ol’ Yelvin learned only to add
add to their possessions... and all that they had

Fatter, richer, and dumber so sad
all because they learned only to add

One minus one, all times equals zero
Pretzel and Candy each were a hero

But Snid and Ol’ Yelvin hadn’t the wits
and chided such warnings as mere pessimists’ fits

Now what were Snid and Ol’ Yelvin to do?
now nowhere to turn no hero to woo

Now where were Snid and Ol’ Yelvin to go?
they’d been everywhere from sand dune to snow

Crying for food and water and air
Snid and Ol’ Yelvin their plight could not bear

Pitifully gaunt and losing their hair
their bodies were weak and their minds in despair

Now creatures like Pretzel and Candy... all sympathy set aside
were frustrated and terribly angry at those who had constantly lied

Angry at those who denied finite fate
at those who consumed exceedingly great

Now Pretzel had three new young ones to feed
for Candy Canary and her chicks... sadly, was no seed

Now hungry and sick from bad smelly air
relief was not found in high nest or deep lair

Not even wise Pretzel and Candy were spared
the fate greedy Snid and his followers shared

When empty is empty and nothing is left
maybe then will Snid admit his grand theft

Stronger than lust and deep seated greed
is hunger for food, this primordial need

Bellies all bloated and writhing in pain
Snid and his cohorts... now nothing to gain

Sad bitter irony, the fact we must face
all together life suffers the cost of this race

Pretzel and Candy unjustly die too
though Snid and Ol’ Yelvin, life’s resources ran through

More sad still, the fact that is this
Marvelous brains chose ignorant bliss

Dying together the foolish and wise
both share fully the planet’s demise

Pretzel and Candy cried, “Look at this place!
One planet, one hope, one big empty space!”

Creatures so simple so primitive and small,
wiser than those with more brains than all

Saddest of all, is life could have been spared
had Snid and those like him, in nature’s truth shared

Auguric warnings from all over the place
were ignored by the “smart” ones... the whole human race

This story I tell you ahead of its time,
hoping some good will come from this rhyme

Children of humans listen with care
but not to me or your parents or your leaders up there

Listen to slugs and spleenworts and toads
Listen as engines race over roads

Listen most of all to the least of all life
weeds and mosquitoes and purple loosestrife

Listen to creatures going extinct
not to old politicians in your voting precinct

Listen to diesel smoke fouling the air
to acid rain and rockets bursting everywhere

Listen to their outcomes... for better or worse
truth lies in results... not clever verse

Listen to mammals with fur and four paws;
not to fickle, self-serving manmade up laws

Listen to sunshine and breezy blue skies
not twisted speeches riddled with lies

Snid and Ol‘ Yelvin are not to be trusted
concerning the environment for they, child, have been busted

Listening to them is to listen to greed;
to humor a human for whom you will bleed

For humans seek only to serve just their own
of which you are one, yes “one” alone

Yes, human you are but don’t be alarmed
for earth is still spinning though terribly harmed

Being a human, with big brains and a soul,
needn’t condemn you to this poem’s pernicious dole

Time is quite short but just maybe, you see
we’ll avoid this needless and sad tragedy

So listen to nature, her lessons learn well,
for only her history of survival does tell

Humans tell history the way they see fit
though they can’t alter truth one natural bit

Truth is in plants, in water, in skies;
in animals with and without great big eyes

So, until one minus one does not equal zero,
let a fungus or firefly or snake be your hero

Don’t listen to mimics, the likes of Ol’ Yelvin,
they diminish your smarts and your intellect elfin

Listen to nature; measure what so-called “progress” has done,
then add and subtract one to and from one

Have we “progressed” as humans maintain?
Or have we lied to and fooled our own great big brain?

Yes think it all through; what greediness did
but don’t listen to me... for I am just Snid

END

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Rumor Consumer

by

Duane Short


I once heard a rumor I was a consumer
was it true or was it not
did not matter not a lot

Marketing perfection to direct direction
they told me to wear
this grease in my hair

My pants cut like this would offer me bliss
but not all I needed
this rumor I heeded

To be fully complete they'd often repeat
I needed a car
to carry me far

Deeper than skin were the clothes I was in
they made me a part
they gave me a start

I once heard a rumor that you're a consumer
your worth not your own
not yours not alone

You must be a part to show you are smart
your tastes did not matter
you must marketing flatter

You sought to be cool to not be a fool
your shoes had to conform
to reflect the new norm

Your life all a'glitter your style not a quitter
you followed the rumor
a faithful consumer

You ran with the fashion you ran with great passion
sore arches no matter
dead soul all a'tatter

I once heard a rumor our name was consumer
not worker not human
not Duane or not Truman

A number they gave us - with label enslave us
got to have this got to have that
buy something now no matter where at

Self worth all for naught self worth all but aught
things bring salvation
to self and the nation

Consumer worn proudly its charm proclaimed loudly
the more one can buy
the less likely to die

You mean less to me than things bought for free
heart feelings and spirit
my mind will not hear it

I once heard a rumor my name was consumer
from birth 'til I die
I'll work just to buy

Our goods and consumption show pride and great gumption
success and high status
these things did begat us

The height of hierarchy class social malarkey
balanced on things
that make of men kings

Integrity flows everyone knows
from shiny red autos
and marketing mottos

Rumors run wild elder to child
the more stuff in ones closet
the more life in deposit

Over and over and over again jingles your wallet renders so thin
I have to have it they tell me I must
no matter tomorrow a bucket of rust

I once heard a rumor I was a consumer
that consumption was bliss
that heaven was this

I once heard a rumor I was a consumer
that without my consumption
life's just an assumption

I once heard a rumor now ludicrous humor
without stuff I was dead
my being misled

I now hear a rumor this former consumer
I'm happy without
enough so to shout!

END

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Lay The Farce Beneath You

by

Duane Short

Noise and boys’ toys flash across screens
minds do gymnastics to learn what it means

Newsprint an’ airways join in the chorus
to confuse and divide the issues before us

FOX trots to right though claims on dead center
M S N B C the chaos did enter

America’s News Channel, its coy logo hums
While anchors and field crews beat grizzled war drums

Saddam shooting shotgun high in the air
If seen one more time I’ll scream in despair

If this is his threat then Heston is next
Guns are still guns whatever context

Millions paid to old Hollywood
to make the Bush war look wholesome and good

Katie and Matt both cute as a bug
News? I don’t think so... more a group hug

White colored glasses House made of cards
Ideology, not evidence, the media rewards

Tanks, bombs, and missiles make little boys shout
While men in command ooze testosterone out

Force is the farce that confuse fact-n-fiction
Spin just a byword for deceit riddled diction

CBS, NBC, ABC and their branches
make heroes of cowboys who hide on their ranches

From faith-based charm to down home on the farm
emotions are played with picks of alarm

Now what are those colors that save us from terror?
yellow? orange? red ? forgive if in error

Once clear as a bell and easy to see
smog blinds my eyes, no colors for me

Today on C-SPAN Bush gains war support
while Clinton in Britain, pleads last resort

Yes, here at home Bush Demos contort
while Clinton in Britain gives bad report

Confusion and fear and doubt and the like
are weapons of war and militant strike

Ideology shuns science and fact
replaced with emotions wherever they lack

Might, maybe and probably permeate speech
repeated, relentless convictions to reach

might be a threat, maybe today
probably probably is all they can say

When farce is a force and airways are white
the message we get is called, but not, right

My country is good, yes, great in some ways
but one has to wonder ‘bout conduct these days

So question at will, no matter the cost
Lay the farce beneath you or all will be lost

Beyond AM, newspaper, TV
is a place to seek truth with great purpose you see

Where you might ask... this “beyond” I speak of
In a word my dear friend it’s a place I call love

A place where science and fact are still truth
a place where spun rhetoric still reeks as uncouth

A place where minds still dissect issues apart
a place where intellect meets up with the heart.

This place is not found in books... nor the net
no the place is not found anywhere yet

The place beyond farce is no place at all
instead it’s a drive, a need, it’s our call

Only in certain need... an’ hearts of desire
does sense hammer out facts in the fire

While oblivion’s comfort soothes cowardly souls
Pain and frustration are truth seekers’ tolls

Our choice is simple though not easy or fast
slide into destruction... or climb from the past

So question at will, no matter the cost
Lay the farce beneath you or all will be lost

War on Iraq is just war today but history is here, forever, to stay

Wars to end all wars have come and gone
not one promise kept, not one to count on

Dancing in streets is what we are told
Iraqis will love us, oh the goods we are sold

We’ve starved them for years and now bomb as rehearsed
Well... wouldn’t you love Iraqis, should the scene be reversed

Please don’t go away thinking with White House synapses
Gray matter is yours, don’t suffer lapses

So question at will, no matter the cost
Lay the farce beneath you or all will be lost