Halloween

It's Halloween
And to me
There's nothing more frightening than
A password change.
Blogspot made me do it twice
Chase Bank made me do it twice
Why I don't know
And why today?
I know for a fact I typed in my passwords correctly
I had them written down because of my own absentmindedness
A password change
Sends chills up my spine
Anger through my body
Helplessness to my core
As if to say
We'll change your password so many times
You'll doubt your ability to think at all
Then we'll change it again
What will happen when I want to post another piece
Or check my bank account online
I don't know.
Pretty scary.

Denis Streeter 10/31/11

Raisins and brown sugar

Stirring in
Tommorrow I will be out
Of raisins and brown sugar
The ingredients of my oatmeal
Ground raisins, oats, orange rind,
And brown sugar
Hot water brewing in my coffee cup
Tipping grounds into cereal bowl
Adding vanilla or almond extract
Adding powdered milk
Grinding oats and remaining raisins
Tipping grounds into cereal bowl
Hot water ready
Pouring over cereal
Stirring and adding soy milk
Just a routine
Stirring in the ingredients or our lives
Tommorrow I will be out
Stirring in
More or less.

Denis Streeter 10/30/11

Undercurrent

The buckles released their shadows on shading hooks
Hoping their silence would be remembered as light
As the sheep kept counting no shepherd could be found
And the light bent extremities into new orbits
Hoping to reach the coats of satisfaction
Some all-weather tires retired
And the oceans flooded the gates the buckles held back
Flooding the shoes to-do list
Trees waved plankton, flooding roads
Gutters swept and wept
Buckled to some returning pavement
Some shepherd of satisfaction
Shadows and wet light
And the sheep kept counting.

Denis Streeter 10/28/11

New slippers

Old slippers
Tape mended
Lost soles
Wandering garbage
New slippers
Warm and cling
Don't say much
Like old flappers
Lasted five years
Four dollars a year
New will have to last
Eight years
To be as reliable
What new stories
Will they tell
I only hear them speak
When they flap apart
Perhaps if I listen
I will discover
The new way
Soles speak.

Denis Streeter 10/25/11

Time's relative

I was hanging out with
Time's relative
I was 50, he was 4
We talked about
What connected us.

I was hanging out with
Time's relative
I was 50, she was 12
Talking about our lives
How we fit
In this world
Time's relative.

I was 50, he was 50
Long time best friends
Discussing the ways of our lives
Waves of understanding
Time's relative.

I was 50, she was 25
Discussing what's known, what changes
Distances together
Apart
Time's relative.

I was 50, he was 79
We talked about what we know
What we expect
What's unknown
How we define that mystery larger than ourself
Time's relative.

I was 50, she was 90
We talked of poetry, events shaping our lives
Have shaped our lives
Our souls feeding each other nourishment
Time's relative.

I was hanging out with
Each of you
Opening myself
What connected us
What distanced us
Discovering that mystery larger than ourself
Time's relative.

Denis Streeter 10/22/11

Connection

The night woke me up
Or maybe the chamomile tea
Watch reading 4:30
Seventeen minutes fast
Chest cold
Place hands on chest
Warm
Off...cold
Warm, cold...
Thinking of condo meeting
My downstairs neighbor
Becoming more persnickety since his health is deteriorating
To the point where I wonder if I'm being too loud
At night or in the morning
Walking on eggshells
I believe is the expression
Waiting for his angry call
Which does not come anymore
The current board president
Brought up how much he has actually done over the years
Kind of like our condo grounds keeper
But he is not able to help much now
I know it feeds his frustration
His independence fracturing
I'd like to help him
But I don't know how
Warm...cold...
His frustration feeding my frustration
Keeping me awake
Something I know is lacking
Connection
And the work day starts and ends
I talk to a condo board member
Discover what I do not know...
His cutting back on smoking and
Recovering from two heart attacks
I feel a better understanding...
A closer
Connection

Denis Streeter 10/20/11

Where we're at

Some of you may have noticed I've trimmed this way back...

Down the rabbit hole
Someone tries to tell you
Believe in God not people
I'm thinking God works through people
Doesn't matter who
I could quote scriptures, but that doesn't mean anything
It's how you live your becoming in this world
Being careful not to cast the stone
For all of us have moments of weakness
I like to think God works through all
Proof doesn't matter
We know in part
Pray for understanding
The highest kindest truth...and
When anger rabbit holes your day
Know the difference
I pray that I may know the difference
So that my anger may bring positive change
And that my empathy
My light
That some may call a vehicle of God's spirit
Might shine on others.

Denis Streeter 10/18/11