When You’ve Written

The End
You’ve written.
The end to your adventures
You’ve written.

In five to ten years,
You’ve concluded.
The final curtain closing,
The house lights coming.

Oh, how joyous! How fitting!
That there’d be no tears.
Just singing praises
For how you’ve penned
Your very own kind of
Masterpiece.
MLJ24102026

Adopt a Pain

Adopt a child.
A dog, a cat,
Whether offered,
Or at your doorstep left.
Or a four-legged entered
And helped themselves.

Why not
Adopt these pains
When they keep coming
Like thieves in the night
Or pickpockets by day?
Leaving you cussing,
Otherwise wishing
Easy, instant replacement
For what you’d possessed.

Like the Chinook
Or the Nor’easter
That’ll constantly keep coming
For they’re what seasons bring.

But if they stay for good
Then like a pharaoh,
Take them with you,
As afterlife companions.

But as God promised
No pain, no sorrow,
Then there’ll be relief
After all.
MLJ24102026

Over the Crimson Sky

Over the crimson sky,
Squawking seagulls fly.
Mornings like this
I’ll surely miss,
When in bed underneath,
No regrets. Just memories
Of sounds and colors.

Earth's splendor!
MLJ24102026

Choice

 

Either I have dementia or there are more things to cuss about since COVID...

 

Medium · Evolving Together

410+ likes · 2 years ago

Even in her cussing, she felt the need to remain demure and private. It to freely express herself. This partly explains why I started cursing 

Verywell Health

https://www.verywellhealth.com › foul-language-and-d...

Sep 21, 2026 — Dementia can cause unexpected swearing due to changes in brain function. Triggers like changes in routine can contribute. Calm responses and

Grandpa's natural mouth rinse

 

A No-Turducken Thanksgiving

Breakfast was mango-raisin pancakes.
Lunch was stir-fried bitter gourd egg
Topped with leftover fried tilapia fillet,
Only because the gourd was on sale.
Then banana-peanut-zucchini milkshake.
Dinner was the same, with chicken liver,
Only because liver was on sale.
No-turducken dinner. No leftovers.
MLJ12102026ThanksgivingHoliday

Thanksgiving Snowfall

 The first blessing this autumn

To chase the wildfires away.

Wishing wildflowers could stay. 

Galatians 3:28

 

Plank

 I tried one day and hurt my back. Couldn't get up the next morning and went on an emergency leave -- the first time after teaching for 20 years in North America. OMG!

Navi Pillay

 

The Obedient Child and Raisin Bread Pudding

Half asleep, I walked to the baker’s next block.
Not the one you know now for it was not
Bright or colorful, of glass and steel
With modern ovens, display, cash register…
It was of brick or stone masonry you could
Reach blindfolded like a police dog would
For the scent of pan de sal or salt bread
Wafted in the early misty morning air.

Inside the dim cavernous building,
Gently lit by the sleepy sun rising,
Turtle rays crawling through the opposite door,
The sweaty baker by the oven made of stone,
In cotton undershirt, a towel on shoulder,
Between his lips a trembling cigarette
His wooden peel he slid to and fro, in and out.
He knew when the dough had had enough.

I paid his aide, or wife. Pieces of steamy bread
Were counted as they were dropped into a paper bag.
I hugged my prized possession, warming my chest,
Wallowing in its cozy aroma, bringing a vision bright
Of Papa’s breakfast. Buttered bread and coffee.
Reading the morning papers. Smoking his Chesterfield.

And when all was done, a piece of bread or two
Went into a bag. When filled with everything stale,
Mama would ask me to cut into cubes,
Any growth on the outside? Scrape!
Soak in milk. Mash with sugar and eggs.
Add raisins and steam. Voila! A rare treat
For my siblings and me. And we’re all living still!
MLJ03102026TheUnquestioningChild

Didn’t Disappoint

Saved from dreadful death

Among the skeletal remains
Of fellow Mandevillas
One late summer day,
With six weeping buds,
A new pot and trellis and
Hours of southeast sunlight,
The dying brought delight.
Didn’t disappoint. Adorned
My drab and barren abode.
MLJ03102026FirstMandevillas

Save the Sumatran tigers

 

What are we giving our children?

 

Who can do the world's "most impossible job"?

 

Get What’s on Sale

As one financial guru said,
“Get what’s on sale,”
So today here’s what I gathered:
A pack of red apples from BC,
Frozen mussels from Chile,
And frozen okra from India.
Apple shake it is for dessert,
And sauteed mussels with okra
A cure for my war-torn heart.
MLJ20092026StopTheWar

Increase in Gambling Disorders: Who started it?

 Who's protecting the youth?

All I Ever Needed

A portable typewriter.
A canopy of trees. Benches
To sit on and type. Type. Type.
A safe campus. A quiet library
With staff that hushed the loud.

No electronics. No internet.
No scrolling. No swiping.
There was no need for speed
Just pondering. Contemplating.
Endless debating. Questioning...
MLJ20092026LetHumansThink

Who's in charge?

 

Why? Why? Why?

 

What's in a name?

Just give it! Give it!
T for the T Center
T for the T House
T for the T Land
T for the T Country
T for planet T.

The whole universe
The sun, moon and stars
May have the new name “T”
And no one's objecting
No one's raising his ire
We're just going to comply
Not marching to the gallows
Just wallowing in sheer lunacy!

Deadliest year on the roads

 Speeding, driving under the influence, distracted driving... Any other way to die? I'd love to have a peaceful one in my sleep. Not on the road, please. Zzz...

Zucchini: Anyone?

Our lovely principal shared her zucchini harvest some weeks back. Everyone got a small piece, so I was left with the largest one. And I’d never even bought or cooked any zucchini dish prior. So what was I to do with it? Thanks to the internet: zucchini with ground beef, zucchini-raisin pancakes, and zucchini-pear or zucchini-banana shake. And half of it is still in the freezer! Enjoy zucchini!

 

Sour pears were on sale... 

Into the blender they went.

AI & Education

 

Danger of First Frost Tonight

Danger of first frost tonight,

But our mandevilla and jade beans are still blooming,
And someone has just started his tomato garden!
Oh, dear!

Anyone still wondering why there's no AI oversight?