SEASONAL AFFECTIVE ORDER

SEASONAL AFFECTIVE ORDER

A daughter brings spring, March twenty one

Older sister’s October birthday intones autumn
Big brother, a firecracker in the July sun

And the wedding that started it -- December twenty one

DRK, 12/6/16

NOT QUITE STILL LIFE

Across the room a potted plant,
petals pressed against the window,
looks in at me,
drawing attention to the maple tree.
Its leaves acknowledge the breeze
stirring two rocking chairs
which flank the potted scene.

DRK
7/21/16

WATER PARK

WATER PARK
(When Life Gets You Wet . . . )

Room beyond room,
the many watery this’s, hoses and thats,
sprinklers and buckets,
wading pools, wave pools, rivers with tubes,
slides of all sizes,
all duplicated outdoors,
amaze

as I sit

watching tote bags,
pool shoes, sun glasses,
kids’ unfinished drinks

and lead me to think.

Do we need all this,
    the karaoke kids
        lining up to sing Elmo’s theme song,
    the lifeguard patrols checking
        who’s having the wrong kind of fun?

Benefits?  Well,
not like a gym.
These holiday jocks play ball in the pool, cannonball friends
then leave rather quickly
to loll in the spa. 

The assets’ essentials, it seems, lay
in the host of distractions that occupy
kids -- child care with wild fare,
all just for fun.

It’s not quite that simple, of course.
Look closer.  Take yoga.
Warm pools to float weightless 
and set aside
there,
to concentrate
here
if not on your kids
on the one from back then
inside.

Young or old,
water can rinse away what’s in the way.
Here, without makeup and shoes,
we forget social rules
and just play.
Dude!  We’re all nearly nude!

Older youth who need something to do
can subdue challenges,
climb steps again and again.
Higher and higher, slide to slide
their success, color coded,
first fear
and then pride.

Younger imaginations?  They flourish 
in open spaces
with not-every-day toys
like hoses
and someone to spray.
It’s their chance to make a big splash
and some noise.

Long story short,
on that value-of-water-parks matter,
It comforts me to know
there are things one can do
better
wetter.


DRK
7/4/13
12/21/14

JULY FOURTH

JULY FOURTH

We let Blake decide
Whether three-year-olds should best
Watch fireworks inside

DRK
7/4/2013

EMILY PROCEEDING

EMILY PROCEEDING

Row after row, caps and gowns identical

The Okemos High School class of 2016

Process to Pomp and Circumstance

And somehow emerge as individuals

Each with a past unique

Is reminded by speakers of what they shared

Sitting among friends and those who cared 
Not alphabetized

They move across the stage

Away from the familiar

Name after name

Toward futures largely personal

I wonder how many will

Get the words of the Alma Mater

Memorized

DRK

June 5, 2016

EMILY'S BIG DAY

EMILY'S BIG DAY

Graduate at one

Celebrate, anticipate

Go to work at four

DRK 6/5/16

PLANET CWK

Not yet a star
But orbiting

Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg

A celebrity overload
Milling at the Broad
Zaha Hadid’s art museum

    Contemporary    
        Dramatic

Now hosting Lex Luthor's party  
A benefit for the library
    It's Metropolis, of course

Carole’s Cocktail dress
    Urban chic

Whoa!  Get this pic!
In one room
Batman!  Superman!  Lois Lane!

Did you see the invitation?   Did you RSVP?
An open call in the paper
Applications, head shots,
Notices for fitting and two nights of shooting

300 extras at check-in . . . waiting
Paperwork, wardrobe, makeup, hair
Shuttle buses, security

Standing, lots of standing, . . . , behind the magic

Cameras trailing multiple techs
Makeup crews circling, refreshing that special look

Catered food — Movie scene? 
Or are we being served?

A senator’s cameo for Debbie Stabenow
Carole stands in to prep the show

“Ladder!  Adjust that light!”

Good position by the door
Party guests arriving in style
Maserati, Rolls, Alfa Romeo
    All made the cut

Two guys hose the street

Bruce Wayne rushes through
Wonder Woman, his quest
The paparazzi press
And point
    Cameras, microphones

The whole bit

Hollywood in East Lansing

And on our movie extra
Shining stars

Happy birthday

From one of your many moons

DRK
11/4/14

WHERE'S LAZARUS?

                                            WHERE'S LAZARUS?

A new infant, I

Strained an old circle

A beggar, whose benefactors gave                

To let my childhood grow.

Indebted early

Now a benefactor

I encounter

Thirst on every corner

Those once powerful now want to know

Where's Lazarus?

I can’t go home to mother’s meals

I have to pay her due

And assisted living rent.

I can’t go back to the U again

They want to know,

Have I made my last will and . . .

They print names ranked by contribution size,

Wine and dine, name a building after you.                                      

So I, ranked,                                         

Rank and dip my water to

My family, the local needy

And favorite diseases

Arts, culture, multiple schools

And several churches

Wait.  Name a building after me?

What do you say, kids?

Dennis R. Keefe

May 1, 2016

FAMILY CAR

There was a thread, a common fabric --
something shareable from the family attic.
   
When I was young families ruled
roost and road.
Bounded entities with familiar roles,
their well worn paths
got us where we needed to go.

Our four door sedan, once dad’s pride,
now struggles to compete
with modern rides.

Ford had a better idea.
Opportunity costs
sent designers outside the box.
Diversity the aim,
going off road the game
brought thrill rides, spilled rides
over new ground, barely tilled.
Explorers and SUVs?
Definitely not your father’s Oldsmobile.


    CAR FAMILY

    New cars, improved products, their variety a marvel.
    Amazing the ways we have discovered to travel.

Shopping around?
The auto show is now in town --
the latest models and options.
Test drive a few.  One may choose
to come home with you. 

You’ll find youthful flash and geezer splash,
redneck bulk and metro mini,
durability, trade-ability
acceleration, top end speed,
handling, prestige and luxury.
Hauling needs?   Specify
kids, weeds, or handicap-ability.

For fun, on some the tops come down.

If the basic models do not suit,    
try a blend: 
her three, his two, ours, theirs, never dull, extra pairs,
and always full of action to boot.
But you really must like to drive!

For a tighter ship and smoother ride
try personal cars, adults preferred.
Sophisticated cars which advertise
who you really are.

Those on the lot don’t satisfy?
Let them make one for you,
a concept car with YOU in mind.
We’ll all butt out.  Design your own . . . online.

Not sure?
Future foggy?
Lease . . . and try
serial monogamy.

Whichever model you select,
one sex or two,
May and December,
“family,” is now a verb. 
Respect its potential
for mobility.

When you’ve had time to consult the rep’s,
map your pre nup’s.
then close a deal.

Customers do have the final say.

But check,
long term,
do you want a warranty?


Dennis R. Keefe
3/16/12

TRAVELING SHOD

Been around awhile?
Need an opportunity to smile?

Imagine the surprise, the glee,
approaching the TSA,
a birthday sign for me.

No need to bend,
undo shoes, then
strain
to re-lace.

I could stay on my feet,
not face
the fumble , the struggle
to get up again.

A true privilege
for reaching 75,

a modern Fountain of Age. 

For me
to choose this way
to blow up the sky
someone finally figured the odds
of traveling shod.

DRK
4/20/2013

               BABY ROOMBA’S BABY BROTHER

        Blake, our year-old vac,
            makes tracks to mimic
                sister Senja’s.
                    Angling across the floor --
                        guided by some cosmic engineer -- 
                    to cabinets and drawers
                he searches, changes direction,
            and picks up . . .
        always on the go. 
            Senja, Baby Roomba years ago,
                the first to open our kitchen drawers,
                    swept up learning skills
                        that began her world explore.
                            Now Blake pulls and slams
                        reachable doors
                    piling pie tins on the floor.
                Then, bouncing down . . . all fours . . .
            reprises motor skills
        from just two weeks ago,
            to reach his Easter basket
                with its music maker shakers.
                    Through his Stevie Wonder grin
                        he communicates the ecstasy 
                            of shaking out
                                a sound again and again.
                            He completes his toddle  
                        with a random Roomba swagger
                    to the John Deere Gator.
                On and off the riding toy,
            not yet in control
        of facing aft or fore,
            he grins at the noise its buttons trigger
                but can’t quite figure
                    how to work them
                        with his fingers.


DRK
Easter, 2011

BIRD WATCHERS

Birds, seed swishers,
mess the ground.
Squirrels, no dummies, have found
bird time’s a good time to be around.
Be good to your squirrels
for a neater feeder.

DRK
1/9/12