On the Other Hand

Robert Ronnow
Ever Maddening Mandala

On the Other Hand

Alone

My mother died alone and may
have wanted it that way. Maybe
not. I don’t really know. Maybe
I wanted it that way. Anyway
what’s done is done, no do-overs.

Columbo

In a crowded world loneliness
is contagious. But Columbo
shows up in Wings of Desire,
the same discursive funny man
ironical as a blackbird.

Prayer Cards

Funeral prayer cards are bundled
with letters from former lovers.
It is as true and as little
to the point as the assertion
sapiens won’t last forever.

Slaphappy

Slaphappy from standing on life’s
little promontory. I think
it’s attachment to the sweetness
of the recent past, not a doubt
every doubt was wanted, needed.

Sadness

Sadness is the spiritual
root, proof of the simplest truth,
the tendency of a system
to descend into disorder
despite constant inputs of joy.

Lost a tooth in Amarillo. Fingerprinted in Pittsburgh.

Much like that Star Trek episode,
the ship enters a temporal rift,
Gaia knows something’s wrong but can’t
say what. Picard’s fighting Klingons,
allies ina missing eon.

Vote

I admire Americans,
the care they take in building homes
and repairing roads and bridges,
operating machines safely.
Can I forgive them for their votes?

Either Or

In the either or of current
events, commerce and war, you can
hold two opposite thoughts in mind
at once. In fact you must. Ashes
to ash, snow for eternity.

Trust

The superrich are investing
to extend life indefinitely.
Faustus gotta solve Alzheimers.
Whom to trust? The loved one’s the one
who can be trusted with your life.