I Can See

I can see

a church

and the lapses inside

a castle

and the glory past

a hilltop

and the sights unseen

an ocean

and only the surface revealed

a chapel

and the dreams checked

an orchard

and the fruits of penance

a legislature

and the little secrets kept close

I can see

Bruce Anderson. March 27, 2021.

Stars

You can’t see

the sky for the stars

Right above you

All you see are

the shiny things

But they are dead or dying

And yet you still worship

all that shines,

and is new.

Afraid of dying

Is that the answer

to why you look for shiny things?

Wrong question.

Are you afraid of living,

and looking for meaning,

in the dark sky of your life?

We all want to be astronauts.

Almost every one of us

But we fail the gravity test

and fall back to life on earth.

So try again.

This time, look past the stars

They are not so shiny now, are they?

Bruce Anderson. August 23, 2021.

 Sprouts of Brussels

Oh, the lowly brussel sprout

The diminutive cabbage; that wee sprout

You are the epitome of branding

Imagine an off-tasting root,

Elevated to special occasion status

Such endearment given

With little to no basis in truth

Cloaked in butter, bacon, and cheese

Your hidden, explosive, metallic core

Cleverly disguised; resting quietly in wait

The brilliance of this dull little vegetable,

Clearly the runt of the root litter,

Is in the absence of any formal marketing.

No campaign; relying only on dull-sensed humans

To whisper and exhort,

Ad nauseum on your flavour

A ruse in any other world than this one

Where sympathy for the seeming underdog,

Of the root vegetable universe

Can only be explained by the centuries-dulled

Taste buds of rubes

Duped by a complicit fear

Of admitting - this is wrong!

To err on the side,

Of the earthly brussel sprout

Is to be sadly human.

 Bruce Anderson. August 25, 2021.

I Ride a Bus

I ride a bus

today

I ride a bus

everyday

I look outside

the city rides by

everyday

the city stays

and I move by

everyday

the city is staying

I keep moving

everyday

the bus stops

Bruce Anderson. August 23, 2020.