If you’re looking for a pretty posey here, look away; this one takes a dark turn…

A Winter Morning Ride

sky above looks like some artist
dabbed a mop-brush in a tray
of china-white and the tip in paynes gray
then randomly slapped it across
the cerulean void

dappled sunshine through winter-bared
tree trunks barcodes the path north

but the farther we go
the more distressing the scene

what does it say about a system
a city, a community, a government
that forces significant numbers
of its population to live rough
on sidewalks, under bridges
in homeless camps
dotting its empty washes
and on the banks of its
dried up riverbed

takes the little bit of pleasure
from the morning ride and
sticks it deep in my craw
along with the rest
the ethical and moral decay
that defines the current
governing ‘principles’ of
the ‘good ole’ USA

–LE – 2/4/25