Boil your hen, cut up in piecesLegs and wings and breasts and thighsAdd crushed garlic so the flavor increasesEight cups of broth brings a smile to your eyes While you wait let's chop some stuffCarrots and onions and mushrooms are niceCelery and brussel sprouts are never enoughEven a cup of brown or white riceSet your hen aside to coolAnd add your veggies to the brothIntense aromas will make you droolAnd too soon your mou...

He didn't think I saw him but I did. Out of the corner of my eyes I just caught sight of him as he turned the corner. He had the stealth and quickness of a cat.I took off running. He wouldn't get away this time. It was always the same. He cut and slithered through the crowd as he tried to escape me.Younger and faster he traveled at the speed of light. But my old age gave me wisdom and treachery. I deftly cut the angles an...

No matter where you stand, anything dropped in the kitchen will always kick, bounce, twirl, and roll under the refrigerator.The amount of sugar, creamer, salt or pepper in those little paper containers will always be just a tad less than you need.No matter how much battery you have left on your cellphone, it will always die 10 minutes before you absolutely need it.Whenever you need cash, the ATM closest to you will always...

I remember the night when it started. The dark mass that haunted me in my room.My friends and I were playing tag along the edge of the woods. It was becoming dark, and the noises in the forest began. Crickets chirping. Toads bellowing. Owls hooting. The fireflies lighting their paths in flight.As we walked home, the brightest one flew close, and that's when I grabbed her. I held her loose as she lighted the hollow of my f...

"I love you," she said"Forever and always and a day"But she meant that for another insteadI was so easy to betray.She took all of my hopesAnd played with all of my dreamsI was sliding down her slippery slopeJust a pawn in all of her schemes.It wasn't done in anger or spiteHer heart just belonged to anotherWhen discovered she was so contriteBetween my love and his, she still chose the other.She told me of her love for meI...

"I love you." "I love you back." "I'm in-love with you." "ILY." "Love you." "Luv ya'."So many ways to express love. So many ways to say the same thing and make it mean so many other things. Subtle differences that change the entire meaning of what they said and what you heard.My girlfriend and I used to say "I love you." But then we would add "Forever and always... and a day." It somehow enhanced the pathetic shortcoming...

Am I not a man? Am I not allowed my imperfections? My simple needs. My voracious wants. Shall I camouflage my desires Behind closed doors? Do I set boundaries Only to violate them? Am I not given to trumpet my victories And disguise my failures? Do I not tout the greatness of me While minimizing others? Why should I not be me? Is my countenance so wickedly unsuitable That I must hide in your pantry Amongst the other boxes...

"Where are you?" "I'm here." "Where? I don't see you?" "Can you hear me?" "Yes." "Then how can you hear me if you don't see me?" "I'm confused." "Don't worry, I will lead you." "How?" "I have always led you." "Will you hurt me?" "Probably." "Will you ever let me down?" "Yes." "Why would you do that to me?" "It's what I do." "Then I don't want to follow you." "You must." "Why?" "Because you can't live without me." "Damn yo...

"Mmmoooooob"Every sixteen secondsEven with the patio door barely cracked openThe subconscious countdown of moments."Mmmoooooob"Feet entwined in the darkened roomLaying silently in spoon fashionNeither awake nor asleep."Mmmoooooob"Their annual tripA hotel on the coastEnding sad and silent."Mmmoooooob"Somewhere in the distanceA seagull screechedCalling to its mate."Mmmoooooob"Over and over the foghorn calledA knell cast at...

I'm not saying I'm old as dirt, but the Dead Sea was still alive when I was born. During that time I've seen umpteen number of Olympics Games and have watched the games turn from athletic splendor at its best to a hodge-podge of spandex wearing cereal box models.It feels like I went to a hockey game and instead of fighting, they do rock-paper-scissors. Of course during prime time they make me watch water polo, bike riding...

For the last few weeks, I've had the opportunity of having several clans of my family visit for various lengths of time. As most of you who know me are already aware, I am as fun to visit with as a wounded bear. Yet somehow I persevered, put on my human face, and answered when my name was called.It's always the same routine. "Hey, how are you? Long time no see. Glad you could make it." Read that as "Oh, geez. What's this...

I made a cake.I figured what could it possibly take?But as soon as I started to bake,I knew it was a big mistake.For my grandson, it was supposed to be.Maybe an hour or two. Or three.Thirteen hours later I wanted to flee.What the hell was wrong with me?A Star Wars cake is what he wanted."Sure," I said as if undaunted.And now I will be forever haunted.By talents perceived that I so easily flaunted.For his 5th birthday, he...

From a very early age, my father told me he was part Cherokee. Which meant I was part Cherokee. How much was always up in the air but there was some comfort in knowing whether it was a quarter, an eighth or even a sixteenth, I was a native American. Hell, I ate corn all the time.My father told me many things as a boy. Of course, I had my own memories. I can actually remember looking out through the upright slats of my cri...

"Shhhhhh.. we must be quiet." The father leaned in close to his son and whispered, "You must watch. You must remember." His young son looked quizzically at his father and asked, "Why?" Standing at the edge of cover, the father looked around for any other predators. The cities and streets had given away to the dense jungle overgrowth many years before. What once were massive structures of concrete and steel now laid topple...

This little ditty is my hundredth postSo have a little pity and give me a toast.Here's to me and all I have writtenA whole lotta time on my ass just sittin'.I know.. I know.. not all my work was goodBut win some, lose some, that's always understood.Some writers here have hundreds of followers or moreI have a few.. Hmmm.. lets me see.. carry the one.. Four!When I started writing, it was with charcoal and stonePterodactyls...