Everything's a Scam

Everything's a scam, they don't care
Your health and wallet they won't spare
They just want you to pay the fare
The real truth is buyer beware

A soft drink is just filled with air
With sugar mixed in to ensnare
And flavor for that phony flair
Yet water's free, it's pure eau claire

Fashion's a scam for what we wear
Tobacco traps you in its snare
The selfish Wall Street billionaire
Our justice system is unfair

Corruption is beyond repair
And politics is just hot air
And when your health's in disrepair
You can't pay for a doctor's care

Loving our Neighbor is Acting with Piety

The New Testament
Standard Of Piety:
Or,
Our Love Made Perfect

When Jesus returns with his angels in glory
Then he will divide us and take inventory
There's the sheep and the goats as to them Jesus quotes
In judgment a summary of their life's story

The sheep on his right and the goats on his left side
"Come, blessed of my Father," he said as he eyed
the sheep, "Please take what's yours and enter through those doors.
You are all very welcome so please come inside."

I was hungry and thirsty. You fed me gladly
A stranger in town but you really welcomed me
I was naked and sick but you helped me real quick
You visited me as a prison detainee

The
Judgment
of
the Nations

And then he will say to those on his left, "Depart!"
Eternal fire awaits those goats for their black heart
The thirsty and hungry, the naked and sickly
And to prisoners you had no love to impart

So what will be judged when we face God almighty
The way that we serve the least in society
For what we do for them, we also do for him
Loving our neighbor is acting with piety

To Soar and Fly

Full Life Balance

   All quitters sigh
    But some just cry
     Cowards won't try
      Dreading to fly
       Ever too shy
        Fearful to die
         Gone. Just run by
           Hear them decry
           "It's all a lie.
             Just a black eye.
              Kings can be sly.
               Look in their eye.
                Mad as mud pie."


                Next comes the guy
               One who will try
              Patient and my

For Life Abundant

             Quick to reply
            Ready to die
           Standing to try
          To soar and fly
         Up there so high
        Valiant to vie
      "Who says I'm dry.
      Xeric not I.
    Yes I will try.
   Zipping I'll fly."

And so Depression you will Thwart

The Mindful Way
Through
Depression

And now my friends just what is true
Another day had its debut
And then we had something to chew
And we still paddle our canoe

What is honest and so noble
We can walk and we are mobile
From Atlanta to Grenoble
It's a blessing that is global

The Depression Cure

 Let's think of what is just and right
A mother's love all through the night
A father stands for what is right
People who speak in tones polite

Let's think of something that is pure
The scent of love with its allure
And wisdom from some one mature
And marriages that do endure

Undoing Depression:
What Therapy Doesn't
Teach You and
Medication Can't Give You

Whatsoever things are lovely
Like a lover who is cuddly
Or dessert that is so yummy
And a tiny little puppy

Of virtue and of good report
These things will give you good support
Think positive, don't get caught short
And so depression you will thwart

The Most Logical One

The Power of
Logical Thinking

He thinks that he alone's the most logical one
When he speaks he's rapid fire like a Gatling gun
And thinks that his verbosity has his case won
It's a lot of facts and data, but proof? There's none

He attacks the person and that's ad hominem
Appeals to popularity ad populum
And then he makes us fearful that's ad baculum
He says we know it's true ad ignorantiam

An Introduction to
Logical Thinking

False causes and non-sequiturs make up his game
His crazy loaded questions set the world aflame
Equivocating innuendo he points blame
And then he builds a straw man which he can defame

Who is this guy who argues with such bad thinking
He's the politician arguing and stinking
The gal on Friday night who's been heavy drinking
He's all of us who rush to judgment unthinking

(#200)

First and Last

The Last
Shall be First:
Thoughts and
Encouragements

The Fallopian tube race was the first he won
Beating five hundred million sperm cells was such fun
Then he was born and for a while was the last one
But then in his school sports he wouldn't be outdone

One time he was first and then he was last again
His girlfriend ditched him, said he was last of all men
So he just worked except for a date now and then
And in his job he became number one again

The Last
Shall be First
...Maybe

His company downsized and then he lost his house
And so he was last again and felt like a louse
He found a small job and worked for a man named Strauss
Who's daughter was lovely and soon she was his spouse

The business succeeded and he was first once more
But as he grew old even walking was a chore
And so he was once again the last as before
In the grave we're all last awaiting heaven's door

Forgiving

Forgiving
the
Unforgivable

Peter asked how often should I forgive my bro'

What do you think, possibly seven times or so

Jesus said seventy times seven's apropos

Heaven's like a king who lent money on escrow

One man owed him millions and had no way to pay

The king was angry and wanted it right away

The man begged for mercy and said he would repay

The king had compassion and wiped the debt away

Forgiveness
is a Choice

The man found a guy who owed him a little cash

He choked the guy demanding his dough in a flash

Until he would pay the poor guys life would be trash

The king heard the story and soon the two would clash

The king said his debt was reinstated to start

Mercy is given to those who mercy impart

Forgiving is something that sets a man apart

Forgiving is something that must come from the heart

Ember Months

Fall
Foliage

I love the ember months you know
They move from summer into snow
And as the winds begin to blow
It's time to hunt for buck and doe

September still has summer's glow
October leaves put on a show
November brings a chance of snow
December Christmas is the go

Autumn
Colors
of Kyoto

The ember months just seem to flow
From start of school to ho ho ho
From hot and sticky into snow
From sandy beach to warm chateau

I love the ember months you know
Summer's goodbye, Winter's hello
As Autumn's blessings overflow
And nature puts on such a show

He Only Took a Dollar Salary

CEO Pay and
Shareholder Value

He only took a dollar salary that year
With that you could not even buy a glass of beer
What an amazing man the company's got to steer
Such sacrifice and honor that's beyond a peer

When billionaires think they deserve to profiteer
And pay the rest barely enough that's crystal clear
But not our CEO he took a buck this year
It helps us when we wonder why things are austere

House of Cards:
A Tale of Hubris and
Wretched Excess
on Wall Street

Oh what a minute it's all just been a veneer
They paid him a quarter billion dollars last year
They say he is a savior and that we should cheer
Now we're in deeper trouble and it's so severe

So I'll offer any company around here
Pay me a quarter billion just in my first year
I work for free for ten more years and I'm sincere
Please don't think I'll just be a legal racketeer

The Unmerciful Servant

The
Unmerciful
Servant

He owed the man well over two million or so
Now in anyone's language that's a lot of dough
With that much money I could build a big chateau
He asked if his debt could be forgiven you know

Well miracles happen sometimes down here below
The guy said okay and nil is now what you owe
An incredible debt to forgive and let go
Imagine the feeling of relief that did flow

Jesus' Parables
of Life

Imagine the great disappointment that you'd show
As the man who had such large debts began to crow
About a couple of hundred someone did owe
He was so angry that he gave the guy a blow

He put him in prison and would not let it go
Until he paid back the total that he did owe
The guy he had owed millions to observed the show
And promptly changed his mind and sent him to skid row

Here He Comes Again

Road Rage

Here he comes again today weaving in and out of traffic lanes
He changes lanes like crazy thinking that by doing so he gains
While I obey the law by driving the speed limit he complains
He leans hard on his horn and drives like mad as if he's got no brains

While I stay in my lane I pass him slowly once again in turn
He's getting madder as he sees he's getting nowhere in return
And then he pulls so close behind me that my stomach starts to churn
The way he's driving has me worried and I have cause for concern

But shock of shocks as he pulls by on the parking lane and I see
It's no young guy at all who's driving so crazy like a banshee
It's a sweet and gentle looking grandma, a little old lady
Who'd have thought that I'd see such crazy driving from a retiree

When Bosses Think that They can Yell

When bosses think that they can yell at one in front of all

And say some very vicious things and make employees crawl

A little power makes them think they sit above it all
They think they are the big ones and the rest of us are small

If you're a boss and think that you have something you should say
Then keep correction private, it's not for public display
Because if we can't trust you to show us respect today
Then you won't get respect from us in any other way

Yes those who can't treat folks with human dignity are small
You can't just run around and use words like a wrecking ball
A person who can show their fellows dignity stands tall
And manners make a person very big in the long haul

A boss who yells and screams a lot is one who's gone astray
No one will want to work for them, they'll just chase folks away
And if they stay it's only 'cause they really need the pay
But when a better job comes 'round they'll leave and they won't stay

Silence is not Always Assent

The Peacemaker

Silence is not always assent
We don't have to always agree
Nor fight when we just disagree
'Cause making peace is heaven sent

We don't have to give our consent
From obligation we are free
Except for peace and dignity
And acting like a thorough gent

Great
Peacemakers:
True Stories...

Perhaps we think they should repent
And go to God on bended knee
Becoming just like you and me
Self-righteous in our discontent

So let's make peace and not torment
Those folks with whom we disagree
Because there is no guarantee
The harm caused by one malcontent

Staycation

The Great
American
Staycation

Don't want to take a vacation
Traffic jams and such frustration
Bed bugs with accommodation
Bad food with adulteration

I'll stay here for my vacation
No airport humiliation
No lost luggage aggravation
No hidden charge in summation

101 Great
Staycations

I'm at home for my vacation
Shut my door in affirmation
Pay myself the compensation
Sleep a week in hibernation

I think I'll have a staycation
Here at home no obligation
I don't need a strange location
I just need some relaxation