Ponderable polemics, poetic

WordPress site of poet Mark Lucker

Contemporary Life

  • Making note

    A cheap flash drive containing one document; PDF file of a note – my message of hopeful wonder, Robinson Crusoe-like whim I seal the technological romanticism tightly in a Mason Jar, throw it into the ocean at night as the tide predictably recedes Sitting on the beach I ponder as only a man with youthful Read more

  • Crisis averted

    I watch my peers unsteadily trampling middle age sitting on various benchmarks when they need to or when they just want to watch older, we are, most certainly wiser is a tougher read for those denying the need for glasses or just out of myopic stubbornness when, what, why, how, where the cryptic mysteries of Read more

  • La-Z-Boy lullaby

    late night television used to be old movies, should’ve been forgotten musical westerns other black-and-white obscurities followed by the national anthem then mystical test patterns; funky geometric designs with a channel number and odd, monotonous dulcet tones for peaceful slumber white noise now people pontificate at all hours; exhortations for insomniacs on how to remain Read more

  • …by the dashboard light?

    What was in our youth, mood lighting for teen romance – dim, yellowish-orange tinged spotlight on amateurishly fumbled front-seat lust has become, in our middle-aged driveway rendezvous, moment- before-we-go-in-from-a-night-out a weird glow of two blue-hued Smurfs who now bumble with seatbelts due not to inexperience – but for lack of practice and the confusion of Read more

  • Manly

    At eight-years old machismo has a very different feel ‘Don’t cry like a baby,’ my son would admonish his second-grade peers ‘…cry like a man!’ As he is now sixteen I wonder…would he challenge them at all? Read more

  • In step

    Time it is said tritely marches on its cadence precise as any honor guard’s mostly. At times time is less a rhythmic beat more the tuning of a cheap guitar MY my my dog dog has – HAS fleas. Fleas. fleeeeas. my.dog. has. fleas. Time occasionally stumbles, marches on, always finishes the parade. Read more

  • Whether banes

    You’ll never know what might have been you’ll never prove what could have been to loudly proclaim what should have been is the greatest of curses self-inflicted by men Read more

  • Perceptions

    Old man sits alone park bench, chill wind stainless steel walker appears to cage him in captivity in the outdoors The man twitches oddly, erratically, ever more violently, piquing concern tinged curiosity; Parkinson’s, perhaps? Some other disorder? Should I call 911? Presuming my assistance I walk his way, stop short; beatific smile not evident from Read more

  • I’ve checked

    It is no longer a choice to run away, join the circus you need to speak to a recruiter, for screening so says their website French Foreign Legion not an option anymore; I possess none of the high-tech skills they are currently seeking Ironically, being an outcast is no longer a desirable, employable attribute Even carnies Read more

  • In focus

    Grainy black-and-white squares of life framed in sometimes dated white; glossy paper mosaic tile dioramas snippets of life that have given way to phone-shot, high resolution videos that show all, tell virtually nothing You can’t sift through a file full of instant gratification videos, you can’t scroll through a pile of snapshots of folks in Read more