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Tempus fugit trilogy
TIME FLIES HOW SWEET THE FLEET
“ It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives.”
— James Boswell, Life of Johnson, 1791
I live from day to day the older man said
we have all heard that many times before
now the happy soul resides with the dead
there are no sunny days for him any more.
It was the same routine year after year
the drive back and forth long commuting
after work grocery shopping a cold beer
then less driving when he began computing.
Summer vacations broke the monotony
two weeks camping in a National Park
weekend barbecues he practiced gluttony
gazed at planets and stars out in the dark.
Tempus fugit, time flies when you are having fun
till death draws a final curtain across the sun.
MUERTE DE UNA MOSCA, DEATH OF A FLY
“I heard a fly buzz—when I died—the stillness
in the room was like the stillness in the air.”
—Emily Dickinson, American poet, (1830 -1886)
They get a lot noisier as they grow older
they seem to like to bite when they are smaller
the smell of meat makes them grow bolder
in and around waste matter they like to wallow
there are none around till you sit down
then they come out in numbers to surprise
you landing on your glass but never drown
they see you coming with their multiple eyes
your favorite delicious foods for them is fodder
until you nail them with your plastic fly swatter
TIME ROTTEN and DEATH MISBEGOTTEN
“ I will not heed the prejudice of nose, comparisons of
carrion and rose.”
– Anna Wickham (1884 -1947)
After typhoons driving down coral roads in Micronesia
the smell of dead cats and dogs comes from the bushes
these overwhelming odors may give you dire dyskinesia
repulsive smells cause out of the mouth vomit gushes.
Roast goat and suckling pigs on a spit smell great
their succulent s\mell wafts from a long way off
get some crispy skin as you balutan your plate
have an ice cold beer and enjoy the rest of the day.
Down deep in the ground a carcass rots away
as the mealy worms do their job making soil rich
in and out its nose the worms crawl and play
up above the smell makes you rub your nose and itch
even though a dog’s sense of smell is better than ours
you can smell carrion flesh for hours and hours.
