Dopplegang

A stranger parallels my line

Padding up and down the strip

Lunging when I lunge

Spooked by my retreat

She's

Thinner than me

More graceful

Almost suave

And strong

Muscled thighs propelling tiny steps

Maybe we're related

Despite her lefty stance

I do detect a faint

Resemblance

Familial surmise

Maybe she reflects

My future

Or my past

Maybe if my inner mirror was more

True

She'd look even more like me

Or I like her

Maybe with unclouded eyes

I'd know myself, and knowing, become wise 

The Fencing Master

In memoriam, Bob Anderson

Hello,
Your name is not
Inigo Montoya


Before you stab and slash upon 
the strip
You have much to learn


Prepare to die

Resolution

Ease back

Don't leap at every challenge

Just because it's there

Rest

A little bit

Make space to heal, recharge

Renew

Waste a little time

Pilfered from work or practice

Spent on penny-candy: chat & tease & laughter

Caloric fellowship

Building towards a healthy social weight

Attend

To every letter, sentence, phrase

Plucked from the flow,

With utter concentration, but

Now & then

Unplug

From streaming, breathless news

Inconsequential urgencies

Be generous

In mentoring, in praise and

Reconciliation

Accept that people give

What they can give

No more, no less

And dammit, yet again, this year I do resolve to

Remove the tissues from my pocket when I do the wash