Reset

In the midst of combat

Off-balance, off-

Beat, tense, winded

Blown

I stumbled on

A reservoir of calm

Secret, hidden

Banked from aimless hours spent

A cabin by the lake

A rock, baked in the sun

A cat-warmed bed

Wasted time, it seems was

Not so wasted after all

That dousing triggered me to

Disconnect

Detach

Detox

Glory, just like that

Breath steadied, shoulder slacked

Feet fell into patterned certitude

Three touches

Bim bam boom

Go figure

How can I find that puddled quietude again?

Short of being drenched in memory

What can bring me

Back to earth?

Maybe nothing-I’d better blaze the path to my new

Swimming hole, my

Private pool of peace

The better to do battle

Photo by Dan Belton (No Badger Cull) on Flckr

Siblings

Look at you!

All squabble & bounce

Bickering spats

Whacking, cheating,

Stabbing in the back

This isn't bouting, it's attempted

Phratricide

So halt

You

However plaguy and pestiferous

Smaller sisters call for care

While you're forever bigger,

Stronger

She knows every chink in

Your defense

You

Though he's an

Ever -growing pain

A swagger and a tease,

All brash intimidation

Someday

He will have your back

Salute, and shake and reaffirm

Your congeneric coalition

Two against the world

For Isabella

After one of life's
Minor tragedies
Trivial but sharp
When I lay in the dark
Throat aching,  jaw tense
Your paw upon my cheek was
Comfort
Furry solace
Barest prick of claw
Your booming thrum of consolation
Always loosed the tightness in my chest

I hope, at the end
My fingers on your cheek,
A stroke of whiskers
A whisper in your ear
Eased your pain

Go, romp with celestial mice, 
Nap in endless sun 
and chase your ribbon to the stars

Avatar

Why adopt a pseudonym

Espouse an alt persona?

Well, why does any hopeful superbeing

Veil true self?

A nom de guerre can

Loose quotidian constraints

Lets us be stronger, braver

Funnier, more

Unconstrained

Freed from beskirted dignity

The shadow of

Professional respect

The hobble of

High heels, the

Garrote of the tie

We become our own best selves

At least the selves we’d like to be

This thing we do

This endless practice, angsting over

Every touch, each bout,

Ranks and standings

Indicators

Competitions

Bling

Viewed from sufficient distance, it’s

Absurd

Given all the time we steal from

Families, jobs, responsibilities

You know—real life—It’s

Serious, but not

Better if we cop to that

Embrace the silliness of dressing up in

Uniforms and masks

Embellish it with character that helps us

Play the part

So Tabby, Dormouse

Rabbit

Werewolf, Aardvark, Bear

Take comfort in your camouflaged serenity

Even though your lamé telegraphs your true identity

Ice Pack

Cool down

Even though the ref is wrong
Combusting now will only

Burn you

Out

Check the gauge--your

Engine’s running

Hot your temperature is

High your self-control is in the

Red

If you erupt

You’re not the only

One who will get

Singed

I know, it’s

Hard to moderate the

Flame of battle once it’s

Lit, to cultivate

Sang-froid

Maintain equanimity a glacial

Calm when

Tempers

Flare

Passion for the game is

Well and good but

Seriously, dude, just

chill

Stop and take a

Breathe a slop of

Water down the neck

Ratchet back the dial and

Cool down

Illustration from the Creator of Catatonic

Yahrzeit

I found your glove the other day

Lying in the salle

Still shaped to your hand

Looking like you

Just laid down your foil

Went to take a drink

A year ago

In Anaheim

I heard the news

Had to leave the room and walk

Trying to outpace time

And truth

Found myself beside the strip

Cheering on the guys as they teamed up to

Battle other veteran blades

Proving bravery is not sole province

Of the young

It felt funny, cheering

While I mourned

But proper

Too

This year, standing on the podium

I wished I'd brought your glove

I miss you