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213 · Jun 2019
RELEASE
James Floss Jun 2019
“Make a poem about that!"
He spat into the phone
Peppered with F-this and F-that
Just more smotherly love,
A little familial fun

My words weren’t aimed at you
Had nothing to do with yours
What triggered your kraken response?
What brought out the bully?
Me standing for women?

No apologies
Load the traps
“Release!”
My pigeon words fly
Your scattered shots miss
213 · Apr 2018
SPRING HAIKU
James Floss Apr 2018
Cherry blossoms fall
Spiraling to verdant green
Color contrast: spring!
211 · Apr 2017
BALLOON
James Floss Apr 2017
I am a realist.
I'm an artist.
I'm a humanist.
And a humorist.

I'm an atheist.

Yet, I am gob-smacked, daily,
By the beauty of this ephemeral world,
I am flamboozled, daily,
By its dire contradictions.

Stories of people being horrendous.
Stories of people being stupendous.

On the cliff-ride of hope,
I hold tight to a string
That floats above despair.
210 · Apr 2017
FAIRY TAILED
James Floss Apr 2017
Once,
long ago,
in a far away
familiar place,

a girl named Jill
with a boy named Jack
(along with three pigs,
a frog, a princess,
a wolf, a girl in a red frock,
her blonde, curly-haired friend,
three bears,
a strange, rumpled man
with a curiously long name,

his companion:
a tall, crowned,
black-caped woman
of white complexion
and ruby-red lips)

went up a hill.

The earth suddenly, violently
trembled.
And they all fell down.

All were injured;
five of them died.

But miraculously,
two of them,
somehow
managed to live

happily ever after.
210 · May 2017
MMMMMmmm…
James Floss May 2017
A little less bitter
A little/lot  better
Let's add more butter—
Anything's better with butter!

A little/lot more richer
It might even bewitch her.
Let's ply her with chocolate
Everything's better with chocolate!

What's cake without icing?
Or for that matter, the ice cream?
Treat yourself with love as dessert
Sleep well, and have a nice dream.
209 · May 2017
TRENCHES
James Floss May 2017
Every. Single. Day.
I try to do good.
Build a bridge—
Mindful of the future:

Create something.
Clean my messes.
Fulfill responsibilities.
Say something nice to someone I love.

WWD gets in my way
Every step of the way.

Darling,
I'm still fighting.
205 · Jan 2018
STRESSED? UNDRESS
James Floss Jan 2018
Under my fleece blanket
Conventions scorned
I’m naked.

Yes, surprise!
My organs are contained in skin
Contours, grooves; holes in.

*****, ****, eyebrow, *******
You will have to imagine all the rest
As you, too, undress

We really are silly creatures
Dressed in frilly fabric features
Mine is this, yours is that.

Truth be told
Body bold
Is sacred.
205 · Jan 2018
AMENDMENT
James Floss Jan 2018
Bubbles from below
Urges, regrets, shame…

Id, ego, super-ego:
Take your cape off—

Relax; sit down a spell;
We’re not going to hell.
James Floss Jul 2017
We all need sol’s fast bright photons
To feed our planet’s green plant protons
And with its chlorophyll
There’s a way we know it will
Release some electrons
Sugar-making depends on.

Ruminate on ruminants—
Green grass consuminants.
Dairy, beef concluded on
Solar sugar chewed upon.
Sun, sugar, solar food.
A photon’s single goal pursued.

I may be mostly vegetarian,
A non-mammalian true contrarian;
I don’t eat beef
But love the leaf!
3.00×108 m/s
Lights our life, free and fecund!
204 · Jan 2018
2018
James Floss Jan 2018
Gathering of the gaderene
Deep in the region of legion
Headlong rush to destruction
Obfuscation obstruction

World gone crazy political
Satirical take on societal
Evolution of revolution
Time to shake the snake
203 · Mar 2020
QUARANTINE
James Floss Mar 2020
We are all
Hungry hungry
Hippos

In Buddha’s boat
Staying afloat:safe
For tomorrow
202 · Apr 2019
…AND PROSPER
James Floss Apr 2019
“I am right here,”
He said, in a Spock-like voice,
Trying to defuse the situation

“Even as you endeavor
To agitate me
By being unpleasant;

I am sorry that you are feeling unwell—
If you need me to assist you in any way,
Please, use your Comm."
199 · Jan 2019
WWD REDUX
James Floss Jan 2019
I’m feeling the old dread
Of being half dead
A waking dream
It all seems

I don’t feel colors
I can’t smell sounds
Because gauze
Surrounds
199 · Mar 2018
ARC
James Floss Mar 2018
ARC
Ten-act plays
Seems to be the way for
Today’s tellervision

Shakespeare did it five
That bard was the bomb
Comedy/tragedy aplomb

Still, new age of tellervision
Tells it in ten
Arc of plot and folks

Hulu, Amazon, Netflix
Hulu, Amazon, Netflix
Hulu, Amazon, Netflix

Doesn’t depend on renewal
Just the story, ma’am, just the story
Doing it in zen ten
198 · Apr 2017
WWD REFLECTION
James Floss Apr 2017
Darling,

A breakthrough in WWD:

I realize
Battles lost
Can be restive—

And if used right,
Restorative

Depression isn't always
Destructive.

Here I hunker
In my bunker
Reflective.
197 · Oct 2017
PUERTO RICO RADIO SHOW
James Floss Oct 2017
A history lesson with
An ever rising screed

A lesson not lost
Of human cost

"Island, water,  huge!" is said
By orangey Cheeto-head
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnLnuGNgaPE&t=5s
197 · Jun 2018
ZOOLOGY: A
James Floss Jun 2018
Amy ant ambled but
Bobby baboon bounced ‘cuz
Cathy cat caterwauled as
Dougie dog dawdled then
Ellie eel embarked while
Freddie falcon flew–
Gerald grasshopper gamboled and
Harold J. Harold hare hopped!
Izzy iguana immigrated.
Jessie June bug jumped when
Katie kangaroo kicked-it with
Larry lizard leaping left because
Moe marmoset merely meandered.
Norbert numbat just sat.
Ophelia oyster oozed while
Peter penguin paddled and
Quinton quail quivered but
Rosy raccoon ran 'cuz
Sasha salamander sashayed!
Tariq turtle tumbled as
Uooley urchin ushered
Vinny the vulture to visit
Wally walrus who waddled with
Xander xerus through the xystux;
Yasha yak yacked it up to
Zooey zebra who zipped it to:

The All-Species-Day-Parade!
And EVERY ALL had tons of fun!
197 · Mar 2019
'aiku
James Floss Mar 2019
Acknowledgment first
Atonement follows after
Actions matter next
197 · Mar 2019
SHRöDINGERS CAT
James Floss Mar 2019
Uncomfortably
Thinking about
What may be

Uptight or onsite
Downside or
In between

See it
Be it
Is it?
196 · Jul 2018
INTRODUCING
James Floss Jul 2018
I wanna a be
A wallaby or a

Kangaroo with
Rocket in my pocket

I wanna be
A rock star

Geode geologist
With rocks in my pocket

I wanna be a
Rocket scientist

Collecting rocks
In my solar socket

Satellite delight
Asteroid evidence

Not alone; not unique
God’s sock puppet
196 · Apr 2017
MICRO/MACRO
James Floss Apr 2017
I had a telescope.
Actually, more than one.

I had a microscope.
In truth, more than one.

Eye try to keep an open mind:
Galaxies above,
Galaxies below.

Spiral swirls of stars,
Planets within planets;
We are not alone.

Smears of pond ****,
Spiraling up to light.
Life abounds.

And here we are:
Somewhere in the middle.
195 · Apr 2017
SUPPERMAN FANTASY
James Floss Apr 2017
Left fist at 9 o'clock
Right fist at two
I'm flying, flying
Superhero style.

Nothing can stop me now.

The bullet missed;
Locomotive late;
The building's been left
Shortly after lept.

Lois Lane aside,
I'm soaring solo.

I like the way my cape is flapping,
Snapping
Tapping
Down at my thighs.
Super, man!

"What?"

"Supper?"

"OK."

"I'll be right there."
194 · May 2017
PLAYBOYS
James Floss May 2017
Wally and I would race
Fulfilling our childhood task
Collecting office papers for fire.

One of us: your office.
Grabbing your wastebasket first—
Looking for fobidden pleasure treasure.

Around the fire pit,
Forms 623-A and 506-D were flames.
Miss July? We claimed!

Up in the hay-loft,
Buried in the way-back,
*** caches established.

Thanks to Amazon,
A thought I think upon:
My dad read SERIOUS SOCIAL ****!

It wasn't always all about ***.
193 · Nov 2018
POH-TUS
James Floss Nov 2018
There is a little, little man
In a big, big house

A louse, a grouse
Smaller than a mouse

He tweets and tweets
Slandering pandering

Mouse squeaking
With all he’s got

A hurricane ****
A sneeze breeze

He’s
******
192 · Oct 2017
SUBATOMIC LOVE
James Floss Oct 2017
subatomic love as an
attraction/repulsion thing
while planet's orbits swing

i am neuron
striving to be proton—
but recall electron

and all that matters
niether here/there
is all that matters
192 · Apr 2018
ALL ABOARD
James Floss Apr 2018
Me and she
Right here, right now

Laughter flirting;
Younger selves.

What a ton of stuff
We drag behind

All the time

How nice when we can
Enter the right boxcar

At the right time
192 · Jun 2019
ENTROPY
James Floss Jun 2019
ENTRopy

ENtropy

Introphy

Intrope

Scope

*****

Sleep

. . . eep

…eep

.…eee—
191 · Nov 2017
PAR-AR-DEN ME
James Floss Nov 2017
It ser-erves nothing
This hic-coughing
Day two of three

But (hic) but (hic) it happens
Every fi-Uk! five seconds
Diag-FRA-AM! (****!) explodes

Count back=ak=wards

Hold your breath

Get some sil-EEP!

Pa-ay!-per bag

Sca-are me, please

Drink water
Little swa+ah+llows

I’ll Just wait it “awht”
Out
190 · Apr 2017
GHOST LIMB
James Floss Apr 2017
Long lost *** mate
A little after wed.
Now just roommates
Alone asleep in bed.

Your touch once magical:
A hand on my thigh:
For Sammy — electrical
He rose, I blushed, I sighed.

Now, no sensuality
Expectations: none.
Ghost limb sexuality
Feeling: only numb.
189 · Apr 2018
A:
James Floss Apr 2018
A:
Every micro-gression
Drips into the
Bucket / depression

***** girded
Lines drawn; it’s
****-show WWD again

As you sink into it
Mine your mettle
Find your spine

Remember:
WWD is cyclical
Even when biblical
189 · Feb 2018
PSY PHI
James Floss Feb 2018
Right now, there is
a new Star Trek playing
Right now, there is
a new Stargate streaming
Heck, there’s several new
Star Wars movies in the planning

Now comes an older
but a new-old X-Files
I’m in heaven with
season eleven
Indulging in my Sci-Fi
Meme in ex-treme
189 · Jan 2018
DREAM
James Floss Jan 2018
The space between expectations
And real-world realizations
Pinning hope upon a star

So far

Desire sires hope
Hope molds chance
But then circumstance

Twisted dance

Legislative ping-pong
An absurd, wrong, sing-song
Maintain a sense of self

Them, not you

Be the best you can
Rely on those you love
Have a back door plan

This land is your land,

Too…
189 · Dec 2019
SALACIOUS AND FALLACIOUS
James Floss Dec 2019
It’s called entrenchment
Abrogation and entitlement
Perjury of responsibility

"I solemnly swear
That in all things appertaining
To the trial of the impeachment…

I will do impartial justice
According to the Constitution …
So help me God."

McConnell: I'm not an impartial juror
Graham: won't pretend to be fair
The Fox is in the henhouse

The process is unfair
And fixed from the start
By the stalwart GOP
187 · Nov 2017
SAY CHEESE…
James Floss Nov 2017
"PROSCH!” (kerrchikit)
"PROSCH!” (kerrchikit)
"PROSCH!” (kerrchikit)

1970s photography.

Fingers fumble for
Another four more–

“TIk” it’s out;
“Chik” another in.

Icy-blue light cube
Ready for more:

“PROSCH!” kerrchik.

Instamatic imagery,
Flash cube fun.
187 · Oct 2018
TRANSLATION
James Floss Oct 2018
Everything I know
I am learning now, the
What why where and how
Subcutaneous instantaneous
Transliteration transcriptions

The you you don’t know undertow
Burbles beneath the underflow
Below Babel is the true power
Speaking truth beyond tower
Is the way to flow
186 · Jun 2018
BOURDAIN
James Floss Jun 2018
Mr. B;
Tony,
Anthony—

Why?
The hard part:
Unknown.

I’m angry
Mr. B
Stories untold
186 · Jul 2017
PUNK’D!
James Floss Jul 2017
Jared, Jared, face so red
Kissing Kislyak in Trump’s stead;
A fleeting meeting—
Collusion conclusion?
Rrussia ain’t Prussia, Bellorussia!
Conclude to collude would be so rude
I’d rather be punk’d by Ashton Kutcher,
Jared Kushner. Gotcha!
186 · May 2019
ALBERT HALL
James Floss May 2019
I want to go back in time
A little bit, somewhat, a lot

I want to go forward in time
Somewhat, a lot, exponentially

What really happened?
What conceivable can be?

So I: get up, get out of bed
And drag a comb across my head
185 · Oct 2017
4:30 am
James Floss Oct 2017
I need to sleep a
Deep sleep to

Un-cement
Intent and

Turn around for
Rebound

I need sleep

Still I am up
Left over pm

Awake mistake
185 · Jun 2019
DISTRACTED BY SHINY OBJECTS
James Floss Jun 2019
I usually do due diligence
For most every major purchase
Eschewing the apples of my eye

Sound, round, research
That’s what I’m known for
Predictably, boringly prepared

Whiff of cheese
Trap snaps! Now:
Purchasing peripherals
184 · Jan 2018
FIRST DAMNDMENT
James Floss Jan 2018
*******!

It’s a new word.
**** it!
I first heard it on NPR.

I read it then in the
SFChron then the
NYTimes.

Word.

Language evolves,
Some people don't.

What *******
Coined that term?

Which wounded *****
Will take this ******* down?

Semantics matters–
Vulgarities smatter.

Good luck to us all.

(me too)
184 · Mar 2020
INFECTION
James Floss Mar 2020
They spread fast
Across the blue dot
With impact to last
In the end a blot

Planet plagued
Tyrannosaurus
Age through age
The virus are us
183 · Jan 2019
WET
James Floss Jan 2019
WET
These days I cry every day
Extraordinary light in the kitchen
A certain chord progression
The passing of Mary Oliver

Even in loss we gain
Emotional resilience
Even as we surrender
To the beauty of day to day
183 · Oct 2017
VENUS TO PENIS
James Floss Oct 2017
The rising rock
A strutting ****
Seeking Venus
Turns to *****

Rocks to stone
Stones to pebbles
Pebbles to sand
We wash away
183 · Mar 2018
SKIN
James Floss Mar 2018
What condition my condition is in:
We begin at our skin
All we are all all within

(fragile ***** bubbles
membranes refrained
it’s out or it’s in again)

Keep it in
Keep it in

Not fun when it leaks
Mortality brutality  
*******

****** visible
Scars irrational
Spots visible

Sci-fi invasion:
Climbing up the torso
“Look, Spot! Another Spot!”
182 · Apr 2020
SOCIAL RANGE
James Floss Apr 2020
Please, save me from home and our status quo zones
Where my dear and the misanthrope stay
Where sometimes is heard no dispiriting words
But the clouds are still cloudy all day

Home, home is so strange
Where my fear and the forlorn hope lay
Where is often is heard many recurring words
And I need to go outside and play
182 · Aug 2019
CHRYSALIS
James Floss Aug 2019
I did things
Rewind remind

I went back and forth
In space and in time

Memories in cotton
Mostly forgotten

A dream cocoon
I’ll wake up soon
182 · Jul 2019
IN MEMORI...
James Floss Jul 2019
The past passes
Frightenly fast
What you were sure was
Wanes to whatever

404: cannot be found
Format not supported
Access denied
Memory error

But we remember it
We know it was there
(I made it; it was mine)
Now just victim of time

Dusk to dust
Ashes to ask less
Things fade
Past is pastiche
178 · May 2019
PROSPER
James Floss May 2019
Life is full of tedium
And disappointment
And sometimes failure

And rejection
And depression
And retrograde intercessions

A constant brings me joy
A time/space place of hope:
Strange new worlds; new episodes
178 · Mar 2020
CAROUSEL
James Floss Mar 2020
I’m slipping through time again
From the when to then
From tomorrow’s sorrow
To today’s begin

The real ***** is the stitch
Where we actually exist
Between memory and wonder
And therein lies the itch

Remembering the past
Thinking of next
Wallowing in now
Sliding the narrow
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