When he held her the last time
he felt like he was hugging a skeleton
even though she was full bodied
and exceptionally healthy
he didn’t know at that time
the skeleton hug was a premonition
he didn’t know she’d be dead the next day
of a sudden, unexpected heart attack.
Bob Boyd
The night felt eerie
the moon was full
his girlfriend said
she was going to
pay him a visit
he knew that meant
she wouldn’t be
her usual sweet self
he knew that hell
was coming
instead of knocking
she howled at the
front door
instead of a woman
she’d become
a werewolf
as she did every
full moon night
he howled back
a werewolf as well
though reluctantly
he enjoyed the kills
but upon waking
he felt regrets
when his girlfriend
entered his home
he shot her dead
with a silver bullet
then he shot himself
to death as well.
Bob Boyd
I read about a woman in the Philippines
who bought a Shrek statue at a shop there
she thought it was a statue of the Buddha
the body was the same as the bodies of Buddha
in real Buddha statues everywhere
the face was clearly that of Shrek
she worshiped the statue for four years
burning incense before it daily
some people might have found that funny
some people might have thought she was stupid
I wholeheartedly believe the Absolute
honored her devotion
I believe that though she was mistaken
the Absolute doesn’t care
in Its eyes her sincere and persistent devotion
outweighed her mistaking Shrek for the Buddha
despite learning of her error, she is going to keep
worshiping the stature as the Buddha
and burning incense before it daily
this says to me, it’s working for her
and I’m almost feeling like buying one of those
Buddha-like statues in support of her
I have seen they’re plentiful for sale online
and from the neck down, they are Buddha.
Bob Boyd
I learned the other day you died,
was sad to hear you passed on,
got a little teary-eyed.
You, charismatic, unlike
any other, uniquely cool,
always witty and fun,
I felt as if you would live forever,
even though I hadn’t seen you
in many decades.
I saw your photo in your obit.
You looked great for 79,
youthful and radiant.
You didn’t look like a man
about to die, not at all.
I hope you’re in a better world
living in total peace and bliss
with your wife who died before you.
It seems unbelievable you’re gone.
If you see Joe Drew, Mike McHugh,
or Dennis Doughty there, could you
tell them I said Hello, and that I look
forward to joining you all on the other side?
Maybe there it will be 5 o’clock everywhere
and we can get free tickets to a Jimmy Buffet concert,
or hear Toby Keith singing “How Do You Like Me Now?”
RIP Bozzi. You are truly missed.
Bob Boyd
Do you know that
often your religious beliefs
are logistical?
Born in the Middle East
most likely a Muslim.
Born in the deep South
you might be a Southern Baptist.
At the least, you’re probably
a Prostestant.
Born anywhere near Rome,
odds are overwhelming you’re
a Catholic.
India? Hindu, most likely,
though you could be a Buddhist
Tibet, Buddhist for sure.
China? 91 Percent atheists
and you might be one.
Me, born in Massachusetts
and been many places
studied many religions
and spiritual paths.
A believer in a Cosmic Christ
but not dogmatically.
A believer in many paths to
the same mountaintop.
A believer in higher states
of consciousness and what
the Hindus call Sat Chit Ananda
Eternal Bliss Consciousness.
Bob Boyd
Church bells rang
hearts responded
it was the Lord’s day!
in merry England
so very long ago
now over 2,500
churches closed
some of them
turned into mosques
not many church
bells ringing
not many hearts
responding
Christianity and Jesus
are dying in
less than merry
England now
the remaining bells
like death knells
Bob Boyd
She said she was too hot to go to jail
though it was a vain assertion
I was mind blowingly forced to agree
had I been the judge in that court
I would have given her something like
diplomatic immunity
an immunity based on her beauty
of course, I’m just kidding around here
adding a little more absurdity to
her vain and absurd assertion.
Bob Boyd
When she played her flute
it was magical and alluring
she was the pied piper of my heart
but, alas, she played me too
and ran off with a trumpet player.
Bob Boyd
The once seemingly
impossible
has happened
friends from my
past are dying
classmates from
my class of 1964
are also dying
the trouble is when
I think of those
friends from the past
and those classmates
I remember them
as they were when
young and alive
so their dying
seems impossible
and unreal to me
but of course
in this impermanence
nothing stays young
and everything dies.
Bob Boyd
Abandoned old churches
nobody attends anymore
except for some ghosts
cold spots, creaking pews,
faint foot steps, whispers
knocks on the walls
scraping sounds on wood
feelings of being watched
but the question I have is
how the hell do we have
ghosts on holy grounds?
Bob Boyd