There is a red light district in Thailand
with hundreds of women lining the street
more than I’ve ever seen in one place
and the street is lit up like a Christmas tree
men walking down that street see all the
women as exotic treats, but the women
see the men, mostly foreign, as pay days
to me it all seems so pointless, and were
I in Thailand, I’d rather visit Buddhist temples

Bob Boyd

When he grew old
everything got harder

a grunt when bending over
to pick something up

putting on pants
the balance not there

getting up from an armless chair
barely enough leg strength

the floor like an enemy
keeps him pinned there

as he struggles to get up
grabbing onto a chair

unexpected hospital stays
and doctor appointments

doctors he never saw in his youth
almost constant companions now

some medical conditions
he never thought he’d have

more body fat and muscle loss
increasingly weaker

aging turning him into a caricature
of his once youthful, robust self

but at least he’s ready to die
and he no longer fears death

and he feels lucky
to have lived such a long life

Bob Boyd

At Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, Canada,
Brother André, a Canadian saint, is entombed.

A humble doorkeeper, a brother and not a priest,
least likely to be used by God, perhaps—
the last being first—became a miracle worker,
healing ailing supplicants from all over the world
through the power of his supercharged prayers and
unceasing devotion to Saint Joseph.

He never took credit for healing 10,000 or more;
so humble, so devout, so saintly was he.

When he died, a million people streamed past his coffin
in reverence to this humble, God-blessed healing saint.
His mortal remains lie in a coffin at the back of the oratory
in a sacred room, a powerful shrine where crutches
of many healed pilgrims adorn the walls.

If you go there, do not be surprised if you feel
a palpable saintly energy that will renew you and
replenish your faith. This I write from experience.

Bob Boyd

Li Po, where did you go?
did you become one with the Tao,
or are you in some celestial, jade heaven
where dragons frolic, orioles still sing,
and beautiful maidens play the guzheng?

in case this poem somehow reaches you
through the ether, I’m a fan of your work
and would like to meet you in the afterlife

maybe you could be my mentor there,
if you were so inclined or had the time
and teach me how to write great poems
like you do –

or, at least, give me some tips
on writing better poems
in the afterlife

and, as for writing poems,
I hope wherever you are,
that is something you still do

respectfully,

a fan in the world
of the temporarily living.

Bob Boyd

In the 15th century in a nunnery in Germany
a nun began biting other nuns.

Soon all the nuns in the nunnery began
biting each other.

This biting outbreak spread to other
nunneries as well,

reaching as far as nunneries in Italy
and Holland.

Some thought the biting epidemic was
caused by demons or the devil.

Priests said prayers and performed exorcisms
as possible cures,

but these measures proved ineffective; the
nuns kept biting each other

The biting contagion stopped when authorities
threatened to flog the biting nuns.

It has been determined the nuns suffered
mass hysteria,

and no demons or a devil caused the
psychogenic affliction.

Bob Boyd

How I hate class distinctions
one class superior to the other

snobbery and disdain
for the lower classes

arrogance and exaggerated
self importance
typical of the upper classes

the titled and privileged at the top
serfs and peasants at the bottom

what puzzles me most
is why are some born into
higher classes and why are
some born into the lower classes

I wish there were universal equality

Bob Boyd

Abandoned churches in the UK
though I’m not a church attender
this saddens me to see

some are said to be haunted
how could that be?

one or more became a bar
seems like blasphemy

one or more became mosques
Islam expanding in the UK
unlike Christianity

if Christianity and Christ are real
will Christ abandon those in the Uk
who abandoned his churches and Him?

that probably won’t happen
but it saddens me to see
abandoned churches in the UK

Bob Boyd

Sparrows, do you ever seek the truth,
Or like many preoccupied humans
Do you just seek food, mate and eat?
Do you ever wonder what it’s all about,
This uncertain fleeting life?
Or are you born like Zen birds
Not needing to question existence
Not concerned with the transience
Having built-in Buddha Minds
And free tickets to Nirvana?

Bob Boyd

You live your life happy and free of horrible things happening to you.

You feel like those horrible things only happen to others.

You take risks, certain that you don’t have to worry about those horrible things that only happen to others.

You’re taking a walk one day without your car, far from your home.

Thunder and rain explode in the sky, and you’re getting soaked.

A nice, harmless-looking man offers you a ride.

Your instincts tell you he’s safe, and you get in his car.

He makes pleasant conversation and lets you out at your home.

And you have no idea how lucky you were, because he is a serial killer, and you were not his type.

Bob Boyd