Catch and Release

Nothing
then everything,
on my fishing line
at Montana Creek.
A wild pull,
water interrupted.
Then, on the bank,
a rainbow flashing
across its silver sky
of a belly,
flopping and flailing,
a splendid fish.
Soon,
returned to the creek
but no less beautiful
for the brief encounter.

A.H.

FIID -Facebook-induced Inadequacy Disorder*

Diagnostic Criteria:
- persistent feelings of inadequacy corresponding with Facebook viewing.
-continual comparison with others perceived to be having more excitement and/or adoring families as evidenced by their Facebook postings.
- impaired perception of one's own life and well-being corresponding with decreased enjoyment and sense of well-being i.e everyone else is having more __________(fill in the blank) than I am.

Symptoms must persist for at least one month and can not be explained by another mental or physical disorder.

*not in the actual DSM-5 but I will nominate for inclusion in the DSM -6 (DSM - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.)

A.H.

For Orlando and for Me

Again.
Hate.
Hate plus assault weapons
plus bitter blame
and whatever else
went into the poison brew
which boiled over.
Forty nine life lights
extinguished.

It must stop.
It must start with me
ferreting out hate
in myself,
standing against intolerance
and judgment.

So little I can do,
so important to do it.
It is time for illuminating
the dark -
hold firm,
stand kind.

I am alone.
I hope you are with me.
This must stop.

A.H.
In honor of lives lost in Orlando and lives forever changed.

Darkish -Alaska Summer*

No statement of night
only a suggestion,
not enough dark
to grab onto,
instead a hint
of darkish.

*For Lower 48er's - sunrise at 4:30 a.m, sunset at 11:26 p.m. Total daylight - 18 hours, 55 minutes, 33 seconds (a whole lotta light! -the title of a previous poem.)  Gain of daylight for today - June 4th - is 3 minutes and 8 seconds. This amount of daylight makes Alaska weird in the summer when the whole state is sleep-deprived  (I can sleep in the winter! This is not a good mental health strategy.)
Of course Alaska is also weird in the winter , well actually year -round. And we are about to run out of money. Not to be crude (an unintended pun) but the oil teat that Alaska has sucked on for years is running dry. And our legislate-laters (not a typo) need massive adult supervision in Juneau.
Oh, gotta go work in the garden - no matter that's it 10:30 pm. The sun doesn't set for another hour.

A.H.