PhotoVerio #375: A Special Day For Yin And Yang

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© Oliverio

The day we took
our cats to the beach

(October, 2016) 

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If You Want To Travel Upwards On The Corporate Ladder

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You do not need talent:

You need dirt!

You need

factual information about

the dirty habits, deeds

or dubious activities

of all those above you

For example:

Which male superior
likes to dress up
as Madonna?

Which female superior

has nooners

in the mailroom?

Who stole money
from the Christmas fund?

The more dirt you have,

the less talent you need:

You only need the ability
to conceal the dirt
from the office population
in exchange for the transgressors
promoting you for the talent
of keeping your mouth shut

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Footnote

IF YOU WANT TO TRAVEL

UPWARDS ON THE CORPORATE LADDER
is the copyrighted property of LCSoL

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PhotoVerio #374: If And Only If

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Our sidewalks have shadow stripes

© Oliverio

If and only if
the sun permits them
to do so 

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A Splashy Wet + Wonderful Morning In The Zero Lane

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The first lane of the Belmont Shore pool

is marked by the Zero digit

My weekly mile swim is a thing

of the past

but this morning, I splashed and stroked

for five laps of an Olympic pool:

the equivalent  of 5/18ths

of a mile

(Coincidentally, 5/18 is my birthday)

Unlike my frequent swims

prior to my 70th birthday,

I swam sloppily: 
straight ahead strokes
with lots of curvature

But it was a total of 800 joyful strokes

at 5:30 AM

 

I would like to thank

the staff member who allowed me

to re-enter the pool area

after I showered

By then it was daylight
and I was able 

to take this photograph

© Oliverio

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Discretely And Within Reason

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When you can squeeze joy from

the wine press of sorrow,

you get the full court press

of the soul

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Footnote

DISCRETELY AND WITHIN REASON

is an addendum of  my Uncle's obituary

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Omnidirectional Quatrain

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North of nowhere

East of everywhere

South of somewhere

West of whateva

…

PAUL SILLIVERIO

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Footnotes

OMNIDIRECTIONAL QUATRAIN

is the copyrighted property of LCSoL

"Paul Silliverio" is another name

for Paul Oliverio

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A Week Of Lower Case June Gloom In Southern California

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murky monday

in this room.

it's the domain
of june gloom

timid tuesday

under a grey sky

without any rain

to moisten the eye

whimsical wednesday

was almost fun:

with a fleeting wink 

from a shining sun

theatrical thursday

was no different

(and that description

is sufficient)

feckless friday

is a gloomy bummer

yet this is the month

that gives us summer

softly sunday

has us cheer:

we have only one month

with weather so queer

***

PAUL OLIVERIO

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Footnotes

A WEEK'S WORTH OF JUNE GLOOM
(text + image)

are the copyrighted property of LCSoL

This poem was inspired

by a friend on a train to Barcelona

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A Definition From A Poet ... In The Form Of A Question

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What is madness but

A nobility of soul

at odds with circumstances

THEODORE ROETHKE

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Footnote

Mrs. CarPeo,

a/k/a, my smarter half,

approved this page

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A Double Limerick From ... Oporta + O'Finner

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There once was a young man of Oporta,

who daily grew shorter and shorter.

The reason he said

Was the hod on his head,

Which was filled with the heaviest mortar.

His sister named Lucy O'Finner,

Grew constantly thinner and thinner.

The reason was plain:

She slept out in the rain,

and was never allowed any dinner.

LEWIS CARROLL

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Footnote

Lewis Carroll is the Lord

of the GodFather of Math Trilogy

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The 128th Bullet: On The Superhighway

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False starts in the fast lane

create logjams on

the superhighway

of the ego

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Footnote

THE 128th BULLET

is the copyrighted property

of LCSoL

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The Sad Saga Of Nooly Schakeldt

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Nooly Schakeldt was arrested for committing

a crime against the state but no one knew

which state it was.

The arresting officers were instructed to take

Nooly to Jails 'r Us,

the chain store penitentiary.

Nooly Schakeldt was to be detained indefinitely

or for thirty days, depending on which came first.

Nooly was guilty of "Random Selection,"

according to Wally Wimzly, the Chief of Police.

Whenever there was a vacancy in Jails 'r Us,

Chief Wimzly randomly selected a name

from the burgeoning ranks of
Socially Extraneaous People. 

Nooly qualified for the drawing

because he was gainfully unemployed.

He was assigned to the Linen Department

of Jails 'r Us and he got

clean sheets daily.

His cell was air-conditioned by

the foul breath of his cellmate,

Orville Stenchly, the garlic swindler.

Since thirty days precedes infinity,

Nooly Schakeldt was discharged

from jail  after serving one month.

Chief Wimzly gave him a quarter

to make his first phone call.

This caused Nooly to wonder:

if there is Free Speech

then why are there

pay telephones?

     

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Footnotes

THE SAD SAGA OF NOOLY SCHAKELDT

ia the copyrighted property of LCSoL

It was originally written

in 1981

If Franz Kafka had been
a stand-up comic,
I could have been arrested
for plagiarism

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A Proud Privilege Of TOTGAS ... According To "Cheeves"

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***

One of the privileges of age

is a high degree

of irresponsibility.

***

TOTGAS

is an acronym for

Too Old To Give A Shit

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Footnotes

The quote is from  John Cheever 

TOTGAS
is an acronym

trademarked by LCSoL

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Photoverio #373: New York Sidewalk Scenery With Cigaret Butt

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© Oliverio
That was not
my cigaret butt
(August, 2015)

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The 127th Bullet: From Johnny Nada's Almanac

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To err is human.

To correct it,

requires effort.

Originally written
in 1988

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Footnote

THE 127th BULLET

is the copyrighted property

of LCSoL

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The Twelfth Page In This Series

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We can't go on

meeting like this

NYC Sidewalk
(August, 2015)

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Footnotes
The photograph is the copyrighted property
of Paul Oliverio

The next
"We Can't Go On"
page is
here
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When Negative Enhances Positive + Vice Versa

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When a big event is planned

for the evening by spouses,

partners or couples,

there is an unwritten law

that one of each couple

will make the morning

miserable.

The other should fret not

because all this really does

is guarantee the big event

 will be much more enjoyable

Conversely,

if the day of the big event

contains one thousand assurances

that everything will go well,

you are guaranteed

something will happen

to make misery

trump the joy

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Footnote
WHEN NEGATIVE ENHANCES POSITIVE...
is the copyrighted property
of LCSoL
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The 126th Bullet: Beware Of What You Dangle

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If you dangle a carrot

and someone bites too hard,

you may end up

in the rabbit hole.

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Footnote

THE 126th BULLET

is the copyrighted property

of LCSoL

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The Need To Make Light Of Dark Matter [Haiku #69]

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If we loosen our grip on insanity,
then we will all go mad.

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Footnotes

THE NEED TO MAKE LIGHT OF DARK MATTER

is the copyrighted property of LCSoL

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The Tower Of Babbitt

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"The more some folks love people,

the harder they try to make them miserable"

***

Men were feverishly getting rid of visitors

in offices adorned with the signs

This Is My Busy Day  

 and

The Lord Created The World In Six Days:

You Can Spiel All You Got to Say

In Six Minutes

***

The large national advertisers

[defined]
the surface of his life,

[defined]
what he considered his individuality.

These standard advertised wares

--toothpaste, socks, tires, cameras--

were his symbols and proofs of excellence.

At first, the signs, then the substitutes,

for joy and passion and wisdom.

***

SINCLAIR LEWIS

Babbitt 

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In June, I Unswoon ... So Said The GoFather Of Math

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In May,

 I was much too lazily

celebrating my 70th Birthday

In April, 

I was much too mournfully

dreading the loss

of my Apple Computer

BUT

 In June,

I unswoon, shaking off

the slumber and the dread

AND

The GoFather of Math

will now resume

irregular programming

with its incessant presence

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MUSIC And MADNESS Were Talking

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MUSIC spoke:

Without you, I am a drone.

What I need to do with you,

Madness, is take you

by the horns

and string you to a tree.

I will augment your blood

and diminish your flesh.

Your bones I will use

for percussive effect.

MADNESS replied:

I will never die, my friend

and you will never be satiated.

My blood is your soul

and the universe
is our beneficiary

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Footnotes
MUSIC AND MADNESS WERE TALKING
is the copyrighted property of LCSoL

It was originally written
in 1977
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