Marriage?

He said yes,
She said no,
He lived fast,
She liked slow,
He was always early,
She was forever late,
Kept him always waiting
Frustrated at the gate,
He liked morning,
She liked night,
She liked darkness,
He liked light,
Their relations
Were not right,
While he made love
So full of feeling,
She just lay there,
Looking at the ceiling,
When he went to climax,
She said 'it is peeling',
He said this marriage is a mess
And she fully agreed saying 'yes',
He got his old suitcase
And put on his hat
And with a sigh of relief
He left board and bed,
And they both will affirm
That they have no regret...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Moral Man

He was a holy-rolling preacher,
A bible-singing,
God-inspired teacher,
Damnation from the pulpit
Was his guiding feature,
Gads, he was the most
God-observing creature,
His sermons dealt with heaven,
Hell, sin and morality,
To all the good believers
He promised heaven, immortality,
The sinners he condemned
To all hell fires and damnation,
But held out for them the only
Hope and possible salvation
To save their rotten souls
By rendering a big donation,
But one night the holy man
Took all the money of the church,
Went on to old Tahiti and
Left the congregation in a lurch.
It's said that way down under
He turned into sin's fatality,
Having a ball, boozing,
Living a life of great carnality...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

The New Nazis

The new Nazis in the Middle East
Whose fanatic fervor has increased,
Religious nuts who shout and yell:
"Go out and kill the infidel!"
Led by a Persian psychotic,
Leading a populace - neurotic
In some hinterland - exotic,
A little Hitler set on nuclear war,
If we don't stop them,
They'll go too far,
We have the power and the force
To end this cancer at its source.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Desert of Life

We struggle through
The desert of life,
Busy bees working the hive,
We march from dust to dust
Through labor, joy,
Agony and lust,
As all good bees
For generations must,
And then we die,
Never know when or why,
Without any recompense,
Our lives - a meaningless trip
Which makes no sense...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Richard III

A crippled hapless body
With a twisted soul,
A clever mind perverted
To seek any evil goal,
A sociopath totally lacking
Any moral inhibition,
Yet, silver-tongued, he leads
All others to perdition,
To further his own cause
He'll make this world a holy hell,
While sanctimoniously he pats
Your back and treats you well,
He is a devil in a caring
Holy man's disguise,
If you avoid or ruin such men
You would be wise,
Nature shapes most men
Neither black nor white, but gray,
With good and bad all mixed
In a more neutral clay,
Rare is the man who is pure evil
In design and form,
Humanity would not survive
If such men were the norm...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Men, Women and Babies

What different species
Men and women are,
Each sex lives on a different star,
In marriage they are institutionalized,
They suffer and are brutalized,
To thus spend life in an institution
Is certainly not a happy solution,
So let us all joyfully fornicate
And give the babies to the State,
But if you do not want to carry or worry,
Let's make all children in the laboratory,
Raise the fetus in bottles nice and steady
And bring them up in kiddie farms
Till they are ready,
With breeding and training
Scientifically elected
According to the specimens selected
Where children are carefully
Put into a slot
According to abilities they've got,
We thus eliminate strife and divorce
And cure these problems at the source,
Also creating a happy population
Where each will know their destination,
I've looked at all this and have found
That we're eventually anthill bound...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Civil War in Iraq

American kids die every day
Getting into a civil war's way,
By insidious policies led astray,
They suffer, die and toil,
Not for a free democracy,
But for special interests
And the oil.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Nuclear War

The future casts
A macabre shadow
On the present,
Spelling mankind's end
Which is just around the bend,
For the weapons produced
Sooner or later will be used
To turn this sweet planet
Into a radioactive crypt,
Killing all life on it,
And the gods will say: "Well,
They created their own hell..."

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

I Take you to a Land...

I take you to a land
Of singular hopes
And desperate alternatives,
Betwixt and between
I live in a world of shadows
Where uncertainty prevails,
A place which always seems
But never, never is,
Neither was or ever will be,
Where life is a pathetic joke,
Yet never really funny,
A tragic-comedy
Illusionary gods laugh about,
A passing adventure
Of no intrisic value
Which my senses perceive
But my mind rejects,
An insane chapter
Lived on an obscure planet
Composed of twirling atoms
Which on closer scrutiny
Have no substance
But are just mediums
Of time, energy and delusions,
Phantoms of meaningless events,
And yet, and yet -
There is a certain beauty,
A transcendental majesty
In this music of the spheres,
That miracle of life
Whose images will travel
Through the universe
And will forever
Linger on and on...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Rich and Poor

It's wealth and privilege
Which seeks its own reward,
Those predators
Hold the winning card,
They pay for laws
That suit them well
Which lobbyists
To Congress sell,
And since they want
To be elected,
The rich man's contributions
Cannot be neglected,
Most taxes are then paid
By middle classes and the poor
While the illustrious few
Have the benefits of sinecure,
While people are starving
On minimum wage,
Million dollar incomes
For some are the rage,
They shrug it off,
Saying life is not fair,
But in reality
They just do not care,
Yes, yes, it is really a bitch
That there are
More and more poor
Who just slave for the rich,
A sad way for democracy
To turn into a plutocracy...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Adlai Stevenson for President

"How about Stevenson for President?"
They asked Frank Lloyd Wright,
"Too good a man for the job",
- Wright replied,
"They need a puppet,
Adlai is too bright".

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Soldiers

We are two little soldiers
Marching along,
Sharing our lives,
Singing the same song,
Two kindred spirits,
No longer young,
We battled the world
For fifty years,
Through joys and laughter,
Pain and tears,
We marched together
To the same drummer's beat,
From youth to old age,
Winter's cold, summer's heat,
We raised two fine children
Who flew our nest,
And with pride we can say
They turned out the best,
We are now old and gray,
But we're still marching along,
In the evening of life
We still sing the same song...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Return to Vietnam

Saigon Harbor welcomes me,
A tourist, not a soldier, returning,
Cars on the streets instead of tanks,
No fires burning but flags of welcome,
A little boy playing ball in the street,
He'll throw no grenades anymore,
The old street with the brothel,
My wife smirking at me when I ask:
"Is Li-Yung still there?"
- my friend, my love,
My only sunshine in those days,
I owe her my sanity, maybe my survival,
Li-Yung comes down to see me,
She's aged, still those fine,
Delicate features,
A boy in tow who looks like me
But the eyes are oriental,
"Your son", she says, "the best present
You ever gave me, little soldier,
I was a whore - yet I loved you,
More than you will ever know,
We can also love - you know,
Shame maybe in our faces
But our hearts can be pure,
Kiss your father - John,
He was the sun of my very life",
My wife stares at me in disgust,
A wealthy woman, but not forgiving,
Married to a weak, unsuccessful man,
An incompetent dreamer,
I don't know what to say or do,
Another Madam Butterfly?
I can not deal with this,
My life is on a given track,
On the way home I look in the mirror
And I hate what I see,
"She's only a whore",
My wife with contempt,
But in my heart of hearts I know
That I turned from a soldier
Into a coward,
Facing an insecure, miserable life
Lacking the courage of my conviction...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Find his Cat

I've dealt with addicts
And psychotics,
With sociopaths
And with neurotics,
With criminals
Of every kind,
Killers and thieves
The worst you'd ever find,
Yet, every man I ever knew
At bottom loves and holds
Someone or something true,
A man may hate the world
And be a rotten rat,
But in his heart of hearts
He only loves a cat,
And if you want to reach him
Be sure to find his cat...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Recipe for Yugoslavian Beef Goulash

Take some Croats
And some Serbs,
Add a dash Albanian herbs,
Cook them in a Yugo pot,
Gads, that goulash will be hot,
Civil war is what you got...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Jeffrey

On a sunny Sunday morning,
Not a cloud in the sky,
We unveiled his monument,
The first one in a new row,
Amidst a mass of gray stones
Proclaiming their dead residents
To any passerby who cared to look,
Stony eyes without souls
Telling their stories,
And Jeffrey now amongst them,
A young man in the prime of life,
Blond with blue eyes, full of zest,
Bright, endowed with talent and ability,
Always searching for his place in the sun,
But, somehow, never quite making it,
We all tried to understand him,
But we never really could,
His life's direction vague and uncertain,
He could have done so much
But death cut him short,
Robbed him of life and hopes
And all he might have been,
All his dreams - unfulfilled,
Without rhyme or reason,
But we will fondly
Remember him
And miss his sunny smile
In all the years to come...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Become a Politician

I am quite devious
And dishonest to the core
And in the business world
I never made a score,
I have an other
Most peculiar quirk,
I am allergic
To any sort of work,
For sophistry I have
A most remarkable flair,
Some jealeous people
Call it just hot air,
I had no talent
As an artist or musician,
So I became
A quite successful politician,
I promise anything
To anyone before election,
But after the good people
Have made their selection,
I sell my favors
To the highest bid connection,
Dip into public funds, take graft
And money for protection,
While spouting platitudes,
I live as well as any royalty,
And in Swiss banks I have
Certificates, money and property,
And if they ever catch me
On some unholy day,
I have a waiting plane
To fly me far away,
So, friends, take my honest
And sincere advice,
Become a politician
If you are not too nice...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Here - Gone

You're here today
And gone tomorrow,
Just fading memories
And not much sorrow,
Some joy, some tears,
A bit of love and lust,
An interval of life,
Travel from dust to dust,
From babyhood into senilty,
Ours is just a tragic-comic play
About the nature of futility,
You're here today
And gone tomorrow,
Just fading memories
And not much sorrow...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

The Gent

The gent has personality
Of somewhat dubious quality,
Outstanding abnormality,
An expert in carnality,
Known for his frugality,
Hidden is his mentality,
But great - his amorality,
Bi-functional his sexuality,
In life he's a fatality,
If you'd ask me more or less:
"Is this peculiar gent a mess?"
I'd say: "No doubt, yes, yes, yes, yes..."

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Stage

We're actors on the stage of life,
Cast in an absurd and tragic-comic play,
Each playing our part in futile dreams
Of gods, illusions on some eternal stay,
We're born in pain, fearing death's agony,
Aspire to some fleeting goals in our vanity,
Spend our lives spouting some useless sophistry,
In silent despair try to negate death's certainty,
The parts we play often remembered as an obscenity,
And after a while we drift to dust into obscurity,
Our world's stage only a temporary illusion,
We spend our years anesthetized into delusion,
Actors, who never came to any rational conclusion,
If there be gods, they'd laugh at our futility,
Decide on what they wrought has no utility,
Cancel it out as a misguided debility...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Einstein on Demise

Einstein said it is not bad
When you wind up being dead,
While you may dread your demise,
It would really be quite nice.
No more worries, no more pain,
No excuses, nothing to explain,
No more fights with boss or wife,
No more lawyers, no more doctors
Or other unpleasant destructors,
No more duties to pay bills,
No diseases and no chills,
Ah, but this could really be the best
For it is eternal rest,
Just as you were in times gone by,
Before you were just a gleam
In your father's roving eye...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Man's Nature

True nature in most men
Is hidden well,
What they are really like
Is hard to tell,
One can only judge
By what they seem to be,
The rest is but surprise
And hidden mystery.
If someone asked you:
"How would you this man define?"
Think carefully, my friend,
Don't answer, just decline.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Persona

I met her only yesterday,
Her hair was blond,
Her eyes were gray,
Love at first sight,
A sheer delight,
We were in love
And spent the night,
The one I looked for,
My shining light.
I asked her:
"Will you marry me?"
She looked at me,
Said:"Never be!"
Called me a guy
Who is too wise,
Said she was only into vice,
And I really got a chill
When she handed me the bill,
Asked me: "Credit card or money,
How 'd you like to pay it, honey?"
Paid her quite a bit of cash,
Think I'm a bit too rash...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Dad

'Collect my ashes
On some sunny day in May,
Put my remains
On a mantelpiece to stay,
And one day grandchildren
I never knew in life
Will play there
Near my son and his wife,
And somehow in their
Heart of hearts they'll know:
This was their grandfather
Who died long ago.'

I lost you when still a lad,
I miss you often and feel sad,
This caring, loving man - my Dad...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Every Moment

Enjoy each day,
There may be no tomorrow,
Put sunshine in your life
And banish sorrow,
Grab every moment
Of delight
Before you enter
That eternal night...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Nature of Love

For some love 's
But a fleeting fashion,
For others it's
An all-consuming passion,
Theirs is not love
Which gives them pain,
It is the aftermath
If loved in vain...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Is

The 'is' - is real,
The 'ought'
Is just a thought...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Senate and Congress

Their lives' great goal
Are benefits gained by election,
Public service is their
Very minor selection,
What they are really after
Is the sterling chance
To be a public money grafter,
Their truly greatest hobby
Is collecting kickbacks
From some pliant lobby
And thus obtain a sinecure
Of huge dimensions
By simulating
Idealistic pretensions,
For once past
The election strife,
They're richly endowed
For the rest of life...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Live Every Day

Live every day
As if it were your last,
Don't worry about the future
Or dwell in the past,
Each moment is precious,
Grasp fully each day,
For soon the grim reaper
Will take you away...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

No Hope City

This is a ditty
About an old biddy,
Once young and pretty,
Considered smart, witty,
Left poor, homeless
In No Hope City,
Looking shabby and gritty,
Her daily survival
Quite tricky,
Abandoned by all
Without any pity,
Friends, family - gone,
She'll soon die alone
With no one to pity
In No Hope City...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Sex in the Hay

Illicit sex in the hay
Is the very best way
To spend night and day,
Easier - when young,
Problem -
When old and gray.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Divorce

My father was the head,
My mother the heart
But when they divorced,
Forever to part,
Blemished
Was my life's start,
And as time went by,
My world fell apart...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Choices

Two women,
Equally attractive,
They keep my sex life
Very active,
Which one to marry?
That's the question,
Rely on natural selection?
It really is a crying shame
That I can't marry
Both of them...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Flighty Birds...

Gone are the days
Of wine and honey,
Of youthful zest
And love's sweet folly,
Those best of times
Which cast a magic spell,
Like flighty birds I knew
And loved too well...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Life is?

Life is but a bowl of cherries,
Rotten to the core and full of pits,
Nothing seems rational, nothing fits,
Condemned while we live,
Ruined when we die,
Why are we born, why should we try
To hustle and bustle, to rush, cheat and lie
And then to wind up as dust and mud pie...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz

Fresh Meadow Poets

On Saturdays the poets meet
And talk about the inner life,
How poetry reflects
With an economy of words
The clarity of substance
Buried deep in opaque depths,
Phantomlike, vague,
Unseen, but somehow sensed
In spiritual, mystic ways,
Its essence cleared by the poet's gift
To grasp the fundamental truth,
Project it on the screen of consciousness
In words to bare the soul
And make you understand
That beyond vanity and shame,
The quagmire of daily experience,
The shabbiness and uncertainty
Lie fundamental truths and beauty
Within the flaming smithy of the soul...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Extremes

If my devils were to leave me,
My angels would take flight as well,
For I find that heavenly pleasures
Bring me sometimes close to hell,
Good and bad are well united,
Often in the same man's soul,
And I'm frequently delighted
By the warmth of sun or coal,
And I do find signs of beauty
In the ugly and the fair,
For they do go well together
Make to me a charming pair...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Good News!

Ah, the new society,
Mixed up - no identity,
Unisex and women's lib,
Don't know gender
Till you strip,
Fairy, lesbian, happy dyke,
Pick whatever you may like,
Welfare mothers are your thrill?
Uncle Sam will pay the bill,
Gay divorcee and kinky sex,
And on AIDS there is no tax,
Families go down the drain,
Am I giving you a pain?
Just don't worry and relax,
Don't be bothered with the facts,
Nuclear war is on the way,
That will really make your day!

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Emergency Room Blues

Damaged people land in here,
But the staff, they have no fear,
Patients shouting and complaining
While the nurses are explaining,
Doctors running everywhere,
Cut appendixes and hair,
Bleary-eyed from endless hours,
Unwashed patients without showers,
Ulcer cases want a steak,
Diabetics want a cake,
Octogenerians who appeal
To the nurses for a feel,
Addicts out for drugs to steal,
Stick those needles, give them pills,
God, this place gives me the chills...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

La Capella - Dominican Republic 1999

Sunny days and moonlit nights
In the magnificent gardens
Of La Capella,
Palms swaying in the wind
Beneath an azure sky,
The waves of the blue lagoon
Rippling, rippling,
While time stands still
With an eternal sense of bliss,
Wish to God that life could
Go on like this - forever,
Tango music drifting
Across the lagoon at night,
Moonlight reflecting in
Dona Felicia's passionate eyes
With a love more real than
Anything I've ever known,
Moments like this give
Life its very meaning,
Experiencing the world
In all its splendors,
An episode of ecstasy
- never to be forgotten,
A fond memory of supreme delights
To carry me through darker days...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Holocaust Memorial Day

It's said that on Yom Kippur,
The memorial day,
When most Jews gather
In the synagogue to pray,
A smoky cloud drifts like
A shadow high across the sky
And all over the world
A whispering is heard up high
About the six million who
Were murdered on the sly,
No rhyme, no reason,
No one knew quite why,
The smoke still drifts from
The ovens where they had to die,
Eternally their plaintive voices
Will the heavens ply
To remind this cruel world
To think of them and cry,
Remember them and never
Forget their death knell sigh
And always tell the truth about
Their horrid end - to never lie...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

The Source

You bore me and you nourished me,
You gave me life,
That alternating adventure
Of joy and suffering,
You made me,
Yet you will destroy me
And reshape me
Over and over again
Till the end of time,
You stunt me
Like the Japanese gardeners
Stunt their trees,
Yet you put the whole universe
Into my consciousness
And made me like a god
Or a devil;
I laud you and I curse you,
You impenetrable
Mystery of creation,
You dichotomy of concepts,
Yet really my same source,
My earth - my mother...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Gentle River

Oh, gentle river of my thoughts
Give me some dreams to wake to,
Let but the 'ought' and not the 'is'
Produce my phantom world of bliss,
Cast life's cruel reality aside,
Let my imagination freely roam
And make my life sunny and bright...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Free Tuition

The flower of good minds
Does also in the desert grow,
In quiet places it quickly
Blooms and wilts,
No one to know,
Something quite rare,
A thing to feed, to nourish,
For beauty without care
Must in the desert parch and perish,
While weeds in well cared gardens
Of rich men flourish.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Hell

They got to know
Each other much too well,
The novelty declined,
Boredom set in,
And life together
Turned into hell.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Chance and Will

What strange dichotomy
Shapes our earthly stay,
For chance and will
Lead us along the way,
It is through will
We plan each precious day,
But then, that devil, chance,
May lead our lives astray,
Constantly, we hope and try,
Live with uncertainties,
Except for one sure thing,
That in the end - we die...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Miss You...

I sit in my room,
Thinking of you,
I miss you so much
And feel - so blue...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Magic

The more we learn,
The less we know,
For the complexity
Just seems to grow,
The nature of this
Strange universe
Is quite perverse,
Just when we think
We have solutions,
Problems arise
And new confusions,
For there is more to see
Of all the things there be
Than meets with our
Poor philosophy,
For this world is magic,
A claim to know it all
Is hubris turning tragic...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Sex

Sex is a strange occupation,
It's a hobby to wiggle and turn
Up and down in joyful rotation,
To produce some abysmal creation,
After reaching some messy climax;
Some day they'll do it by fax.

Sex binds men and women by desire
Although their difference
Compares to water and fire,
And once married it is the fashion
To hate each other with a passion...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Murder Inc.

Lepke Buchalter taught me my trade,
'Murder Incorporated' was his slate,
After the State decided his fate
And sent him to the heavenly gate,
A hit man for Cosa Nostra I was made,
Put ice bullets in people's head,
No slugs found when they were dead,
Became a top killer for hire
And no one could escape my fire,
And when they told me to mop up,
I put the bodies into a marble tub
And the mob was quite elated
When evidence in acid disintegrated,
I've loved my bathroom ever since,
It turned me into a Mafia prince...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

The Insurance Game

With voices of honey
They take your money
But when it comes to pay,
They walk away,
Obligations neglected,
The insured loses out,
Money due - never collected,
And when you ask:
"How can you pull such a stint?"
They reply:
"Look at the fine print."

Let our people shout:
"Throw those con-artists out!"
Have Uncle Sam run insurance
So we can have honest
Payment assurance.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Political Training

I seek solace and relief
From an uncertain world
As a con-man and a thief,
And for extra special care,
Under six different names,
I collect ample Welfare.

Now, I'm in condition,
Based on my experience,
To become a politician.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Be Mine

Speak to me of love
And you will be all mine,
And together we will then
Just behave like swine...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz

Lake Como

Azure skies,
Palm trees
Gently swaying,
Mountains and the lake,
Beautiful and oh so perfect,
A dream come through,
In that little cafe
By the water,
A glass of wine
And nothing to bother me,
A moment of absolute happiness,
A picture and a feeling
Engraved in my mind,
A remembrance to take back
To those cold and rainy days
Where life is bleak
And hopes diminish...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz

Puerto Rico

Tropical isle of a million moods,
The silent beauty of its rain forest,
Many-colored splendor
Of flowers and birds,
A rich sanctuary of life in every form,
Its people blessed
With a proud Spanish heritage,
Nurtured by the industrial power
Of its United States parent,
Luxury hotels side by side
With quiet mountain villages,
A combination of the best
Of all possible worlds,
A happy island in the sun,
Beckoning me to return...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Hong Kong

Rich tapestry of the Orient,
Gateway to China and the Far East,
Center of commerce
Where West and East trade,
Where great wealth
And the poverty-struck boat people
Live side by side,
Coloring the life of a magnificent city,
Where Chinese culture
And British style mix colors
And leave their unique imprint
On this fabulous metropolis,
Where Rolls Royces and
Rickshaws travel side by side,
A combination of old Athens
And modern New York,
Burgeoning as the great
World center in the Far East,
That global hub of culture,
Commerce and trade,
Where Eastern dreams blend
With Western civilization...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Glen Island Casino - 1941

Saturday night,
Half a century ago,
At the Glen Island Casino,
The ocean, the trees, the night,
Delicious, fragrant, intoxicating,
Dancing with my girl,
Her name - long forgotten,
To the music of Glen Miller,
The best there was or ever will be,
His 'String of Pearls'
Reverberating through the night,
Glen Miller in his prime,
So soon to die in that flaming plane,
Like his music,
A meteor through the night,
Never to be forgotten,
My body feeling his beat, his rhythm,
Pulsating, pulsating in my youth,
In a time, in a place
Inscribed in nostalgia,
Always remembered
As the best of my youth...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Last Wish

Dearest, if you love me well,
Bury me in Oradell,
Next to that old maple tree
With my long-dead mom I'll be,
Then, on many a Friday night
When the moon is shining bright,
She'll make my most favorite dish
Flanken with gefilte fish,
There forever, yes - eternal
I'll have top flight care, maternal,
Dearest, if you love me well,
Bury me in Oradell...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Delray Beach

Where the seagull
Arches its wings
Across candy-cotton clouds,
Where palm trees
Sway in the wind
And a golden-sanded beach
Meets the azure sea,
In Delray Beach,
There is a haven for me...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz

Stereotype

To cast shadows upon an alien breed,
To stigmatize a foreign seed,
Say they all look alike and act the same,
To cast upon them a desultory claim
Is prejudice and hate under any name,
To take at others a quite nasty swipe,
You bundle them into a stereotype,
It is a dangerous, subversive game
And feeds a horrid and destructive flame,
It widely opens up the gate
To animosity, wars and hate,
Condemns humanity to a most hideous fate,
Judge only each man's individual state,
Their worth - good, evil, small or great...

Alfred Charasz
Copyight 2007 Alfred Charasz

Much - Little

I've known too much
And loved too little,
I had the right touch
But life made me brittle...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Do I Love Thee?

How much do I love thee?
More than you'll ever know,
You set with passions
My body and my very soul aglow,
Without you - I cannot be
Without you - there is no me
And if, perchance, we'd ever part,
It would break my spirit
And my heart...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Beget and Begot

A new President
We wanted to beget,
Through a fixed election
Bush we begot,
Social benefits
For the middle class
We wanted to beget,
Special privileges
For billionaires we begot,
Health care for all
We wanted to beget,
A windfall for insurance
Companies we begot,
Raise in minimum wages
We wanted to beget,
Huge salary increases
For CEO s we begot,
A fair Supreme Court
We wanted to beget,
A prejudiced Supreme
Court we begot,
An end to terrorists
We wanted to beget,
A useless, draining war
With Iraq, based
On lies, we begot,
Tax cuts for average people
We wanted to beget,
Major tax cuts
For the rich we begot,
Decent Social Security
Payments for the old
We wanted to beget,
Taxes and paycuts
For old folks we begot,
Better Medicare payments
We wanted to beget,
Cuts in Medicare we begot.

In light of what we begot,
Let's throw out
This Republican lot!

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz

An Austro-American Quilt

My heart, my soul, my very self
Is but a many-textured quilt,
It's cover is with varied visions filled,
Composed of all the facets of my mind,
The light, the dark, the gray in it I find,
Love, hope, despair are
Sewn there side by side,
Pictured emotions and dreams
Ranging far and wide,
With colors changing
With the moods of day and night,
Sunny reflections by day,
Or stardust burning bright,
The good, the evil and indifferent
Are there displayed,
Sometimes the ageing fabric
Of my quilt becoming frayed,
My Viennese identity
Often comes to the fore,
At other times my New York self
Does make the score,
The colored pattern of my quilt
Is neither here nor there
And sometimes I do sense
And feel that I'm not anywhere,
But then I tell myself
That I'm complete and everywhere,
And so my quilt is fully
Embroidered with illusions,
My ego quite erect, denying
That I live under delusions,
But in reality I'm still in doubt
About my conclusions,
Since any man's soul is but
A many-patterned quilt,
Ever changing from birth
Till his last breath is stilled...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Coming to America

I live in the land of milk and honey,
Reside outdoors where life is sunny,
Work for minimum wage,
Puts my starving wife into a rage,
Clean toilets for five dollars an hour,
Homeless, never take a shower
And my odor is so bad,
When I leave - they all seem glad,
In the golden land
Of the brave and the free
I'm just a shabby refugee
Getting little sympathy,
Yet, in Porkistan I was a PHD
Where doctors go hungry, just like me,
Though in America I live in style,
Eat quite well once in a while,
Still, I have an important wish
To really learn the Enge-lish,
But my very greatest desire
Is to be a Congressman
With sinecure and retire,
Besides, they have the lucrative hobby
To collect graft
From those chaps called the lobby
And live the good life without fear
For they can vote for themselves
A raise every year,
And be always assured
To be fully insured
From the erection
To the resurrection.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Silent Man

He seems to close his eyes
to all responsibility,
regardless of events,
a model of quiet civility,
nothing perturbs him,
he is self-enclosed
and never leaves
his psyche exposed,
the world may tumble,
everything may fall,
his feelings
never show at all,
with him you never know,
is this man fish or fowl,
still water,
hidden deep,
could be a saint,
could be a creep,
he'd never laugh,
he'd never weep,
a sober, silent man,
try to avoid him
if you can...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Passion?

Two deep pools of yearning
Are the eyes of my beloved,
I crave her love more than life,
I dream of her white skin,
The silk of her raven hair,
Her very being is my temple,
The answer to my prayers,
I can not live without her love,
I'd sell my very soul
To gods or devils without care
To spend my life with only her...

I married her, took her to bed,
She was an absolute catastrophy,
My life was filled with misery
And I must say to my regret,
I now envy the dead...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

David

Carved in cold marble,
Hot passion,
Divinely expressed,
Man's genius and form
At its best...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Survival of the Fittest?

In order to function
In modern society
With its ever advancing
Technological complexity
One needs a constantly
Growing intellectual capacity,
While, unfortunately, humanity
Deteriorates genetically,
And consequently educationally,
Because of the advancing medical bit
Causing the survival of the unfit
With the elite gene pool draining
While the inferior gene pool is gaining,
Thus, soon there'll be the 'enjoyment'
Of world-wide unemployment
And a broadening stage
Of general minimum wage
Which maybe the creation
Of world-wide starvation,
With only a small elite
In the money
While prospects for the rest
Are not sunny...

Alfred Charasz
Coyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Short Interval in Eternity

Death, come close to me,
So I can see,
I fear you not,
You're just the 'not to be',
The end of pain,
The end of fear,
You bring sweet rest,
Comforting and dear,
Return me to that
Silent eternity
Ere I was born,
Short interval of life,
Then, endless peace
Will be my norm.

Death - I fear thee not,
You'll be my company
When traveling
To the 'not to be',
Escape mixed blessings
Of ecstasy and agony,
Return to that
Silent eternity
Ere I was born -
To enter man's fraternity,
Sweet interval of being
After creation,
And then - back
To ever lasting darkness
After my life's cessation...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

After I'm Gone

After I'm gone - gather my ashes,
But do not keep me in an urn,
Confinement does not suit me well,
Do spread me over valleys,
Lush and green,
And tell the world
Of all I might have been,
Perchance, a poet,
Valued and renown,
In life not known or published,
But vaguely remembered
As a clown...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

We Ought

We ought to be this,
We ought to be that,
But in the end,
We don't know what...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

The 'Director'

He's a chap of small dimensions,
Burdened by exaggerated pretensions,
His horizons are rather small,
But in pontificating he stands tall,
He seems to have a certain flair
For empty phrases and hot air,
His operational philosophy:
Empty, redundant verbosity.
Altogether, a most unpleasant man,
Try to avoid him - if you can.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz

Social Security

I've reached excessive maturity
And am now on Social Security,
The State supports me in perpetuity,
My Senior Center lunch is a gratuity,
My mind drifts slowly into obscurity,
My body slowly turns into a debility,
But I don't worry because of my senility
And happily I live my foggy life
From day to day,
Ignoring aches and pains
And my hair turning gray,
I'm grateful still to be around
And still sleep in my own bed
When most people I knew
Are six feet under - dead
And when I talk too freely
Causing a social wreck,
They all forgive me - they know
I play with half a deck...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Don't Know

Don't know where I'm going,
Don't remember what I've seen,
My fried brains are slowing,
Don't recall where I've been...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Simple Life

Just give me back the simple life,
No house, no car, no kids, no wife,
Days lazy in the sun, nights in a cave,
I do not work, I do not slave,
I never wash and never dress,
I am a real delightful mess,
I'm just a happy hermit on a hill,
Of civilized life I had my fill...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

The Fig Leaf

Ah, the fig leaf makes us tame,
Helps us men to hide our shame,
But for girls it's unfair game,
For they always guess and wonder,
What lies yonder, what lies yonder,
Fooled them all with great pretensions
About rather small extensions,
Here you find the blushing bride
Falling for a man handsome and wide,
Filled with grandeur and with pride,
But once the fig leaf does come down,
The sweet, young thing begins to frown,
For when it comes to push and shove,
For making love - it's not enough,
So ladies, disregard the short and tall,
Before you try - the fig leaf must fall...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Palm Beach High Society

She was a virgin,
Only in name,
For since fourteen
Prostitution was her game,
But she searched
And looked around
Till a young scion
Of a wealthy family she found,
Using some shrewd pretense,
She faked her innocence,
He fell in love,
Called her his honey,
Married her, but died soon
After eating mushrooms
Tasting rather funny.

She's now a wealthy widow
With loads of money,
And with all proper propriety
Joined Palm Beach high society.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Too Long?

I've lived too long
And seen too much,
I've lost the faith
And lost the touch,
But all in all,
It was not bad,
Was often happy,
Sometimes sad,
And should I soon
Give up my ghost,
It's not too bad,
I've had a better time
Than most...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Spanish Riviera

A million stars across the night,
The moon reflecting with its light
On ocean waves, painting them bright,
A silver path up to the skies above,
Dona Felicia's eyes burning with passion, love
Into the very essence of my yearning heart,
Wish it could last forever, I do not want to part,
Oh, never to be forgotten night in Spain,
Romantic land, always calling me back again,
Scented fragrance of jasmine in the air,
Heavenly life of hedonism without a care,
Distant music of a tango from a ship at sea,
It's here in paradise I'd always want to be,
Sweet memories of Spanish nights will linger on
Long after all else is cast aside, forgotten, gone...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

Cancer

Cancers of many a kind
In this world one can find,
There's the malignant cancer cell,
Caused by genetics or radiation,
Which does in the body dwell,
Causing many a death
- a cure we haven't found yet,
There's the religious fanatic cell
Which kills millions
And leads humanity to hell,
There's the flag-waving nationalist
Whose chauvinism one cannot resist
When for 'god and country'
He raises his hand or his fist,
The most dangerous cancer cell
Who with nuclear war,
May ring man's final bell,
And there is the decadent cell
Which civilizations'
Slow death may spell.

Yes, there are cancers - enough
To make the survival
For mankind rather tough.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz

The Roaring Twenties

The Roaring Twenties age
Set for the fast life
And happy Flappers
A delightful stage,
From the Cake Walk
To the Lindy,
From the Charleston
To the Shimmy,
To put it mild,
The country went wild,
And people were blessed
With unlimited success,
Enjoyed the period to excess,
With the universal cheer
That the good life was here,
But their joyful obsession
Was sadly terminated
By the Great Depression,
Which spelled the end
Of a time - heaven sent...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz

What is Man?

What is man - a frail bundle
Of flesh, nerve and bone,
No match for the great predators
During the age of stone,
Vulnerable and weak,
He had no wings,
He hugged the ground,
He hid in woods
And trees and caves,
Afraid of being found,
But what he did
Helped him survive,
His hiding was not in vain,
For over thousands of years
He quietly developed a brain
And with his growing mind
And intellect he conquered all,
Became the king of beasts,
The hero, walked free and tall,
And with his mind, his creativity
He spanned the universe,
The gods looked upon this
Little creature in astonishment
And said what we made here
Surely deserves a compliment,
But while the gods just wined
And dined and celebrated
To toast that small but brilliant
Man they had created,
The little man developed
A new bomb and was exterminated,
The gods all shook their heads,
Laughed and said: 'Just as well,
Had they gone on,
They would be gods
And sent us all to hell...'

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz

The Throne

There's a holy place
within my house
Where no one can enter
- not even my spouse,
There I sit upon my throne,
rule the place
In solitude - alone,
no one can see me,
I answer no phone,
for my toilet
Is my real home...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz

Sex-aerobics

When sex-aerobics are required
And old rooster is too tired
But the action is desired,
Then a handy man is hired
While the old man is just fired.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz

Wife?

When man needs sex,
Gets bored with life,
Loses his mind,
He takes a wife,
A certain cause
For instant strife,
The babies yell,
The missus nags,
Life turns to hell,
Man loses job,
No food at home,
Lives like a hog,
No money here,
Nothing to do,
No money there,
The only way
Is on Welfare
And life is tough,
No one to care,
Told you, old man,
Life isn't fair,
Don't ever marry,
Then and now,
Just for some milk
Don't buy a cow.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz

The Riddle of the Universe

Is this world made of solid matter
Or pure imagination,
An absolute reality
Or just a human sense creation?
Philosophers have claimed
That we are all on solid ground,
But then, old Bishop Berkeley
Other answers did expound,
Claimed that this world only exists
In God's and our mind,
And without substance
He did all existence find,
Mentioned God only because
His trade was the religious kind,
The realists of the Industrial Revolution
Ridiculed his views,
Said that the old Bishop
Was a bit senile, had no clues,
But then, Russel, Einstein
And modern physics came along,
Claimed that old Berkeley was,
Perchance, not quite so wrong,
That matter has no substance,
Functions only as energy manifestations,
Quite different from our senses
And bodily sensations,
The world we see, feel and hear
Is only geared to our mind,
That in reality we only empty space
And energy particles find,
And even those particles
Are 'strings' or waves of energy,
Which leaves all theories of reality
And substance in a bind.

It's strange how the microcosm
And macrocosm seem the same,
The universe and earth, atoms and stars
Play an identical game,
Universes in the atoms
Of our little planet may exist,
Who knows what we may find
If we in our search persist,
Like sun and stars and moon
Are in the heavens reflected,
The same in miniature
May in the microcosm be detected,
Like boxes within boxes
Are by nature all together bound,
Entire universes
Can be in an atom found.

All this does really
Prove the point to me,
That heavens and earth
Hide greater mystery
Than meets with my
Inadequate philosophy...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz

To Eve - 1/3/95

Keep steadfast on your course,
Sweet child,
And though life's waters
May be rough and wild,
You'll overcome it all
Without the slightest doubt,
You are a winner
And you have the will, the clout,
And soon you will be
The most enviable little lady
With my dear grandson,
An absolutely perfect baby...

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2006 Alfred Charasz