One

I like wordplays and I like math. I also like researching things I think I know and discovering that maybe I don't know it as well as I thought. I'm not sure what I was reading that sent me down the "one" path.

One isn't an even number.

It isn't even a prime number.

One is odd.

One is a unit.

A unit,

is that what I am,

One person

single

not part of a pair or a group.

One, 

The lowest cardinal number,

Divisible only by itself.

A symbol of unity

because

all numbers are created from it.

Me,

One.

Not divisible.

Creator of two

who are also units.

Me, 

Once a part of a pair.

Now a unit.

Not prime.

Not a fraction.

Sometimes considered odd.

One.

Let's have a Beer

One of my favorite places to see live music was closed for a few weeks due to a water pipe break. They reopened today with live music all day. I'll try to limit myself to 2-3 hours sipping my tea. In the meantime, I wrote some song lyrics, inspired by the guys at the next table.

Let's have a beer and talk a bit

Let's catch up on who knows what

Have a glass or two of local brew

Talk about anything that you want to.

There's a guy on the corner stage

Playing guitar, singing songs I kind of know

If we weren't talking I might sing along.

But, hey, tell me what's going on with you.

I'm liking this IPA, do you have time for another

Nowhere I need to be for a few hours.

It's nice to see you. Spend the afternoon

Talking sports, work, family, and stuff.

Life's been good lately, kids are growing

Wife and I are keeping busy

Hope to take a vacation soon.

I'll watch the kids later so she can go out, girls night, I think.

I can help you with your marketing

Been working on that a lot these days

Talk me through what you're thinking

And i can help you with how to get there.

One picture with the right person wearing that jacket

Is all you really need

Just that one picture and it will take off.

The right person, the right photographer, I guarantee it.

It's been fun, but I need to head out soon

Got to drive and be sober when I get home

You know how that goes, it's been real

Let's do this again, soon.

Contract

 My final February Album Writing Month skirmish for 2023. The prompt was a contract or deal that went bad.

Sign where you see the sticky arrows,

Be sure to get the last page notarized,

Overnight them back and we can finalize.

Pretty straight forward way to end the lies.

Got married in a tux in front of family and friends,

Blessed and cheered, ate and danced.

Ended it by showing your driver's license, 

To a notary public at the bank.

Put the signed papers in the prepaid envelope,

Drop them off at UPS,

Wait to receive the mailed decree and

Once again you will be free.

So, sign where you see the sticky arrows

Be sure to get the last page notarized

Overnight them back and we can finalize

Pretty straight forward way to end the lies.

Thought the first agreement was a done deal,

But currencies changed, we each added clauses.

Payments made, payments lost,

Without the original contract, we got kind of lost.

Some truths were hidden, others weren't accepted.

Time to recoup some of what was lost.

So, sign where you see the sticky arrows

Be sure to get the last page notarized

Overnight them back and we can finalize

Pretty straight forward way to end the lies.

Fifty Cents

I have no idea why the chorus popped into my head while I was making dinner. But, I'm glad it did. 

Fifty cents, I remember when that cost just 50 cents.

Was just a few years ago, hell, I can remember,

Paying 29.9 for a gallon of gas.

Prices go up faster than your pay,

That's the one thing you can plan on, anyway.

I don't mean to complain because I know that's how it is,

But it always hurts more when it's something like this.

Like what, you ask? Pick your own favorite item.

We all have something we don't want to live without,

We'll pay extra because it's something special,

And grumble about it even when no one is listening.

Card or cash, Apple Pay, it's all the same.

Fifty cents is gone, just like pennies.

Fifty cents, I remember when that cost just 50 cents.

Was just a few years ago, hell, I can remember,

Paying 29.9 for a gallon of gas.

Prices go up faster than your pay,

That's the one thing you can plan on, anyway.

I try not to shop much, do it mostly online,

Price check everything and avoid long lines,

But I just can't help but stop at the convenience store

To pick up snacks I know I shouldn't eat

I notice they cost more than they did last year

But I buy a few anyway, because I deserve a treat.

Fifty cents, I remember when that cost just 50 cents.

Was just a few years ago, Hell, I can remember,

Paying 29.9 for a gallon of gas.

Prices go up faster than your pay,

That's the one thing you can plan on, anyway.

Yeah, fifty cents, fifty cents

I remember having Kennedy head half dollars,

Like the two dollar bill, they're not too common.

But for some reason they still make them.

Fifty cents, I remember when that cost just 50 cents.

Was just a few years ago, Hell, I can remember,

Paying 29.9 for a gallon of gas.

Prices go up faster than your pay,

That's the one thing in the world that hasn't changed.

Legacy

Because who gets to be at least 60 and doesn't think about this, right?

Could you just walk away from your life today

And be proud of what you're leaving?

Even if you don't leave now, think about it,

Will you be proud of what you're leaving?

What do I want to leave behind

Sometimes I think I'd rather not leave

But I know someday this ride will come to an end

Whether I am ready or not.

I hope there are people somewhere playing music and singing

Who might have once sung along with me

I hope there are people who fell in love with reading and/or writing

Because of something I said

I hope there are a few people braver about trying new things

Because of something they saw I did.

I hope small bits of the world are a little happier, a little healthier

Because I was in their life

I know i enjoyed all of these things

Because of the people I met on the way.

When I go, have a party wherever you are.

Make a toast with peanut butter and honey

Or raise a glass of seltzer

Dance the old lady dance or however you want to

Play air guitar, Softly sing harmony, 

Write a bunch of stuff no one reads.

Hike a distant trail

Walk around the block

Enjoy your life

Go as long as you can

And wave to me in the air.

Yeah, maybe my children 

will read these words,

play this song,

when it's my time to leave.

And that will be my legacy.

I Love Paper

 Rough draft morning. This was a 30 minute writing prompt for February Album Writing Month.

The song is too long. Instead of cutting, I added when I edited.

Musicbysue · I Love Paper

I was thinking about the things that I love

And thinking about how easy I have it.

I have a place to live, food to eat,

And time to enjoy this planet.

I love sunrise and sunset and being outside

I love being alone when I choose

I love the bakery, paperbag of scones and muffins

Eating fresh baked bread with my soup.

One of the things I've loved my whole life 

is reading and writing.

Holding a book, turning the pages,

Soaking up the words.

Holding a pen or pencil,

Pressing it onto the notebook page,

Writing my thoughts and emotions

Onto a piece of paper.

I love hiking in the mountains, feeling the air

I love listening to water streaming over rocks

I love the suck of mud on my boots

And the rhythm when I walk.

Paper, pencils, and pens 

have been replaced

With my laptop, tablet, and phone.

As I type I remember 

The glory of my hand on paper.

Typing is faster, I tell myself

My handwriting has gotten sloppy

Printing takes too long, 

my thoughts move too fast

Save the paper for another time.

I love libraries and bookstores, searching for books

I love looking at the covers,

I love getting lost in stories, finding truths,

And the freedom to not finish unless I want to.

Yeah, I love paper, I love paper,

even on looking at it on a screen

Book paper, newspaper, 

The back of an envelope,

the paper in magazines.