Villanelle and Pantoun Poems

By Mike Garofalo

Killer Smoke- Choke!

Black skies filled with Wildfire smoke
From a Racing Tsunami of Fire and ash;
Putrid Smog, Killer Smoke- Choke!

Firetrucks loaded and ready to go
firefighters getting some hard-earned cash,
Black skies filled with Wildfire smoke.

Flaming chaparral and trees all aglow
houses burned to cinders in a flash;
Putrid Smog, Killer Smoke- Choke!

Just cut the trees down, heave-ho.
Obey King T or FEMA funds slashed.
Black skies filled with Wildfire smoke.

People, pets, and animals all died below
the roaring scorching blaze blast so fast;
Putrid Smog, Killer Smoke- Choke!

Fires in the hills and mountains we know
are the West Coast’s nemesis at last:
Black skies filled with Wildfire smoke
Putrid Smog, Killer Smoke- Choke!

Men and Machines are Working Again

We are working on this day,
confident that the future is ours;
Machines are non-stop— No Delays!

Engaged fully with the tasks at hand,
determined efforts for hours and hours,
We are working, on this day.

Proud to be a Union working man
helping my family with all my powers;
Machines are non-stop— No Delays!

Doing our jobs, “Yes We Can!”
Whistles blast from steel towers
We are working on this day.

It’s not very hard to understand
how money is made hour by hour;
Machines are non-stop— No Delays!

Workers in factories all across the land
are ready to earn overtime hours:
We are working on this day;
Machines are non-stop— No Delays!

The Dice of Days
A Pantoun

Life’s a gamble every day
The Future ... our open doors
The Present is only one day
The Past offers love and lore

The Future: our opened doors
Free rolls of the loaded dice
The Past offers love and lore
Beauty served up straight on ice

Free rolls of the legal dice
Gamble's choice to bet or not
Beauty served at a modest price
Time readily bought and sold

Gambler's choice to take or hold
Sometimes free to bet on me
Time precious bought and sold
Many other depend on me

Sometimes free to just let it be
Chances are the claim of the game
Many others love lucky me
Standing uncertain in the rain

Chance in life are randomly hitched
The Future: opened up useful doors
Standing fast, taking risks,
The Past a fecud changing shore.

April 26, 2025

25 Steps and Beyond; An Anthology

Poetry Research by Mike Garofalo

At the Edges of the West, Volume 2

Michael Peter Garofalo (1946-) grew up in East Los Angeles, was educated in Catholic Schools, lived with two other brothers, graduated (B.A., M.S.) from local universities, married Blanche Karen Eubanks, served in the US Air Force, worked in and managed many City and Los Angeles County Public Libraries, raised two children, socialized, traveled, and learned. Retired as the Regional Administrator, East Region, Los Angeles County Public Library in 1998. We moved to a rural 5 acre property in Red Bluff, in the North Sacramento Valley, CA. Webmaster since 1999. Worked part-time for the Corning School District (Technology and Media Services Manager); and as a yoga, Taijiquan, and fitness club instructor until 2016. Traveled extensively in Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. We both retired, and we moved to Vancouver, WA, in 2017. Currently in 2025: reading, writing, gardening, harmonica playing, string figures playing, playing electronic keyboard, home chores, yurt camping, activities with grand children, exercise, traveling in the Northwest, web publishing, family events, poetry research, photography, Northwest research, Nature mysticism, walking, sports events, and other projects.

Exhibits at the Cyber Gazebo: Text Art and Concrete Poetry
By Michael P. Garofalo

This document was last edited, revised,
reformatted, added to, relinked,
changed, improved, or modified
by Mike Garofalo
on April 26, 2025.