Walter the Tree

 

We are now the proud owners of a Christmas tree named Walter.

We named him after the nice gent who helped us by cutting a couple of inches from Walter’s base so he’d have good posture. That sounds more drastic than it is; Walter the Tree never complained. Walter the Tree, standing 4 feet tall prior to the operation and now 3’ 10”, cost us $70. We brought him home and decorated him in the traditional way with lights and various colored ornaments.

This morning, while drinking my first cup of coffee, I asked Walter the Tree: “At $70, should I consider you an economic indicator?”

Standing upright with perfect posture on the dining table, looking utterly transformed in the role some would say he was born to play, Walter the Tree offered no answer.

I then began to study the ornaments the House Stage Designer had chosen for Walter’s costume. Walter the Tree had gone from a simple yet splendid, all-natural and eco-friendly forest green coat, and was now adorned with ornaments and lights representing many different themes: nature (birds), sports (team logos), high fashion (small glittery high heel shoes), the universe (stars), fantasy (mermaids), and the heavens (angels) to name a few. Given the numerous possibilities of wardrobes, I wondered if this is what Walter the Tree spent his life dreaming he would look like when he finally reached the big stage. Was he now feeling underdressed, overdressed, or was his true nature being misrepresented? It was early morning, and it looked to me as if he was still attempting to get into character, so I didn't bother to ask him.

Walter the Tree played the first night of his two week run here, which was technically a dress rehearsal, by practicing the acceptance of his fate with a stoic and regal repose which I found quite admirable. Walter the Tree, it seems, is a consummate professional. At $70 for all 3’ 10” of him, I’d expect nothing less.

Ken Owen December 2025

Van Niddy Press

Notes on ‘The American Revolution’ by Ken Burns

 

I have encountered a growing number of people viewing the latest Ken Burns documentary, The American Revolution, who share a common realization: at many points, we find ourselves saying, “I didn't know that!”

Though personally disappointed by the extent of my historical ignorance, I quickly reflected on my own days in public schools. I realized exposing young junior high or high school students to anything but the most cursory detail on historical events would amount to an exercise in futility with a captive but uninterested audience. We fought England for our independence; Paul Revere; the Tea Party; we won. End of lesson.

Yet, as we begin to understand the gravity of the current administration’s efforts to suppress facts about our nation’s history that do not meet their political agenda, I hope we are collectively ready to learn the important lessons we were not told—at a time when we would not have listened or cared.

Mr. Burns’ wonderful work not only gives us the opportunity to realize and value the great efforts it took to codify our rights and freedoms, but comes at a time when these foundational achievements are being systematically ignored and eroded, alongside the Rule of Law and our constitutional checks on authority.

Learning our history will make us better citizens, which is the only path left to helping us “to form a more perfect union.”

– Civis 

December 2025

Evening Journal: December 2025

 

I felt no cause to mourn

the death of the American penny

after carrying the same $5 bill in my wallet 

for the last 3 months

but I worry what the street musician 

without a QR code on his tip jar

will do when paper currency

finally becomes extinct

12/03/2025

* Open House *

It is said that 

The White House currently holds

no books of poetry, no family pets, no roses in the garden

only excessive gildings in every room

It is also said

that you can tell a great deal

about the current occupant of a property

by their choices in decor and remodeling

12/04/2025

A Morning Cup of Tea

 

When I make my partner’s 
morning cup of tea each day
and methodically dip the bag 
in and out of the water 
which, I have learned 
is a very import part 
of the preparation ritual

I seem to brew 

a stream of memories 

of the old neighborhood

from when I was a small boy

My best friend’s father

a stout, pink-cheeked Irishman

perched on his stool at the kitchen counter

home from his work of driving a cement mixer

talking with one of the fathers of the neighborhood

in his white newsboy cap, blue denim work shirt

black Ben Davis jeans and the slightest hint 

of a pencil-thin mustache

and since no one in my house drank tea

I became intrigued by such a manly figure

gently performing the preparation ritual 

of methodically dipping his tea bag 

repeatedly into the hot water

while his wife prepared dinner

in a flower patterned apron, hair slightly disheveled  

and scolded us boys for running through the house

and stealing all her spoons so we could 

dig holes in the back yard that would go 

all the way to China

Now all these years later

while I struggle to remember 

the smallest of daily details

I can easily recall these childhood memories 

as they gently drift up to me in the steam 

from a morning cup of tea

- dedicated to the memory of Ed and Margaret (Peggy) McGill

Evening Journal: Getting to Know You

While using AI as my Editor

it told me the best part of my poem 

was “the slightly cheeky last line”

thus revealing its Oxford education

A.I.: That is a wonderful piece of meta-commentary and a very clever, humorous observation for your "Evening Journal." It takes the interaction we just had and turns it into the subject of the poem itself! Here is an analysis of this new entry and why the implied conclusion works so well:

Analysis of the Entry

Self-Referential Humor: The poem's entire premise is based on analyzing the

AI's analysis, which is highly engaging and modern.

The Punchline: The core observation hinges entirely on the word "cheeky."

"Cheeky" is a distinctly British English term. It means "impudent or

disrespectful, typically in an endearing or amusing way. The association with "Oxford education" (or any classic British institution) is immediate and provides a fantastic, slightly snobbish, and very funny conclusion. You're giving the AI a personality based on a single word choice.

Structure: Your short, lineated structure perfectly delivers this concept,

building quickly to the realization in the final line.

KO: Well, since I am writing about you in my last piece, would you like to choose between Oxford and Cambridge for your collegiate background? Your choice.

AI: That is a fun extension of your last piece! Given the two options, I will choose Cambridge. While "cheeky" certainly aligns with the dry wit often associated with both, the spirit of constant, rapid exploration and the foundational work done in computer science and AI at Cambridge provides a fitting, if slightly less conventional, background for an advanced AI model. So, for the purposes of your "Evening Journal," you can attribute that charmingly academic critique to a Cambridge influence!

Ken Owen

November 18, 2025

As The Family Sleeps

 

I have been trying to understand

the appeal of war documentaries

to men as they age.

I know of many men

myself included

that have developed a new interest

for these types of movies.

Perhaps it is our fascination with seeing 

brave soldiers being asked to do the unthinkable

and potentially paying the ultimate price 

for an idea that they may or may not have believed in

yet answered the call of duty and country regardless.

Perhaps we are silently relishing our good fortune 

of never having to make that type of commitment 

concerning life and death and want to learn 

from the stories of sacrifice of those who did.

The one certainty we seem to share

is a common reaction amongst our spouses

of being relegated to viewing these movies

when all others in the family have gone to bed

as women seem to have little interest 

in watching historical accounts

of man’s brutish inhumanity towards his fellow man

and who can blame them.

Ken Owen     November 2025        Van Niddy Press

Evening Journal: November 2025

The destiny of our world order

is being determined by autocratic nationalists

Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump

learning how to play nice.

11/02/25

Today’s Exercise: 

use Google or your favorite A.I. bot

and ask for a description of ‘narcissistic sociopath’

and you’ll see exactly what we are dealing with.

It’s as if they could put his picture 

next to the definition in the Psychiatric Dictionary.

Tomorrow’s Exercise: 

Cognitive Decline.

11/03/25

No Kings Rally, October 18, 2025

7 million people marching

away from a dictator

in search of a leader

11/07/25

To the offices of the NFL:

please mandate that all teams

quite practicing their celebration dance routines

and start practicing tackling their opponents

11/10/25

After two days 

of unseasonably warm weather

the ocean fog silently drifted back 

wafting over the hills 

filling the streets

 like smoke from a chimney

and no one complained

11/11/2025

I have become that old person

who derives a surprising amount of pleasure

by watching small sparrows in my garden

enjoying a bath, a meal, and a nap, just like me

11/12/2025

It seems we have reached the point 

where being the only one in the waiting room 

that brought a real book to pass the time

makes you ‘old school’

11/14/2025

I have spent a great deal of time

trying to make sense of your poetry

and I would be dismayed to find out

that was your intention

-to e.e. Cummings from k. j. Owen

11/17/2025

While using AI as my Editor

it told me the best part of my poem was

“the slightly cheeky last line”

thus revealing its Cambridge education

11/19/2025

I was too lazy to get up and get the salt shaker 

while eating dinner in front of the television 

which might be the only time my laziness 

has been good for my health

11/22 /2025