24 of 24 on the 24th February 2014: We are Alverston & Associates because of Steve Jobs (February 24, 1955 - October 5, 2011).

Cash register

Customers

One right next to the other.

People starting to justle.

Onset of panic.

Alone on a Saturday shift

Alongside folks

With taffy sticks

Five videos each.

Aggravation

Is costing the company

And worker

Sales and stability

The beginning of the tread into

Employment territory

There are scowls

Then walkouts

Self-esteem

Embarrassment

No longer matter

Just surviving the night

After an unsuccessful run

As sales associate

Warnings received of

A fast ending.

Originally released on Saturday, May 28, 2011 by Alverston & Associates (we are because of Steve Jobs).

23 of 24 on the 24th February 2014: We are Alverston & Associates because of Steve Jobs (February 24, 1955 - October 5, 2011).

Congrats graduate

Upon completing

Whatever degree

You set out to achieve!

But now that you’re

Back in the world

Aside from the classroom

Remember not to forget

Or at least consider

The appropriateness

Of a simple thank you

For whatever was

Presented as a present

Because as you

Decide

That maybe you’ll

Wait another day

Or night to collect

Your thoughts

And insight

People are inquiring

Not out loud

Whether you did

Or did not receive

That check

Or flowers

Acknowledge

Emails are applicable

For why would you

Demand that someone

Pull out their pocketbook

For your milestone event

When they have befriended

Thousands over a lifespan?

Even if they have only

Gone through a quarter life

Age 25 

What’s the matter with that?

The next time you’re

Feeling judgmental

Remember all the

Showers of gifts

You have accrued

Without once saying

Thank you.

You get into a proverbial

Upset over society’s

Failure to say

I love you

Unconditionally

But without missing

A beat

You turn the other way

When it’s time for you

To express gratitude

And renew

Your faith in the universe.

Expectations

And the will not to give

In return

Perpetuate depravity

Poverty.

Originally released on Sunday, May 29, 2011 by Alverston & Associates (we are because of Steve Jobs).

22 of 24 on the 24th February 2014: We are Alverston & Associates because of Steve Jobs (February 24, 1955 - October 5, 2011).

Pageantry

Miss United States of Anorexia

Culture dictates

Globally

Miss Famished India recently

Women to look

Twiggy.

Even men are endangered

Angular to the point

Where there is caloric anger:

Not enough oomph to sustain

Forth

Forever.

Healthy and peremptory

Choices between

Various types of salad leaves

Minus anything other than

Occasional natural colon cleanses.

Reality sacrificed

For a contemporary fad.

Bout with long-term miseries

In thoughtful remission.

Doing as you please

Forfeiting preventive measures

Stating unmindfully:

“Montezuma’s revenge?

Just a legend!”

Its mechanics:

You cannot possibly see

Yourself sprawling about

In contempt as you’re

No longer

Agile nor able to stomach

Pains of the repercussions

Of having subjected your

Body and mind to the

Perils of quick fixes

As early as childhood

Girls and boys pout for perfection.

A physical reality for a numbered

But we’re inundated with it

In media and other ways:

Strive for a size zero

However make yourself

Retain a glow. How?

Answer: Going under the knife

In the hands of a cosmetic surgeon

Until you finally encounter

That cat-like look in the mirror.

With unimaginable artificiality:

Inability to talk or laugh without

Winces and twitches.

Then elect a reconstructive surgeon

In the United States! Not Dubai or Brazil!

Originally released on Monday, May 30, 2011 by Alverston & Associates (we are because of Steve Jobs).

21 of 24 on the 24th February 2014: We are Alverston & Associates because of Steve Jobs (February 24, 1955 - October 5, 2011).

Criticism that goes back to

The times of Jacob and Esau

From the Bible:

Cain and Abel’s residence

Place of limitless anguish.

But also Job’s

Survivorship.

Originally released on Tuesday, May 31, 2011 by Alverston & Associates (we are because of Steve Jobs).

20 of 24 on the 24th February 2014: We are Alverston & Associates because of Steve Jobs (February 24, 1955 - October 5, 2011).

Language is grace

Makes us embrace

Far wider wingspans

Of tolerance and nonviolence.

Language is heritage

Erased with the decision

Of a generation

To avoid accents

Which

According to their rules

And regulations

Embarrass.

Teaching religions

Bypassing languages

Glitch ditches which

Prevent intellectual relations

Between the generations.

Doesn’t matter when kids

Roam about the house in childhood.

Homesickness settles when

Kids are adults 

Unable to interpret

Cultural nuances.

Parents seeking flights

To Indo-Pak and wherever

Three or four months out of the year

Just to hear a language that they themselves killed.

Originally released on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 by Alverston & Associates (we are because of Steve Jobs).

19 of 24 on the 24th February 2014: We are Alverston & Associates because of Steve Jobs (February 24, 1955 - October 5, 2011).

Conversations

Lost in the moment.

Speaking languages alongside English

With their mothers’ care and attention

Watching the scenes of the streets

Before them

As they debate roles

Responsibilities

Commonplace topics

For adolescents:

Wearing denim

Uniquely

Youthful and elegant

Pragmatic

Democratic

Rugged rebellion

Sophistication without pretense

Like horses on a free range

Colts nestled near mares

Mothering and directing

With a universal language

Of love and guidance.

Originally released on Thursday, June 2, 2011 by Alverston & Associates (we are because of Steve Jobs).