Autumn Contemplation

Autumn, the completion of springtime promises and summer dalliances

With brilliant finale hues of gold, orange, and red

Nature announces, "Let's party ere we go to bed!"

No more tiny green shoots or flowers

No more lawn mowing and sun bathing by the hour

Just shorter and cooler back to work filled days  

With gusty winds that have come to play

I open the windows and let the fresh autumn breeze

Fill my senses with feelings that please

My soul and its longing for calm and cleansing

From past angers and issues

Instead of continuing are now ending

They, like the autumn leaves, are falling away

And blowing down the court by the winds of this day

 

Poetry

Think it, write it
Read it, review it, and renew it
What do I want to say?
Is the poem engaging in any way?

My heart must resonate
with the phrases within
Before the colors can exude
And my poem begin.

Springtime Cool

Summer heat has blown away and

Springtime cool has come to play!

AC and furnace turned off, off, off!

Windows flung open with breezes so soft

All of the have-to-dos are done for a while

Birdsong and blooming flowers are sure making me smile

Summer heat has blown away and

Springtime cool has come to play!

Walks in the meadows, parks, and beaches

Cotton ball clouds and ripe juicy peaches

Swings and slides and merry-go-rounds

Dizzying Maypoles lift you up off the ground

Summer heat has blown away and

Springtime cool has come to play!

Softball, Baseball, and soccer crowds as well

Tournaments galore, tempting snacks to sell

Lemon, strawberry, and blueberry pie

Funnel cakes, popcorn and chocolate ice cream, my, my, my…

Cotton candy, water ice, hot dogs and beans

Picnics, paddle boats, and tubing downstream

Summer heat has blown away and

Springtime cool has come to play!

Miami Bridge

Give us your homeless tweens, and hopeless teens

We fed, clothed, and sheltered them

We provided counseling and then

They waited and waited until the courts and the social workers decided
Where they should be placed

Sometimes they went to overcrowded group foster homes
Where sometimes they were cared for and other times neglected
Then they would split and run to us again
Only to be put into a system that seemed to cycle with no end

Then there were the lucky few that only needed a free bus ticket home again
Living on the streets had become too much for them
Or sometimes a family was down on their luck and in need
So their kids stayed with us until they got back on their feet

Give us your beaten and broken children of the streets

For some we were the first clean bed and hot meal they’d had in weeks

They needed to stay sober and follow house rules

And then all of them needed to attend our school

Our house parents were there because they cared

You see their pay was very spare

They kept the kids safe and kept them fed

But it was up to the kids to make their beds

Assigning daily housekeeping chores was a must

Compliant behavior would gain our trust

That went just so far and with supervision

They still needed guidance; at least it was friendlier than a prison

The kids felt safe when there were consistent boundaries for all

We had to be diligent lest those boundaries fall

That is when panic, anxiety, and fear would take over

When that would happen we all would suffer

Sometimes the police were called in to calm the house down

They were our last resort and not very effective I found

When teens were crying and everyone was upset

Even the police thought the staff was our best bet

The director would be called in and then all were bedded down

When order was restored he’d head back into town.

We showed them love by being consistent and firm

Trips and treats had to be earned

We kept them safe from their abusers

Who could be family or friends

We could bandage their bodies

But their souls took longer, if ever to mend

July 4th

Funny that July 4th is Independence Day.

The declaration was ratified but not fully signed that day

An idea was born, a seed was planted

Independence from an overseas authority

Some called it tyranny

249 years have past

Who's really got the right to be in charge?

That's a question that we still ask.

Woman from Iraq

I think about this woman from Iraq
My mind boggles at her grace and strength
Death her constant companion in her homeland
She speaks of normal nevermore, only loss and war
I can't fathom what her normal must have been
She keeps a smile on her lips
Her eyes reach into and beyond your soul
She's strong and calm, a stranger but not really
In her case beauty is clear to the bone.

Early Winter Daybreak

Daylight was unceremoniously heralded
by the over-wintering woodland creatures
I myself am a woman for all seasons
Me and the squirrels and my cat
I scribble the early morning hours away
As the dawn of this day goes from dark to bright gray.

In The Cool of the Morning

In the cool of the morning
In the shade of the trees
As I gazed upon the flowering plants
And the robins and the bees
I considered my plans for the day
While I sat sipping my tea.

My eyes were trained on the Rose of Sharon
And I wondered
"Where are the hummingbirds from the summers past?
Have those lazy summer days all gone asunder?
I guess their capricious visits weren't meant to last."

In the cool of the morning in the maple tree's shade
I sip my warm tea reviewing what progress I've made
I've weeded and sprayed and spread mulch yesterday
I am determined that I will enjoy the backyard
Come what may!

I've resumed work on an old painting
But a new one needs to start
The shapes and colors need to gel in my mind
Before it becomes my piece of art
 I need to focus on what I will be creating
I need to paint a background that will be fascinating!

But alas the song of the wrens
Lulled me into a peaceful daydreaming
Painting ideas disappeared
Into my consciousness that was streaming
Where colors were brilliant then merged and faded
While I savored the moments of this day elated.

Comments as Viewed From my Chair

From Here to There

From here to there I sit and stare

And my mind gets to wandering only God knows where

To the recent and far gone past

If it’s too far back the memories don’t last

I can look to the future and make goals and plans

How much can I do without asking a friend for a hand?

I Sit in the Present

I sit in the present but I’m rarely tuned in

Either I’m reading or creating, relying on my voice from within

For inspiration and guidance on where I’m going and where I’ve been

My Present can be

My present can be violently traumatic needing my immediate attention

Or peaceful and mindless without anger retention

When I’m creative and productive with happy intentions

I turn out creations of my curious mind’s invention

Music IS a Science!

Music IS a science, accept it

Sounds are heard through waves, ride them

Rhythms are transmitted through pulses, feel them

Compositions combine sound and rhythm, dance to them

Dancing improves the body and lifts the soul, be inspired by it

Inspiration sparks creativity, paint, create and build with it

Painting, inventing, and building take knowledge of math and science

Which brings me back to,

 Music IS a science and it inspires the application of other sciences

Don’t you just love it!

The Last Day Of School 2014

The last day of the school year finally came and went

All the rooms packed up in plastic and tearful goodbyes offered

As off to their homes the children were sent

No fanfare at home, just birdsong and gentle breezes

A quiet house, a tasty lunch, then start cleaning up the pieces

Of the evidence of my family’s habitation, as I had inclination

Tidy this corner then that one and wash a few dishes

Sitting, resting, and reading

Ah, those are my riches!

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Peanut butter and jelly and a mug of tea in hand

Savoring the flavor of the strawberry jam

As it oozes and drops sticky sweet on my plate

I lap it up greedily, for my cravings to sate

The peanut butter seems to have spread

From the bread to my fingers and to my arm

So I licked that off too, it’s part of the charm

Of eating peanut butter and jelly with a mug of tea

It’s quite satisfying really, at least for me.

Daddy

My father and his father before him was Daddy, not pop or dad
War hero, college grad, dutiful son, brother, husband, daddy, and grandpa
Irish baritone and sometime tenor, piano tuner, accountant
 Mr. Fix It in red plaid shorts, the family's good will ambassador, loved by most
He took pride in all he built, repaired and painted
A faithful Christian/Roman Catholic, altar boy and sextant assistant
Lived what he believed, a peace negotiator who loved his church, family, and country

He prepared friend's and family's taxes for free
He loved my sisters, my mother and me
He loved his grandchildren, nieces and nephews
He ate scrapple and kidney beans, (well no one is perfect)
He took me roller skating and ice skating and baseball games as well
Every weekend he watched collage football and the NFL
He came from Belmar and he loved the beach and the ocean
I remember my summers were full sand of suntan lotion

I've written all of this in my humble way to say
"Daddy in heaven have a wonderful Father's Day!"