My Life Should Leave......

Life Should Leave

My life should leave shoes well worn
from many journeys, thoughts and
experiences preserved in written word,
photographs, thoughtfully selected music,
art that stands the test of time,
mementos of countries visited, jewelry,
books, toys, stamp albums, old coins,
treasured letters, my own chosen style
of clothing, some things that are junk
to anyone but me, but mostly my
life should leave, in the minds of those
who know me, memories, preferably good.

Achievement

Achievement

If you work hard you will be rewarded
you will achieve, get the job, the recognition
people will congratulate you for goal accomplished

If you have connections you will be rewarded
you will achieve, get the job, the recognition
people will shake your hand to near your friends.

If you work hard or have connections
you will achieve, get the job, the recognition
people will try to step over you to bring you down.

Candidates

Candidates

Candidates for political office champion their country
they are intelligent, honest, patriotic, altruistic
and formulate their intentions for the good of all.
They know they can positively impact the world.

Candidates who run for office seek personal power
they smile, dazzle, promise, attract money
ally their ideas with their monetary political backers.
They sell their own beliefs to glean more votes.

Candidates who run for office pursue ambitious goals
they spout strong selfless ideas within party lines
well-groomed magnetic hawkers for a point of view
they are benevolent puppets maneuvered by phantoms.

Childhood Augusts

Childhood Augusts

On August days Mother canned Colorado peaches, tomatoes, rhubarb jam and sauce,
we devoured garden grown carrots, squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes and more
fresh produce from the Saturday farm market. Mother stood outside early mornings
with hose in hand watering thirsty geraniums in ground and plants in pots.

On August afternoons neighborhood children moved from one backyard to another,
sometimes bored, everything we wanted to do already done, all games played.
Time became heavy, hot pavement scalded bare feet. We still rode bicycles,
camped out sometimes in backyard tents, played marbles, and read under shade trees.

On August nights we stayed up late and watched television from the couch,
yearned for breezes to waft through the screen door, open late into the night.
We slept uncovered and drenched in hot second story bedrooms, windows open,
fan in hallway running on high blowing hot air, whirring us at last to sleep.

On August weekends Dad's auto repair business was slow. So sometimes he took
Saturday off and we packed a picnic lunch, drove to a park and ate by a lake.
On Sunday, after church, we might go to a fair, tend to family graves in cemeteries,
or to visit some of Dad's relatives, as they perched on barstools in a small town tavern.

As August drew to a close, the days became shorter, the heat less intense,
we purchased new clothes and supplies for approaching September school.
My birthday came and went, the city swimming pool closed for the season,
baseballs and bicycles rested, and August came to a quiet end.

I Used to Think

I Used to Think

I used to think age sixty was old
that all successes would come before
but now I realize at sixty I can still
pursue my dreams, attain personal goals.

I realize now my dad was right when
he said old is ten years older than
you are. Thus old is a milestone
I'll not achieve, an age I will never reach.

Childhood Summer

Childhood Summer

In summer I lay in the grass under the tree
in my backyard, read library books gleaned
on weekly expeditions to the library with Mother.
She and I both returned home with a large stack,
and it was such a wonderful feeling to have so many
books and so much time to read.

In summer I rode my bicycle with friends all around
the neighborhood up and down the streets and courts,
even to the nearby shopping center. My parents
did not know my whereabouts but only the time
I would return. I never heard them express any kind
of worry. We all felt so very safe back then.

In summer I played kickball, baseball, and
kick the can. Sometimes starlight moonlight, tag,
stoop tag, and statue maker. We invented our
own game and called it driveway to driveway witch.
We played truth, dare, or consequences, occasionally
dared one another to do mischievous things.

In summer I sat on the front stoop with parents
or friends, told ghost stories in the dark, played
with flashlights, looked for constellations, chased fireflies,
greeted neighbors walking by. Everyone was outside
on hot summer nights keeping cool in the days
before anyone had air-conditioners.

In summer as days became shorter and shorter
thoughts turned to back-to-school and we shopped
for new clothes, school shoes, gym shoes, pencils,
crayons, ruler, and other school supplies. I realized
that my carefree days were coming to an end,
and soon I would trade my shorts for school dresses.

In summer when I was a child I felt very much the same
as I feel now. Summer days were wonderful and long
with their heat and cloudless skies. I loved to rise early,
go barefoot, soak up the sun, savor every moment alive
before the days became shorter and cooler, fall was on
the horizon, and another year of school began.