Old Tevas

Old Tevas

There are no shoes like old Tevas
long loved, soles worn down
color fading, used and abused
bearing ill effects of pavement
snow, rain, sand and mud.

But still they are the chosen
the most comfortable favorites
always alert for another journey
loyal, they wait by the door
uncomplaining and patient.

There are no shoes like old Tevas
venerated for their service
not to  be cast aside for the new
though they have lost their luster
they are the chosen, long loved.


This poem is written for dVerse Poetics, where Shanyn is having us write poems about shoes.  I can walk miles and miles in my Tevas!

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving dinner is over
except for the welcome leftovers
which I will enjoy tomorrow
and tomorrow after that:

turkey breast, sweet potato,
corn bread, cranberry, stuffing,
pistachio and marshmallow salad,
more than enough for me --

but the leftovers of two pies
I sent home with my guests,
figured it was better (for me) that way.

This is shared with G-Man's Friday Flash 55 ......   only 55 words

Rejoice

Rejoice

Beauty of nature
beauty of love
forgiveness of sins
by God above.

Hug of a grandchild
time spent with a friend
a dog on a lap
memories that transcend.

Food on a plate
a warm bed to sleep
flames in the fireplace
poetry to keep.

Holidays with family
music to brighten day
coins in a pocket
some moments to play.

Rejoice.

This is written for Poetry Jam, where Laurie's prompt was to write a poem of gratitude without using the word "gratitude."

To Live Life

To Live Life

Hands are for comforting,
for waving and shaking,
for brushing back hair
to wipe away a tear,
not for striking a blow.

Arms are for holding,
for protecting and embracing,
for holding someone tight in
the middle of the night,
not for shooting a foe.

Legs are for dancing,
for walking and skipping,
for jogging and running
and pumping swings high,
not for kicking below.

Mouths are for laughing,
for speaking, for singing,
for the telling of stories
on a dark winter night,
not for cursing a beau.

Hearts are for beating,
for caring and loving,
for being cherished along
the path of life,
not for breaking the flow.

Lives are for living,
for working and playing,
for dreaming and hoping
and enjoying each day,
not for destroying the glow.

Hands for comforting,
arms for holding,
legs for dancing
mouths for laughing
hearts for beating --
    to live life fortissimo.

This is written for dVerse Open Link, where Bjorn is tending bar today!  Also linked to Poetry Pantry Open Link.

Calendar

Calendar


One day the calendar will just stop
I will die and you will go on living
my age will be fixed forever
written on a date I don't yet know

You will mourn my loss, shed tears,
remember my life as you knew it
then live on without my presence
as you must (as all mourners must)

Your calendar will move on, but
you will think of me at holidays
birthdays, or in certain restaurants
or when you are on certain streets

You will see my face in a crowd
do a double take and I'll be gone
you will cry sometime but
the tears will lessen with time

And life will go on after I'm gone
as life always goes on after loss
and the importance of the date I died
will fade, as it must, as it should

The day my calendar stops is not yet
and I hope it is many years away
but I just want you to know
when it does I'll die in peace

Happy to have been loved by you.

Posted for dVerse Poetics, where Victoria has prompted us to write about "calendar." Also shared with Poets United Poetry Pantry.

Conversation

Conversation 

I ask a question

you answer 

happy to share

your experience

your thoughts

your wisdom

then your silence

you’ve finished

I reflect on your words

question more

you add detail

elaborate

I invite you to explain

you answer

smile

silence again

you then beam

proudly

and  ask

is there anything else 

you’d like

to know?

This is shared with G-Man and has exactly 55 words.  Go and tell it to the G-Man!

Ode to My Glasses

Ode to My Glasses

My glasses appraise

words I write

criticize my musings

With their sharpened view

are never reticent 

to tell me boldly

what I should redo

and I say thank you.

My glasses pierce me

find me flawed 

as I look in the mirror

powerless to hide

from their relentless

analytical gaze

and I say this is me.

My glasses sleep

when I sleep but

wake on command

to perform

their necessary tasks

never complain

even in the middle

of a restless night

and I am grateful.

Even though my

glasses are plain

far from elegant

they are ravishing

as they assist me

to see beauty

in the world and you
and I am content.

This is what came to me as I attempted to write an ode to Tony's prompt over at dVerse Form for All. Flawed as it may be, my glasses are pleased. Smiles.

Lightning

Lightning

Lightning may strike when you don't expect it

or it can be predictable but willfully ignored

like when you walk outside in a downpour

paying no attention to the black cloud overhead

or when you go to sleep with no plan in your head

to awaken suddenly with thoughts that never occurred before

lightning is unpredictable but one can expect its strike.

Gif File came from Wikimedia Commons.        This is shared with Poetry Jam, where the prompt is "Lightning" and with Poets United Verse First, where we had to write a seven-line poem.

Invisible - A Triolet

Invisible

I am invisible at night

but leave my door somewhat ajar

stay hidden from the brightest light

I am invisible at night

but yet I wonder how you are

and picture you somewhere afar

I am invisible at night

but leave my door somewhat ajar.

I am invisible at night

my heart and soul concealed from view

but hopes and dreams live out of sight

I am invisible at night

though I am ready to renew

I hope you will not misconstrue

I am invisible at night

but  hopes and dreams live out of sight.

Posted for dVerse Open Link.

As it Happens

As it Happens

Sometimes life turns out 

as you wanted it to

even though you didn't know

how you wanted it to

and when that happens

all you can do is 

look back and smile

about what you didn't know

but know now.

For Poetry Pantry

The Garden

The Garden


After wars and rumors of wars
had ravished earth and its people
earth had become uninhabitable.

Therefore Adamnh and Ėbaha
and others found to be worthy
had fled on the wings of Acrabiel

to the luxuriant planet Xeron
in the distant Galaxy Paradisio
where they built a new Garden.

For centuries harmony reigned
civilization developed and prospered
until the Xeronites discovered

that Acrabiel had fled their planet
and the lush Garden began to die;
it was only a matter of time........

This was written for dVerse Poetics for Bjorn's Science Fiction Poetry prompt!

The Dance

The Dance

And when she danced

it was as if she danced for the first time

and there was no one else ever

in the world but you

and though others were present

all she saw was you  

and she wished to dance the dance

with you forever

holding you close to her heart;

perhaps she will.

Written for G-Man's 55!.

Fifth Grade Teacher

Fifth Grade Teacher

She remembered her teacher jerked her arm hard to teach her to square dance.

She remembered her teacher made her run and run when she could not breathe.

She remembered her teacher embarrassed her in front of the whole class.

She remembered her teacher's hateful glare and how she was so afraid.

She remembered how the teacher smiled if there was an adult in view.

Today she remembers this was the only teacher she really hated.



This is written for dVerse, where Gay is having us write "American Sentences."  Each sentence has 17 syllables.

Coffee

Coffee

the difference between asleep and awake

warm brew that makes it possible

to rise and shine on those days

I would rather stay in bed

caffeinated bliss

heaven in a cup.

This is written for Poets' United Verse First where we are challenged to write a poem about something ordinary.  Photo source here.

The Last Time

The Last Time

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be able to hear your voice
I would carefully take in each thought
in each of your words rejoice.

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be able to see your face
I would contemplate every inch of it
so its memory I could embrace.

If I knew it would be the last time
I could tell you that I cared
I'd say all the words I'd been saving
no loving words would be spared.

If I knew it would be the last time
to see you wave good-bye as you go
I'd be more aware of the moment
and stand longer in your glow.

I often depend on tomorrow
to do what I didn't do or say today
but sadly I don't always know
what life will bring my way.

I am not guaranteed a future
beyond this one short moment
to say I love you or I'm sorry
thank you or you're important.

There will always be a last time
that will arrive on a future day
I must live and love with eyes wide open
whether the time is near or far away.

Written for Poetry Jam, where the post is "The Last...."

The Blessing

The Blessing

As a child he  shot his young brother in a hunting accident
his last view of his brother was with his face down in the snow
a small body with blood seeping slowly through his coat

and all his life asked himself why he was spared.

And he wanted his mother to hold him, but he couldn't say that,
and he wanted his mother to forgive him, and he couldn't ask
and the state trooper made him relay aloud the painful story

and all his life he asked himself why he was spared.

And he thought of Cain who killed his brother Abel, and  he
bore the mark of Cain.  Just as God would not let Cain die,
God did not let him die, his self hatred being a more terrible fate

and all his life he asked himself why he was spared.

And he tried to understand 'accident' and wondered if it was God's plan
in a benevolent way humans couldn't understand, or if God was Accident
and all was random and Accident ripped lives apart for no reason

and all his life he asked himself why he was spared

And it is in the human stories where human meanings begin,  and
the boy grows into manhood and pain  becomes blessing, blessing
becomes poetry, and beauty arises again despite the pain, but

still all his life he asked himself why he was spared.

I am reading Gregory Orr's memoir The Blessing.  Gregory Orr is 
my favorite poet.  This poem above is based on his story.  This is
shared with dVerse Open Link.

Photo found here.

My Rocking Chair

 

Childhood me holding a bunny named Pinky I still have.

                      My Rocking Chair

When I was young I used to go to my room

and sit in my rocking chair

an old faded padded one

that had belonged to my grandma.

While the rockers glided over the wooden floor

my mind conjured stories and dreams

remarkable dreams of life

as I hoped it would someday be.

As I rocked holding a doll or bear

I imagined my future rich with joy

fantasized achievements, conquests, love

and innumerable imaginative adventures.

Many hours I rocked in my chair

in substance only as my spirit soared,

propelled to distant lands, future times

by the magical vehicle only I knew.

Sometimes I yearn to visit the chair again

to help me envision remarkable dreams

but then I realize the future I dreamed is here

and I have long outgrown the rocking chair.

This poem is submitted to dVerse Poets Poetics for my prompt which is "childhood games or toys."  Hope you will join us.

Alone

Alone

Alone is

alone is born crying

alone is anything but lonely

alone is the only worthy guide

alone is nourishment for the soul

alone is worthy.

Alone is

alone is love

alone is sufficient

alone is not to blame

alone is best with a friend

alone is worthy.

Alone is

alone is the norm

alone is unchanging

alone is not cause for fear

alone is worth the ticket price

alone is worthy.

For dVerse Poets Pub...using "googlism."  I chose the word "alone" and used phrases from this list.

And this is a 55-word version of the poem for G-Man's 55!

Alone is born crying,

is anything but lonely
nourishment for the soul

and is worthy.

Alone is love

sufficient, not to blame

is best with a friend

and is worthy.

Alone is unchanging

the norm, not cause for fear

is worth the ticket price

alone is worthy.

Alone is born crying,
love unchanging.
Alone is worthy.

The Journey

The Journey

Her eyes on the mountaintops

she gathers strength from the moon

as she flows toward the ocean

swept along by the current

on the river of love.

Undeterred by crash and splash

she knows she will break free

into a thousand shooting stars

a stream of strength exploding

a waterfall of dreams.

This is written to the words in Ed's wordlist over at Real Toads.  Of the 21 words he listed, I used 13.  The words I used are italicized.

What I Know for Sure

My grandson & me -- a certainty in my life

What I Know for Sure

Two or three things I know for sure,
not more than that at a time.
Certainties change, are not static,
so what was sure yesterday
is not necessarily sure today.
One cannot know everything for sure.

Today I know for sure
life can flip in a heartbeat,
change course in a moment's time,
that the unexpected can turn
one's whole life around.

Today I know for sure
that time is finite and one
has to find a way to make
the most of it, acknowledging
we have only today.

Today I know for sure
love exists in the world,
love is connected with God,
and somehow things happen
between people for His good.

Two or three things I know for sure,
not more than that at a time.
Certainties change, are not static,
so what was sure yesterday
is not necessarily sure today.
One cannot know everything for sure.


This is written for my prompt over at Poetry Jam this week.  The prompt  is to write about 'two or three things I know for sure.'  Hope you will join us.  Also submitted to Poets United Poetry Pantry.

Tribute to Harry Chapin

Tribute to Harry Chapin

Could you put your light on please

as my dreams go by?

I want to let time go lightly,

to remember when the music

played only for us.

We grew up a little bit

as we traveled halfway to heaven,

a quiet little love affair,

each of us a shooting star.

Why should people stay the same?

The parade’s still passing by,

I know there is a better place to be.

There only was one choice:

you are the only song for me,

and now you own the only light.

I had  been thinking of Harry Chapin this past week.  For those unfamiliar with him, he was an American singer-songwriter who lived from 1942 - 1981.  He died in a car accident.  I used to really enjoy his music.  I think his most famous songs might have been "Cat's in a Cradle" and "Taxi." The italicized words above are all Chapin song titles.

I am submitting this poem for dVerse Open Link.   Image from Wikimedia Commons Images.  For anyone who does not know Harry Chapin....here is "Remember When the Music," one of my favorites.

Colorless

Colorless

There is no color to express

the sadness of missing

gray is not gray enough

black is not black enough

and words cannot express

the depth of feeling

of the missing

especially if one has 

never deeply 

missed before.

This is written for dVerse Poetics where the prompt is 'color'.

Also shared with Poets United Poetry Pantry.