Twenty Seventeen –
what will it bring? And can we
help love and reason prevail?
~
Good times and bad times
I’ve seen them all, and my dear,
I am still right here!
Twenty Seventeen –
what will it bring? And can we
help love and reason prevail?
~
Good times and bad times
I’ve seen them all, and my dear,
I am still right here!
What is memory
for if not to recall the
best and learn from the worst?
~
Memory must serve
as chronicler of all
thing both great and small.
If it’s tradition
to stand firm against the tide,
how can we bend with the wind?
~
Sometimes it’s wise to
stand firm, sometimes to bend. Let
values, not tradition, guide.
In these days between
what was and what will be, how
should we spend our time?
~
Live for the moment.
Because the past is the past
and the future, unwritten.
Now that merry joy
has run it’s seasonal course,
what still remains of this year?
~
Twenty sixteen has
had its ups and downs but
joy runs through the heart of things.
All those many years
ago in the midst of hate,
love was born. Let’s help it grow.
~
Hatred seems to reign
despite love’s reported strength:
Perhaps Love should exercise?
Will there come a time
when Christmas arrives to find
us joyous and well prepared?
~
Christmas is a time
to discover joy whether
or not we’re prepared.
We remember those
who have gone before, knowing
we are here because of them.
~
As, one day, we’ll be
remembered, for good or ill,
by those who follow.
As calendars grow
increasingly short, can we
still draw out holiday joy?
~
It matters not if
calendars grow short as joy
knows no holiday.
When the sun stands still
this winter solstice should we
pause and change direction too?
~
The pendulum swings
from solstice to equinox
without changing direction.
Does it require
more than a good memory
to recall good memories?
~
It helps if we are
willing to see things whole – not
settle for a partial truth.
“It’s for the birds” might
suggest a higher wisdom
than we are led to expect.
~
Birds, it seems, rarely
work against their best interest.
That seems pretty wise to me.
In this noisy world,
where ever will introverts
find the silence to recharge?
~
If they direct their
attention toward their breath, they
will find a silent refuge.
Could it be that trees
whisper in the breeze of our
all-too-human fallacies?
~
As human failings
Grow from breezes to whirlwinds
Whispering trees must bellow.
Does a lonely tree
standing naked on a hill
feel the chill of winter wind?
~
Though it feels the chill,
its roots run deep, connecting
it to hill and sky.
If promises were
kept, would some politicians
be out of a job?
~
Making promises
is the political game
but not so much keeping them.
Soon she will return
from high upon the mountain.
What wisdom will she carry?
~
It all depends on
who or what she listens to
when she’s high up there.
If you want to light
a candle and can’t find a
single match, what do you do?
~
Flames can be kindled
in many different ways:
all you need is but a spark.
Arctic chill descends
wrapping meadows in frost
and people in yards of cloth
~
As cold increases
layers increase too ’til thaw
brings a slow uncovering.
Since mother knows best,
why does it take so long for
others to give it a rest?
~
Best is relative,
dependent on point of view,
She knows what is best… for you.
When storm warnings rise,
does it serve any purpose
to howl cautions at the wind?
~
The best it can do
is relieve stress and prove that
you know what is best.
Oh ye of many
knee surgeries what advice
do you have for me?
~
All pain is finite.
Either some for endless days,
or more for fleeting instants.
Many years ago
Something amazing happened.
Could you tell me what it was?
~
I can say with deep
humility, I know whose
birth of which you speak.
Tell me my learned
son, does someone design lots
of obscure words just for you?
~
There are polyglots
and linguists beyond counting
at my constant beck and call.
Shall we sit idle
As narcissists run amok
Or stand in opposition?
~
When narcissists run
we can’t just sit or stand, we
must also learn to fly.
When Wonder Woman,
Superman and reindeer can
fly, what’s to stop you and I?
~
Earthbound souls are we:
neither goddess, alien,
nor even mythic cervid.
Will narcotic haze
influence our poetry
for the better or the worse?
~
We’re just a heartbeat
away from purple cows and
polka dotted elephants.
They say Santa keeps
track of who’s nasty and who’s
nice. Doesn’t Trump do that too?
~
Santa keeps a list
of how people treat others;
Trump’s list is all about Trump.
Why do we insist
on mourning over losses
that were never ours to lose?
~
Because we love, we
mourn for losses not our own
and rejoice for others’ gains.