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!

An uncrowded street

In this city of millions

provides a moment of peace

~

Perhaps within our

crowded minds, we’ll also find

uncrowded moments of peace.

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.