We've Got The Power

Helen ~ Photographer

"War is over! If you want it."

John Lennon & Yoko Ono

"People you've got the power over what we do

You can sit there and wait or you can pull us through"

 Jackson Browne

we fall apart from within

unable to sing in unison

disparate notes 

create off-key harmonies

we seek unity in our lives

to sing as one

Imagine

'River Sunrise - Lothlorien'

find your own stretch of river

 your own peace of mind

be tender with yourself

along the fragile places

careful not to slip

lose balance

disappear

Never-ending Wait

 

is there is a statute

of limitations

on my poems?

an expiration date after

which they become 

fair game?

the day you are free 

to scramble

pilfer, rearrange my words?

the day you pretend 

they are yours? 

Every Move we Make

hold me close

move in time

bossa nova beckons 

close your eyes

feel the heat

bossa nova passion

sexy you

sexy me

swaying

moving

grooving

flawless nights

are meant for love

and bossa nova dancing

  

Scribbles

Grownups in my life never pulled punches  

me, being me, took the 

opposite position

Followed friends everywhere !

nary a one of them 

jumped off a bridge

Made distorted faces ?

never did my face 

do the ugly freeze  

Cried if I spilled a glass of milk ?

confess that one 

befuddled me

Spoke with with my mouth full ?

thus perfecting 

my enunciation

Placed all my eggs in one basket ?

I did, obviously 

for the Easter Bunny 

Silence was never golden !

it was a dark, creepy

very scary place

Ignorance was never bliss !

algebra teacher, Mr. Hedgecock 

flunked me, twice

Discovered money does grow on trees !

when I saw $20 dollar bills covering

 a cardboard Anniversary Tree

Yuck

“Things we learned to love because we loved someone else.”

 

Cabbage – almost choked to death swallowing it

Liver – ‘lost’ it under the table while kitty waited patiently

Peas – wrapped in paper napkins, hidden behind the toilet

Strawberries – seeds in my teeth, couldn’t brush them away 

(no floss in the '40s)

Turnips – waited for the churning-turning of my belly

It took years - every 'foodie thing' she pushed 

(I hated) 

I learned to love.

 Thanks Mom.

  

TOPPING DAY

a poem about things meant only 

as a temporary or hidden support

 

October 28, 1965

On the morning of October 28, 1965, workers used heavy jacks to force the legs of the St. Louis Gateway Arch to 8.5 feet apart. The final piece of stainless steel was eight feet wide. As the piece was put into place, work crew released pressure on the jacks to secure the fit.

cheers, boat and car horns

we witnessed it that morning

in queue on a bridge 

Aging Process

Crumbling is not an instant's Act

A fundamental pause

Dilapidation's processes

Are organized Decays — Emily Dickinson

built on a crumbling

foundation

life as they knew it

had died

nothing left to salvage

nothing left to hide

Explaining

Explanation/Justification/Rationalization

Now I lay me down to sleep

Bedtime rituals I will keep

Experts tell me no caffeine

After dinner, that feels mean

Jogging, cycling more of that

Calories, carbs, and watch the fat

Late night screen time spoils your sleep

Let me say, don’t give a bleep

I sleep better, I sleep deep

Improvement over counting sheep

 Bedtime TV it's for me

Timer’s set, now let me be

Brothers escort me to sleep

Familiar voices, male and deep

Same old format yes it’s true

HGTV ~ Jonathan / Drew

By the time my screen goes dark

Must confess I've "hit the mark" 

Readers now don't have to guess

Cause fast asleep I am - OH YES

   

Pavement Inspiration

Is there such a thing ????

huffing and puffing

I'm at three miles

sweat is fast dripping

my face is all smiles

music is blaring

I’m striding in time

mind sure is drifting

creating this rhyme

inspired by the pavement

imperfections and cracks

watch where I’m stepping

I’m breaking no backs

coming on five miles

feeling some pain

mind’s getting fuzzy

no pain means no gain

lo and behold

what can this be

a map of our country

I giggle with glee

outlined are State lines

yes yes it’s quite clear

time to head home

for an icy cold beer!!

Hereafter ...

when I die

cobble together a brass band

one of each 

trumpet, saxophone, trombone

flute, clarinet, bass drum

lead my loved ones .. onlookers too

 through the streets of my home town
dance like there's no tomorrow 
raise your glasses
to life, to love, to us, to me

then scatter my ashes 

let me soar

Muse

Inspiration ~ poems by Christina

Georgina Rossetti or paintings by

her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Dante Gabriel Rossetti age nineteen ~ Self Portrait ~ 1847

I was young when I 

conjured my muse

snatched him out of thin air

no one around

to witness the theft

I kept him

 
for inspiration

Postmortem

we wore our lies

wore them well

careful not to expose

the dark underbelly

of who we were

lies of omission 

lies of commission

we wore our lies

wore them well

donned the clothes
played our parts
spun the myths
from strands of gold

deceit our cloak 

quintessential guise

we wore our lies

wore them well

It's All Greek To Me

like the blind leading the blind

i keep beating 'round the bush

down in the dumps

falling through cracks

dragging my feet all the way down

i'm in way over my head

under the weather

wet behind my ears

i rub folks the wrong way

 while banging my head against a brick wall

please take me under your wing

i'm not ready to throw in the towel

or jump the gun

'cause life is just a bowl of cherries

easy-peasy as lemon chiffon pie

 live and let live!!

Yes

three words ~ lips, touched, harbinger

we met

lips touched

blood rushed

harbinger of what

would be