THE FIRST TIME

The first time they held hands…

as they walked along the shore…

was when they began to understand…

what hands were created for. 

A LITTLE SPOT OF LIGHT

Another week of horror… 

of terror…

of uncertainty

and again we meet in a park at night to bemoan a tragedy.

People came together…looking for encouragement and relief.

People of different faiths, 

different backgrounds 

and beliefs.

As different people prayed to their God…

among the crowd there was no dissension

everybody listened…

and accepted…

everybody paid attention.

For no matter what faith was present…

no matter what God they may have named…

or if they didn’t believe in God at all…

their message was the same.

In the end everybody lit a candle…

and held it in the air

proving love is universal…

proving love is to be shared.

and then we all departed 

taking different paths into the night

our darkness beginning to be driven out 

by a little spot of light.

ONCE AGAIN

Once again our nation…our world…is mired…in a sad and gloomy fog

as 11 more people have been massacred in a Pittsburgh synagogue…

11 innocent people praying one minute…the next ceasing to exist 

11 innocent people added to a long and growing list.

Once again we are filled sorrow…once again our grief we can’t disguise

Once again we feel for the families…once again the whole world cries…

Yes, once again we’re crying as more of our innocence drifts away

because tears are all we have left…when we have no more words to say.

Joyce Fienberg, 75

Richard Gottfried, 65

Rose Mallinger, 97

Jerry Rabinowitz, 66

Cecil Rosenthal, 59

David Rosenthal, 54

Bernice Simon, 84

Sylvan Simon, 86, (husband of Bernice)

Daniel Stein, 71

Melvin Wax, 88

Irving Younger, 69

OLD AGE AND RELATIVITY

I’m not sure how one explains old age…I’m not sure what rules apply.

At the funeral when my Grandma died…I remember how they tried…

I heard them say how she was a friend to many

A mother…a grandmother…a wife…

How she was fortunate as people go

to have lived a long and wonderful life.

But when I think about the time back then, for I was only 10 you see

with those things they all were saying…I could not totally agree.

Sure she might have had some wrinkles but I didn’t think of them back then

I never thought how old she was…I just figured…she was 10.

I guess this age thing has to do with the way our lives overlap…

how we all have our own techniques…and methods to adapt.

Grandma knew me my first 10 years of life…before the time she passed

While the 10 years that I knew her happened to be her last.

But she read the books I liked to read, she played the games I liked to play

She ran and jumped and climbed with me, she was 10 if she was a day.

In the Spring we’d plant a garden…a secret garden that was ours

In the Summer we’d go swimming or sit under the stars

She liked to take long walks with me…show me things I did not know

She helped me gather leaves in Fall…and build forts in the snow.

So was she old…my Grandma?

as I now search my memory..

to many it might have looked that way

but she was never old to me.

THE SIGH

As he watched her sigh so plaintively

a sigh filled with sorrow and chagrin

it made him wonder 

if it isn’t sighs

that initiate the wind.

WHAT IF THEY WERE US?

A caravan of immigrants is approaching

from their own countries they are fleeing

and I must admit I am perplexed

by behaviors I am seeing.

I see kind, compassionate and religious people

as this caravan draws near

screaming we don’t want you…

that you’re not welcomed here.

I see it happening in other countries as well

anger stretching across the land

where we would rather keep people out

than lend a helping hand…

And I wonder what is causing this…

this callousness for humankind…

What has happened to our hearts…

to our souls…and to our minds?

When did our world of acceptance and compassion

succumb to hatred and tyranny?

When did fear 

and prejudice 

and bigotry

replace humanity?

What if it was our family in that caravan?

escaping cruelty?

traveling far?

What if they were our sisters and brothers…?

or have we forgotten….that they are?

COMPASSION OF THE YOUNG

She knew her daughter’s heart was pure 

and that compassion she’d never lack

when the leaves began falling from the trees 

and she tried to put them back.

A TEAR UPON HER CHEEK

She tried desperately to remember her dream  

frantically trying to seek

the reason she awoke this morning

with a tear upon his cheek.

HER FAVORITE ANGEL

Her mom died when she was young…and though she survived the ordeal

she still misses her when she remembers her…

some wounds will never heal.

She remembers how her mom loved pelicans…how they soared on the breeze like a kite…

How she loved all kinds of pelicans…

but her favorite ones were white.

And when she walks along the surf…when the sea is tranquil and calm…

if a white pelican soars overhead…

it reminds her of her mom.

When she hears the swoosh of the pelican's wings…and sees the smile on its beak…

she instinctively returns a smile

as a tear rolls down her cheek.

Then came the day for her to marry…her mom now years out of reach…

she decided to have the ceremony…

in the sand…

upon the beach.

Halfway through the service…about the time she took his hand

A flock of pelicans flew overhead…

then landed on the sand.

And she again remembered how her mom loved pelicans…

how they soar on the breeze like a kite…

And she had to stop and catch her breath…

because all these pelicans…

were white.

It was a beautiful moment…the end of a beautiful day

and when the ceremony was over…

all the pelicans flew away.

All the pelicans that is but one…who lingered there a while…

whose beak she swears to this day…

was formed into a smile…

She never thought of pelicans as angels…until her wedding night

but now her favorite angel…

is a pelican…

painted white.

WHEN THE MOON LINGERS

I love mornings when the moon

realizing the evening is not quite done

lingers a little longer in the sky 

before ceding the heavens to the sun.

A DAY IN NATURE

I love spending time in nature…where surprises are second to none.

Today I watched a little bird anticipate the rising of the sun…

I watched the ocean in the morning intimidate and harass

only to calm down in the afternoon and shimmer…just like glass.

I watched a variety of birds jogging back and forth along the shore.

I followed a flock of white pelicans…as overhead they soared.

I watched mullets jumping out of the water…arcing high and feeling free.

I watched a cool breeze wind it’s way through the trees and find it’s way to me.

I played for hours in the ocean with the grandchildren…

until wrinkles formed on our fingertips

We felt the wet sand fall through our fingers and tasted salt water on our lips.

I watched the light of a fading day ride the ocean’s waves onto the sand.

I watched the clouds absorb the evening sun in colors bright and grand.

And as I watched a little bird anticipate the sun about to set…

I thought of all the beauty in nature…but it wasn’t over yet…

For as I said goodbye to another day…lamenting how it ended much too soon

I looked up into the darkness and was greeted by the moon.

SLEEPING WITH THE CLOUDS

She was never frightened by the night

of it’s silence hard and deep

During the day she made friends with the animals floating in the clouds

Who at night surrounded her in sleep.

PERSPECTIVE

I took a walk in the moonlight this morning…

In the cool breeze while I watched how the leaves around me shook

I was struck how the way we think about ourselves 

can be determined by where we look.

When I looked at the ants down by my feet

I realized how huge I am…

how important…

how tall…

But when I gazed upon the stars

I realized…

how small.

THE SPIRIT OF HER MOM

I’ve only seen her once…in the early morning calm….

looking into our window…the spirit of her mom.

I had been out running…(this is when I used to run)

while the moon was still illuminating…still hours before the sun.

I headed up our driveway…out of breath…hands on my hips

when I saw her…she saw me…and put a finger to her lips.

Immediately I stopped…cautious not to take another step

as she looked into the window…of the room where her daughter slept.

I watched her closely…silently…in the darkness…for a while

then she turned her gaze to me…and she nodded…and she smiled.

I smiled back…calm and unafraid…happy she found a way

to look in on her daughter…and then I watched her fade away.

And I thought how wonderful it is to know the line between life and death is thin…

that even though she’s no longer with us…her mom is looking in.

That night gave us peace of mind…for since then we have found

we both sleep a little easier…knowing she’s around.

I no longer run to begin my day but I’m confident in the early morning calm

If I look out of our window…I’ll see the spirit of her mom

looking in on her daughter…and, perhaps…on her son-in-law too

watching over and…protecting…the way she used to do.

IT ISN'T WHAT I SAW IN HIM

“What made you fall in love with him?” She was asked.

“What in him did you see?”

“It wasn’t what I saw in him.” She answered.

“It’s what he saw in me.”

ON OTHER'S SHOULDERS

He cannot answer how tall he is

no matter how much we implore me…

for he proudly stand on the shoulders 

of all those who came before him.

ROOTED

He returned, 

after many years, 

to sit under the oak tree 

near the house 

where he once dwelled

and smiled 

when he realized

he was rooted there as well.

HEAVEN CAN WAIT

He smiled through his tears as he felt her heart beat a little stronger

knowing his prayer 

today 

had been answered 

and heaven 

would wait a little longer.

I PREFER TO BE AMAZED

Sometimes I wonder about nature’s mysteries… 

how there is so much I can’t explain?

Like why the sand dunes can be heard to sing

or how flowers anticipate the rain.

Like how the sun rises to greet the day

and how at night it bids adieu.

Like how there is a rhythm to the waves

or how the sky epitomizes blue. 

Like how a stream can talk to you.

Like how dew drops nestle in the grasses.

Like how clouds can change right before our eyes 

or how leaves shiver as a cool breeze passes.

Like how life can flourish in the most unlikely places.

Like how the ocean can be so wide.

Like the boisterous sound of crows in flight

or the silence of a pelican’s glide.

Like the sheer force of thunder and lightning

as they announce a summer squall.

Like how a rainbow stretches across the sky.

Like the the wonder of a waterfall…

But then again when I stop to think about it 

I don’t really want to know

what makes the flowers smile

what makes the cool winds blow

because as I look around me…

as out on nature my eyes gaze

I don’t want to know her secrets….

I prefer to be amazed.

MEMORIAL TO A MARRIAGE

How beautiful is a heart that loves…what a wondrous sight to see…

instead of trying to restrict it…we should seek to set it free…..

They fell in love in Roman times because that’s what lovers do

They meet, and in some inexplicable way…their love comes shining through.

When two people are lucky enough to find each other, 

they find love does not confine

It doesn’t follow a set of rules, 

it has no borderlines…

They fell in love in Roman times because that’s what lovers do

but they could not get married…for back then it was taboo.

Two women cannot fall in love…it is not right they’d say

But these two women were not listening…love found them anyway.

Their love was pure and innocent…flowing honestly from the heart

It was universal and unique…

their love…a work of art.

They fell in love in Roman times because that’s what lovers do…

They remained together all their lives before they bid this world adieu…

For love brought them together…never again to be alone…

and here they lie together…their love immortalized in stone.