A LITTLE BRIGHTER

 

He discovered love when she walked in…and her smile lit up the room.

He felt it on their walks together 

when he noticed the brightness of the sun, 

and the dazzling array of colors of the flowers all in bloom.

He understood love whenever she left a room…and he was on his own

when he noticed nothing was ever as radiant when he walked alone.

He never dreamed love could be as simple 

as finding someone who makes all his burdens a little lighter…

Someone who every time he sees her…

makes his world…a little brighter.

UBUNTU REVISITED

 

There was an anthropological study conducted on the children of an African tribe…

that I shall attempt as best I can…in this poem…to now describe.

A basket of fruit was placed under a tree…the children told to be fast and resolute

because the first one to the basket gets to eat all of the fruit.

When they were told RUN!..they didn’t run at first…instead like birds of a feather

each child took the hand of the child next to them…then they ran to the basket…together.

They smiled as they ran together…fast and resolute

together they reached the basket…and together…they ate the fruit

When asked why they chose to run that way…”UBUNTU” said one lad…

while another added, “How can any one of us be happy…if any one of us is sad?”

In South Africa the word UBUNTU…means ‘I am because we are’

It’s a belief we’re defined by our compassion and our kindness towards others…

and its meaning travels far

for every culture, every civilization…across the land, the sky, and every sea

has a word with a similar meaning…In America…it’s humanity.

It’s a simple word…humanity…that, like UBUNTU, has allure…a definite attraction

but it remains only a word…until we put it into action.

I’m glad to see so many cultures have their own UBUNTU as part of their folklore…

I think, however, the entire world…need to practice their UBUNTU a little more.

We need to spread humanity so our UBUNTU travels far….

We need to teach the world UBUNTU…'I am because we are’.

I hope someday we follow the example of the children…

who understood they could be fast and resolute…

but only when they joined hands…together…

could they all enjoy the fruit.

EVERY NIGHT

“Why are you crying?” he asked as the sun was about to dawn…

“Because our first night together was so beautiful

so magical…

and now our first night’s gone.”

“There’s no need for tears.” He smiled 

as the sun through the window burst

for I shall do my best to make every night we are together

as beautiful

and as magical

as the first.

THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE

 

Life is a series of fleeting adventures…we never truly know what’s in store

as each day we add new adventures to the ones we’ve had before.

We sold our little camper yesterday…she is tiny, white and blue

her kitchen’s on the outside…inside she comfortably sleeps two.

She was our home away from home…providing security, comfort and shade…

on adventures we experienced…from North Carolina to the Everglades.

One off the things I love about memory…(if this theory I may venture)

is how a memory paints itself on every piece…every portion of an adventure.

Memories are painted on the people and places we visit…near or far…large or small…

(Why they even painted themselves on the inside of our teardrop camper’s walls.)

I love how, once that coat of paint is applied…its layer is permanent…her to stay

which means the memory, once painted, will never fade away.

Because when the creators created the paint used for memories they added a surprise:

the paint we use to paint a memory….remains fluid…it never dries.

Which allows our memories, just like our adventures, once they have been poured…

to blend with all the memories of all the adventures that came before.

I suppose that’s why we were filled with a mix of emotions yesterday

as we said goodbye to our little camper…as we watched her drive away..

Why a few tears found their way to our smiles…

a little sadness to our grins…

as for our little camper….and for us…

a new adventure begins.

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SLIENCE

 

When you take a walk in nature allowing silence to be your guide…

If you listen…listen carefully…silence will reveal her other side.

For on the other side of silence…enchanting sounds appear…

and when you take the time to listen…oh the wonders you will hear.

In the silence on a mountain path…listen to the breeze.

In the silence of a garden…listen to the bees. 

In the silence of a forest…listen to the trees.

In the silence of a winter day…listen to the freeze.

In the silence of the shoreline…listen to the waves. 

In the silence of a cemetery…listen to the graves

In the silence of a riverbank…listen to the stream.

In the silence of the evening…listen to your dreams

On the other side of silence…nature conducts a symphony.

On the other side of silence…is where she finds her harmony.

On the other side of silence…softly filling the air…

a myriad of wonders…waiting for you there.

SHADOWS AND SILHOUETTES

There are lessons to be gathered long after the sun has set…

walking in a world made up of shadows and silhouettes.

There is inspiration in the silhouettes and shadows 

wherever we may find them:

How they can only be created when there is light behind them.

How shadows have no color, no religion…no immorality…

Silhouettes…no gender, no age, no nationality.

Which makes me wonder the kind of world this would be…

If everyone we met….

concentrated less on all our differences…

and more on our shadows and silhouettes.

THE SIMPLICITY OF A SMILE

 

Whenever I was sad…Mom or Dad would sit with me a while…

They’d ask, “What’s the matter son…you seem to have lost your smile?”

We’d talk about how the loss of my smile came to be…

about anything and everything that was upsetting me.

When we were finished I always felt better having bathed in their love and concern

but it wasn’t always easy for my smile to return.

When my parents’ noticed this…a thousand times they must have said to me,

“The beauty of a smile is in its simplicity.”

“We were created with an infinite amount of smiles.” They’d say

“Which means when one leaves our face…there is another smile underneath

eagerly waiting to take its place.”

“It may not be today…or tomorrow but over time,” they said, “you will learn…

usually when you least expect it…your smile will return.”

“Since we have an endless supply,” they’d continue, “Smiles are meant to be shared.”

and not knowing how long until my smile wold return…they’d give me one of theirs.

And I wold wear the gift of their smile…allowing it to shine…

until the day I realized….their smile…had blended into mine.

ANGEL WISHES

 

Yesterday I sent a wish for peace up to shooting stars I could not see…

hoping…praying a random angel would catch…and grant that wish for me.

Which makes me wonder: 

If, after all these years of sending wishes to angels I cannot see,

perhaps angels are not wish-granters but wish-makers…just like me.

What if, all these years of sending wishes to angels wishes I assumed were getting lost,

the angels were also sending wishes…and what if our wishes simply crossed?

What if the creators created in nature lessons on how to live each day

and what if angels are wishing…praying…we would listen to what nature has to say?

Yesterday after sending a thousand wishes for peace up to the sky

on our morning walk we witnessed…the birth of a butterfly.

At the same time I was touched by an angel’s wish…

drifting down from high in the sky

wishing for me to look and learn all I can from this butterfly.

Like us they are fragile creatures…their wings are delicate and thin…

but that doesn’t stop them form adding color to the universe as they ride upon the wind.

They share the flowers with birds, and bees and other butterflies…

all are rich…no one is poor.

and you never see a butterfly carrying a weapon or marching off to war.

They live a life both innocent and free…they cause no one pain or grief

for they know that time is precious…their moment on Earth is brief.

Perhaps angels are wishing we would listen to these teachings…

and these lessons we’d apply….

so we could live in peace…and harmony…and beauty

just like the butterfly

SHOOTING STARS, ANGELS AND EARTH DAY

 

To celebrate Earth Day I went out early to watch the Lyrid Meteor shower make its yearly visit past Jupiter and Mars.

Why would I celebrate Earth day you might ask…by looking for shooting stars?

Shooting stars are rare…a momentary flash across the sky…

the flicker of an angel’s wings…over in the blink of an eye.

Whenever I see a shooting star…hear that evanescent swish…

It has been my tradition…to close my eyes…and make a wish.

(Yes, my brain tells me it’s just a rock…that once it hits our atmosphere it’s dead

but my heart tells me I’m getting a tiny peek at an angel overhead.)

A random shooting star, as I just mentioned, is over in a blink…

which doesn’t give the person wishing a lot of time to think.

But a scheduled meteor shower…I stood resolute and steady!

awaiting their arrival…my one wish at the ready.

It was a wish for the Earth on Earth day…a wish for all of us too…

that peace, acceptance and love will guide us in everything we do.

That’s why I woke up early this Earth Day…why I was gazing up at the ebony sky

to send a wish for peace and happiness…to be caught by an angel passing by.

Today’s sky, however, was overcast…clouds filled up the air…

Undeterred I kept wishing on stars I knew were shooting there….

Over and over again I sent my wish up to the sky…out over the ocean blue

hoping angels would catch it…and make that dream come true.

My brain tells me thinking shooting stars are angels I can wish upon is a fantasy…

and might not be that smart…

but when it comes to making wishes…

on Earth Day 

and every day…

I tend to listen to my heart.

LOVE IS STRONGER

 

Do not be fooled into thinking there is more hate than love in the world

when you see other people’s prejudices, derision and scorn…

Remember, 'I love you' are the first words spoken when a baby has been born.

If you listen to people who just happen by…from every country…every state…

you will hear more words of love between them than you hear words of hate. 

We sign our greeting cards ‘with love’…our notes and letters too…

It is love’s inspiration that allows us to say, “I do”.

We fall into love…when we least expect it…and though this thought I can’t substantiate…Is there a person anywhere…who’s ever  fallen into hate?

Think about it…How many times a day do you say 'I love you' 

and why do you surmise...

are 'I love you' are the last words ever uttered before a person dies?

The last words we remember…the last words on the mind

of the person who is dying…as well as those they leave behind 

Yes, do not be fooled into thinking in today’s world hate is stronger… 

Hate is only louder but it is weaker….

and in the long run love is stronger

THE MEANING OF ENOUGH

She was seated on a bench by the creek when on a walk my eyes first spied her…

and though I’m not sure what drew me to her…I sat down beside her.

For a while we sat in silence…me…and this old woman I’d never met before…

until our eyes met and we exchanged a smile…which seemed to open up a door.

We began to talk without pretense, without anxiety or fear…

We talked about the weather…how it was cool for that time of year.

We talked about the trees and the butterflies…how the sun bounces off the creek…

Before I knew it I was meeting that old lady on that same bench once a week.

On the inside she was soft and sweet…while her exterior was rough…

and as we spent those days together…she taught me the meaning of enough.

She said when it comes to love…true love…one touch is enough…

When she is sad…to drive away the sadness…one sunbeam is enough….

To understand the beauty of the night…the light of one star’s is enough…

When she looks for beauty in a garden…one flower is enough.

When she’s searching for shade in the forest…one tree is enough….

When she spends time with her friends and family…one moment is enough.

When she searches for happiness throughout her day…one smile is enough…

If the only prayer she ever says is thank you…then that one prayer is enough.

“I only have one life.” she said, “if I live it right then one life is enough.”

“If I should die tomorrow…then I have lived enough.”

She’s been gone for many years…still sometimes on that bench I find myself talking to her ghost…thinking how our treasured memories are the ones we miss the most.

I always say a prayer of thanks to her for teaching me the meaning of enough…

And I’m sure wherever she is…she’s smiling…saying…my one prayer is enough.

OUR ECHOES

 

When I take a walk in the quiet of the morning before the day’s destiny has been cast

If I listen very carefully…I hear echoes of the past.

Echoes of my life from yesterday back to my infancy…

and I hear other echoes that have been resonating throughout eternity.

Echoes of love, compassion, acceptance, kindness and courage resounding endlessly

from wherever they originated…that have found their way to me

I don’t hear echoes of hate and prejudice in the silence as I make my way

which makes me wonder what is it…these echoes are trying to say?

Perhaps these echoes of the morning…all these echoes of the past

want us to understand how echoes of love and kindness are the echoes that will last.

How, even though, hate and prejudice may be the loudest echoes we hear today…

over time, eventually…these echoes fade away.

Drowned out as echoes oscillate from somewhere up above

by echoes of kindness, 

echoes of compassion…

echoes of acceptance…

echoes of love.

Perhaps by looking at our own lives…encouraged by these echoes of the past

we can decide the kind of echoes we leave behind and how long our echoes last.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, when we’re gone, when we no longer cease to be

our echoes join with other echoes that echo through eternity?

NOTES FROM A MONSTER (DREAM CATCHER) NEATH HER BED

 DEAR CHILDREN….

Many a poem and story have been written about imaginary beings like me.

How we are big, ugly, and frightening monsters…but I would have to disagree…

Since we are created in your imagination I think most of us are misunderstood…

You see we come in all shapes and forms and sizes…and most of us are good!

As far as being ugly…though your idea of beauty my features may not match

I assure you in the imaginary community I’m what’s known as quite a catch!

We are not hiding in your closets or underneath your bed…

and we don’t like being called monsters…we prefer dream catchers instead.

It is in your dreams where we dream catchers live…never do we lurk

and the moment you start dreaming is when dream catchers go to work

We watch your dreams as they’re projected…like a movie in your head….

capturing your bad dreams…

so we can hide them in your closets or safely neath your beds.

Your bad dreams are the only dreams we dream catchers will keep….

which means without any bad dreams to disturb you..you can get a good night’s sleep.

And in the morning with the rising sun…as you wake to a new day

once we’re sure you are awake…we throw those captured dreams away.

Only to return each night under the stars glow and the moon’s beams…

to help you get a good night’s sleep by monitoring your dreams.

So please…if you happen to wake up in the night…there’s no need for dread…

we are not monsters-in-hiding…but dream catchers neath your bed.

And if you happen to catch sight of us…here’s a little dream catcher advice:

Lean over…say hello…and every now and then…a thank you would be nice.

LOVE,

THE DREAM CATCHER

MONSTERS NEATH HER BED

“Mommy! Daddy!”

Her screams woke them and when they ran to her she said, 

“I think there’s a monster in my closet and another one under by bed.”

“Hmmm…monsters in the bedroom,” they said, “and not one…but two.

Have no fear for darling…we know exactly what to do!”

As her mom held her tightly her dad opened the closet door…

smiled back at them…and then….

drew his sword saying, “Monster leave our daughter’s closet…

and don’t come back again!”

“Our daughter’s closet…her entire bedroom is not a place where monsters dwell.

Be gone…and tell your monster friends…they’re not welcome her as well!”

He turned and smiled at his daughter

“The monster said there’s no need for an attack.

He said he will be leaving and he’s never coming back.”

“That takes care of one monster.” He said. “Peace in your closet has been restored.”

Then, as he hugged his daughter, he handed Mom the sword.”

“Never fear!” Her mom said wielding the sword above her head.

“I know what to do to rid that monster ‘neath your bed.”

“Beware! I am coming for you monster!” She said as she jumped down from the bed.
when she returned she said the monster’s gone…and he left this note instead.

“There’s no reason to get upset…put away your sword…and then

The monster signed, ‘I’m sorry if I scared you…I won’t come back again.”

Once their daughter’s fears were soothed and she was tucked back into bed…

before she fell asleep…this is what they said…

“There will come a day you will no longer fear monsters in you bedroom…

but since we don’t know where…or when…

with your permission, princess, we will stand guard till then. 

HOW THE PENDULUM SWINGS

 

Have you ever noticed how life is like a pendulum…swinging to and fro..

continuously moving between opposing forces…wherever we choose to go?

As I look out on the world…at this constant fluctuation…this unbroken sway

It seems to me our heart beats to the rhythm of this pendulum every day.

We come, we go…we give…we take…sometimes we win…sometimes we fail.

We sleep, we wake, we laugh, we cry…we breathe in…we exhale.

We are at war, we are at peace…we create, we destroy…we agree, we disagree.

We feel sorrow, we feel joy…we are a friend, we are an enemy.

It matters not how we are brought up, how wealthy we are, or to whatever faith we happen to be clinging…it matters not if we’d like it to stop…the pendulum just keeps swinging.

Sometimes we know the length of its arc…like from sunrise to sunset…

while other swings are more erratic…like from when we hurt someone…to regret.

Sometimes the pendulum swings away to quickly…like when we think we’ve reached perfection….other times, like after a death, it slowly moves in one direction. 

Most of the time we have no control over its distance or its flight…and the best that we can do is climb aboard and hold on tight.

If we’re lucky along the way we find pleasure in the glide…and we can sit back, throw our hands up in the air, close our eyes and enjoy the ride.

All the while hoping when the pendulum swings to sorrow we will not lose our smile…

and praying when it swings to joy…it will linger there a while.

JUST MY LUCK

 

People often ask me where my smile comes from.  

Where do I find my happiness…my joy…my pluck…

When I ponder on it for a while…I think…perhaps…it’s just my luck!

It was just my luck to grow up with a Jewish dad and a Catholic mom

to weather their religious storms…

Just my luck to realize God can appear in many sizes, shapes and forms.

It was just my luck to grow up with blurred vision and a palate far removed from that of a gourmet…

Just my luck to be thankful for any food I have to eat…

and to see the world as a blend of colors…like Monet.

It was just my luck to attend a Catholic school…

where my faith in there god was beaten out of me…

Just my luck to discover my god in nature among the oceans the rivers…the trees.

It was just my luck to be a teacher instead of the football star I dreamed I’d be

Just my luck to understand over the years how much my students were teaching me.

It was just my luck not to be that carefree bachelor traveling the world…

to realize life can be complete…

happily married…raising a family in the same house on the same street.

It was just my luck to appreciate life doesn’t always follow a certain path….

or pattern… or format…

Just my luck to realize I wasn’t as lucky as I once hoped I’d be…

No, I was so much luckier than that!

So when I’m asked where my smile comes from…

Where do I find my happiness…my joy…my pluck…

I will always smile and I will always answer….

I guess it’s just my luck.

LITTLE BIRD

This is a story about Lena, a beautiful, innocent little bird

who taught us by the way she lived why life is such a pretty word.

From her first moments in the nest it was plain to see

by her actions and her attitude…how special she would be.

She was curious and inquisitive…always asking who, what, when where…why

She loved to play with other birds…loved to spread her wings and fly.

She had this wonderful imagination…that’s what made this little bird glow…

“Mommy,” she would ask, “if you won a ticket to anywhere…

where would you choose to go?”

And wherever her imagination took her…

whatever fantasies her heart was busy designing

She imagined her friends and family were with her…

in a place where the sun was always shining.

When one adventure was over…innocently and without pretext…

She would smile and say, “Oh, that was fun!. I wonder what happens next!”

She was a gift from the creator to this world…one of the best things she has ever done…refreshing as a summer breeze and brighter than the sun.

But this little bird’s life was short…it seemed she was only in her dawn…

when suddenly…and without warning…our little bird was gone.

When one’s heart is broken…when our flower no longer blooms

how do we go on?  How do we find any gladness in our gloom?

By remembering Lena our beautiful little bird..

who taught us in the short time she was here how life is such a pretty word.

And by trying to live, as Lena would have wanted…

innocently…without pretext…

each day smiling at the thought of her 

while imagining…

what will happen next.

 

FLOWERS IN THE SNOW

 

Living in Florida where flowers throughout the year routinely grow

I was intrigued by a picture from up north…

someone painted flowers on the snow.

It was there…I thought…in the snow on that cold crisp wintery day

someone decided, with a smile on their face, to put their optimism on display.

Like the bird who rises in the darkness…up before everyone

to serenade the morning in anticipation of the sun

Like the lotus flower who rises from its muddy home without a single stain…

who closes up each night only to bloom each morning again.

Like the sunflower who no matter where he starts as the day’s begun

always finds a way to turn his face into the sun.

We are all creatures of nature created, I believe, with optimism in our heart

and I love to see the moments when optimism plays a part…

Like the birds that sing in darkness…like how different flowers grow…

like when…in the dead of winter…someone paints flowers on the snow. 

TWO EAGLES

 

We have a pair of eagles who, from their nearby nest travel to a tall power pole upon which they like to rest.

We like to greet them when our paths cross…wondering how much they understand 

as they soar across the heavens or perch high above the land.

I like to bring my binoculars in case we run across them high atop their nook…

so I can zero in on the two of them and get a closer look.

The founding fathers admired eagles for their freedom, their strength, their courage and they were indigenous to North America too…which is why the eagle has been a symbol of our country since 1782.

(Hmmmm…freedom, strength, courage and to North America indigenous and connected…seems to me we already had symbol our founding fathers would have been wise to have selected.)

I like to think our founding fathers hoped each generation would work to improve our freedoms…before they slipped into the past…so the next generation and the next and the next would have more freedoms than the last.

But that is never how it worked…freedom for everyone will never come into play…when those in  power use their power to take freedoms away.

Here in Florida and many other states all across this land…  laws are being passed to ostracize and oppress people…history and books are being banned…

Yes, a wave of evil is sweeping across the country 

freedoms are being stolen…from you…and you…and me

which means when our paths cross with the eagles

this is what I see…

I see two eagles…two symbols of America 

who from their perch are witnessing America’s freedoms dying…

and as I zero in for a closer look….

I see two eagles crying.

WHAT'S IMPORTANT

 

Here’s something we all need to know about the color of our skin…

the section that holds the pigment is actually quite thin.

I imagine our creators, after painting the world we were to inhabit in a variety of beautiful hues…decided when it came to creating us…to add a little of color too.

But just a touch of color and I imagine our creators were elated when they realized the beauty of all the colors they created.

I imagine this was the final piece of our creation…the color of our skin…

and knowing how important all the other pieces were is why they made our final piece so thin.

Yes, I. Imagine our creators felt…just like the colors of the flowers, the birds, the sky… the stars…

The color of our skin is but a small fraction of who we are.

I imagine they never imagined that once created…here within…

there would be people whom they created who couldn’t see past the color of one’s skin.

Who allow the color of one’s skin…one infinitesimal fraction of a part…

to block them from discovering what’s in a person’s soul…or see into their heart

If our creators made color only a tiny part of what is you and what is me…

If they didn’t think it was that important…

It makes me wonder…why do we?

IT WILL NOT BE THEIR LAST

 

He was raised by parents from a different time…looking back he doesn’t know why…

but as a young boy he was often told…if you want to grow up strong and powerful……don’t cry.

He grew into a strong and powerful man who…and looking back on his younger years…

he kept control of his emotions and never shed a tear.

Then he fell in love…they created a child…she was the apple of his eye…

when she was young he was proud of the fact…she’d never seen him cry.

Proud the two of them were so similar…like human synonyms…

She was growing up in control of her emotions…strong and powerful…

just like him.

When her mother, his wife, died suddenly…he realized all those years he had been wrong…that holding back his tears is not what made him strong.

He held his daughter’s hand and looked into her eyes…

“When your feeling sad,” he said, “my child…it is okay to cry.”

Squeezing his hand she looked up at him through eyes the deepest blue….

"If it’s okay for me, Daddy.” she said, “then it’s okay for you.”

And for the first time in their lives thy cried together….

shedding their restraints and teachings of the past…

feeling stronger than they ever felt…

knowing this cry would not be their last.

HAPPY EASTER

 

In the wee hours of the morning…from a place where dreams abound

while in the midst of a peaceful slumber I was awakened by a sound.

Realizing I was wide awake…and more sleep would have to wait…

I decided to discover the source of the sound…or, at least, investigate.

As I stepped out my front door I was greeted by an early morning breeze

and when I gazed up at the sky I saw stars twinkling through the trees.

The sound had disappeared in fact there was no sound anywhere…

It was one of those perfect moments where only silence filled the air.

The waning moon was attempting to bring a little brightness to the night

as the shifting clouds did their best to keep the picture black and white.

I stood absorbing the silence…captivated by the moment…mesmerized by the view

trying to savor every moment of the moment before bidding this moment adieu.

I am not a religious man…but even I recognized the sign…

that I was in the midst of something spiritual…

something sacred…

something esoteric…and divine.

Perhaps the creators made the sound to wake me up…to open my eyes

to encourage me to enjoy the birth of Easter morning before they asks the sun to rise.

And that is exactly what I did…I never went back to bed…

No…inspired by the morning I wrote this poem instead…

As a way of wishing you all a happy Easter…

as well as a peaceful and glorious day 

Oh…and tomorrow 

if the creator makes a sound to wake you up..

I suggest…you humbly obey.

WONDERING UNDER THE STARS

 

On a moonless night when you look up at the sky…

and stars infuse your view…

have you ever wondered if there is someone on a distant star

who is looking up at you?

I have!

 

And I wonder if their star has butterflies and bees?

Do they have clouds and birds and rainbows…

flowers, lakes and trees?

As I wonder about their star

and what it’d be like to see beyond its shine…

I also wonder if they’re wondering

the same things about mine.

And do they ever wonder, like me,

if our stars got together…how well would we blend?

Do they ever wonder if it’s possible…for our two stars

to be friends?

Yes, how often on a moonless night I’ve wondered

if there are people like me on distance stars….

and though I might never know the answer…

I like to wonder that there are.