Tuesday, January 15, 2019

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED

As we walk barefoot in the sand we quickly come to understand
a lesson we would love to teach
That an enlightened grain of sand is one that comes to understand
she or he…that grain of sand…she is the beach…

As we walk along the shore…we find when we explore
an awareness…a belief…a simple notion
That an enlightened wave upon the sea is much more than symmetry
for he or she…that single wave of water…is the ocean.

When we walk out in the rain…we quickly ascertain
a thought we feel obligated to explain
How an enlightened drop of rain…can easily maintain
That he, or she..one drop of water…is the rain

When we walk under the trees..and see leaves swaying in the breeze
it is there we feel quite emphatically
how each enlightened leaf…has a singular belief…
they are more than just one leaf…they are the tree.

So before this poem adjourns…what is it we have learned
from the sand, the ocean, the rain, and from the tree.
That to be an enlightened human being…we must all begin by seeing

How each and every one of us…is humanity

Monday, January 14, 2019

THE MEMORY OF HER SMILE

Their eyes met but for a moment 
only lingered on each other a short while
but it was enough for him to capture forever….

the memory of her smile.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

THE LAST TIME WE CLOSE OUR EYES

It happens every day…it comes as no surprise
When the day is done…we fall asleep…we gently close our eyes…

And we assume that every morning…again we’re not surprised
when a new day will dawn before us…as we open up our eyes.

But the other day a friend of ours…it was kind of a surprise
went to sleep and it was the last time she ever closed her eyes…

I’m sure, although, she was prepared, she didn’t know right then
once she closed those beautiful eyes…they would never open again.

And so it makes us wonder…it makes us think…sometimes we agonize…
Will we be happy with the life we’ve lived…the last time we close our eyes?

Have we played and laughed and smiled enough?  Have we been kind in our replies?
Have we danced and sang and shared enough before that last time we close our eyes?

Have we loved and have we been loved?  Have we enjoyed the oceans and the skies?
Have we accomplished some of our hopes and dreams…before that last time we close our eyes?

Have we been compassionate and accepting to everyone we greet?
Have we been the kind of person…we would like to meet?

If today is the day we experience our final moments…our final awakening…our final sunrise…
Have we left good memories for those who tomorrow will open up their eyes?

Of course each one of us has our own questions….our own list we must comprise….

Things to make us wonder…before that last time we close our eyes.

Saturday, January 12, 2019

ONE HOUR AGO

Time and fate are unpredictable as united in life they flow
Take the man and the woman in this story…lets go back an hour ago.

They had a pleasant morning…she had coffee…he…cocoa
as they talked and laughed together…only an hour ago.

When the policeman told him she was gone…he screamed…he hollered NO!
You must be mistaken, he cried…she was here an hour ago.

You must be confused…I’m sure…in fact…I know
you must have the wrong person…we were together an hour ago.

The policeman explained there was an accident…it happened in the snow
she died immediately, the doctor said…about an hour ago.

The policeman stood in silence…as the man swayed to and fro
Thinking how his life was different…only an hour ago.

The policeman’s seen it many times…he never gets use to it though…
How people wish their lives would return to where they were an hour ago…

He sees it on their faces…they instantly lose their glow
when they realize their life will never be the same as it was an hour ago…

It reminds us all to cherish every moment…because we truly never know

when our life will change forever…like theirs did…one hour ago.

Friday, January 11, 2019

SUPER POWER

He said, “Hey Mom I wish I had a super power!”
His mom said…”But you do!
of all the people in this world

no one else…is you!”

Thursday, January 10, 2019

HELLO, MY DARLING

It’s funny what we remember about people…
the little things that stick inside our head…
today I am remembering
something she always said. 

You knew there was something special about her
from the moment she would meet you…
There was this wonderful kind of elegance
in the way that she would greet you

And every time thereafter
she would greet you the same way…
She’d make you feel unique…exceptional
when ‘Hello, my darling’…she would say

‘Hello, my darling’ 
it was a simple message…
genuine and clear 
‘Hello, my darling’ 
three little words 
that became music to our ears.

Because when she said ‘Hello, my darling’
we knew she meant every word she said
which is why ‘Hello, my darling’
still echoes inside our heads…

She’s not hear to greet us anymore
to help us start our day
but one of the gifts of memory
is how we hear ‘Hello, my darling’ anyway…

‘Hello, my darling’ will always bring a smile to our faces
and tears into our eyes…
What we wouldn’t give for one more ‘Hello, my darling’

now that she’s said her last goodbye.

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

IT COULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN

This is a story mixed with sadness…a story of inhumanity
It’s story mixed with madness…a story of brutality

It’s a story of people who didn’t look like US
who could not understand
how we wanted them to go away
how we wanted them off of ‘our’ land..

How we were willing to push them aside
to our own honor and dignity betray..
How we were willing to turn our backs…
and force them to go away.

How we were willing to allow their children
to be stripped from their parents’ arms.
How we were willing in the name of America
to cause such lasting harm….

Of course I’m taking about Native Americans and American Japanese
who endured America’s fear and bigotry and atrocities such as these…

But this all happened long ago, you say!
Give America a break!
We are a different country now!
We have learned from our mistakes! 

That was a less civilized…less enlightened America, you say
We have changed a lot since then.
There’s no way in America today…

this could ever happen again!