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Did You Ever

Did you ever look at empty space and imagine The brilliance that structured its existence Did you ever call your best friend by the same Rotten name he just called you Did you ever fear for your being, knowing your Ultimate end could be in a minute, in a snap Did you ever watch a kid circle under a lazy Fly ball and glove-block its earthbound path Did you ever love a puppy so much you couldn’t Sleep without checking him eleventy-four times at night Did you ever plow the earth and smell God’s gift to man And talk the next crop up and growing Did you ever race your friends and run until your lungs screamed Falling down laughing at victory or defeat Did you ever watch a spider slowly spin a perfect web With his patience uninterrupted by your insistence of contrariety Did you ever call the night-wind to hush To stillness and lay sandy-eyed waiting Did you ever accept or reject the norms Crammed at you or ignore their existence Did you ever battle yourself with ideas and judgments That no man can answer and still seek your solutions Did you ever simply say hello to a perfect stranger And realize that you are the strange one Did you ever sit in the grass yard of the post office And watch the smothered stares of strangers Did you ever stop to realize that success to one is failure To another and your words rattle empty to set minds Did you ever wish for a chance you’ll never have Realizing you would have succeeded fully Did you ever feel the grip loosen in spite of all your Efforts and wonder about tomorrow Did you ever thank God for your ability to question To learn, to be human Did you ever watch an infant think, the wheels turn And the language of thought distorted Did you ever try to express your opinion To one who will not listen. Did you ever listen when wise men talked Yet incorporated their wisdom only in painful acceptance Did you ever wonder what your Mom and Dad Were like at age twelve Did you ever wonder what you Were like at age twelve Did you ever wish for others to be happy, really happy But they never are no matter what you do Did you ever wish for peace but realize That tranquility is fleeting and temporary

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Andrea Dietrich

Date: 7/26/2022 12:09:00 PM

So many Did you evers here!! As I reviewed them, I think I only related strongly to several of them. maybe five or six! Mostly from the bottom group of them. The top group were more poetically styled! Fun to read, Andy.

Ann Peck

Date: 5/27/2022 8:15:00 AM

I love your poem, Andy. It's filled with wondrous thoughts we've all had. I read your bio and see you're a ham operator. So was my husband ~ W5YGI ~maybe you two talked at some time. Take care.

Andy Chunn
Date: 5/27/2022 7:30:00 PM

It was written long ago....but still applies. I have not been active on the HF bands in a while. Nice to meet you and tell your husband hello from an old, inactive ham. 73's N4IRV

Andrew John

Date: 5/19/2022 2:00:00 AM

Questions, questions, questions! Wow! I love this, Andy (writes Andy). So much to ask oneself.

Andy Chunn
Date: 5/19/2022 7:26:00 PM

Well Andy.....thank you. Yes questions abound in this one. I appreciate you taking time to read my poem. Best wishes!

Joanna Feltham

Date: 5/16/2022 12:46:00 AM

Amazing poem. You had me gripped right until the end. I don't think I'll ever laugh and feel happiness like I did when I was a child roaming free with my friends. I found your poem to be very emotive. Thank you for sharing.

Andy Chunn
Date: 5/16/2022 7:28:00 PM

Those are kind words....and most appreciated. I think we've all been down the path of the poem above. This was written when I was much younger. Thanks again!