“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” E.E. Cummings
***************************************************************
The Story of my Life
A stalwart pine tree battered by vile men
And shattered by the heartless hands of fate
I still stand shining, scanning the firm land
In life`s late hours and, though in feeble state,
With valour I bear on myself my weight.
I watched one thousand waves crash on the shore
Echoing, howling, there is so much more
I watched one thousand trees sway East to West
I had fallen beneath them after doing my best
I could still hear the bird calling, from where I said goodbye
The bear on the mountain couldn't find me and wondered why
There's so much to do, so many worries, no time to cry
There's too much to look for when feeling lost, but I try
A Daisy used to be enough to bring a smile
And the frosted snow covered tree tops carried me a mile
Shining in a glory from a hilltop that was mine
To lose where I was grounded, I'm still trying to be fine
For now, I'm just a wanderer, missing home and what I had
Tossing smiles around, but admitting that I'm sad
From moving water, to shining trees, all across the land
I continue marching, like a single player band
Heidi Sands
12/22/24
(C)opyright
There once was a bear
Who was loved for his shoes
To a girl he was gifted
Just her cuddly muse
On a once rainy day
With a shelter required
The brolly was shaken
To it's cover retired
Then a browse through the store
With her eyes shining bright
The gloss of his footwear
Caught a beam of the light
A flash and a sparkle
Was all that it took
So a friendship was forged
That no force could unhook
As they travelled together
Through the sun and the rain
Their companionship moulded
By life's tough terrain
So the girl became woman
Then a grandma and such..
The bear became gifted
And was loved, not so much
Then one day, for some reason
His world became dark
In the silence he longed
For the girl and her spark
After years it seemed, waiting
One day it occurred
There was light and a voice
Of encouraging word
"I love him", she said
And he knew it was true
Despite fur slightly flattened
Or less sparkly shoe
He remembered way back
To the dusty old shop
Once that love lives inside you
It's a heart that won't stop
We circus animals were extremely tired of the ringmaster’s sass
They gave him the wing, the spit, and their nod said the ass.
A duck, a dog, and a tiny bear on a ball ran away too.
The ostrich limped out, for he was wearing a cosmetic shoe.
Time worries the mind, and the days mount up in hast
Years overwhelm the body and lay ambitions to waste
Dreams, never fulfilled rest in the bucket- list of things to do
Tarnished and lost in time, a witness of the decline in you
One must fear the recliner more than a bear on the hunt for pray
It sets there ready to lean back and welcome the brightest coming day
And as the sands of time peep in and slide steady through the dial
Running - shoes become a bit draggy and starts shuffling the last mile
Minutes keep marching on and the mirror never lies
And as every imperfection appears, it exposes the empty pride
Time’s laughs and saws memories in half
But keeps the ones less easy to bare for those in stone are cast
A reminder that riches are fleeting, hardly the measure of wealth
Glitter dims when time chips away at the body and only a shell is left
Why trust the things of this world where the flesh falls to decay
when Christ gives internal life when the sands of time are washed away
Was first day of school when evil befell
the town children who marched in happy tune,
and the school bell tolling rung its death knell
for the dead and dying who died too soon.
Sadly there is none so Godless and none
so dangerous as a fool with a cause -
no rest will come to the ghosts of Beslan
until the cause of peace gives hatred pause.
A schoolyard is not a theatre of war,
no child a legitimate enemy -
are men’s hearts so black, rotten to the core
that he finds refuge in atrocity?
What badge of honour behoves the wearer
to bear on children a reign of terror?
Written: October 2004
Wrote this after the senseless school siege
at Beslan in Russia by Islamic militants. At
least 334 people died including 186 kids in
2004. Now similar atrocities curse Ukraine.
I once saw a bear on the prowl
Who, one night encountered an owl
The owl said "Who"
The Bear answered "Pooh"
I knew something smelled a bit fowl
Educated,
We all bear on our souls,
Understanding,
About this world's ephemeral nature
And work hence,
Towards making of our stay upon her soils,
One worthy of being remembered!
Educated,
We all ride upon the rivers of humility,
Well aware that arrogance is merely
A weapon of the devil
And that adorned with its wings,
We shall end up at the beginning of it all,
While the end keeps twinkling its own
Sign, desperately wanting us to notice it!
Educated,
We see the world as needing us more
Than we needing it
And we thereby we become selfless
Happily putting in our hands into kneading dough
So as to give to the world
A smile upon its face
And since charity begins at home,
Then, we understand that our old and worn
Parents are not there merely to fill up our pockets
Or our mouths
But since their duties towards us have been completed,
Time rings its bell for us, to signal us that we are
To return to them their favors!
Educated
Why,
Educated,
We sprinkle magic everywhere we set our feet
And watch lilies and roses sprout
As abundantly as would life itself
Upon a world which shall never belong to any of us!
12.30.2021
Only few vague notions remain.
Resource lowering has emerged.
Poverty and shame endure strain.
Money and action have diverged.
They shackled him with sharp pebbles.
False idols' rage will not be tamed.
Justice can be served, he chisels.
Though with a spirit that's untamed.
I cede safety pins for deep breadth.
Bleed on the rough stones as I move.
Preparedness is worse than death.
Sheer struggle in vain; I chose prove.
The jagged bores of shrub and gorse.
Slumbering softly down their track.
Unyielding uphill this steep source.
The birds chirp and echo ducks quack.
No skin, bear on shreds of mercy.
Our cells used to make a new death.
Keep your bliss, won't bite agony.
Go for different god and breadth.
I'll scale this hard peak until dusk.
Enjoy summer's beauty and clean air.
The wind will take the dusk luck.
Free of jagged rocks and despair.
Written: September 11, 2021
''J'' Contest, New or Old Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Constance La France
Today commemorates that awful day-
termed nine-eleven, twenty years ago,
when we, in shock, stood helpless in dismay
of what our eyes observed- that terror show;
planes downing our Twin Towers in that way.
So hard to comprehend those loved ones gone,
observing there or from our TV sets,
and praying that firefighters could bear on
to help, but later learned with sad regrets,
that hundreds gave their lives in spite of brawn.
The visions we beheld that dreadful year-
three-thousand dead- can never be erased.
Their families then left to persevere
without dear loved ones- prayed to be embraced
by faith in God to heal their pain and fear.
Today, our fears are bounding once again!
The Afghan warriors were just set free-
ending the war our soldiers died in! Then-
our weapons left behind that now decree-
more fears of future wars; not if- but when.
September 11, 2021
You always walk behind me when I walk alone
Come lets explore each others life stories
How much you bear on your back
You make your appearance for hours tonight
You are way better at carrying sorrow
The shadows that fill me, uncovering
each others secrets
Forever imprinted on common ground
Why don’t you reveal to me
your dreams and aspirations?
Because tonight me and the stars
will be watching you
The moon shedding it’s light upon us
Guiding two sets of footsteps
With you slowly moving to my side
To vanish without saying a word at sunrise
18.3.2021
It only seems that way
I find myself floating. How did I get here?
Is this the sea? An ocean? A lake? Or just in a swimming pool?
My hands are submerged my eyes are closed the feeling engulfs me.
I feel everything around my fingers and also nothing at all.
I am a cloud, I am the wind but I'm aware the weight I bear on this floating body.
Every sensation is flowing through me, I feel lighter than air.
Do I dare open my weary eyes? Will the light that will fill my vision burn my sights?
Im comfortable, here forever i could be.
Like a reed in the water, the great and sorely missed man once told me.
Here is where the pain subsides, here I am weightless. Even my mind bears no heaviness
Let me stay here, let my body become one with this body holding me.
I have become the water engulfing me, I disappear slowly beneath.
The birds sing and the breeze whistles along too. The crashing waves are my clapping audience hope you have enjoyed this show.
Forever we are connected you and I
For you are the sky and now I am the water below.
(Dont look too much into this, I wrote it when relaxing in the bath feeling aware of how my body felt under the water while listening to pink Floyd haha)
He was the kind of guy who overreacted
Frenzied over nothing, played devil’s advocate
And revved up every meeting by poking the bear.
Other employees either loved or hated him.
There were almost no gray feelings about Sam.
He was a hero to those who loved drama.
The workers who felt uncomfortable with heated exchanges,
Tried their best to bow out of meetings if he was attending.
He was the boss’s son, however, and showed up at most of them.
One day social media posted a video of a bear shaking a man
It was funny to people who did not know Sam,
But hysterical to those who do.
Because they would have expected Sam to yell and scream
Run away, and lead the bear on a happy merry chase.
Instead, Sam kept calm. Something he never did in meetings.
This was the turning point for Sam.
He became a hero, and much more quiet at work.
Many said it was his realization that life can be short.
Thus, he decided to not waste another minute poking the bear.
Sometimes it comes back and hits you
Harder than the hit the fan.
You were just being you and doing
Whatever it is that you do and then
All of a sudden there's a polar bear on your chest
Cold and unmoving
Taking your breath because of its beauty and your undeniable dread
It took how long to forget though not forgive?
But now you're back again to hold me captive yet another time
Do you ever tire of locking yourself inside of my body
Ruling from my mind while telling your minions to dance on my heart strings
Maybe it didn't occur to you that I'm happier
When you don't take control I don't want you here
You hurt
And yet
I don't call someone to shoot the polar bear dead instead
Instead I admire every feature of its face while sobbing uncontrollably
And remember when the terrifying polar bear was once a playful loving cub
Please go away because I want you to come back
I try to push it all away through I fail
I'm tired of this month after month I'm through I'm through
Get the hell out of my mind remove yourself from atop my chest
I miss you
"the fighting act is the final act"
Buzz Lightyear under the elephant.
the bear on an air mattress.
Gould locked in a rectangular box.
the young man behind the old man.
what they try to kill.
those addicted to the crowd will
die in the crowd.
those addicted to the dollar will
accuse many of stealing.
keep typing.
time will pass and those
that hide behind their addiction
to attention, will fade into a box
full of Robin drops.
rising to the top is a choice.
love the question and it’s life
giving purpose.
I’ll never be in Wrigley field
but I can live dying in L.A.
By: Chicano Eddie
7.29.18
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