We're going on vacation
Words innocent and pure
Visions of sun and beaches
Are conjured up for sure
The marketers are genius
At portraying family bliss
A carefree family skipping
Through waves not to be missed
But just below the surface
Lurk undertones of woe
The preparations necessary
Belay the surface glow
The focus turns to prepping
The job, the house the yard
The feeding of the pets
The domicile to guard
And then there is the packing
The lists, and lists of lists
And luggage bulging at the seams
I think you get the gist
And finally departure
On crowded roads no less
Who turned off the oven
We fret and try to guess
Perpetual construction
And hours of sitting still
Are we there yet yell the children
It's pure parental hell
So if you didn't need one
When planning this vacay
You certainly do now
I hope it goes your way!
Falling away from the Church
No need to believe
Some would say . . .
All my help comes
In trust
In the Lord
No enemy shall harm me
The Lord is my armor
Guide me
Fill me
Holy Spirit
As I wait in faith
Mercy and Love
meet me
Wash over me
Know I what is good
Repentance
God forgives
His Grace is beneficial
Sufficient for my path
though blinding darkness and light
Belay me
Save
Not delay
Push me
Lift my bowed brow
That I might see Heaven
That my suffering not be in vain
That my soul shall linger in goodness
That my seeds be sewn in fertile soil
That my fruit be plentiful
And beneficial to Thee
Bill Marable
Before we play, let's preamble with the entree,
Enjoy the soft shoe shuffle, before the souffle.
Dancing tipsy, on tippy-toes, to belay and delay the mainstay.
It's a wily whisper of words, a teaser to savor in foreplay.
To amble and gamble, to begin with the starters on show,
Unscrambles the egg, but won’t scramble the glow.
For it's only a tongue-tip foretaste, a wink to what's next.
A fling ding unfettered, a sinew stretch, before things get complex.
It's like players who tune their strings, before starting to play.
It's like scene-setters setting the stage for ballet.
It's a warm-up, a rehearsal, a try-out, to get things right.
Before the curtains call up, ready to go on opening night.
Just belay, will you,
hook-up and just stay.
Grab a mooring,
until the break of day.
Or ride at anchor on line,
rode to sea's bedstead,
instead.
Just belay, and moreover just stay,
steadfast and sheltered, right here secure,
with no if and buts
for up-anchor, quick-and-away lifts,
to aweigh, your belay stay
with me today.
Yonah, Ownah of the Eruv!
Geo. Washington has the same birthday,
Like George the Father of our Country,
R’ Ribiat & Baila are blessed by many,
Even TA’s Gabbai “By Jove!”
Truly Baila’s rock solid “Belay”,
In Detroit, Yonah made his entry,
Torah sagacious & canny,
Yet “Rough & Ready”, a treasure trove,
Known for a Yiddish “Kopf” & Wood Handy,
Star of David “geometry”,
On cherry-picker, we pray that high up, he falls not on his “Fannie”,
May Yonah “laugh it off” and “keep his sanity!”
Looking out
he took that step
intrepid
and risked it all
Faith to act
as his belay
one last piton
in the wall
Descent set free
in motion
a true heart
to guide him down
For love of life
and moments gone
belief once lost
—refound
(The New Room: December, 2023)
give a little,
squeeze a little drop,
give up on,
the illusion of seclusion
belay to open up,
to be becalmed
to be becoming.
Born under a bad sign,
verses time recalled
harder luck and trouble,
moments trapped and stalled
Born under a bad sign,
rock of ages sold
answers stay unquestioned,
bells no longer toll
Born under a bad sign,
darkness settles in
rumors take the place of truth,
wages buying sin
Born under a bad sign,
desperate to belong
days belay what lies conscript,
wordless—heartless—gone
(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2022)
Final Tribute
(for the Last Caesar)
Give the annual percentile amount
of your iron-copper gathering
The yearly brow liquidity
is required by the silver arm of vexation
Hemoglobin promissory is handed
to the seated image stamped on the penny
Spinal rein acquiescence,
bent will to the usury yield is mandatory
Because the last Caesar said make it so
The coins are jingo collected,
earmarked primarily for a military preference
Give ad infinitum;
blood, sweat and tears
is the required sum
Profess fiscal fealty to the feudal lord
of a monetary divided land
Take a sharecropper stand,
a servile oath of stained cloth submission
What is the scarlet vow protection condition?
Pay the final tribute
with the parting of your farthing soul
Give with mint-scented breath,
(a legion air of pleb compliance)
the placid portion of patriotic cuckold
Pocket pawns ask only for golden liberty,
to debt pursue life, love and happiness
With deep tributary lender lament,
the last Caesar said belay that request
09-14-21
Every dawn hope
has a new expectation for
a brighter future ... a better life
But there’s always
a lot of dark days
Mourning days that don’t sunset right
Bad tick-tock times,
tearful chimes when things go wrong
Awry moments ... happiness gone
Another something,
another disheartening distress call
Pulse negative gain,
choke-chained to the bawling wall
Questions offered pillow bail,
yet, cellular fear remained
Answers, a silent rescue wail
got deep slumber detained
Awake to the morn truth,
there’s always
another something pain
Vulnerable hearts
often ain’t misled proof
Bullets of untoward persuasion
penetrate the place
where chaste vows imagine
Just another something
to wish belay
Firmament patience
will have it's say
Prayer sure,
that the tears of joy
Will have the final reckoning
Watery pleasure overflowing
is rooted in faith
Another everything’s okay,
sequoia day
Is soul survival ingrained
11-15-20
It is as warm as a flame
here in Tennessee embark
we listened to the Titans game
on a trip to Centennial Park
We saw quite a few belay stance
such as M&M people
painted on haystacks
vandalism or legal
We beheld some geese
and also duck
people walking dogs on their leash
and squirrels running amuck
There's a replica of the Parthenon
there also
a giant statue of Athena Babylon
wall so
Then we stopped at the pet store
and got our cats some treats
after that we went home indoor
twas our daily feats
*Go Titans!
intimidating serrated crest
emulates Ansel's view
challenges down-clad one
to climb her stretch-marked belly
a gaze upward
at silver glazed wall
the glacial rock face
mirrors reflection
filigree flakes
dissolve on the tongue
boot prints sink
crackle the earth
snow-white evergreens
sovereigns at treeline
bark shushing commands
silencing animals
knurled branches
dangle icicle prisms
sun-spotted glister
blinds vision of peril
jagged shards cleave
ragged gashes rake skin
rocks amass between boulders
force grueling detours
precarious pitons
frostbitten feet
belay icy sheer
as senseless hands fail
halo-lit cloud's
enveloping haze
shadows fickle crevasses
that repel gaffs
clawed to the summit
stand exhausted
raise stiffened arms
roar echo of triumph
Be not becalmed, but busy, buzzy, bustling;
bedazzling but not bedraggled;
beloved, bewitched but be not besotted.
Be bewitching, but not belittling nor besmirching.
Begin to be -
become, belong, befriend, beseech, beget
Bewilder, befuddle, bedazzle,
Make bequests - beguile, beseech, bestow, bequeath,
to belay fate bedeviled with
what is not to be.
Beyond the buzzing, hustle and bumbling
be businesslike, but not belligerent nor bossy
Be bespattered with pollen begotten in harvest.
Climbing the Nose route ...
Perfect weather - feeling fresh!
I should take the point ...
Climbing partners are nervous
So we'll go slow ... and steady
Highest rock face in the world
"On belay?", "Belay on ... climb!"
( Syllables counted @ HowManySyllables.com = 5,7,5,7,7,7,7 )
With music playing from across the room,
the notes of love are drifting through the air,
and in my heart our romance still abloom
with bodies swaying to our song so fair.
I hear your whispers echo in my mind,
those playful words designed to light my fire;
the passion that we always sought to find;
that lustful high for which our souls aspire.
The way your hands would gently touch my face
as tender lips of pink came close to mine;
your camisole of black Chantilly lace,
these thoughts of you now leave my heart to pine.
But since the angels took your soul away,
my sanity, these memories belay.
January 5, 2019
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