Best Elders Poems
A long time ago when our first grandson was young -
I think around the age five or six -
there was a phone call we made to him
to say hello and talk with him for kicks.
We'd tried to make it short because of his attention span.
He’s a kid who later became a not-too chatty young man!
I felt surprised and a bit insulted
(was talking to our grandson such a bore?)
when he said very soon and matter-of-factly:
“What am I still talking to you guys for?”
Salute to elders for being adult!
Adulthood, mysterious experience
Of days of lightness and darkness
Of days of fear and confidence
Even though both at a time.
Salute to elders for being adult!
Mysterious experience
Spiritual and natural
Mount the chest
As though load.
Salute to elders for being adult!
Mysterious experience
Wide knowledge
They speak in proverb
Words of wisdom
That predict the future
As though chiromancer
Long live the elders!
They're modellers
Long live the sages!
They right lead the young.
The elders speak in timeless tones to reconcile the past,
And offer truths from which we choose to fill the roles we're cast.
But though the sage will muse how well the truths can guide our way,
So few will heed and recognize the worth of what they say.
The elders speak a sacred tongue in soft and whispered tone,
Of olden days and simpler ways, of souls who now are gone.
They tell of lies and blunders made throughout the ages passed,
And beg we put their truths to pen, for all to know at last.
They come to me at varied times and occupy my thought
With facts and lore of times before, and other things they've brought.
They seek to put a record straight or make an error right,
When history's lacking in some way and needs a ray of light.
At first, I’d cringe in shock and awe, was overwhelmed and dazed.
At times, I’d feel too small to deal with issues that they raised.
"What should I do?" I asked myself, “Why should I care at all?”
But time has shown that I should trust the wisdom of their call.
I honed my skills and craftsmanship, and dedicated time.
I lent my pen and acumen, and love of word and rhyme.
I judged them not for wrongs they did, their ignorance or views,
For though they erred, the lessons learned are much to dear to lose.
It's not so much the words they say, or lives they lived and lost,
Or ways they tried to go and guide, no matter what it cost.
But what they learned from what they did and left for us to muse,
Much more than gold and treasured gems, are lessons wrought with truths.
I believe many of us charged with making our history palatable for the generations to come
get far too involved in our own sensitivities. We seem to place inordinate significance on our
judgement of our ancestors' ignorance, wrongs done to one another, and politics. As a result,
we overlook the value of the lessons learned and passed along with their legacy. It is the
cost of the wrongs done, the lives lost, and the errors made that inflates the value of the
lessons from which we have to learn... and leaving those lessons in the past is yet a greater
cost, or loss, as the case may be.
Here today; gone tomorrow
In a blink of an eye there could be great sorrow
Jesting no more, just past memories
Kindnesses give always, even if you disagree
Embrace them as if there’s no tomorrow
Blessings to the elders who've had a full life long,
thanks to these who've paved the way for the younger to belong.
Celebrate the elders whose wisdom enriched our life,
kindness to these who've strengthened us in our times of strife.
Praise to the elders whose experiences are passed to you,
grateful for these whose prospective you can continue.
Joy for the elders whose impact stands today,
Remembrance for these who've lived and passed away.
The elders shall pray
My desired haunted trails, my soul feels warmth
I seek the refuge in colors and hues
In reality my spiritual fires aspire each orb
With my feathered one, secluded wills
The elders shall pray
My soul with you in thy house of divine,
epitaph, candles in peace fills the auara
Drums of shaman beat in unison , trees rivers paths
Heavens arms feeling so real, each spirits at last
Holding each soul closes still, rivets Odin lands so elate
The elders shall pray
My silenced soul, wolf voice, a white rose fell
Be with each flute in native ancestral, novice
Agnate soul, feeling each Cherokee rose
Following each dreams catchers prose
THE FORGOTTEN PEOPLE
WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IT WAS AN HONOUR TO SPEND TIME WITH MY GRANDPARNETS, TO LISTEN TO THE MANY STORIES THAT THEY HAD TO TELL ALWAYS WITH AWE AND AMAZEMENT.
BUT AS I HAVE BECOME A SENIOR MYSELF AND HAVE TO DEAL WITH MY AGING MOTHER, I LOOK AROUND ME AND I AM ALONE. WHERE ARE MY SIBLINGS, WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO SAY THAT THEY CARE "MISSING IN ACTION" I AM A PERSON THAT BELIEVES IN ACTIONS OF A PERSON NOT THE SWEET TONGUE WITH SUGAR COATED WORDS, THAT MEANS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
HOW DID WE COME TO THIS, WERE WE HAVE NO TIME FOR OUR AGING PARENTS AND EVERYONE EXPECTS FOR ONE PERSON TO CARRY ALL THE BURDENS, THAT WE HAVE TO ENDURE DURING THIS TIME.
OH, WHAT A SHAMEFUL PLACE THAT WE HAVE ARRIVED AT IN OUR SOCIETY WHEN THERE IS NO RESPECT FOR OUR ELDERS, WHO HAVE BEEN THE PILLAR OF OUR SOCIETY, NO ONE HAS THE TIME TO SPEND WITH THEM, NOT EVEN A MINUTE "SHAMEFUL"
YET THEY ARE QUICK TO TAKE FROM THEM, TO BLEED THEM OF ANY FINANCES THAT THEY MAY HAVE" SHAMEFUL"
WHAT HAS HAPPEN TO HONOUR YOUR AGING PARENTS, WITH LOVE AND RESPECT, JUST COMMON DECENCY.
TAKING CARE OF THEM IS NOT EASY, BUT LOVE CONQUERS ALL IT IS SOMETHING THAT EVERY GENERATION HAS TO PLAY ITS PART.
REMEMBER THAT ONE DAY IF YOU LIVE LONG ENOUGH, THAT WILL BE YOUR FAITH, BECAUSE WE REAP WHAT WE SOW EVENTUALLY.
THE DEBT THAT WE OWE OUR PARENTS IS A DEBT THAT WE CAN NEVER REPAY, ESPECIALLY THE DEBT TO YOUR MOTHER.
REVERE THEM, LOVE THEM, FORGIVE THEM, TAKE CARE OF THEM, GIVE THEM THE DIGNITY OF LIVING THEIR LAST DAYS IN PEACE.
The Elders Say
The Elders say that fears make you weak;
And you should always think before you speak.
They teach to treat all as your sister or brother;
And the planet as your Great Mother.
They say actions are more honorable than words;
And all messages are delivered by the birds.
Show respect to all but grovel to none;
Have no regrets when your journey is done.
They say to teach the old ways again;
To treat all strangers as if they were a friend.
Cherish life as a most precious treasure;
But live for responsibility and not for pleasure.
They say that all things circle back around;
What energies you send out are the ones that will be found.
Keep in harmony and balance with all;
If one should stumble, then we all shall fall.
They say do no harm and help when you can;
Look into the eyes when you shake their hands.
In all you do and all you are;
Integrity and honesty will take you far.
Darlene Doll Smith
I cry for the boys who just need to be left to be themselves
To play and explore, take risks and learn the hard way
With peers, and fathers and grandfathers
Getting the role models they need and deserve
From actual males and not the nurturing females
Who are now head of almost half of all households
And more than three quarters of all teachers and counselors
Females who all may mean well, but end up
Raising something that too often really isn’t a man.
I cry for the girls who just need to be left to be themselves
As tough as that can sometimes be
To slowly and steadily fill out
To become a woman whose whole is greater than her parts.
To celebrate and respect their femininity
Safe and secure to excel as females
Protected from males in sports and social spaces
To embrace being female, instead of copping out
To try and be a male, while ending up neither.
I cry for the children who just need to be left to be themselves
To play and explore and grow
For the few short years it is to be young
To keep their innocence as long as possible
And a child-like sense of wonder forever
Even if it remains hidden in private beneath a maturing face.
To be cherished and protected, nurtured and empowered
By the adults in their lives, and to know their elders
And the love that only comes from generations of experience.
(7/12/24)
Alike an Elderberry tree and conspicuous
not a Honeysuckle sweet vacuous
we ripen with antiquity
an intoxicating aroma of iniquity
Folklore spirits rhyming in chant
Elder-mother wood nymph with plant
never growing obsolete as to everlasting
if faith be with red berries blasting
Blooming in all lands twas platinum
not of gray headed falsely handsome
instead draped with greenery youthful
seasoned in summer and early Fall truthful
Perhaps tis cure for the respiratory infected
such as the contagion affected
so prepare cooked wine non-alcoholic
and live a full life with this antibiotic
Elder's wrinkles--antique lace,
Taking selfies is a disgrace,
We're the sperm who won the race,
Staying positive is a grace,
Now put a smile on your face!
I once saw two elderly Elders sitting side by side.
While one elderly Elder was thin, the other was wide!
Heard the older elderly Elder say, he was feeling old
And feeling quite ill from a terrible cold!
The younger elderly Elder said he too was cold
And like the older elderly Elder, he felt old!
Though he was devastated to be growing old,
Unlike the older elderly Elder, suffered no cold!
Shortly, the elderly Elders were joined by a third,
Who passed a comment on what he’d overheard.
Said that of the elderly Elders, now numbering three,
By far the coldest and oldest, was certainly he!
Older than the first elderly Elder by half a score.
He was colder than the younger elderly Elder, what’s more!
Then this elderly Elder,- the oldest elderly Elder yet seen,
Sat with two elderly Elders - young and old - in between
The two younger elderly Elders. Though both were old!
And the younger elderly Elder was cold and old,
It was the fatter elderly Elder, who was older
Than the younger elderly Elder, who was indeed colder,
And thinner than the older elderly Elder, but not as cold
As the eldest elderly Elder who came later as was told!
He, the eldest elderly Elder being neither thin nor fat
Was the oldest elderly Elder. No doubt about that!
So we’ve three elderly Elders ,- old, older and oldest!
The one with a cold, was by no means the coldest!
And neither was the one who was cold, the oldest!
It was the eldest elderly Elder who was the coldest
Besides which, of the elderly Elders, he was oldest!
So the oldest elderly Elder with no cold was the coldest!
Such was the state of these elderly Elders on this seat.
Possibly the three wisest elderly Elders you might meet.
They, having decided which elderly Elder was oldest,
And which of these three elderly Elders felt the coldest,
They wondered who was the wisest? But we’ll never know,
For, as the elderly Elders were discussing who was so?
An even older elderly Elder - the oldest elderly Elder ever seen
Arrived. This would perhaps further confuse the scene?
But before this older elderly Elder, had a chance to say,
The three younger elderly Elders rose, and walked away!
Rhymer. January 20th, 2018
(So you think you’re confused?)
By the Sun and Moon, we see our home; Mother Earth and Father Sky.
These are the four corners of the gardens.
Teardrops from the sky sprinkle the rosemary, sage, and lavender during the Moon’s reign.
As the Moon resigns for the day, hues of golden light arise from the dusky clouds.
Dew droplets dance as the winds whisper through the sacred grounds.
Mixes of the scents in the damp, early dawn are a temptation too desirable to ignore.
Four old statues look after the four corners. These were the Great Elders.
Each elder looking after its children in unison; One can’t be without the others.
The River of Life runs through the garden like veins giving action to idleness.
The choirs of songbirds fill the air with songs that travel through the winds.
A wise gardener tends to his children; speaking softly and fanning fragrances.
“Life is a garden;” said the wise gardener. “Filled with both life and death.”
“Life is very memorable but death is only temporal. For every new season, we are born again.”
The wise gardener continued “But, what is life without the proper nourishment?”
“Be the water in the watering can. Be the minerals in the soil. Care for your own garden…”
“…because no one else plants the same life as you do.”
The elders have tried to show me how far away,life
was from the truth,they have tried to warn me,they
have said along the path i was on ,there were path
holes,the truth was i hated the truth.
Now that am in this deep dark hole am so full of
regrets,but the elders have tried,they have tried
to enlite me,they have tried to tell me that the
world might seem very fascinating,but the real
side of it was never fascinating like i thought.
They've said thereal side of it was never friendly,
but boorish,unlike my role modle who died in my year of
birth,i don't just cry sometimes but i always cry,
for the tears falling down along my poor narrished
pink cheeks,am the one to put a blame on.
I have no one to point my finger to,saying is your
fault,instead i got to point it back to my self and
admit that it is my fault that am in this deep dark
hole,as for the elders they have tried with all they
had,because they had forseen.
But i mr know it all,i mr know it all,i played i know
all,I had that thing that a man got to have a scar,i
fooled my self that i got to see the unseened,which
the elders said were beyond me,and believe you are
not ready to see those.
It's What's under
the hood that counts.
Antiques are worth money-
Like old things have much value.
Knowledge and wisdom
are the title's transferred.
Only people are
devalued with time.
One day sit down
and speak to an elder.
Open up his chest -Find
what out how he survived....
the death defying
feat of growing old.
Survived sickness
cold . and wars.
Living in poverty most times
or how they struck gold.
How they farmed the land.
or survived a famine
What secrets will they share?
Realize he/ she, may have
Forgotten things/That you never
even knew...
Info you will never know
unless you sit and talk
With an antiquated human.
The Old Species
are like antique cars ...
It's under the hood that counts.
If you are lucky and
Blessed the elder
may open up to you.
Reveal real
wisdom that you may
store and use.
If they read you as a fool
They will shut down -
Clam up and shut you out.
And you will remain a
fool- with another missed
opportunity- and many
more to come.
And the secrets of the
Elders will " to you"
be lost forever.
There is a reason he /she
did not sign a transfer of
his/ her-title over.
Even with your
sense of
entitlement itching you.
He did not will it to you -
You being as an wreckless
child the elder felt that
You may kill yourself
or others- with that
transferred power.
Believe me they
know who and whom
will be good stewards
of their integrity.
The ones who do
the less harm-
and the most good
inherit equal shares.