FATHER TO ELDER SON: ONCE MORE AGAIN
I am your father;
Let me not be a bother,
Nor your enemy:
Please come and visit with me;
My time here will soon not be:-
The compass of God,
Has never led one astray;
Satan’s does—each day:-
Be in God’s navigation;
And love’s resurrection:-
Have mercy on me,
And forgive me for my sins
Against God and thee:-
Love you more than you can know;
Forgive me before I go:-
Forgiveness of me
Is not about forgetting;
It’s about mercy:
For the pain you’ve given me,
God knows, I’ve forgiven thee.
I’ll die loving you,
I have lived life loving you:
God guiding me on:-
And as death takes me further,
Pray tell, greets from your brother:-
REFLECTIONS OF A WATERED ELDER
IN AND OF WE GREENS ??
Like the bright green grass,
We continue onward growth:
God, fertilizing.
Our youth, moist and fresh,
Are in dire need of being dried and
Cured to withstand today's trying times.
Void of Rights of Passage–barely rooted
And anchored in the sustaining energy
Of ourstory, our youth have become like
Unchartered ships in aimless serpentine waters,
Whorlwinding in a socio-psycho, bigoted cesspool:-
In Proverbs and Psalms
It has been collectively written:
“Train a [child] in the way
[They should go…[and] that the Lord
Is [the] light in [their] salvation;
[Whom] should [they] fear?”
The resurrection of the Village waits,
And the youth too; come, fellow elders,
Let us mirror and reflect ourstory’s journey
In a way our youths may envision their
Present-day destination: Least we fail
In ourstory’s present journeying:-
??: Extended family name
sweet spring awakens earth from winter sleep
with bold shouts of color playfully laid
on flowers, chirping birds and butterflies~
for you the elder willows will still weep,
and here in softness of the springtime glade
our nature's own dear Mother will advise
those who come with heavy heart’s hopeless pleas,
those whose love of life has been sudden frayed
by winter's last cold storm in human guise~
now you may take ease
storms have made you wise.
They said we were liars
Burnt away all our cities
But even with these fires
I still felt the cool breeze
My little star, don’t ever fall
Run before the sky hits dawn
I’ll be here to catch you now
Even if I don’t know how
They won’t take the motherland
The home of us all
Don’t let them lay their hands on you
I’ll keep you safe, it’s very true
And as the sun sets tonight
You’ll beat cancer in this fight
And when our leader screams your name
Or if this place goes down in flames
Just call for some help from me
And together we’ll run free
Pliny, the elder, heard
About beavers
And their magical testicles
From a vagrant
Russian merchant.
On his bestiary
He also praised unicorns
And the naked
Gymnosophists
Of the far Orient;
The vagabond sages
Who only ate
Once a year
And beans at that!
(Like my mother used to say:
“Everywhere in the world
People eat beans.”)
One of these hierophants
Spoke for trees
And interpreted
Their seed spread
As omens.
(Some truth to that:
Seed pods harbinger
Drought and merry times.)
Yes, Pliny
Wrote what he heard
And wrote much of it
So much that my toponymic
Ancestral brethren,
In Hispania Tarraconensis,
Wanted it all that wisdom
For themselves.
the greatest classroom
I ever sat in
was my mother's kitchen
she said
give what you want
if you get it back stay
if you don't leave
she said
you might not ever get a degree in law
but you damn well better
get a degree in people
she said
you cannot
have an independent mouth
and a dependent ass
she said
don't criticize
the recipe
only criticize the dish
she said
marriage is like
a construction company
you are supposed to build things
she said
the devil
does more harm with a lie
than a knife or gun
she said
you may not believe in God
but if you look in my eyes
you will see the results
the greatest classroom
I ever sat in
was my mother's kitchen
and I
graduated
Summa cum laude
Master, my eyes now have cataracts,
my bones ache and stiffen when I rise,
I cannot chase squirrels like I used to,
nor fetch a tennis ball the way I did
as a pup,
but I love living with my family,
and the gentle pats on my head.
Though the long walks have shortened,
and there's gray fur on my muzzle,
I enjoy napping more during the day.
Master, thank you for taking me to
the vet,
for my health and comfort.
The sun filters through the window warmly,
as I recall seeing the children grow up,
I have the dignity of an elder dog,
blessed by God to be with my kind
human companions,
who adopted me from an animal shelter. ~
newborn youthfulness
natures juxtaposition
now elder wisdom
Growing older is a carousel
of highs and lows, each spin a memory, each turn a change.
It’s the morning ache in places you never thought could hurt,
the pizza you once devoured now a restless night’s companion.
Your vision softens, sounds blur,
and the quiet hum of life’s smaller details becomes elusive.
Doctors' visits and pill bottles mark the passing months,
while hair thins, and skin loosens where once strength resided.
Nights grow lighter, dreams grow heavier
with visions of a younger self, running through the past.
The faces of friends and family fade, some taken too soon,
others by the slow hand of time, all leaving empty chairs.
Yet gratitude remains a quiet current,
a whispered song beneath the noise of change.
For the laughter still brightens days, the tear still falls,
reminding us of what remains, what we hold close.
She handled it all,fiercely
She stood as support, strongly
The iron pillar,
Shielding them from unfamiliar.
Handling responsibilities
Kicking off the insecurities.
Marking her territory
Making mistakes
Teaching lessons bravely.
Many roles she played
Second mother she was called.
Being parent to parents
Being breadwinner in many.
Sacrifices she made
For being son to many.
Yet she took it all
Fought the fall
Bounced back again and again.
She's the first born
The Elder sister
No appreciation, but
Still took it all on her shoulder.
He's an elder now so don't dare forget.
He has special needs and they need to be met..
Always been a hot boy so keep the thermostat down,
or he'll gulp too much water and in urine you'll drown..
Never was a barker but now lets you know.
Better pay attention or he'll just let it flow..
The laminated flooring makes his joints ouch and
his old bones can no longer reach the soft couch.
He needs carpeting or bedding to lie down and slouch..
Those short walks are great but his back legs go out.
Make sure it's flat surfaces with no hills to mount..
A breakfast and a dinner, let his nose lead the way,
and this 120 pd dog is happy and sleeps the rest of his day.
Never thought I'd live long enough to see a holocaust.
A holy slip of land whittled into a divining rod for carnage and death.
The footsteps of Jesus filling with blood and moral decay.
Perfect words lost in the throat of scorched earth days.
If the elders weren't busy
{slaughtering each other gleefully}.
Their children would be playing hide and seek, amongst the olive trees.
There would be instantaneous peace...for the first time in history.
No more boots on the ground or purge in the air...
Only the sound of merry, going round and round without a care.
A gem I taught in his school
And under him grabbed the rule:
An Igbo man from Okpo,
Whose enemies she shot “Kpoo!”
With him you don’t around fool:
He’d begin to lose his cool.
Staff learnt to submit their notes,
Even if one had twelve coats
But with same staff reveled
And with that up things leveled…
No intimidating him -
His wine glass fills to the brim;
To me a Second Father
That should’ve been First rather…
When Okpo had wars Radar
But would not burst foe’s bladder;
For himself raised sweet children,
Who avoided hot Cauldron:
A hero engineer son,
Who goes out to meet the Sun
And a lawyer daughter
One might rate Cleanest Water…
Just recently lost his wife;
Death has walked in with its knife!
But he’s the unstoppable
Forever capable!
Panagiota Romios
Spirited, elaborate and gracefully
She weaves with ease her poetry
Wistful, yet strong, carries her own
A starry queen on her exalted thrown
She writes to please
Puts minds at ease
Cinnamon and peppermints, I wish her well
Flowers and dance for mademoiselle
A true patriot, all Americana
A loving mother and Nana
Sadly, I drifted away from the poetess
Too busy in my world of selfish distress
Engaging in on a realization
That she fights for all and on occasion
At worldly events she has a feel
Who can dishonor a woman so real
I’ll read her poems and hear her song
The innocent lady, whose was right all along
Amelia Romero NM
a daughter
When I look back
I relive petty torments
The way you teased me
The way I displeased you
The scars I needn’t show
With nowhere else to go
Avoided you miserably
Your need for turbulence
had held me hostage
Your drama
Day by day
Flashes of you
Only glimpses of possibility
Vows of a better life
When I look back
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.