By Phan Tan Hai
Forty years like a dream—
shaking off the dust of distant roads;
a faint trace still lingers,
tea-scent deep upon the lashes.
More than sixty passing years,
books read as countless as forests;
once hearing thunder split the peaks,
the mountains broke—fragrance filled the sky.
Returning, hearing the wind breathe,
sweeping through lifetimes of ignorance;
each page of Nguyen Tho’s words
stops mid-flight, as birds listen to the sutra.
Long miles walked without weariness,
the clouds of Tu Luc still drifting;
copying sutras in mist-like lines,
fragrance steeped into the slender strokes.
— March 2017. Respectfully offered to Venerable Nguyen Tho Thich Tu Luc on the fortieth anniversary of his ordination.
Paulette went on a holiday
Visiting Italy and France
To mark her fortieth birthday
Paulette went on a holiday
Saw the Arc de Triomphe today
And adored Venice at first glance
Paulette went on a holiday
Visiting Italy and France
December 21, 2021
Paulette - 2 Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Julia Ward
I spent my day shopping for Rubies
And entered an old antique store
The owner took me to the back of the shop
Showed me a set and had me begging for more.
The one that stole my heart was a deep red
Encrusted with small pearls
In two layers around the heart
This was the ideal gift for my green eyed girl
Red is the symbol of love for eternity
It was our fortieth Anniversary
I visualised it around my wife‘s neck
There was no happier man than me.
There he is again
The kid from next door
At my window
Making faces like before
It wouldn’t bother me so much
But I live on the fortieth floor
Who Would Have Thought It!
Only Forty?
By: Tom Wright
9/98
Our lives are like and opened book,
from which we all read and learn.
We must always take a serious look,
before allowing It's pages to turn.
For as surely as each day will slip,
we'll become wiser along with age.
It seems our past is a blurry blip,
until we're turning our fortieth page.
As our body ages we may show wear,
like a book that the dog half ate.
We've lost teeth and some even hair,
with most all "Packin" extra weight.
Most past forty need glasses to see,
seems our arms have gotten shorter,
In a recliner, you'll be content to be,
though once considered a sporter.
My intent hasn't been to make you sad,
its just that I thought this was nifty.
And should you at forty think Its bad,
memory loss occurs around fifty.
At times in our past we were down,
with a feeling we couldn't keep pace.
God so gently removed our frown,
while placing us back in life's race.
Watch the sky
Was the world wide cry
And there will be a sign
For a reckoning divine
So for forty days and nights
We watched and waited for the sign that might
Be the calling to us on earth
And finally we will know its worth
So on the fortieth night
At twelve midnight tight
The light was seen across the sky bright
And the enlightenment made things right
For there was no need for pain
As the light washed it away like rain
And the promise that was foretold
Kept us in the sun away from the cold.
© Paul Warren Poetry
Every daughter who turns forty
Should get one of these
A poem from her father
Saying what he sees
A home you're building
That's warm, safe and kind
What we'd all expect
And hope to find
So proud are we of your character,
Intellect and what you are
Your heart and skills as dancer,
Wife, mother: you've taken far
Turning forty's a right of passage
Consequences, decisions made of clarity
Now you're the one whose word
Carries the weight and gravity
Someday you'll decide what's best
For your mother and me
Same as we did for you
When you were three
It's the way it is as
We reach to the night
Children mature and
Decide what's right
Your offspring will
Get your unswerving love
Your family being safe
With help from above
You'll know better
How to care for us
When we're like children
And tend to fuss
Your fortieth year
Marks a milestone
With us you'll
March forward not alone
Never did I meet a man so warm
Full of live and a sunny smile
Sweet like the Scottish cream
The perfect gentleman
Never did I meet a man so warm
With simple gestures and classy acts
Humble yet suave and full of charm
The perfect gentleman
Never did I meet a man so warm
Who at forty has a heart younger than twenty
Elegant, soft yet firm
A perfect gentleman
Never did I meet a man so warm
Who has a kind word for every soul
And a heart so large, so warm
I could go on…
…But as you turn forty my friend
Remember life is just beginning
Laugh to your heart delights
Drink the freshest of wines
Spend time with your kids and wife
Be merry, passionate and never stop loving…
A prayer for you…
May you last long like the Iroko Tree
Bringing warmth, love and happiness to-
Your Family and friends
Happy Fortieth Birthday Babafemi
My perfect gentleman friend and brother!
(This poem is dedicated to my colleague, friend and brother- Babafemi Aina on the Occassion of his 40th Birthday. I wish you many more years of success friend)
Starting with first I climbed
Initial steps followed all blind
Quicker I paced to find
Fun and Frolic to bind
Growing in body and mind
Longing Life’s purpose, I grind
Forty you turn this kind
Party now leaving all behind
Forty Days
Astronomers time track a cycle of forty days
Observe prayer and fasts for sacred forty days
The body and spirit purify in forty days
Our naming ceremony is on the fortieth day
The boy is naughty as he turns forty!
8 words in all five lines
January 23, 2016
Contest: Forty
Sponsor: Silent One
For forty day and forty nights, you rode upon and Ark,
Animals traveling, two by two waiting to disembark!
As you peek out the porthole, at the sky’s overcast,
In the distance, there is thunder and lightning’s energy flash!
High winds blowing all around, with white caped waves about,
Your vessel rocking to and fro, as the family sleeps throughout!
Then suddenly there’s calmness, as the sun graces the sky,
On the fortieth day you send a raven, who quickly says goodbye!
A few days later, a dove of white, after two days it did appear,
Nestled in its beak an olive branch, a treasured souvenir!
The branch, a symbol of dry land and vegetation too,
New land, new life, a fresh new start, as you bid the past adieu!
© Dec. 12, 2015
Married fortieth year, now alone in despair. Home after an argument, sees his wife on the floor, breathing no more. Drops flowers brought. He is an old fool, his first thought. Feels undeserving, with sorrow, fear, and guilt; a culmination without vindication."I'm sorry. I love you,” can be said no more. Calls 911, then he drops to the floor.
I was in-processing my Army unit in Germany when the fortieth anniversary of D-Day happened; but, alas, I couldn't leave. I wanted so much to be there to meet the old surviving veterans, to shake their hands and hear their stories. I had read accounts of D-Day-- June 6th, 1944. I had already seen several times the film The Longest Day, based on the book by Cornelius Ryan.
Eventually my family followed me back to Germany, and we later took a vacation that included Normandy.
We visited Sainte-Mere-Eglise, and I pointed out the manekin of Private john Steele--the paratrooper that had gotten stuck on the church's steeple.
We visited the upper German fortifications of Point Du Hoc, where Army Rangers fought their way up impossible cliffs.
We paid our respects at the US war cemetery on Omaha Beach, and my sons and I walked where so many Americans had died to free Europe.
My wife was very somber and respectful at these sites; she is French, and grew up hearing stories of the German occupation.
I often still watch on June 6th either The Longest Day, or Saving Private Ryan, and try to imagine my forebears on those beaches.
Villanelle: The only game solution to the human condition
The only game solution to the human condition
“Don’t nobody move a muscle” and hold your breath
Stop having sex with the opposite sex in motion
In a billion years men will pass babies with their motion
And suffragettes will be the toothless kind with bad breath
The only game solution to the human condition
Our girls will all live up to receive the Nobel unction
While our boys will all learn to shoot crap in stealth
Stop having sex with the opposite sex in motion
Lao Tse said “Reduce the size of the State and the population”
Border guards made him cough up The Way in lieu of wealth
The only game solution to the human condition
Time somebody put an end to this unfair competition
Girls have only from fourteen to barren fortieth
Stop having sex with the opposite sex in motion
Naked ****-stars roam Holy Woods far cry from titillation
Chain-saw massacres take us beyond deep-freeze death
The only game solution to the human condition
Stop having sex with the opposite sex in motion
© T. Wignesan – Paris, 2014
I am living in a world where the wind no longer blows through your hair my love And the warmth of the sun no longer falls upon your face Sometimes I feel like I am doing something wrong Being here without you As if someone is going to stop me in the mall and demand an explanation I know in my mind that for both of us I will carry on But sometimes my heart tries to rule the day Happy fortieth anniversary Sweetheart
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