They played "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" at the nursing home
People in their eighties clapped and sang along.
I paused nearby and listened before proceeding on my way
It was a ray of sun in a cloudy dismal day.
They played "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" when the POWs came home
Vietnam behind them, the eagle had long flown
From 'hell in session' to a divided land
They deserved our thanks, so strike up the eighties band.
(Chorus)
Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree
It's been many years, but heart's stay free
The world is getting smaller, friends have come and gone
Sometimes a song can help a weary soul hold on.
They played "tie a yellow ribbon' for freedom in Hong Kong
Funny how a romance tune became a protest song.
We've already forgotten those romantics in the street
A song can't beat a rifle, no matter how upbeat.
They played "tie a yellow ribbon" when our hostages came home
Women wore one in the Civil War when the cavalry was gone
Home is where the heart is, and if oldsters can laugh and share
The rest of us should regroup and try to self-repair.
POTD : 12.2.26
First Placing: Standard Contest
Sponsor : JCB Brul
Daisies could not bloom bound by debt of Time
we tried to unknot ropes tied across dimes
by deeds proceeding of their own accord
songs not written by either of us unfree
as white petals fell dropping one by one
Hours of tasting, smelling, touching lost
on battlefields, in barracks when away
you had to haste with epaulettes torn
I rooted a chasing escape, sweat dripping
tied to wheat fields watching babes chaste
Bald eagles soared above winelands stolen
gulls and albatross escorted galleon laden with longing ~ South to North, winds gushing
your wishes driven by wrenching penalties
seals then oceans carried lips and knees
Your breastbone turned from an unborn world
too pregnant in fluid womb of clocks chiming
fled you from aching loss of Love’s caged raging
stoic in withholding fist of sacrifice, away you got
drowning throbbing Heart in my own bleeding
_________________________________
I'm always proceeding being righteous
and opportunist, simultaneous.
I’m stubborn with my ego,
Yet for truth, I can forego.
I’m strict analytic, oblivious.
Rain's eloquent sorrow, unheard when
Youth's surge was proceeding
More impressionably wrung out of
A subsequent heeding.
Talk, once run-related, spluttered
In meaninglessness about
Struck of, when night-slouched, prints for
Loneliness leaves no doubt.
Not an easy task
Doesn’t come with instructions nor guidelines
Take life as it is given
Survival through life terms
Learn as you live
Agenda assimilation
Rise up appreciation
Hard knocks journey
Discipline matters
Facing challengers
Crisis moments
Survive or die
Be determined
Relish hope
Believing within
Knowing you can and shall
Individual process
Proceeding in exceeding
Life cycle
Plain and simple, survive
This may seem lame.
Let’s make it a game.
I’ll give you a clue.
You try to guess who.
Proceeding my entrance by just a short while,
Is often the presence or hint of a smile.
Used sometimes by women, more often by men,
Often, I start as a quaint little grin.
I can also be hardy, and sometimes quite loud,
And often I’m present amongst a small crowd.
If it is me, you want to invoke,
Share with the group, a funny joke.
If you want to seem happy from now ever after,
Invite me in, I’m best known as laughter.
Graciousness forms
the apparel of the meek,
tempered in blistering
hues of aura crafted
with the breath of
exhaustion sinking
deep into the soul
of the soulless,
there it wanders
with eyes open wide,
a pop of life silenced
by its surroundings,
forsaken lands filled
with despotic nature,
crucified
their interior along
with their exterior,
proceeding cautiously
as it gravitates
toward the center,
connecting humble
origins placing
the palm of its heart onto
forced separation,
the wind wraps
around creating
sanctuary healing
the wounded descent
of sacrifice,
predetermined
by its antecedents,
a child born
through ashes into
the world's callous
ever ruling
appeal.
At a bend in the road
One needs take utmost care,
More so on road of life.” By author
****************************************************************
Rush Hour
Hectic rush at day`s end
Everybody in haste
Traffic jammed at road bend
Proceeding at snail`s pace
Sound of sonorous smash
Splits my dream in a rash.
true peace isn't merely
the absence of problems
that are a normal part of life
it's the ability to navigate & coexist
with them as well as the challenges,
the chaos & the strife
it involves embracing the reality
that difficulties come
as natural as breathing
but it's how you respond to them
with a resilience & a grace proceeding.
instead of seeking to eliminate all sources
of agitation discomfort & stress
you must develop a mindset encompassing
inner tranquility, quietude & sereneness
it's about finding your oasis of true peace
in the desert of pandemonium & commotion
to stay calm, collected, blessed & unstressed
& not react on just emotions
TRUE PEACE
One’s existence sustains uncertainty,
disruption subsequent to such functionality.
Proceeding reality as my own assessment,
despite that it might get unpleasant.
What transpires within this body and mind
obliges the supplement’s empowerment to be one of a kind.
Attempting for a disparate upshot,
its side effects hit like a gunshot.
Normality dismantling this flow is constructing quite a show.
Give credence to this substance which has been fought over,
a void I intend to gradually rely on and rover
At a rock climbing party,
It’s cool to observe
Both the kids who are cautious
And those who have nerve.
The daredevils clamber
To get to the top;
Neither ziplines nor tightropes
Will cause them to stop.
They tackle each challenge
With joy and with pluck
And they rarely require
Assistance when stuck.
The wary are watchful,
Proceeding with care
And feel better in knowing
A grown-up is there.
They’ll ascend partway up,
Harness keeping them bound
And then gently let go
‘Til their feet touch the ground.
As a kid, I was prudent
And nowadays I’m,
With a harness or not,
Still unlikely to climb.
Defamatory words that fail to become legal truth for they are unproven in a judicial proceeding may just be some foul spits on open air... Yet, not every legal truth is real truth...
I tune in to the channel coming forth & then
present what's coming through
A train of thoughts move like locomotives only
stopping for a few
From the ethers they descend like falling rain
precipitating flow from the sky
When they come all are drenched in declarations
bathing in the waters of divine
Surfing the annals of the mind can cause historical
waves to erect
Tsunamis destroy paradigms in a flash before
proceeding to redirect
By many it's seen as a disaster but viewed as a
blessing by a few
Sometimes we have to destroy to rebuild again &
make room for the new
Your ships may be docked for a spell but will sail
again when weather breaks
The will can be an unstoppable force to behold
moving like a train without its brakes
It's wet after clouds formed & quickly passed bringing
out the sun after the rain
Tears fell from the heavens to what's below washing
away the dirt & the pain
The eye in the sky sees all in one take illuminating
what's low from a higher place
Open channels flow with higher purpose seeking their
level & making waves in another space
Equitable foremost
beginnings numerical
proceeding perception
before the dawn
respect of time
ranked order before the last.
Space forward
brought forth
over beyond
respite truce
if anyone's first must be last
and a servant
of All for
how can one
Hunger,
if one can't
at first thirst
F1rst
01/01/24
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr © 2024
We three toms of Laredo are
Running from a sheriff's star
Westward leading, still proceeding
Soon hiding in Kitty's fancy Cat House Bar
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