Casper the Friendly Ghost
was youthful and wanted one thing the most;
each show he searched to find and make friends.
kids always ran; maybe the wispy can't plan solid ends.
To the Cat Who Ran Away
You left so quietly one day,
We didn’t hear your little feet.
You slipped away and gone ,
While we were all busy with work.
You were never meant to stay in,
You loved to chase and roam.
But now the house feels strange and sad,
Without you here at home.
We call your name, we check the yard,
We leave out food and wait.
We hope you're safe and warm somewhere,
And not too far or late.
If one day you come back to us,
No need to ask or cry—
Your bed is here, your bowl is full,
We’ll greet you with a sigh.
Do you remember when phones had a cord to the wall outlet?
Our son was about five years old.
We were in a hotel room and he wanted to call daddy.
He ran over to the phone and picked it up.
As he looked at me with a very puzzled look, he said it has no dial tone.
Yes, no dial tone because we are in a hotel room.
if the sea ran dry
every soul would know it
die; then be noticed
I ran into a man who was mining
clouds for their silver lining.
And for just a smile, you could buy
an endless supply of good cheer from this guy
to keep the sun in your life perpetually shining.
My basset puppy ran off with my essay
She even stole my mail
She cleaned out all the fridge
and wagged her funny tail
She went through all my papers
and threw them on the floor
Oh that crazy basset
She almost broke the door
I did not stop her
I wanted to find out more
And that is when I realized
Her tongue could clean the floor
She brought me so much joy
I really couldn't complain
This crazy basset dog of mine
Put sunshine into my life and kept away the rain
Whenever I was sad
She'd lay her cute head on my lap
She wouldn't eat or move
Until I took a nap
I couldn't believe my eyes
When she ran off with a broom
She skidded all over the tiles
And brought new meaning on to how to clean a room
Emotions ran deep
streams in their souls
A lack of attention
the thief that stole
The beauty and grace
from their hearts and their face
Left behind nought
but a chasm of space
‘Intimate gathering’
advertised
Curiosity piqued...
poked my head in
~ cozy canoodling
__________________
'Ran it up the flagpole'
(to see if it would fly)
was an overused ploy
from the advertising
world of the 1950's
and 60's.
Goldilocks was found lying in bed
at a house she broke into
they say she jumped out the window-
her fear of the bears was so great
but I know Goldilocks-
she was my best friend in middle school
and my next-door neighbor.
I offered her oatmeal- she fainted
I invited her for a sleepover- she screamed
we went to the zoo- she ran home
But when we saw three bears walking in the woods,
she calmly walked up to them
and invited them for dinner.
I lost my best friend that night
for her only friend now is a bear.
Cloudy McGlirk moved into the house at the end of the block.
I ran over to meet him, to greet him, to see if he is on Tic Tock.
Some later said I was way too forward, which I sometimes am.
He tipped his mangy red baseball cap to me, and called me Ma’am.
I stared at him, not understanding because he is wrinkled and old.
Ancient actually, but he was treating me as if I was collectors gold.
A rare relic just pulled out of a sixteen hundred pirate’s treasure chest.
I tiptoed away before I answered, because I think this was the best.
I ran
To escape
An evil
Year
After
Year
Becoming tired
As I could not
Out run it
So
I stopped
To face it
And die
It stripped me
Of dignity
It humiliated me
It mocked me
Spat in my face
Kicked me
Profanities
Screamed in my ears
I stood there
Shamed
Naked
In front of the
Universe
And everyone
I could not tell apart
The spital
From tears
Physical pain
From self-loathing
The will
To life
Or the desire
To die
It dragged me
By the feet
Through the streets
Of a man-made hell
Then it left me
With nothing
Just a heap
From which grew
I
Flower
I look at the tree in the morning.
It does not bob nor weave.
It knows the precious story.
The one of Calvary.
Its bark. Its bite. Its arteries and veins.
One’s precious blood ran down its legs.
It was cut from the soil.
It was formed to curse.
It endured the pound of the hammer.
It held onto a precious life.
Its bark. Its bite. Its arteries and veins.
One’s precious blood ran down its legs.
The soil remembered the blood of Abel.
The soil remembered the blood of the prophets.
Now, the soil is soaked in the blood of Christ.
Not just another casualty, but a sweet redeemer.
I look at the tree in the morning.
It does not bob nor weave.
It knows the precious story.
The one of Calvary.
If it had moved and missed the mark…
…there’d be a crueler story.
We’d all be history!
Stable and firm in the sin-drenched world.
Splintered and stained by the Word of God.
From the beginning of us, our shame it held.
There was a momentary pause. An angry sky.
God the Father accepted the climatic sacrifice.
I look at the tree in the morning.
It does not bob nor weave.
It knows the precious story.
The one of Calvary.
6/4/2023
for AMP
through the dark hallway
opened the front door
passing by the garden
He took off his shoes and threw them away
bumping into bare feet
sand with dust
gravel in sand
On a white bed
White cloth
Covered
Conversations with white-faced friends
came up
"Where does it pain?"
"hungry"
"Why are you sick?"
"hungry"
"How are you sick?"
"hungry"
"Will it be better?"
"When I'm not hungry"
There was only one answer to ten different questions
He, Albert, was bleeding from the sole of the feet
Tears flowed when it hurt
while running Albert thought
“The children did not shed tears even when they get hurt
I guess I shed tears when i hurt
I am not sick"
but the worse the wound gets
where it hurts
It wasn't the soles of his feet, it was his left chest.
A Bee Ran Up My Leg
I 8 A B
2 C Y U P
O G
I M 6
by Martin Braun
2.6.2023
From a tangled home life, a rocky start.
I ran breathless, and met sunshining days,
friends who will live forever in my heart,
moments to treasure in rarest of ways,
beauty and wonder in my new life phase.
Much better than secrets darkly shadowed--
sunsets so lovely you reach to possess;
your children at play, fond memories stowed
their small hands in yours in silent caress,
wonders of life are leaving me breathless!
January 27, 2023
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