When I was 17
I believed grief wore the face of death.
I thought it would come with wailing,
With wet cheeks and broken things.
But when it came,
It made no sound.
No storm,
No crash,
No fire.
It came like dust,
Settling in my chest,
In the hollow between my breaths,
In the quiet ache beneath my skin.
It took me to the floor,
And the floor didn’t mind.
It held me like it knew
What it meant to be quiet,
Still,
And tired
Of carrying things with no name,
No one to hold onto,
No one to blame.
There, in the hush,
I learned what silence knew
How something light as air
Can still
Crush you through and through.
They called it growing up
But I have my doubts.
It felt like learning to live
With things you can’t shout.
No bruises, no blame,
Just silence stretched out.
She's only seventeen
Eyes of warm blue ice…
a sky with clouds of pearl
Kindness peeks out,
empathy for the whole world
Ebony lashes, concealing,
revealing, in a graceful fan
Flickering glimpses of
this strong woman within
Youth plumps and smooths
dandelion dusted skin,
That only glows a golden bronze
when the sun's shinin’.
Hair, a long and straight
arrow down her back
Sometimes it's a rich brown,
sometimes blue, or black
Not interested in pink satin
or frilly, white lace
But she loves to have shiny jewels
to decorate her face
Inside this stunning shell,
behind all the bling,
Lies a mind full of deep thoughts,
a heart that's known pain
Yet she laughs without boundaries,
she will always dance in the rain
My heart and soul, my beloved,
She's only seventeen.
She was bumfuzzled in many ways
Where had her dog been all those days?
He came home with seventeen puppies to play
And a wife, courtesy, of her neighbor Shay
Feeling romantic; in this seat of seventeen stories
This far up, I plainly see the wind beneath the bushes and trees
So tell me, Angel, in front of me, is this your view of our glories?
Did this experience give you peace enough to please?
Or was I boring to you with my thoughts, deep interrogatories?
When I enjoy the best of my life, from a bended pair of knees
It's because the weight is so great of our inventories
There is no scale I know of that measures to their degrees
But oh, the heat that is produced by such fabled stories
Rivaling a summer tradewinds warmest breeze
In this moment, I stand tall,
Grateful for each rise and fall.
Life's journey, a gift to unwrap,
A joyous clap, life beautifully sews.
With each year, wisdom grows,
Embracing laughter, shedding tears,
A dance of hopes, conquering fears.
So here's to another year to share,
To cherish moments, love to declare.
On this birthday, in a world so grand,
I'll celebrate and take a stand.
For the beauty of life, in every way,
Thank you, Lord, for this special day.
With gratitude and a heart that's light,
I welcome this year, shining bright.
ms dorothy was squatting at 17
We did not mind
We were doing our own squatting at 19
It was a good day to take up residence
We watched her move in
Glad she had found her own place
The drug dealers might scare her off later
But for right now, on this beautiful day
She had a place
We applauded her for it
My husband said he was going to marry me in 1957.
I was five and angry in every direction when he announced this.
At five, I was not marrying anybody but Daddy.
Certainly not this creepy kid.
We became best friends in 1966. We were both sixteen.
Other kids parked and necked. We parked and made fun of them.
We did not get married until we were old for our town – nineteen.
Most get married at eighteen, so I felt like an “old maid”.
We dated for four years and have been married for fifty-one.
This brings us to our current position – three children, ten grandchildren.
I still see my husband as seventeen and he sees me as fifteen.
Remember when you danced on the hood of my car? I sure do!
If you’re seeing something wonderful in someone?
Don’t let them go without knowing ..
Last year 17.6 million cars were sold world-wide
That's a record, blows my mind but we take it in stride
That doesn't include
Ones already in use
Makers are all giggling as to their mansions they ride
There once was an old man who had seventeen camels.
He also had three sons.
His time was growing short,
So the old man drew up his will.
“I leave half my herd to my eldest son, whom I love.
I then leave a third of my herd to my second son,
Whom I also love.
To my youngest son, who was always a scoundrel,
I leave one ninth of my herd.”
The sons fell to arguing.
Their fighting was intense.
They could not obey their father’s will.
Seventeen camels won’t divide evenly by two,
Or by three, or by nine.
How could they honor their dear father’s wishes?
The three sons went to see a wise old woman in their village.
She thought about their problem for a long while.
She said, “I don’t know if I can help you,
But, if you want, you can have my camel too.”
The eldest son took nine camels,
Half of the herd of eighteen,
And departed.
The second son took six camels,
One third of the herd,
And departed.
The youngest son saw that three camels were left.
“I am only entitled to one ninth of my father’s herd…
Two camels.”
The youngest son recognized the wisdom of the old woman.
He returned her camel to her,
And departed the village in peace.
Energetic and enthusiastic
She is fifteen
Joy oozes out of her
He is seventeen
Set in his ways,
Glued to his chair In a subliminal fog of nothingness
Her quick wit and sudden movements
Make him feel tired and depressed
He does what he can to discourage her
She cannot be dissuaded
Her tittering laughter and positivity astounds him
He does his best to not smile.
"Seventeen Years"
by: Eric L. Boddie
In my younger years, satan had the tightest clinch upon my Soul
I was headed to destruction, but, then, my heart was told
All of the Truths my mother made sure that I learned
Many could not believe it, but my Soul refused to burn
So I Allowed God Into my heart, and He Made me Strong where I was weak
Then He Filled me With His Spirit, so that Through me, He Would Speak
And I'm not a perfect man, I felt the temptations that satan sent
Which is why I repeatedly get down on my knees and Repent
And as any shepard to any flock, He Provides me with what you need
So if "I" am unable to forgive my haters, how could I ever lead
How could I give any advice in your greatest times of stress
So all I can do is Pray To Him And Allow Him To Address
Not your every desire, but your every need, Daily Miracles Is All He Will Do
And when you Need Him, He Is There, for 17 years, I've tried to Teach That to you
note: my brother, Apostle Lincoln E. Anderson, asked me to write this for him as he has been Preaching 17 years....
SUCKERS WERE NEEDED
TO KEEP THE GAME ALIVE.
HUNDREDS AND THOUSANDS
OF INNOCENT DIED.
THOSE IN CHARGE
CONTINUED TO LIE.
THOSE WHO SUFFERED
BROKE DOWN AND CRIED.
A MAN MADE VIRUS
THAT CAME ALIVE.
STOLE THE LOVED ONES
OF THOSE WHO CRIED.
THERE'S ONLY ONE QUESTION
THAT QUESTION IS WHY.
WHAT DO THOSE IN CHARGE KNOW
AND THE MEDIA HIDE.
IT WAS ALL ABOUT MONEY
I BELIEVE IS WHY.
WHEN JUDGEMENT DAY COMES
THEY CAN'T DENY.
IT APPEARS AS A CRIME
THAT'S REALLY QUITE BOLD.
IT CAME FROM A NOTION
THAT'S REALLY QUITE OLD.
A PLAN OF HATRED
THAT HAD TO UNFOLD.
SMELLED OF DARKNESS
AND ANCIENT MOLD.
SOMETHING I WOULDN'T
DARE EVEN HOLD.
WAS PURCHASED FOR ONLY
A BAR OF GOLD.
NO ONE KNOWS
BY WHOM IT WAS SOLD.
TILL THEN MY FRIEND
STAY OUT OF THE COLD.
DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING
YOU'RE BEING TOLD.
LIFE IS FANTASTICALLY GREAT
SO ENJOY GROWING OLD.
05022020
Sunlight screams through fear
Chrysemys Turtles stretch necks
Dread softens with light
4/4/20
Daybreak
In New York it is reported people were dying every 17 minutes
5 hospitals at that time were overwhelmed
How do we deal with such tragic, horrific events?
Here we sit in isolation, feeling powerless
Relying on prayer and writing or creating what we can
Contacting senators and governors with good ideas too
The skies were bright earlier today, the sun was free to shine
Now it is overcast, as if the news made it blind
We are all faced with this together, the same ugly illness
That creeps everywhere and haunts us all
We can only do our best with care and create so we don't fall
Heidi Sands
3/28/20
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