Simple Weight
I dropped my killick deep into the bay,
not made of iron, but of gathered stone,
and a dead branch lashed tight to keep it whole,
to hold me while the tide turned on its way.
It settled in the mud, a simple weight,
where tiny crabs might skitter and explore,
a humble thing to keep me from the shore,
a promise that I would not drift away.
I watched the water's skin grow hard and gray,
and held the breath I didn't know I'd held.
The line went slack at last, a sudden give.
The tide had shifted and the stone broke free,
and somewhere on the bottom, it was lost.
My simple anchor, set for me to live,
had found a place to rest, a final cost.
And I began to move, a slow release,
as currents pushed me out toward open sea.
I left the killick to its endless peace,
and drifted, finally, with no need to live
within the limits I had set for me.
Although she was stone broke
She retained optimism and hope
People welcomed her into their homes
They gave her encouragement and jobs
She was helpful and delightful, full of integrity
Her life was richer than most of ours
RIPPLES
I was fishing with my dad one day…sitting on the shore…
for the life of me I can’t remember if it was the fishing…
or sitting with my Dad I enjoyed more?
I remember Dad handing me a little stone and saying,
“Give this rock a throw.”
“Toss it in the lake…let’s see where all its ripples go.”
When that stone broke the surface immediately the water began to shake
and before I knew it ripples were spreading out across the lake.
“Kindness is like that pebble”, he said, “every seed of kindness that you sow”
will ripple out in all directions and you never know how far they’ll go.”
“And you can see by watching those ripples how this is also true…
some of those ripples from that kindness…ripple back to you”
We both went back to fishing…side by side along the shore
Now I remember!
it wasn't the fishing…
It sitting with my dad I enjoyed more.
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!
Trump Savings & Loan is a joke
Concocted by some Russian bloke
Although it may seem
An investor's dream
The management team is Stone-Broke!
While on vacation and stone-broke
I attended a local bingo.
With just enough to by one card,
chances of winning were a joke.
The grand prize was a thousand bucks
so, I thought I might as well try.
I dabbed each number as called,
taking note of whispers of shucks.
Suddenly I was down to one
and the suspense was killing me.
Then I heard, under the “B” five
and I shouted bingo...I'd won!
(Bookend Rhymes)
05,18,2019
AN UPLIFTING FEELING Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Line Gauthier
The wind swept fate upon her door
As the ship broke against the rocks
Her house, just off the beach’s crest
Overlooked the sea and its docks
With a sound of thunder, his fate met
As stone broke through the ship’s wood
Sheer devastation, his crew all lost
He swam as best as he ever could
Reaching the shore, looking to the sea
Breathing deeply, cursing its demise
The captain felt he could have done more
As it sunk to the bottom before his eyes
She peering from a dimly lit room
Felt sorrow for those who suffered this eve
Could see on his face, from a distance, even
That the man on the shore started to grieve
She went to him, with brandy and blanket
Offering solace, maybe some hope on this night
He just watched, he stood and stared
As she wandered closer, as a beacon of light
He turned from the wreckage, cast on the shore
To see then a face, so soft with concern
He felt generosity and again he felt hope
As she, with a smile, relieved raging burn