~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At first, it was the weight
that threw me~
how a pocketful of coins
could sag like regret,
how a dime could vanish
between couch cushions
and take a week’s patience with it.
The cashier laughed,
not unkindly,
as I fumbled quarters
like a magician with stage fright,
my fingers betraying me
with their too-quick math.
But then—
the click of nickels finding their orbit,
the way a dollar breaks
into four perfect silences,
each one a chance
to begin again.
Now I make change
like a thief counting seconds,
smooth and swift,
because loss is just arithmetic
in reverse,
and every missing penny
is a lesson in letting go.
Goodbye! Goodbye!
Father, we buried you today
in a wicker casket
wherein bones of Mother lay.
Laid to rest upon her
as the guest of honour
together once more to stay.
Goodbye! Goodbye!
I read the eulogy that I wrote
but in a final regret
the words stuck in my throat.
Then sang my heart
"How Great Thou Art"
and now I write my footnote.
Goodbye! Goodbye!
It’s time for my closing verse.
How long the years
that bless and unkindly curse,
till in a black wagon
our sorry a-rse draggin’
we get to flat ride in a hearse.
Farewell! Farewell!
For most of us the one day
we get to ride in a big
chauffeur driven limo
is the one day you're DOA!
Now old and wearied
alas my father just buried!
1921 ~ 2014
Written: October 2014
The sky fell mercilessly and tornadoes fury was landed
The earth caved where seeds of new crop, a farmer had planted.
In recession, the capitalists made a fortune
and the deprived were left with debt and burden
In moments triumphs were not of those who had toiled hard
but those who were able to play the fluke card
The rain did not fall in the barren land
and the army fired at the innocent & unmanned
The aging parents lost their bread winning child
And the winter at the refugee camps was anything but mild
The father hit the mother in front of her young children very violently
The forest fire cost every house on the ground blatantly
The privileged were given more favours and opportunity
The humble were provided with disappointments and ambiguity
A family slept hungry again another night
A child was left alone in fright
The pups were treated by their caretaker unkindly
All because someone treated their loving friend badly!
Never spoke unkindly
Never showed fury
Never insulted or disrespected
Never served as judge and jury
Behaved with quiet dignity
Words and actions ….honest and true
Never destructive or harmful
So shame on you!
The rock stood
silent above the ocean's fray
gray speckled and chitted by time, sea-salted air, and shells airdropped by
gulls
Winds swept over it
rains drenched it
the sun beat kindly…and unkindly upon it
Families visited and rested on it
…their voices filling the spaces and then leaving it again
Ants would come and ants would go
spritely green grass would grow up beside it, bleach in the summer sun to blond and die off again... in the chill of fall
The rock remained
never coming and never going
but always there to be found
Moonstruck Josette
There's a sad tale told of moonstruck Josette
Who's love turned into ashes of regret
She found romance when only sweet sixteen
With the most handsome man she'd ever seen.
Though he treated her unkindly at times
Josette overlooked those menacing signs
She adored him despite his cruel trait
Then came the day he decided her fate.
He took her to a wood where no one goes
Josette felt he was well nigh to propose
He said to close her eyes and count to ten
Poor Josette never opened them again.
Down in the woods lies a silent Josette
Her demise so tragic one can't forget.
*+*
13th November 2022
He was the most lonesome guy.
he surely didn't trust anybody
and the reasons were many;
he'll reveal his darkest secrets...
when he has shed all his tears
and realized how foolish he was!
Shunning existence for an unexplained reason
was folly; was he treated unkindly and unfairly?
Only his contrived and rageful feelings can explain
what made him choose confinement from Humanity!
The tremendous loss of his mom hit him hard,
with his hands across his beating chest,
with his bowed head he was totally lost;
he miserably grieved her and desperately cried!
Who has never felt his inconsolable and deep pain
that was never been left behind,
can't understand humanly what brought him down;
how grief persists in the sorrowful mind,
how it keeps him in a state of misery:
does anyone cling to pain indefinitely?
He was the nicest guy in the smallest town,
always lending his hand to others whenever it was needed,
he gave his love demanding nothing in return;
comfort him when he breaks down, and do a good deed!
Let your words not hinder, but be a balm.
He is someone's significant other,
and as they kiss, may your conscience be calm.
He's long been a best friend to another,
tossing back and forth sports balls and wisecracks.
Though annoying, siblings love their brother.
This hardworking son helps Dad with wood stacks,
and excels in gym, his preferred subject,
trading with his peers for favorite snacks.
He's someone's someone, so show him respect,
giving honor to those who know him well.
Before speaking unkindly, please reflect
that waves trinkle to shores after they swell.
The ocean is full of stories to tell.
7/23/22
FIVE STANZA TERZA RIMA Poetry Contest
Sponsor: L. Milton Hankins
There are stories I've put behind me
Like the fellow that left me unkindly,
But if I need a token
Of that guy from Hoboken,
The string on my finger reminds me!
There are folk, in church or non-church family
Abounding in warmth; "Hi folks!" with charm
Least expected ... On the couch, deep memory:
Kind misdeeds, intent ignored: cut on thy palm
NOTE: a pastor may counsel successful churchgoers & find unsorted anger & hurts, rumbling & smoking with volcanic ferocity. Watch for small signs: the unkindly cuts from charming people. So, talk ....talk, talk, talk. Someone will listen so that volcanoes will be natural disasters, not human. Shalom ShalOm
Sometimes, you do your very best.
God sees this, you pass His test!
Mankind, not God, can be most vile.
Some will harm you,His special child.
Then, flee you and find a kingdom
kind, where you are totally respected.
Both in your soul and in your mind,neither
ignored nor neglected.
Reside thee not, where backstabbers dwell.
Out to make your life one living hell.
Seek sanity with those who truly love.
One need not bear hellish, unkindly shoves.
12/8/2021
The shabby hotel rooms were dank and dour
An indigent family blinked in the dark
Too dull to see much at this wake-up hour
The man of the family has such a bark.
A new baby! How marvelous! An unthinking person said.
But a new child in this family was just another to be fed
We don’t need another mouth, mama unkindly thought
The others seven children knew to do what they ought
In these rooms, seven children tried their best to please
They welcomed the tiniest bit of a summer breeze
No air conditioning for this family of ten.
Every day was a day of labor, once and again.
They did their share, and they kept the baby clean.
He was a sweet boy, but enthusiasm did pale.
They had not needed another; it might sound mean.
But this baby was an extra to feed and had such a wail!
What Does God Think
I really do not know!
I do know we do judge each other.
Endlessly, a built in, cruel show.
A priest, a rabbi will tell you this is so.
And as we know, many think there is no God!
We are nothing more than pieces of sod?
Others, think that the human, world peace will achieve.
Really, have you read history, I laugh up my sleeve!
The worldwide Satan’s minions everywhere.
So do not stare unkindly at me.
Read the horrid headlines!
The apparent truth of man’s inhumanity to man:
Glares in your face right there!
6-4-2021
After winged flight at dusk the swallows rest
I hear their chirping inside my tallest chimney
Where they have found their perfect nest.
The swallows of late do not think me friendly
For chilly air has prompted the fireplace lighted
Without intention to treat the nesting birds unkindly.
Held off as long I could to keep the swallows unindicted
Even while the family felt, oh, so very, very slighted.
Whirling her truth today as a game
She brought out feelings but only in name
Tossing her wildness as a horse tosses his mane
She began to write a frantic refrain
The refrain took off in a world of its own
Making a new and more gentle poem
She was frankly startled, and tried to real it back
But it bucked and kicked, and called her a hack.
She’d had trouble before with her poetry coming to life.
But this was the most willful she’d ever seen causing her strife
Can we reel it back in? She queried her poltergeist muse.
He grinned at her unkindly with his usual subterfuge.
I will not write anything today, she said with concern.
For you muses are off-the-chain, and you don’t learn.
When she woke up the next morning lo and behold.
Sixteen poems were waiting, one was solid gold.
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