Mine

What I call home in this body of mine

I keep it fit, walking in circles

I try to remember the dreams I have

Keeping my insight clear and honest

I don’t have everything under control

But the best things that I need

Roll forward into my space, into my mind

Sometimes I feel like a collage of flowers

Or, perhaps, pictures from People Magazine

All jumbled together with a little this or that

Bright images filtered out of the dark

Expressing all of the good and bad that bleeds

From my perfectly sullen inner feelings

To come to terms with the essence

Of all of my doubts and fears

Making my day precious and beloved

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Gone

Eager to resolve a challenge

Step by step we move along

Ready for the coming blows

Of life, unknown hypocrisies

For while the most part we are lifted

Toward the goals we see before us

There are always those who tear at us

Who drag us down, out of fear or hate

And these we must, as the Dalai Lama says,

Entreat them to become our friends

For we never know what they are facing

What their limits are, their delusions

And we find that when we dialogue

With those we think are enemies

We learn what difficulties they face

And perhaps together, we can resolve

To put our minds together so that

Our problems melt away and are gone

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Wellbeing

The moon sings in shades of gray

Her seas and valleys, alert and watchful

The light from the sun warms her soul

And the dark of night makes her lonely

She rules over the darkness with gentle hands

Rising and falling with the oceans, Great Lakes

Irresponsible followers cause her grief

But those with true knowledge revere her

The rocks fall down as she shifts her gaze

And when they heed her call, they are stronger

The likes of all who offer allegiance

Their gifts they offer up for her welfare

Come, profit from the message she brings

Trust and present your heart for her wellbeing

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Liar

Who can tell a straight-faced lie

While some can barely tell the truth

A story told of heartfelt wonder

Grains of truth and innuendo

But what, in truth, does it all mean

This unfolding amazement of little cheek

But what, when it matters, exceeds

The limits of exaggeration, reality

It cannot signal trust and reliability

But all to often, we are asked 

To look away, to ignore the gaffs

Or accept on faith what we know is true

And once we are committed to accepting

We must defend our position to others

And so it becomes a matter of ego

And we must then take it all to heart

Blue Sky

After the storm settles and the sun comes shining

The birds twitter in their warbling perfection

A celebration of the rite of spring

As it slowly resides in the place of summer

No chill to the air, no cutting to the breeze

Just the occasional ruffle of leaves

As the air graces the land with freshness

The sounds of motorcars as they pass by

Someone mowing their lawn a long way away

Taking the time to clean out the car

And then, while playing in the hose

Adrift to wash the car itself

And revel in the suds as they wash

No sign of a storm today, thank you, blue sky

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Release

Breathe in, long and slow

The fresh air, so long deprived

Fills my lungs and bathes my skin

I wonder that the natural world

Has not changed so much as I remember

The verdant grass in my yard

The leaves on the trees just filling out

Snapdragons poking up out of the earth

In reds and yellows among the mulch

Stones collecting at the base of the tree

A tempting toy for little hands

That grab too quickly to halt

And all around, the birds sing

Twenty-four hours a day

Much more than I remember before

This pandemic created such stigma

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The Gamblers

Who can tell the good from the bad

We think in terms of benefitting ourselves

What’s good for us, our lives, our wealth

Our indiscriminate culture of one

So what is good for ourselves, we do believe

Is good for all, as the home team wins

When the storm passes through

Its damages are awful 

Until the rebuilders come through

To make things new and fresh

Making money on the work they do

The thief, as he plies his trade

Sees his work as good for him

The losers are those who are taken from

Winners, losers, investors, cheats

Its all a gamble, yet in the end

Someone has to lose the game

We just hope that it will not be us

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From His Heart

*This poem is dedicated to Garry Marshall, whose work in the field of entertainment was an inspiration to many.

The man spent much of his life making laughter

In each of his viewers, he inspired joy

The little things that he did to create family

From among a group of strangers

From among remote people around the globe

Everyone felt welcome through his work, his job

Yet he never missed a beat of moving forward

He always kept his heart pure, his focus friendly

And he brought a thrill to the audience

His confidence swelled up in everything he did

And brought a rainbow over everything and everyone

We laughed with him and through him

And learned the meaning of integrity from his heart

First

Runners at their mark, focusing

On the goal some distance down the track

Will it be a sprint or a marathon

Depends upon the attitudes they hold

They have trained but not practiced

Their muscles are powerful, their minds not

If they seem to struggle it will be harder

Yet if they just stride along

It will be safer, it will be safer

The fans in the stands watch carefully

The man with the starting pistol steps out

He raises his arm, says, mark-set-go

He fires his shot into the air

And the runners spring to action

They push themselves to the limits

And one, filled with self-importance

Crosses the finish line first

Talk With Your Soul

Talk with your soul in order to uplift the world

We can sing with the resonance of the wind

The ripples of a river find music in its flow

And the sun continues to gift us with its light

The world needs our love now more than ever

And our fellows need to put off their fear

Amazing sound and light will heal our hearts

If we will but take it in and let it out

It is in the passage of air and light

That we let go of the fear that touches us

All of humankind must gather in their wake

The grandeur, the pleasantry of nature

Of which we are a portion of the whole

As we allow the words of life to come

We must pass these things down to others

From our children, from our grandchildren

Let us share, let us talk with our soul

All Day

Dreams that emerge from the love in one’s heart

Carry us over the mountains and into the wood

A brandished flower wreath upon one’s head

Dancing around the bonfire and chanting aloud

The dreams that wonder seeks to find

Are little more than bathing in tropical waters

Leading to a treasure under the sea

Drifting over stone white sand and colorful corals

Can we dig up the treasure chest and open its gifts

The jewels that are stored in the subconscious

Swaying to the ebb and flow of the waves

As the fishes in bright costumes flutter by

The immediate wish is to remember these blessings

When wakefulness orders our day

To carry the images in our hip pocket

And see them, delightful, all day

This Time

We begin the search for answers

Where our questions become relevant

To the challenges that we face

Because our health is in jeopardy

So many ill, stressed, dying, 

And we must distance ourselves

From each other, from our loved ones

We must make the hard choices

To keep others safe, in our love

Because we cannot afford to lose

Our dear ones, our friends, our selves

In spite of the wish to comfort

Those who need love at this time

But we will get through this challenge

We will shoulder this burden

Like the people whose strength

Comes from the abdominal fortitude

Of a great people in this time

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Tell the Children

Tell the Children32520

     sjb

What do we tell the children

Once this tragedy has passed

The loss of loved ones near and dear
The closing of our livelihoods

The changes in our trust, our thoughts

Will there ever be a healing
Will we grow beyond the near and far
Only time will bless that understanding

Only rebirth will grant us health

And how will we rise above the loss

The pain, the sorrow, the anticipation

Of going back to normal, can it be

We look to our forefathers for answers

Those who survived past devastation

The great wars, the Great Depression

Things that take from society

All the comforts, security

The great events the Mayans foresaw

What do we tell the children
Once this tragedy has passed

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Morning Sun

The morning sun peers in the window

It is another day behind the curtains

Warnings of the spread of disease

Creates dis-ease in the hearts of most

Yet here we are, people of the world

Who have weathered many storms

Whose life and love have borne them 

Far beyond the distance of trouble

This is the moment to share our love

To give the gifts we have been given

Whatever we can do, however we can be,

To whomever we can share what we have

Love is the answer to all of these problems

Many will choose to leave, let’s say

Many will choose to live and we will

If we all stand up and follow the rules

This time, so we don’t share germs

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Back in Time

Memories so deep and dark

Flitting past my consciousness

From days gone by, long ago

Wondering why they erupt now

In the middle of the night

Stirring up such fright

Reaching upward toward the light

To find you, stranger, from my past

Whatever grand display of memory

Enlivens the connection we had

However brief, however strong

Perhaps you don’t remember me

Perhaps you don’t wish to do so

But I remember you, as a song

That carries me back in time

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