Children

November 1, 2020December 23, 2020

A Child’s Request

The shadow of leaves from a tree
dance across the house next door
but in the darkness of last eve
only the children’s shadows
poured

dressed in Halloween costumes
finer than any Hallows Eve before
they came and kept leaving their
ghostly imprints on concrete
floor

smiles and laughter challenging
fears of a society that they
would dispel as though magic
were in the air and fear
just queerish

a memory of one small girl
a costume only a thin cloak
her words uncovered for she
asked for only a hug
nothing more

my heart was warmed
by her gesture
of which I obliged
in loving
measure

Image Taken From Public Domain Pictures and Created as Art

May 18, 2019

The Truth of Hindsight

Hindsight is always better it is said
always invoking in me the transgressions
in my past of the egregious kind

conceived into an ethnically diverse family
curious of the differences, yet both drawn
and repelled like a moth to a flame

one of only a handful of such families
in an all-white neighborhood
though I did not distinguish it
then

my reddish skinned father and white mother
craving more but for unspoken reasons
spoken in private understanding

she from impoverished beginnings
he in accepting only European roots

agreeing upon only one thing in union
the dictates of societal norms for me
a child of the female persuasion

that marriage is best accepted sooner
than later & children are part of the
sanctioned outcome

but mind you if such an arrangement
is not a path upon which you wish to tread
then only professions of nursing
and teaching will suffice

for creativity in writing or artistic endeavor
will never sustain you in living
and you would know this
in hindsight

now in hindsight I only understand that
not everything that comes before
is better than that which
comes later

in hindsight I wish I had known that
choosing the passion of your heart
over being accepted
is what my path
Should
Have
Been

Photo Taken From Public Domain Pictures & Created As Art

Passion

December 12, 2018December 12, 2018

Goblins, Witches & Ghouls

Every year at Halloween
excitement filled the air
and children waited
on bated breath

to be goblins, witches,
hoboes and clowns
be become something
of a magical flare

where two streets over
lived a witch to bate them
her house decorated
with pumpkins and ghouls

but who could resist the
table laid before them
with all manner of sweet things
to cause you to drool

This is in response to Jamie Dede’s Wednesday Writing Prompt. Read more at https://jamiededes.com/2017/10/25/twas-all-hallows-eve-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt. The art piece below is my own done in mixed media
of watercolor, colored pencil and acrylic.

Goblins and Ghouls

August 14, 2017

An Infinity of Stars Woven

Within the landscape of time are
the shadows of war residing
casting doubts of fear
over hope filled integrity

for if I could but ease the pain
& erase the memory of horror
that slices through hearts
once laden with joy
I would

but there will always be those
who seek righteousness loaded
with weapons of destruction
their efforts devoid
of compassion

and soldiers who participate
on the battlefields of wars
whether at home or across seas
will carry scars always

and if it were possible within
me as a wordsmith to pen a poem
of salve and healing
I would

so that children may once again play
on peaceful soil under watchful eyes
of mothers and fathers
who can rest assured
of a tomorrow

filled with the spirit of love
& that fireworks will be celebration
& not the deafening voices
of bombs falling

for my soul cannot rest within me
until the vision of the universe
is the essence of peace shining
like an infinity of stars

the threads of woven fabric
like none that has ever been made
containing naught of the shadows of war
but a humanity of peacemakers
the gardeners sowing
seeds for the
future

This is in response to Jamie Dedes’s Wednesday Prompt. Please read more poets responses at https://jamiededes.com/2017/08/09/do-not-make-war-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt. The photo below was taken from the Morgue File and digitally altered by myself.

Field of Peacemakers

July 3, 2017July 3, 2017

Pots of Coffee Brewing

Morning coffee reminds her of years gone by
when she hustled to clean & tidy up the house
so untidy with five children running about
so she would be in readiness for parents
knowing that several pots would brew of a day
to give her the energy to persevere, strength
to be patient while her mother scrutinized,
criticized and ultimately laughed with her
but she knew as their car left the driveway
she would settle into a comfy spot dozing as
her caffeine high evaporated, energy waned
leaving her thinking of only the one cup
setting before her swirling, inviting to
remind her the pots of coffee that brewed
are but a memory no longer required, no
longer needed to get through parents visits

This is in response to Jamie Dedes’s Wednesday Prompt. You can read other poet’s responses at https://jamiededes.com/2017/06/28/over-his-morning-coffee-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt. The photo here was taken from the Morgue File and digitized by myself.

Beans and Coffee

June 26, 2017

The Star Second To The Right

In a time primordial when first life began
unimaginative of the harsh realities of wars
when sunrises and sunsets were ethereal
she can only imagine stepping into dreams
of discovering an unblemished world of those
dreams made of translucent skies so that
much like Peter all she has to do is to go
to the star second to the right and straight
on till morning or perhaps like Alice she
should eat but a small bit of cake to become
just the right size to enter the garden
there upon discovering a different world
for in seeing forever is the powerful force
where oceans teeming with life are no longer
a graveyard of war ships but only coral reefs
a delightful dance of colors and creatures
and where gardens floral are wondrous delights
for children playing for hate is not a word
so cannot invade her dreams that will always
be pristine as newly fallen snow in Winter
with skies so clear she can revel to see them all
from anywhere to blissfully fly to the star second
to the right and straight on till morning

This is in response to Jamie Dede’s Wednesday prompt. You can read more of other poet’s responses at https://jamiededes.com/2017/06/21/the-hawk-has-flown-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt. The photo below was taken from the Morgue File and digitized by myself.

May 3, 2017September 2, 2017

Dreaming of Children

A landscape of memory littered
with pieces of dreams
children that once lived
once laughed
oft times schemed

she sees a house abandoned now
ought times with love filled
each & every birth an
auspicious moment still
& each year

she knows she has been gifted
that any tears shed
were merely a bridge
between yesterdays
& tomorrows albeit

as other mothers cry oceans
of salt filled tears
for children that lived once
without fear in loving arms
with kisses, soft still

their auspicious moment shattered
a broken memory like
shards of glass
now buried descending deep
earth’s grief surpassed

whose sorrow cannot rebuild
houses in ashes smoldering
whose dreams
hold ghostly remnants
pale & fading

where a timeless epitaph remains
of young lives interrupted
photos tinged yellow
touched by death
a noxious poison

thinking of this she turns pages
a book of photographs old
& knows dreams
will still be her comfort
will still unfold

that some mother’s dreaming will
become a vile nightmare
an interloper in sun rays
unwanted slumber
empty days

I am a little late to post this on my site. It was first posted in the Bezine last month. You can read more of some wonderfully written poems and other posts at https://thebezine.com/project-type/the-bezine-april-2017-vol-3-issue-7. The photo below was taken from the Morgue File & Digitized by myself.

Dreaming Children

April 5, 2017September 2, 2017

Pebbles In Sand

She walked down a solitary path
left behind her mistakes made
like pebbles in sand dissolving

she drove a car into the night
along a desert highway

until all she could see were stars
twinkling jewels of light

she plucked pearls of wisdom
caught upon her hand from the wind

no one would miss her absence
life would resume without stopping
her choices a dissipating mist

this as she stood outside a house
realizing another day beginning

her children broke the silence
calling

This is in response to Jamie Dedes’ Wednesday writing prompt. You can read more at https://jamiededes.com/2017/04/05/at-6-p-m-the-scent-of-onions-a-poem-and-your-wednesday-writing-prompt. The Image below was taken from Morgue file and digitized by myself.

Pebbles in the Sand

August 10, 2016

WATCHING WITH HOPE

The powers that be say some
something more than say others
free will a gift?
to what cost

the expense of war
the ravages of war
death for following
death for an ideal

The powers that be say some
something more than say others
free will a gift?
to what cost

the rape of women
the death of girls
not a choice
not part of freedom

The powers that be say some
something more than say others
free will a gift?
to what cost

children starving
disease going unchecked
trapped in poverty
knowledge for the few

The powers that be say some
something more than say others
watching with hope
to what cost

This is for Wednesday’s Prompt from Jamie Dedes at https://musingbymoonlight.com
Who really is to blame for all the ills of the world…or is it really something more.

Image Taken From Morgue File & Digitized by Myself

Hope More Than