24 Poems ~ 24 Hours
When
she often wondered
Would it be
Her time to bloom
She often called upon God
And asked
when it would be her turn
She prayed and prayed
And one fine day
Her prayers answered
From above
She grew into the adolescent
That those around her knew and loved.
Rebelí
The earth-toned land at the edge
of my known world
has been prepared for planting
as two large gas balloons, rainbow colored,
hover, one above the other,
as border markers near the narrow basin
that leads to the unknown.
Squinting my eyes and looking very closely
I try to see beyond, but the beyond
merges with low horizon and is an enigma.
I pack my knapsack with food, bedding,
water, a travel diary book, and search for a way
into the photo to cross the prepped soil
so I can enter the basin and find my path
through it to that somewhere
just outside the limits
of my imagination.
Hold my hand as we cross the street
And never take for granted that your feet
Carry you from place to place
And always do without a trace
Of complaint
Remember this moment as we stroll
Along the sidewalk feeling whole
Hand in hand and two by two
And know this mem’ry will be true
To hold
But fleeting as it always is
And easy to forget amidst the bliss
Of evry day events like this
Like all those time your ma did kiss
Your brow
So baby girl, come along
And yes keep skipping to that song
That plays it’s tune inside your head
As there will come a day that you’ll be led
Away
That’s not too say away is bad
It’s natural you’ll meet a lad
Or lady or thing that will bring you near
To them and then my only fear?
Remorse
So take it in and spend your time
Etching the rote, the dozen a dime
Remember the things that you found sweet
A cuddle, a comfort, a little treat
The spring
And take them with you when you go
In your body, your mind, your soul you’ll stow
The goodness of your childhood dreams
You’ll find you always have a way to beam
You home
Boys in the Boat
They heard a voice
no one else could hear.
or maybe a whisper.
Not children of excess
with names like Bobby, Joe, Roger and Don
Jim, Gordy, Johnny and Chuck.
From farms, orchards and shipyards
they acted out of hunger to be the best
and some of them knew hunger all too well.
Their inner strength proved stronger than
upbringings designed for their biggest day
and weather that assured their defeat.
I look to them and know
that all we can be is nothing
more than what we can see.
Hardscrabble country kids
took hitler to task and showed
him that all the privilege in the world
can’t buy victory if your heart is empty.
Sit with it a while.
Not many people make honest attempts in doing so.
Talk in it without expectation.
Hold and be an open space.
Move in it.
Trust that it is on your side,
the same way you need someone else to be.
You’d be surprised how easy it becomes to walk in conviction.
Let it teach you,
Most things of value in life can be learned and understood without sight.
Roots wrapped around, crawling up walls and through cracks in buildings, workers shocked, taking photos. Tiny sprigs shoot out of thicker green, spreading out infinite like fractals unseen. Nature reclaiming without a shred of hostility. But to say the least, she knows her place: on top of all of us.
If guilt is a teacher
I’m learning my lesson.
My mistake has cost you
your most precious blessing.
I’ve injured my own self
and damaged our friendship.
There’s no coming back
from such a horrible misstep.
I know this transgression
can’t be forgiven.
There’s no reversal of fortune
of avail to us living.
So I’ll carry the burden of
the harm I’ve inflicted.
And you’ll bury your child,
both our hearts are afflicted.
Education for a New World Raffi calls his mission, Child Honoring. Peter Gray, Free to Learn. Dr. Maria Montessori goes further— she exclaims, The Formation of Man. It was always innate for me, I don't know why, can't explain it. It wasn't a discovery, but common sense. The Discovery of the Child. The Secret of Childhood is still a secret. The idea To Educate the Human Potential is still a concept not accepted by most. I got it as soon as I read The Absorbent Mind. In 1949 Montessori wrote, "We know how to find pearls in the shells of oysters, gold in the mountains, but we are unaware of the spiritual germs, the creative nebulae, that the child hides in himself when he enters the world to renew mankind." If humankind wishes to reach salvation, and the union of man, he must follow the child. That part of it which we possess consciously is renewed every time a baby is born.
Christopher Robin, that fine young lad,
had quite a creative and whimsical Dad,
who wrote about creatures who lived in the nursery,
making adventures for Chris, all in versery.
Pooh was a pudge, and quite a bit plump,
a glutton for honey, and dumb as a stump;
With little brain to “Think, think, think…
Oh, bother, where was I?” he’d say in a blink.
While piglet was little, afraid and befretted,
a tiny pink friend Pooh never regretted,
defended from Woozles and Heffalumps too—
Exactly the way a friend ought to do.
And for that matter, all Pooh’s friends were a mess—
Eeyore depressed,
Owl, who digressed,
Rabbit, the know-it-all, always a test.
And finally, Tigger, ADHD, and sproingy,
hyper-as-heck, all a-bounce, oingy boingy!
Just a bit off, yet loved and adored.
With all of these oddballs, Chris couldn’t be bored.
Not all of Pooh’s friends were as looped as a llama;
There was Kanga and Roo; little joey and Mama—
Milne sketched out their foibles, and CR was Roo—
Do you think Christopher Robin knew, Pooh?
A hundred woods acres to ramble about—
Owl’s Tree, and Trespasser Will’s house,
Rabbit’s Garden, Eeyore’s hut made of sticks—All at five.
Next book: Now We are Six.
*Pooh Corner; The Annual Poetic Edition 2021
Follow me to the pond.
We’ll jump in and savour summer.
Cool skin brings pleasure.
Our eyes wander away
to the wide open meadow.
Lavender a striking dark purple,
having reached peak bloom.
Just like us.
Dry off and stay awhile longer.
We can lie on our backs
in the dry grass
and watch the clouds pass by.
This is all we need to live for.
(Poem 8 of Half Marathon)