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This particular poem was not in the original book! You are seeing it here for the first time…
It was written for someone who just had a new baby and I reflected back on the birth of my two daughters and how that experience forever changed the lives of my wife and myself. When I was looking through my collection of new poems, I realized it had a message for me at this time as I change directions and come to accept my new reality…
I guess the bottom line, is that you take from my poetry what your experience brings to the table of life. Enjoy it BK!
Unchanged Reality
The longer we live our human lives,
The more we come to realize
Nothing is ever constant
Or consistent.
Change is our reality!
Just as certain as times and seasons change,
So also do people, places and things.
Experience is the key to change.
The more we experience in life,
The more likely we are to change
Or be changed by those experiences – good and bad.
Newborn babies impact a relationship
More than could ever be imagined.
In the nine months leading up to birth,
Lives are forever changed
Beyond imagination…new realities?
Career changes, relocations,
New relationships, broken relationships,
Constancy and consistency
Are fleeting.
Our ‘raison d’etre’ fades
With each sunset.
What then are we to do?
In a single word, ‘change’ –
Failure to change or accept change
Can have disastrous consequences.
Those who change willingly
Are those who come to realize,
Failure to change may well be
Their ‘cause of premature death’
In an unchanged reality.
My apologies for a third poem posting in one week, but this one jumped out to be noticed…
In light of the current controversy surrounding my work at MELL, this poem has taken on new meaning since I wrote it back in April of 2006. My apologies also to those who have no idea about the aforementioned controversy since you are not currently living here.
ESSENCE OF MAN
Unlike woman,
Man begins to question
The essence of his being –
First at 20 – where am I going?
Then at 30 – am I headed in the right direction?
At 40 – will I ever get there?
At 50 – could my life have been different?
At 60 – how much longer do I really have?
Unable to discern an answer –
For it is beyond his capabilities,
He marches ahead, stepping boldly,
Until he reaches the next milestone,
When he asks the next question –
Still unable to answer with certainty.
And then comes the day,
When those questions no longer matter –
And he comes to realize,
That there always was
Only ONE question –
Did I make a difference
In the lives of those whom I loved
And in the lives of those that loved me?
THIS is the only answer that matters!
Batting two for two tonight…must be the white wine I am sipping at the moment…LOL. All kidding aside, as I re-read this in my current situation, soon to be retired, I am contemplating all the great friendships which have been nourished as a result of my work at MELL. Now would be a good time to call that friend you haven’t seen for awhile….abrazos.
Contemplación
No man is an island
Unto himself.
For certain, his body needs
Food, shelter, raiment.
Without these, he is at the mercy
Of the earthly elements –
Sun, rain, snow, heat, cold and wind.
To make life more bearable,
God painted nature’s landscape,
As a backdrop for other creatures –
Birds of the sky, fish of the sea,
Dogs, cats, frogs and bees,
But they are not enough.
Why is it that fish swim in schools?
Birds fly in flocks? Elephants in herds?
Lions in prides? Ants in colonies?
Security? Maybe.
Friendship? For certain!
And out of that friendship
Grows love of another human being,
To share his island,
His life,
And his dreams.
The problem with growing older is that as we age that mouse on the pad in our brain cannot really retrieve certain facts! Truth be known, I have no idea at this point what was going on when I wrote this….c’est la vie!
Celestial Erasers
Just maybe,
God created the nighttime clouds
To erase the stresses of each day.
Problems of the day
Are glaring in full sunlight!
As the sun sets,
The problems become less potent, less problematic.
The billowy nighttime clouds,
Celestial erasers –
Wash over the darkened skies,
Leaving behind
Millions of sparkling stars.
Each star representing
Something good to remember
From days past;
A celestial treasure chest –
Upon which we can gaze and reflect,
Whenever
And wherever we are –
Constant reminders
Of people, places and events
In our lives
That will always be part
Of whom we are.
Never to be erased,
By the nighttime clouds.
This particular poem resulted from a request from our friend, Steve, to write a poem which he could read at his wedding in Montreal, to my Spanish teacher from Progreso. As I sat at the kitchen table on a Saturday morning I asked him to tell me all he thought about Gaby. As his words spilled out, they magically landed on the paper before me. We managed to translate it into French, Spanish and English so he could read it at the reception. Unfortunately I was not in Montreal to witness it, as that was the weekend that my own mother died in Canada. On our last visit to see them in Montreal, there was a framed calligrapohied copy in their bedroom…
Dream Girl
Little did I know,
When I began this journey,
That it would be –
A journey
Forever changing my life,
In a way that I would never
Have dreamed.
Leaving behind my family and friends,
No expectations –
Except adventure and discovery.
I discovered a new country,
A new culture, a new language,
And then,
Unexpectedly,
NOT the woman of my dreams,
For I could never have dreamed
Of finding such a beautiful, caring woman
As YOU…Gaby!
From the moment we met,
I realized that I had found,
Far from the home I had always known,
My soul mate, my partner, mi amour
For life and for living!
We share the same dreams –
Each day with you,
A new dream,
A new sunrise.
You awaken my spirits,
Your laugh, your smiles, your tears,
Your love,
Moves me like no one ever has.
You have touched my heart,
And given me new dreams,
For the TWO of us!
Together in love…
Siempre!
Computer is finally working again. Hope you have enjoyed the respite fro my meanderings…LOL
This poem came about lying on the beach watching clouds overhead sailing across the sky.
Clouds
In reality,
We live each day of our lives
In clouds, internal –
In our minds –
Thoughts, feelings, memories.
They swirl around,
Buoyant.
Some larger than others,
Looming over us, omnipresent.
Some thoughts, feelings and emotions,
Vaporize and are never more,
Others loom ominously –
Dark, foreboding masses.
Until a tiny sliver of sunlight
Breaks through,
Offering promise of a sunny day.
Slowly the clouds disappear,
Blue skies prevail,
Hearts are lightened,
The weight of the world lessens.
We are refreshed and vital
Once again, but never forever.
In reality,
We live each day of our lives,
In clouds, internal.
In our minds and hearts
We know there is always
Another sunrise – a silver lining,
And hope.
No that is not the name of my newest poem! While in Canada our desktop computer died and we are awaiting a new motherboard, imminently. All of my poems are on the other computer so you are just going to have to wait for those words of wisdom…hahaha Hope to start posting again next week.
In the meantime check out some of the poems I wrote under my other pseudonym – Gerard Manly Hopkins…..LOL
Trust the Winds 