love/anti-love PAD 9-2

 The smile that played on his lips.

The way he said her name.

I knew he was in love.

love/anti-love PAD 9-1

 Past Loves

 

Our past loves are like paints

on an artist’s palette.

Our inward beings

Our personalities

Painted by those young loves.

 

The little boy that asked me to color with him.

The young man who held my books.

The neighbor boy who changed from annoying

to hey not bad—the first kiss.

The first long term relationship

who was difficult to break up with.

The love that just didn’t seem to work out,

but was equally significant.

All the short-term ones.

 

The purples, blues, greens, yellows, oranges, reds

of my soul.

And that one that lasts coming into half a century,

painting my soul with various colors each day.

Major Event PAD 8-3

 

Johnstown Flood 1977

 

Johnstown, PA had three major floods.

In 1977, I was spending the summer

with my sister in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

 

I heard about the flood on the radio.

The only major event that happened

in my small  town in my lifetime—

 

And I missed it, but there were many

who wished that they had, too.

Major Event, PAD 8-2

 Three Days After Christmas and Easter

 

We celebrated the birth of Christ

in 1981, and three days later

our daughter Lori was born.

We took her home in a Christmas stocking

that the hospital ladies had made.

A tiny baby in a big, red stocking.

 

We celebrated the resurrection of Christ

in 1985, and three days later

our son Eli was born, though we didn’t

take him home in an Easter basket.

That would have been a big basket,

since he weighed 9 pounds, 3 ounces.

 

major event PAD 8-1

 A Piece of Gum

Over fifty years ago,

my best friend’s worst enemy

offered her a piece of gum.

 

Of course, we were curious.

She attended a Bible Study.

So my friend and I went.

 

The pastor explained

the difference between religion

and a relationship with God.

 

We invited Jesus in

and our lives changed course.

Just an act of kindness.

Luck PAD 7-3, Poetic Bloomings The Best Life

 The Best Life

 

The best life is not

When things always go right

Not just being

healthy, wealthy and wise.

 

Or creating, learning

And having fun each day

When all is hunky-dory

Everything our way  

 

It’s a matter of love

Loving God above all else

And loving others

As we love ourselves

 

And receiving their love in return

Though it’s not something we can earn

luck PAD 7-2

 The Superstitions

Mountains in Arizona

Stories by Akimel O'odham people

Mysterious sounds,

Disappearances and deaths

 

Now a treasured attraction

Hiking, biking, horseback riding, water sports

 160,000 acres to have a little fun

Unless you disappear or die

 

I drive by it every time

I visit my daughter and son.

I would stop, if I didn’t have

a proclivity for getting lost.