Tuesday, December 31, 2013

choka


Self Loathing

Anger consumed her.
She lashed out at her loved ones.
Unwittingly, they fought back,
unaware of hate
she harbored against herself.
The world darkened for them all.
They tried many things:
drugs, alcohol, religion,
till the youngest met Jesus.
Jesus is the light.
Her beacon revealed the hate.
Till you love yourself, you can’t
reach out to others.


Monday, December 30, 2013

Animals a-z

Affenpinscher

“The little monkey dog,” so cute
A breed derived from German root
They’re small but long, like a short log
So cute, “the little monkey dog”

Kept long ago for pest control
Was excellent in hunting role
Rat numbers down and not for show
For pest control, kept long ago

They come in colors black and gray
In forties brought to USA
Coarse wiry fur, and smart not dumb
In colors black and gray, they come

Adventurous, loves fun, no fears
Domed head, dark eyes, short snout, small ears
In loyalty, can’t be outdone
No fears, adventurous, loves fun

Their happy owners have no regrets
The affenpinscher make good pets
Affectionate and not loners
Have no regrets—their happy owners

Some stern advice, they can be hurt
With fragile bodies, be alert!
They’re not for kids, don’t pay the price.
They can be hurt, some stern advice.

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Poetic Bloomings Books

My Dream

I used to dream of rows of books.
I loved libraries’ smells and looks.
When I was young, I’d plot and scheme.
Of rows of books, I used to dream.

To own a book, oh, such a treat!
A gift like that could not be beat.
You’d catch me reading in a nook.
Oh, such a treat, to own a book!

As years passed, my collection grew.
My bookish dream was coming true.
I needed space as they amassed.
My collection grew, as years passed.

My dream approached, when my kids moved.
For shelves of books I had more room.
But other guests, the place encroached.
When my kids moved, my dream approached.

One Christmas day, I got a gift.
It’s very light, easy to lift.
Alas, my dream, it went away!
I got a gift one Christmas day.

It could be worse, do not be sad.
The Kindle’s made me very glad,
Because my dream fits in my purse!
Don’t be sad, it could be worse.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Totem Poles

Totem Poles

Hand-crafted faces speak the past
Skilled men wield adze to spruce to last
Curved eagle or straight raven beak
From past, hand-crafted faces speak

They’re carved and formed, from single log
Show clans: bear, beaver, fox and frog
Red, turquoise, black and white—the norm
From single log, they’re carved and formed

From top, a human figure warns
Of dangers, thieves, or of life’s thorns
Against all debtors, like a cop
A human figure warns from top

Six types of poles, the totems claim
There’s Lineage, Story, Honor, Shame,
Event, and Grave—the dead extols
The totems claim six types of poles

The Carver knows their mystery
The Commissioner—their history
The totems do not read like prose
Their mystery, the Carver knows

The Totems stand for so much more
Of pride and sorrow, shore to shore
They speak of who once owned the land
For so much more, the totems stand



Friday, December 27, 2013

Inspired by Christmas Ornament

Santa Rides a Polar Bear

Santa rides a polar bear
Bet you didn't know it
All the pictures that you see
Surely do not show it

Twelve reindeer pull a sled
Piled high with children’s toys
Magically riding throughout the world
Delivering to girls and boys

But that’s just on Christmas night
Then he parks his sled in a cave
And lets his reindeer all run free
Dear Santa’s kind and brave

Then throughout the year
He rides big and burly Andy
Who carries Santa everywhere
Yes, polar bears come in handy 

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Day after Christmas

The Star

The way, the truth, the light
The star in a silent night
The good shepherd the door
The star in a silent night
Living water to thirst no more
The way, the truth, the light
Angels chorus, “Glory to God”
A humble bed in manger hay

The light, the truth, the way

Poetic Asides gift

Gift

Graciously, You gave the greatest gift
I thank You for sending Your Son
F ather, thank You for providing

T he way for us to come to You

for 24

New Year, Next Step

Help me remember
as I make my goals for the New Year
that January first
is just a day after December thirty-first.
No need to attempt to start all over again.
Help me see my goals as the next steps
of the ones you have already

laid on my heart last year. 

for 23

Christmas Eve morning
A typical busy day

Filled with memories

Poetic Bloomings Christmas

Wonderland

I remember standing on tiptoe
looking into the big plate window
of Glosser Brothers store—
to a magical Christmas wonderland.

Miniature Christmas scenes:
Santa and workshop, busy shoppers,
old fashioned cars and street lamps.
All with moving parts.

And then inside—
the giant dolls I knew I’d never get.
Riding an elevator, floor to floor—
each a world unto themselves.

Then the flood came.
And the Richland Mall.
Then the Galleria.
Johnstown isn’t the same.

The magical place, only foggy memories.
Lets make magical moments
for our children and grandchildren.
even if they’re only temporary.

But at the same time
point to the eternal, to a place
that makes Glosser Brothers
seem drab and dreary.



Saturday, December 21, 2013

List Poem

Symbols

Lion king mask,
Carved golden tree,
Glass chiming bells,
Cardboard circles featuring poems,
Wooden wagon,
Sailboat,
Painted Amish scene,
Sedona gourd,
Javelina
Jeweled seahorse,
Santa riding a polar bear,
Plastic tree with daughter’s photo,
Candy canes,
Scottish bagpiper,
Gar scale flower,
Crab claw poinsettia,
Eifel tower on a ball,
Dough art hot-air balloon,
Large hand-crafted felt ball
Tiny wooden figures,
Satin cross,
Popsicle stick star,
Ceramics children in winter-wear,
Crocheted bells,
Mouse in a matchbox,
Wire, wooden, cloth, straw,  angels,
On and on they go.
I love my Christmas ornaments.
Maybe I should
leave them up all year.

 I need a bigger tree. 

for Dec 20

The Washing Machine Chugs

The steely gray sky urges me back inside
where the washing machine chugs,
the woman in the wheelchair calls
and my husband murmurs to her
in his deep voice as he helps her,
and the washing machine chugs,
the man sits in the chair next to me
playing with a toy flashlight
with a confused ladybug that lights the way,
and the washing machine chugs,
the cat sits on my lap, my keys tap,

and the washing machine chugs.

for Dec 19


Heroics

A night out in Chicago
the Texan visitor said
after they fished
their dead friend
out of the river.

Thirty minutes.
Why couldn’t they get her out?

Nightmare
Several of us walking
on a high suspension bridge
A Chinese woman I know,
slips and falls.

Despite my desire I did nothing.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

PA Sometime, PB Sonnetina Tre

Sometime

Yes, everybody’s gotta learn sometime
The kindergarten basics of friendship
To share, to care, to reason and to rhyme
To sweetly solve problems, to get a grip

Yes everybody’s gotta learn sometime
We are temporary people on earth
Taking a downhill slide after the climb
And then inevitable second birth

So let’s enjoy the moments while we can

Till that sometime, when we shed the old man

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

And I Cant Write a Poem Poem

Uninspired

This is a poem
I’m writing at home
On the keys, I tap
With a cat on my lap
The Christmas lights glow

I need to go

Monday, December 16, 2013

Christmas Eve


Christmas Eve

Extended family
Converge on one home
Happy Birthday Pappap

Gift exchange
Kids play, eat,

Savor Aunt Marg’s cakes

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Poetic Bloomings garden

Daddy Plants

I can picture him there
In the garden
Acres of garden

Tilling the earth
His back red
Sweating

Planting
Weeding, working
Tending

Calling on his five girls
To pick and gather
Snap, husk, can, freeze

We, often complained
About the work we had to do
The fun we were missing

Not thankful enough
For the love he planted
In each little hill

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Poetic Bloomings Terza Rhima Wordle: collection, blessings, processes, impressing, trinkets, guessing, speaking, proclaim, ears, bonus, straight, point, still, envelope

Unmet Debt

Collections of memories—priceless possessions
Of graces and mercies and all of God’s blessings
The processes of life, of prayers and confessions

A three-in-one Deity greatly impressing
From trinkets, to cathedrals, we seek to return
His favors but I believe we’re merely guessing

His creation is speaking so people can learn
They’re messengers sent to proclaim past what we hear
With our ears but with our hearts and souls we discern

The bonus He gave us from a heart of good cheer
Birthed straight from the Father’s bountiful compassion
The point was and is Jesus, then, there, now and here

We still try to repay by thanks in some fashion
Our lives like an envelope of praise and passion



Friday, December 13, 2013

Poetic Asides Antiques

Antiques

A ntiques give tribute to the past, reminding us
N ow is just a moment, many have come before and many will come after.
T he oil lamp on my cupboard top tells me to be thankful for electricity.
I look at the black and white pitcher and am grateful for running water. Grandma’s
Q uilt consists of patches from clothing my husband’s family must have worn. The
U rn once carried ashes of a grandparent. The gravy boat features cracks
E mulating wrinkles of aged ancestors who once used it at thanksgiving feasts.
S o many trinkets left to teach, inspire, enlighten, admonish and memorialize.

Catch up Dec 12

Moment of Truth Dream

I sat at a coffee counter
between two friends.
I asked, “How bad is it?”

One started to speak,
the other,
trying to be discreet.
hushed her.

“It’s bad, then,” I said.
“Of all losses, losing your memory is the worst.
We lost my dad a little bit each day.”

How do you prepare yourself for such a thing?

Catch up Dec 11

Off the Path

God I wonder
how I let myself feel
so far removed from You.
I get so caught up in daily life,
like the seed off the path,
getting choked by the cares of the world.
God, draw near. I need You. I love You. Draw near.

Catch up Dec 10

The Real Cost

Why do I pile on the projects
Then grieve
when I’d like to spend time on other things?
Or just on relaxing.
My decisions
effect what I do later on down the road.
When am I going to realize that? 

Catch up Dec 9

Drastic Measures

You cried last night.
Hard tears.
Your request was unusual
Your brother
Or my daughter.
I called her in.
Your tears stopped and laughter began.
Was it just a cry for attention?
Sometimes nonverbal people
Resort to drastic measures.

catch up Dec 8

Parental Zig

You hide in your room
Consumed by your addiction
A harmless addiction
But one that hides you in your room
You come out occasionally
Using unintelligible computer game speak
And I wonder

Where I zigged when I should have zagged.

catch up Dec 7

Wounded Hearts

I’m aware you’ve lied to me
Over the years
But I know you love me
The lies protect you from my possible rejection
But I won’t reject you
And they protect me from the grieving.
Yet, I already do.
I may grieve
I may pray
But I won’t reject you. 

catch up Dec 6

Facebook Friend Dream

We met
My husband was there
Yet we held hands like grammar school friends
You had five children
One thing we don’t have in common, you said.
I grew up in a family of seven, I said.
Your four year old son had red curly hair.
And a secure smile
It was just a dream
But is there such thing as just a dream?

Poetic Blooming Unexpected

The Faceless Woman

I spent too much time writing
to finish the portrait of my daughter,
so it came with a promise.

“I like it faceless,” she said.
The faceless woman?
Then not my daughter.


Shall I finish it, or not? 

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Poetic Asides Fog

Fog

What giant infant
spilled milk over the world?
Watch for red eyes blinking
and white lines.

Don’t cry. 

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

a-z animals

The Adelie Penguin

Way down south, clear to the South Pole
Where it is rocky, icy and cold
Live many penguins small in size
With white circles around their eyes

Wear a “tux,” black back and white chest
Hike or slide to their rocky nests
Strong pink feet, bumpy nails are nice
To climb cliffs, push and slide on ice

Sociable, live in colonies
Communicate in “penguinese”
Hunt together for fish and krill,
 Mollusks and squid, they take their fill

Chicks hatch out using their egg tooth
Then congregate in little groups
Male and female care for their young
Who fend for themselves in three months

Monday, December 2, 2013

Animals A-Z Abyssinian Cat


The Abyssinian Cat

You may have heard of
an Abyssinian Cat
They’re the oldest breed
Imagine that
Playful, smart
Loyal heart
Silky fur, almond-shaped eyes
Slender, long, medium size
Large ears, broad head
Blue, gray, fawn, red
Fantastic hearing
Hunter’s will
Egyptian heritage
Can’t sit still

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Poetic Bloomings colloquialisms

Jingle Bells Alzheimer’s Version

 Dashing through the doodad
In a one hickey open thingamajigger
O'er the thingies we go
Laughing all the way

Gizmos on dillybobs ring
Making whatchamacallits bright
What fun it is to laugh and sing
A thingamajiggering doohickey tonight

Oh, jingle gizmos, jingle gizmos
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one hickey open thingamajigger

Jingle gizmos, jingle gizmos
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one hickey open thingamajigger

A day or two ago
I thought I'd take a thingamajig
And soon Miss Fanny Bright
Was seated by my whatsit

The hickey was lean and lank
Misfortune seemed his lot
We got into a drifted thingamabob
And then we got upset


Oh, jingle gizmos, jingle gizmos
Jingle all the way
Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one hickey open thingamajigger