Grown Ups-Written 11/30/11

Always rushing,
checking off lists.
Fumbling through papers,
Rushing to get kids.
Eating a bite here
and there in between.
The only time they sit?
To look at a screen.

Is being a grown up fun?
It looks really hard.
I'd rather play with blocks
or go out in the yard.

What are they thinking?
Are they mindful of me?
Sometimes their eyes
look lost in the sea.

Being an adult seems
not so much fun.
There's so much to do
and they never seem done.

Imagine

Sixty dollars buys a key
Unlocks a door to virtual reality
Cowboys, soldiers, war torn lands
Adventure waiting for all who enter

Ten minutes here, or twenty there
Hopping time zones or characters
Good and evil reduced to the screen
Life at home, safe as can be

Where have all the heroes gone?
Old ones dead and new ones where?
Safe in bed or a reclining chair?
Carefree as unicorns in magical lands?

Old ones died exploring or fighting
No guarantees of anything provided
Their legacies lived out and written
Freedom purchased for us left behind

Battles of injustice loom far and near
Who will fight now and have no fear?
What will it take to open more doors?
Is there a key to turning virtual off?

Untimely-written 10/29/11

A crumb pecked by a blue jay
Fat and happy, he gobbled it
Blue jay outside, me inside
The sky turning gray

Hours later his perch unseen
Globs of white fluff now heaped
Forcing all upright to hang low

I bundle up and venture outside
I shuffle through five inches of
this most new and unwelcomed guest

Moments later, I'm startled
A loud cracking noise echoes
the breaking and splintering
make me freeze in my tracks

A sparrow darts from a bush
Equally shaken and unsure
Where can he now rest?

How many more will fall?
No one knows, but all pray
Our creation is groaning
My heart yearning for spring

Jake-written 10/24/11

The message was shocking,
"Had to put Jake down Monday,
Congestive heart failure and edema."
My heart sunk with great sadness.

My mind raced backwards to two weeks ago
when I stood beside this old, great one.
Eye to eye we stood, watching the sunset.

I stroked his soft chestnut, brown coat,
along his neck and under his mane.
His eyes contained such warmth and depth.
Thirty years he spent and graced this place.

A young teenage girl bought and trained him.
Children loved him, herds respected him.
Me, I simply communed with him.

After feeding him carrots he lowered his head.
His white striped forehead butted against me,
"More. More.", he whispered, only the bag was empty.
So together we watched the sky splashed with color.

Brillant shades of pink, orange, yellow and blue,
a glorious sunset over New York's Catskills.
One week later the sun went down on my new friend.

Children in Sunshine-Written 10/6/11

Have I told you I love it?
Have I told you how much?
Children engaged outside,
marveling at nature's wonders,
sketching the beauty they see.

To save Earth, they must love it.
To love Earth, they must know it.
To know it, they must spend time in it.
They must experience it.

I pray my students, my children,
will love and cherish it.
May its majesty overwhelm them,
as a rushing waterfall spilling over or
the sweet song of bluebirds and insects.

I pray they love it enough to care
as a new mother watches and nurtures.
I pray they share its goodness and
leave it intact for more to gaze upon.

I pray I see children's children
basking in warm sunshine,
mesmerized by the beauty they see.