WAITING AND WHISPERING Poem 70 of ANOTHER NEW BEGINNING 70 Poems for 70 Days

ANOTHER NEW BEGINNING

70 Poems for 70 Days 

 is a collection of poetry I wrote as a birthday present to myself and gifted in book format to 70 of my friends and family members. Over a period of 70 Sundays, I am submitting the poems in the order of composition, along with a short comment about the poem’s style or theme,

often including a complementary photograph.

With linked poetry, a form of Japanese Renshi poetry,

the last lines of one poem are used to form the title of the next poem,

then the next poem shifts to a different topic.

I hope you find a few entries that bring a smile to your face or a long buried memory to the surface of your consciousness. Poetry is like that, whether you are the reader or the author.

 

 

 

 

70

Waiting

*

**

She

glanced

down at the water

again, whispering a prayer.

Maybe one day the brave little

girl would open the eyes of the world.

She would demonstrate how change, by way

of  acceptance rather than  argument  and discord,

would benefit

everyone. Was this

a goal worth waiting for,

as death stole the hearts and souls

of families while they knelt to offer pleas?

Sons and daughters breathed their last, as they

each believed they too had made life safer back home

She whispered

a second  prayer,

eager to believe, along

with those sons and daughters

of revolutions, there would be an end.

As she waited, tiny flowers drifted across her

field of vision. The yellow blossoms reminded her

anything

is possible

She smiled

The universe

smiled back

***

 

 

 

*****     *****     *****

 

 

AUTHOR’S NOTES

These seventy poems were penned, not to confront or analysis a life endured but to give thanks for and to better appreciate a life well-lived. 

Had we, all of us, not fully experienced every moment of past years as we did, then everything we encountered would have evolved differently. Our altered actions would not only have eliminated our tribulations but a vast amount of pleasure, blessings, and joy. 

If even one of these poems gave you reason to laugh or cry with tears of remembered joy, please feel free to contact me to share a nostalgic moment. 

 

 

Available for purchase in print at Amazon:

ANOTHER NEW BEGINNING 70 Poems for 70 Days at Amazon

 

 



A REMINDER OF HOW "TIME PASSES" #49, #50, and #51

The mind so often wanders into territory we cannot control. Reining in our thoughts takes more conscious energy than we sometimes have to spare. Lapses are normal. But complete loss of control is unbearable, for everyone involved.

#49

I Will Wait

 

A profusion of color, or dull confusion?
Photo taken at Fremont Street, Las Vegas

She knows it is time.

The waiting is over as her

feet trail along well-worn steps

in an increasing haze of confusion. 

At the landing she pauses to

survey the familiar room below.

Wonders if she could delay just until

the last pie cools on the twisted wire rack. 

Sugary apple syrup

bubbling over, sizzles on

aluminum foil inside the oven.

Certainly, no need to hurry anymore. 

Smoke billows suddenly and without

warning. Perplexed, she listens to

the harsh ring of the telephone,

or maybe what she hears is

only the treacherous
buzzing of the
stove alarm.

Best now to stand right here

And greet the inevitable.

It is past time.

Betrayed by the failing mind of age, thoughts shift and bend until the normal patterns of life masquerade as puzzles that confuse.

 
* * * * *

#50

Time Passes

 

Cherry blossoms mark

Early spring

Ambitions bloom

With the energy expectations provide 

Waves splash the summer shore

In independent harmony

With the sounds

Of childish delight 

Idealistic shards of

Yellow, orange, and red

Blanket a pregnant earth

In breathless anticipation 

Nature regenerates in white slumber

Absorbing a universe gone before

Knowledge shared, to thrive

In the next half century 

Each season offers unique insights and varied delights for adults and children, marking a pleasant though relentless passing of years, leaving ever more obvious traces of time spent and wisdom gained.

* * * * *

#51

The Next Half

Facing forward

with expectant wonder,

she counts crystals in each

purple drop

of rain. 

Thunderous silence

fills her mind with lightning,

trapping future visions in

the pulsing beat

of time. 

Joie de vivre is coursing

through her bloodstream,

soothing rhythms

casting yet

another fate. 

While moonlight

focuses on wave-tossed

beaches, and trade winds

circle ever-changing,

near horizons.

 

* * * * *

Have you reached the half-way mark of your life? Maybe you haven't yet decided when that time will be. Death isn't something we normally dwell on, or discuss daily. But whether discussed or ignored, it is inevitable. Life expectancy can reasonably be set at 100 for many people. Therefore, 50 is a practical number to choose as a half-way mark. 50 cents is half a dollar. 50 years is half a century. Once you start looking at it that way, half a century, you realize that time does indeed pass.

Joie de vivre is coursing through her bloodstream  . . . let it course through yours, also.

N o w !