Try To Be Smart (+7)

Stop trying to be clever,

and try to be smart

 

The coyote said

to the fox

 

The hunters are coming,

the bounty’s been offered

 

Their traps are all baited

and boxed

 

Stop trying to be clever,

and try to be smart

 

The coyote to the fox

said again

 

There’s a reason your fur

is always in season

 

And mine, never coated

—or skinned

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)

        'For My Grandchildren'

 

 

Renewal

 

Poetic verse, to praise or curse,

its edge to save or wound

 

Now less than dear, on fewer ears,

   whose silence will entomb

 

A finer point, the words anoint,

when fired both straight and true

 

Its arrows sharp, to hit the mark

—the past again renewed

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2018)

 

 

 

Memories Of Bob

 

I met him on a summer’s day,

when life seemed very far away

 

A home once mine when as a boy,

I’d lived and loved and searched for joy

 

Twas taken cruelly from my grasp,

the black sheep son, now left askance

 

As I walked past this house so tall,

a dark haired man in t-shirt called

 

“How are you today” he said and smiled,

my burden lightened, my mood beguiled

 

I knew that instant, my Angel named,

and in that moment, we friends became

 

With all the magic in his heart

my life rebuilt, he drew the chart

 

For two short years he gave me all,

and fifty more I still recall

 

How at a crossroads he there stood

a lighthouse shining, and always would

 

I owe so much to that young man

who took me in and took my hand

 

And saved me from a life unhinged,

and me a stranger—but not to him

 

Bob may be gone, but deep inside,

his smile stays, his goodness shines

 

If I may live another year,

his words I’ll carry close and dear

 

And thank my Brother from the sun,

—for the grateful man that I’ve become

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: February 12. 2018)

      ‘Read At Bob’s Funeral, 2/24/18’

 

 

To Some

 

To some

reality comes early,

to others

it comes late

 

The lucky

get a pass,

where the facts of life

will wait

 

With truth

backed in the corner,

and fantasy now

to reign

 

No love

to go asunder,

no past relived

again

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)

 

 

 

New Mornings

 

Each day moving forward

   —plus one looking back

 

Every new morning

—offering all that I lack

 

Night brings new cover

—the stars peeking through

 

These moments a gift

—as I spend them with you

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)

 

 

A Community Of Friends 

 

There once was a time when women could cook,

and men knew how to dance

 

Education was by the book

no fuzzy math or creative finance

 

Parents visited their own parent’s homes,

as the grandchildren came along

 

And life was so much better then

new words to every song

 

There once was a time when women could cook,

and men knew how to dance

 

Hearts were pure as dogs roamed free

neighbors talked across the fence

 

Everyone shared those values true

family mattering most of all

 

Because in the end, a community of friends

—let you rise and then stand tall

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)

 

 

Envy Is A Curse

 

Envy is a curse

with the darkest shadow

 

Its yearning left unsettled

in a greenish cast

 

Jealousy its evil twin

beyond veracity’s purview

 

Coveting the burning torches

—of all darkness past

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)

 

 

 

New Lore

 

               Commercial success                 

A spirit repressed

Your shell now

The substance below

 

The glittering fame

Of a deepening shame

Darkened chards at the surface

To glow

 

Commercial success

Demanding spiritual redress

The light burning down

To its core

 

With the evening in shade

And emotions now grave

Your soul choking on its

new lore

 

(Villanova Pennsylvania: March, 2015)