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Wednesday, December 27, 2017

as time passes
a new year awaits
a birthday just passed
but maybe with age
too often I find myself
looking backward
rather then forward

thinking what if I had done
this rather then that
what if what happened
hadn't happened
why did I make
the choices I made
but usually reality takes over

the past is after all
just that, it has passed
can't change it
try as I might
and besides I survived
the mistakes I made
and even the mistakes others made

and whether I'm
the man I hoped to be
I am the man
that I have become
so dwelling on the past
is pointless
the future awaits

but again age intervenes
thinking 10 years
into the future
is also pointless
I saw an ad
where are you going to
be in 10 years

but that's not the
point of life I think
where am I going to be
tomorrow
what must I do
to not only survive it
but to achieve something good

Life is a series of challenges
and yes we do carry
the baggage from  the past
our past has made us what we are now
but tomorrow will make us
what we can be
day by day, one step at a time

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

'Twas the day after Christmas
and all through my room
came house keeping quickly
she came with her broom

She cleaned my room
with the greatest of  ease
and with great  results
as quick as you please

I write this to prove
I can rhyme if I choose
and I can do it
without any booze

I know it's my style
almost never to rhyme
I can do it but
I don't take the time

when I write my lines
I let my mind run crazy
and I really don't care
cause to rhyme I'm too lazy

but this experiment
really must stop
cause I know this poem
ends up a huge flop

to rhyme is a chore
which I have done before
 but for me it's a  bore
so I'll do it no more

promise........

Monday, December 18, 2017

a quiet day
nothing pressing
nothing that had
to be done

I no longer
look forward
to the holiday season
as it has come to be known

the commercialism
most have lost
the original meaning
of Christmas

the crowds battling for
this year's items to give
finding the new hot item
that which ads say they must give

but in the given
they assume
that they will
also be receiving

I insulate myself
from the hubbub
I prefer the
peace and quiet

so that I
in my solitude
can contemplate
the true meaning

the simple
message
of the angels
a child is born

Saturday, December 09, 2017

Night approaches
the lights
begin to fade
but memories
are still
bright lights
some from
a great distance
shine the brightest
some of
the lights
I cherish
and others
I would like
to forget
but all
are with me
still
some for enjoyment
some for instruction
some are painful
but the sum total
of the various lights
are the sum total of me

Tuesday, December 05, 2017

winter is coming
it's right around
the corner
my 70th year is
also right around
the corner

the one
that is the winter
I approach
with some
degree
of dread

but the other even with
my disablities
even with the pain
I'm looking forward to
with anticipation
with renewed optimism

I have weathered
both many winters
and many years
but the winter
I still dread
but not the years

there are still
things to learn
wisdom to be gained
maybe also
wisdom and learning
to be shared

so I'll bundle up
I will face the winter
again, with dread
but the birthday
I will look forward to
with anticipation

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Thanksgiving
not what it was
not what it's become
certainly not what was intended

It has  become a day when we stuff
ourselves at the dining table
and then coward around the TV
to  watch NFL football

most don't give thanks
it's just a day to relax
eat til we burst
and wait for "Black Friday"

and all the sales
in the big box stores
shopping for Christmas
and braving the crowds of shoppers

Christmas
not what it was
not what it's become
certainly not what was intended

Saturday, November 18, 2017

winter is upon me
both by season
and by my age
and quite frankly
in my opinion
both have come too soon
of course there
is little I can do
about either
I suppose
I could
move to a warm climate
but I am fine here
after almost 70 years
I'm used to the weather
as to the winter
of my life
this I can do nothing about
Except to enjoy
to live what
I have left

besides
it beats
the alternative

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Yesterdays
at my age 
far too many

tomorrows
at my age 
maybe not enough

but where do i place my focus
yesterdays
or tomorrows

both have their allure
yesterdays have old memories
both triumphs and defeats

but tomorrows
ah tomorrows
the future awaits 

but then me thinks
I shouldn't live 
in yesterdays

nor should I live
for tomorrow
what might never be

all I really have is
today
and that should be enough

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

at my age
memories
both old and new
flow over my mind

when I was younger
it was more like
a small lake
or even a mud puddle

but as i get older
it's a flood
whether the Niagara falls
or a whirlpool in the ocean

I can't tell
but one thing I know
some memories sink to the bottom
never to be remembered again

and others
some old, some recent
keep popping up
like a buoy

refusing to be forgoten
a mixed bag
some bringing joy
fond memories

but others
memories I'd love to forget
but all reminders of
the life I've lived

but the joy
the sorrows
the regrets
and even the silliness

they all formed
the person
I am today
the bonus is I survived

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Yesterday
at my age
many yesterdays

at times yesterday
seems far more real
then today

certainly more real
then tomorrow
I sometimes think

as I age
i tend to reflect
on the past way too much

but then
I give myself
a swift kick in the butt

life is not about the past
it's about today
and tomorrow

Monday, September 18, 2017

choices,all life really is nothing
but a series of choices
we've all made good ones
we've all made bad ones
but we've all made choices
that weren't choices at all

sometimes despite many choices
there are none that we can accept
whether it's for ethical
religious or logical concerns
there is no acceptable choice
and there is the rub

sometimes,
I chose not to choose
and I accept the results
of my failure to choose
I accept the consequences
rather then sacrifice my beliefs......

Saturday, September 16, 2017

life is what life is
we can try our best to understand
we can try our best to control
we can try our best to shape it to our advantange
but for all our attempts at control
life is what life is

regardless of what we want out of life
life is what life is

despite our grand plans for our life
life is what life is

truth be told
life doesn't give us what life will
life gives us what we deserve
if our life doesn't work out the way we intended
don't blame life
blame..........???????????

Sunday, June 18, 2017

Timing
Timing can be
a cruel master
but not just timing
you can be
in the right place
at the right time but
there can always be
other factors

there was a girl
a good friend
despite that some
would have thought
we would or were
an odd couple
and perhaps
we were probably were
but the sparks

the sparks
maybe the first time
I felt that way
but we were young
and because of
religious differences
both sets
of parents
would never approve

we understood
we hated it
but we understood
despite the attraction
we both walked away
despite the pain
I convinced myself
it was not for the best
but the only logical choice

I'd sometimes tell myself
it was the only choice
told myself that for
50 plus years but now
I still wonder was it
but that's the one thing about time
we can't go back
we can't change what could have been
and all of our  decisions   ....

for bad or worse
or even neutral
have lead me
to where I am
today
if I'd could go back
if i could make the other choice
but I can't
and frankly I won't

Saturday, May 13, 2017

the past invades
my thoughts today
if true be told
as i grow older
that invasion
become....well more
common place

at times the
past becomes more
prevalent in my
mind then the
events of the
current
day

at times it causes a problem
but some times i
forget what i did
15 minutes ago
but remember events
from up to
60 years ago

But then i realize
those lessons learned
those many years ago
the victories
the failures
have made me
who I am today

Sunday, April 30, 2017

it's getting late
both literally
and figuratively
it's near midnight
both in normal
Eastern Daylight Time
and my chronological age

neither time
can i do
much about
real time will
go on
and on
and on

my time
my life here on earth
my doctor thinks
i can make changes
change my diet
but at best
he's guessing

my time here
is limitated  and unfortunately
not under anyone's control
not even mine
best that is left
is to do every day
what is right, is true

Thursday, April 13, 2017

took a short walk
no place i needed to go
no pressing issues
nothing to buy
just a walk

however
warm spring day
grass turning green
much preferred
from its winter brown

trees budding
song birds singing
Seagulls flying
singing their "song"
and dumpster diving

a fat woodchuck
fleeing
leaving his morning
grass meal
at the sight of me

but in retrospect
although i didn't
know it at the time
there was a reason for my walk
pure whimsy, pure joy......

Monday, March 20, 2017

life is life
and life is
choices
would i change
some of those
i made
absolutely

here's the point
we live with those
choices
both good
neutral
and plain
ridiculous

but whether
right or wrong
i
survived
but that's
really
the point






Sunday, February 19, 2017

it's been awhile
sometimes i forget
too often i forget
i can write
poetry

or maybe
it's just
the muse
has abandoned
me

maybe
age is both
a blessing
and a
curse

age enlightens
but it also takes
away some memories
but the ugly
seems to always remains

the things
i wish to remember
fade to black
the things i wish to forget
are with me now