Monday, December 31, 2012

Friend Ships

Friend ships often
Sail shifting seas
You see them
Then they sail
Out of sight
And yet those
Gossamer lines of love
Memories, linger
The way she turned
The steering wheel
Underhand,
And tossed water
Into the air to delight
In the drops
Snapshots in the mind
A reflection, a grin
But most missed
The flow of conversation
Constant, joyful laughter
And now two decades
Later
Over a cup of tea
The ships meet
Those lines of love
Link into heart moorings
Like so many years
Ago and the words
And laughter flow
Hearts set free
To sail on the
Sea of Happy

This was written for the prompt of Happiness at Poetry Jam poetryjaam.blogspot.com, and for the prompt of Changes and Turns at dversepoets.com and shared with the Poetry Pantry at Poets United poetry blogroll.blogspot.com.  It was inspired by a recent visit to CA, where I got to reconnect with on of my best friends from high school.  We'd lost touch for about 20 years and then found each other on FB.  After hello and a hug, we started talking-like no time had passed at all.  :-)   Also on this New Year's Eve I'd like to share a toast with all of you

There are good ships
And there are wood ships
And there are ships that
Sail the sea
But the best ships
Are friendships
And may they
Always be

Thank you all for your kindness, support and laughter--Happy New Year!!


Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Looking Up

Peach flavored translucence
With a side of light
Ethereal in its emptiness
Until
A flock of winged silhouettes
Appear
Like cut outs
From the evening sky
Puzzle pieces shifting
High on the morning breeze
A vision broken
When the sun reaches out
And reveals their true colors

This is written for the prompt from Poetry Jam poetryjaam.blogspot.com, who invites us to take a walk and write about what we see. The dogs and I saw this vision this morning. Here in Florida it always looks to me like the birds are pieces of the sky that somehow fell out of the aerial jigsaw :-) Also, shared with the wonderful Open Link Night at dversepoets.com

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Super Man

Caring is a given
Not a question for this man
Mother, Father, Aunt
Cared for them all until
He did not have the strength
Then visited twice a day
Brought pastellitos for the staff
A little sweet insurance for extra care

Was the constant for his grandchildren
Because caring is a given
No question, that every day
He picked them up from school
Took care of them if they were sick
While their power career parents climbed ladders
Got raises and worked late
He made the nietos cafe con leche, and listened to their stories

And when more family came from Cuba
Everyone else put up the money, but he housed them
Because caring is a given
Even when they stayed past welcome
And their daughter left them there
He fed them, drove them, called rescue
And made the funeral plans

Now his sweetheart of sixty years
Can no longer care for herself
No break, yet no complaint
Because caring is a given

And the circle of life spins
What was given is returned
Beloved and surrounded by
All his family, every day
Full of caring,
Given with gratitude

This is written for Poetry Jam's poetryjaam.blogspot.com prompt to write about a good person; And for dverse poets-another form that took on a form of it's own—kinda a quatern; dversepoets.com; and for Poets United Poetry Pantry poetryblogroll.blogspot.com This is dedicated to my father-in-law who is one of the most genuinely good people I know. His life has been that of a caregiver, and he has shouldered it with love, and patience for the past thirty years. It amazes me. And the best part is to see how much love surrounds him. His children are always there for him, he does not want for anything, daily phone calls too, plus—every Saturday is breakfast with his daughter's family and every Sunday it's dinner with us. His grandkids call him every day, help him care for his wife, give him haircuts, and take him out to lunch every week. * pastellitos are Cuban pastries; *nietos is spanish for grandchildren :-)

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

I Believe

In Santa
The Easter Bunny
And Tooth Fairy
How could I not?
They all were me!

This was written for the prompt to write about make believe and fantasy, from last week at Poetry Jam poetryjaam.blogspot.com (yes, I am that behind).  And I do believe! These gift givers are traditions passed from parent to parent for years and years. Of course they exist, all you have to do is look at that wide-eyed happy expression of a small child.  Wonder is the best magic of all.  Also, sharing this with Open Link Night at dversepoets.com where everyone believes in something :-)