Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 10

Fright

As a child I knew where monsters lived.

They were in the closet

Or under the bed.

But I also knew that I could be safe

If I pulled the covers up over my head.

 

As a teen I found monsters

Lurking the hallways

Attempting to bully and intimidate,

But I’m a quick study and

Learned early on

Not to give in to their brand of hate.

 

Some people enjoy a hard-fast fright nightmovie

With carnage and blood and ordeal.

But I sit at ease, just as calm as youplease

For I know in my mind

That the fright isn’t real.

 

So, let us consider, and let us be clear,

And let us not fear dark of night.

The angst and the dread

That lives in our head disappears

When we turn on the light.

 

Flight

For any and all who

Have a dreadful fear of flight

I offer heart-felt sympathy for

Their sad and somber plight.

 

There is something about lifting up

And soaring to a dizzy height

To where the point that you first started

Is completely out of sight.

 

A rush of pure adrenaline

That purges fear and fright

Replaces angst and dread with a

Euphoriant delight.

 

And though you may insist that

You resist with all your might,

Your latent curiosity will

Overcome all fright.

 

Now, back on terra firma

As your fantasies alight,

You savor the sweet flavor

As you dream of your next flight.

 

Humans

Only one species can save this planet,

Preserving the many resources it holds,

Finding a balance between hurt andhealing,

Offering hope as the future unfolds.

Humans.

 

The mighty elephant, majestic in stature,

Empathetic in ways we cannot comprehend,

Whose numbers diminish in steady decline,

Can only be saved with the help of theirfriends.

Humans.

 

The stalwart eagle roams high in the sky

Intrepid in his sovereignty to

Glide above an endless plain.

He only has one enemy.

Humans.

 

And if the world should cease to be,

Should smolder into ash and flame,

One thing is of certainty,

Only one species will be to blame.

Humans.

 

 

Farm Life

Sun and soil and pray for rain 

In just the right balance

At just the right time.

Early to bed and

Well, you know the rest,

Always in quest of

A new paradigm.

 

Sublimely simplistic that

An outlander might stumble

To falter or flitter to fail,

But those who are kindred

To sweat and to soil,

A way can always be

Found to prevail.

 

A front porch to sit

At the end of the day

To contemplate life

In its various ways.

Weary from labors and

Ready for rest,

Knowing that life

On his farm is the best.

 

The Sky Above

The universe spreads boundlessly into

The sultry sky above

With sun, and moon, and planets

And a billion points of light.

An endless wave of galaxies

In iridescent colors,

Glistening with pure

Kaleidoscopic rare delight.

 

Witness to the beauty,

Struck and dazzled by the awe,

Passive to all duty

As the spectacle evolves.

Transformed beyond measure

That no lexicon defines,

Riddling the riddle

That no riddler can unwind.

 

Guardian of secrets,

Every dream you’re dreaming of,

Fantasies and mysteries

Dwell in the sky above.

 

Who Will Help

So many in need.

Too many in danger.

Dire victims of greed or

Ambushed out of anger.

 

Beset and beplagued by

Severe circumstance

When deceived and perceived

To be without a chance.

 

Who might they turn to?

To whom might they turn?

Who has the answer

When bridges are burned?

Who will pick up

All the pieces that lie

All shattered and scattered,

And no one knows why.

 

When reckless wrecking balls

Fade in the distance

Leaving the ruin and rubble askew,

Leaving the helpless alone in theirdarkness,

The question remains:

Who will help?

Will you?

 

Water

Water is life

And life is water.

And nothing exists in

A sentient world without

Nourishing liquids

Sustaining, maintaining,

Retaining and growing from eon to age.

Evolving, revolving and solving

The mysteries

Through daylight and moonlight

And no light at all.

 

Bank-lapping ripples at lakeside retreats.

Beach-bashing waves that repeat andrepeat.

Rains gently tapping on rooftops of tin,

A calming elixir, a delicate friend.

 

All that we do,

All that we are,

All that we ever have been

Or might be

Can only be done if

The waters of life

Continue to flow endlessly.

 

Pilgrim

And we are all on pilgrimage

From day one to the last,

One eye upon the future,

The other on the past.

Searching for the answers

To the questions yet unasked,

As the journey disentangles up ahead.

Ever-changing pathways loom

in striking vistas wide and vast.

So many players in our movie

We cannot count the cast.

And though our sojourn may be filled with

Days of sun or overcast

We journey on until our needs are fed.

 

Patience is a constant friend

From journey’s start until the end,

And when at last our trek has passed

Perhaps we’ll start it all again.

 

You are What You Think

Others may judge you with

Critical eyes

Without ever knowing the

Fire that lies in

The pit of your being that multiplies

Exponentially every day.

 

You know what you know but

You don’t know it all, so

You struggle to learn every day.

And you think what you think

As you stand on the brink

Til you sink to complete disarray.

 

Life moves in circles and mosaic patterns,

And it can be gone in a blink.

But while you are here simply trust yourinstincts.

Remember, you are what you think.

 

Meditation

Quiet…

Calm…

Stillness…

Breathe.

Repeat and then repeat again.

Muscles soften one by one

To soothe the thirst of yang and yen.

 

Moments melt in innocence til

Earth makes sky a silent friend

And time fails in its flow

Without beginning,

Without end.

 

Peaceful breath infused so deep

As rivals the song of a dulcet wren.

Finding rest at end of day

Wrapped in the arms of a gentle friend.

 

All are welcome to the pause

To contemplate the where and when

With silent prayer

That goes nowhere

And stills the soul.

 

Amen.