Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 11

Evolution

Hard to comprehend it all begins

When horrid harry beasts

Decided to descend from trees to

Terra firma’s fertile roost.

 

Can it be that all we know

Began to grow to something more?

To morph into a form so new

It never had been seen before?

 

And how shall we evolve and swift resolve

To find meaningful end if

We have dubious concern

Of origins that might have been?

 

There are those who swift deny

The theories and what they imply

With vehemently brash reply and

Fervent fits that rail and stun.

 

But do we really need to know?

Must we bash and come to blows?

The rivers will not cease to flow

If the answer is undone.

 

Plant a Tree

A promise of tomorrow as

A seedling finds the soil, and

Roots seek loving nourishment

To live and lift and grow.

 

Turning leaf to seek the sunlight,

Breathing life into the air,

Chasing seasons to a future

Impossible to know.

 

Standing stalwart to the winds, the rains,

The heat, the hurricanes.

 Bendingwithout breaking

As the years pass swiftly by.

Whispering its’ secrets to

An ever-changing whimsical wind

Answering each question with

A heavy-hearted sigh.

 

And we who stand in wonder

Can argue mightily,

No greater gift can we bestow

Than to simply plant a tree.

 

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is a fantasy that never quitearrives.

Always speaks of promise,

Always offers hope that

Miracles and wonderment can

Keep the dream alive,

Offering a medicine

To help and heal and cope.

 

Yesterday? Forever gone.

Today is where we bide.

Tomorrow is a place for dreams

To humbly reside.

And if by chance tomorrow’s dream

Should happily come in play,

The fruits will be consumed

In the space know as today.

 

And so, the simple truth is clear,

The plus, the minus and the sum.

Today is all that matters, for

Tomorrow never comes.

 

Tenderness

Quiet hours spent in silence

Alone or with that special someone

Tends to tender, calm and soothe

The jumbled jungle of the mind.

Hectic days and crowded nights

Are merely battles to be won

So all may rest in sweet repose

And leave hostilities behind.

 

Life can oft be bitter cruel

And fate unfair when said and done,

Causing hearts to harden beyond pardon

In the mid-day sun.

And circumstance can call the dance

That rends the party into pain,

And leaves a once-forgiving soul to

Harden in a world undone.

 

Life can often be a place

That understanding can’t process.

To face the trials of each day

The heart must yield to tenderness.

 

War Stinks

W. T. Sherman was quoted as saying,

“War is Hell.”

That about sums it up.

Nothing redeeming in that catamount,

Stalking and preying on the unsuspecting

Without remorse til its hunger is sated.

Innocents dying;

            Collateraldamage:

                        Battlefieldsacrifice:

                                    Misfortune’s tariff.

Let all the heralds ring out withpomposity

The cause célèbres that your bannersproclaim.

There is no glory.

There is no worthiness.

There is only emptiness tossed beyondreason.

 

When reckoning finally unravels,

When the survivors pick up the pieces,

When the net tally is calculated

Only one truth remains to be told:

 

War stinks.

 

Please, Be Kind

It’s true,

Navigating this labyrinth of life

Can be daunting as to baffle the

Most brilliant of minds. But

No matter how cruel or challenged

The pathway, there is never a reason

To fail to be kind.

 

Compete if you must,

Disagree if you will and

Argue a point to the edge of perdition

In voices emphatic,

Tempered with monotone,

Ladled with logic and

Braced by tradition.

 

No reason to battle, beat or berate

When confronted with a cold controversialchoice.

Sound sensibility, patience and poise

Can seek resolution wrapped calmly, sansnoise.

 

And when, in the end, there is pause toreflect,

May it always be true that we find

Through the mush and the mosh of

The wallow and wash

We made the choice to be kind.

 

Worth

There will come a time when

Doubt will haunt you and

Uncertainty flaunts as

You question your worth.

 

Regrets from the past can

Cause havoc that lingers and

Mocks without mercy,

Sings without mirth.

 

Hung out to dry with a

Tear in your eye,

You seek justice from

Worry and doubt.

And wonder, “Oh, my!

Will this feeling pass by?”

Never knowing what it’s all about.

 

But you alone are the master of you.

It is up to you to unearth all

The vision and wonder

You bring to the table.

Only you can measure your worth.

 

Pleasure

On a scale of one to ten,

What pleasure do you demand?

Do you yen for sun and sin or

Do you worship wholesomeness?

 

Does giving of your time and self

Bring satisfaction to your soul,

Or do you find self-serving goals

Your key to happiness?

 

Whatever brings you pleasure in

This helter-skelter wounded world is

Treasure beyond measure as

The fickle flag of life unfurls.

 

Fitful time moves ever forward

With unbending certainty

Toward a place where our existence

On this sphere will cease to be.

 

Pleasure is a state of mind,

A fleeting flash of green and gold.

Find it, press it in your book,

A precious memory to hold.

 

Make a Difference

It doesn’t take much effort

To be the tiny spark

That kindles caring kindness

In another’s lonely heart.

 

Often it’s a simple phrase or gesture

Made without pretense,

Offered without second thought with

No request for recompense.

 

Ego simply disappears

And generosity inspires

A giving kinship in a world too

Often filled with base desires.

 

Offer up a loving smile to

One whose eyes may tilt forlorn.

A kiss upon the forehead can

Give hope to one

Whose heart is torn.

 

A simple hug can mend

So many doubts when times are

Taut and tense,

And you may be the catalyst

To calmly make a difference.

 

The Ocean Breathes

Standing beside her to seek her horizon,

Struck by her aire of august majesty,

Watching the cadence of white-cappedmigration,

The rise and the fall as she strives to befree.

 

But freedom forbids her to glide past herborders,

Confined as a victim of proclivity,

Trapped by the steeliness of gravity and

Shaped by the odd folds of geography.

Slowly she rises in vaporous billows

To sky above mountains, rivers and plains.

Offering nurture to land-loving presence,

Her cycle facilitates life-giving rain

While deep in her catacombs giants roamfreely

To feast on her sustenance unceasingly.

Teaming with buoyant, benevolent bounty

That seems to reach far beyond eternity..

 

Witness her lifeforce,

Marvel her wonders,

Sing her a song so sweet no one conceives

Of the beauty she bears,

The glamour she wears,

The wonders she shares

As she rhythmically breathes.