Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 187
June 14, 2020
Waiting to Go
I’m ready.
Been ready seems like
Hours ago.
Now sitting,
Now pacing and
Waiting to go.
If we’re late
(Which I hate)
The blame is not mine.
Rock steady,
I’m ready
To make it on time.
I ask,
But you task
Just a few minutes more.
So I wait
(Which I hate)
Til the sweat starts to pour.
But I must confess
That any duress disappears
When at long last you show.
Who cares if we’re late?
You were well worth the
Wait and the worry of
Waiting to go.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Been ready seems like
Hours ago.
Now sitting,
Now pacing and
Waiting to go.
If we’re late
(Which I hate)
The blame is not mine.
Rock steady,
I’m ready
To make it on time.
I ask,
But you task
Just a few minutes more.
So I wait
(Which I hate)
Til the sweat starts to pour.
But I must confess
That any duress disappears
When at long last you show.
Who cares if we’re late?
You were well worth the
Wait and the worry of
Waiting to go.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Published on June 14, 2020 02:01
June 13, 2020
Making Memories
It didn’t seem like much at the time,
Just a simple outing on
A ho-hum day.
Winging the moment could
Scarcely cover it
With sunshine inviting us
Come out to play.
“Hey, Ho!” Coos the docile dove.
“Come share my morning song.
Fly by my side as adventures ensue.”
We seek out the old and familiar
To cheer us or
Drift chasing rainbows with
Brash derring-do.
And the treasure unearthed
Is not squandered in mirth,
Rather tucked away somewhere inside
Until we reminisce
Of the fine times we miss
And the memories we wear with pride.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Just a simple outing on
A ho-hum day.
Winging the moment could
Scarcely cover it
With sunshine inviting us
Come out to play.
“Hey, Ho!” Coos the docile dove.
“Come share my morning song.
Fly by my side as adventures ensue.”
We seek out the old and familiar
To cheer us or
Drift chasing rainbows with
Brash derring-do.
And the treasure unearthed
Is not squandered in mirth,
Rather tucked away somewhere inside
Until we reminisce
Of the fine times we miss
And the memories we wear with pride.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Published on June 13, 2020 02:45
June 12, 2020
Socializing
Bands of bustling busy bees
All hovering round the honey hive,
Deposit golden nectar in
Her long and layered filigree.
Stepping over and around
They flit and fly from one to next
Bound to networks unintended,
Unimagined to degree.
Born on instinct,
Second nature,
Thinking but an afterthought
Fraught with mindless chitter-chatter,
He said, she said, they said, we….
Bounding round to meet and mingle,
Chasing schedules round the bend.
Won’t you stay a little longer?
Have another cup of tea.
Bound by lot a social creature,
Needful of discourse and touch.
Never meant to be an island
Hiding in an endless sea.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
All hovering round the honey hive,
Deposit golden nectar in
Her long and layered filigree.
Stepping over and around
They flit and fly from one to next
Bound to networks unintended,
Unimagined to degree.
Born on instinct,
Second nature,
Thinking but an afterthought
Fraught with mindless chitter-chatter,
He said, she said, they said, we….
Bounding round to meet and mingle,
Chasing schedules round the bend.
Won’t you stay a little longer?
Have another cup of tea.
Bound by lot a social creature,
Needful of discourse and touch.
Never meant to be an island
Hiding in an endless sea.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Published on June 12, 2020 02:42
June 11, 2020
Quiet Music
Melodies linger as
Harmonies soothe
In the bosom of eventide’s
Gentle repose.
The fluttering violins
Butterfly softly from
Flower to flower
Tickling the ear.
Who painted this portrait of
Sweetest quiescence
(Lost in warm remedy)
God only knows.
Coaxed as the winding stream
Flows by the willows
Softening sorrows,
Quelling all fear.
Choirs of angels breathe airily,
Blending harp strings and flute
Til the aria glows
In a world where the mind
Can only bear witness
And naught but the spirit
Can easily hear.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Harmonies soothe
In the bosom of eventide’s
Gentle repose.
The fluttering violins
Butterfly softly from
Flower to flower
Tickling the ear.
Who painted this portrait of
Sweetest quiescence
(Lost in warm remedy)
God only knows.
Coaxed as the winding stream
Flows by the willows
Softening sorrows,
Quelling all fear.
Choirs of angels breathe airily,
Blending harp strings and flute
Til the aria glows
In a world where the mind
Can only bear witness
And naught but the spirit
Can easily hear.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Published on June 11, 2020 03:01
June 10, 2020
Falling
Feckless fear is a wretched companion.
Fear of strangers, fear of loss,
The quivering fear of being alone.
But worlds come undone
And time relents meaning
When the canon of gravity bullies its’ reign.
Quickly,
So quickly, hard objects propel
To strike supple flesh
And break brittle bone
With a feeling more like a
Film in slow motion,
Played out in agony,
Pushed to the pain.
So unlike the youthful thrill.
The exhilaration of unfettered flight
Through billowing clouds,
Though common sense might
Speak to the mind to declare it insane.
The wisdom of age grows a
Widening respect for
The art and the need of
Remaining upright.
For the mischief of falling
Brings dire consequence.
A poor worthless beggar
With nothing to gain.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Fear of strangers, fear of loss,
The quivering fear of being alone.
But worlds come undone
And time relents meaning
When the canon of gravity bullies its’ reign.
Quickly,
So quickly, hard objects propel
To strike supple flesh
And break brittle bone
With a feeling more like a
Film in slow motion,
Played out in agony,
Pushed to the pain.
So unlike the youthful thrill.
The exhilaration of unfettered flight
Through billowing clouds,
Though common sense might
Speak to the mind to declare it insane.
The wisdom of age grows a
Widening respect for
The art and the need of
Remaining upright.
For the mischief of falling
Brings dire consequence.
A poor worthless beggar
With nothing to gain.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Published on June 10, 2020 02:49
June 9, 2020
Breathing: It’s Not Overrated
So often taken for granted,
This grand involuntary deed,
This giving and surrendering of
Life-spring’s first and living’s last.
Little more than afterthought,
Hardly noticed,
Seldom lauded,
But oh, so very necessary
For the now,
The when,
The past.
How many of you shall I be gifted?
Tis only one who holds that key.
So, I shall savor every one
As though it were a sweet repast.
And when the play is over
And all the players are applauded,
Tis you, the star, shall rise above
And I but a player in the cast.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
This grand involuntary deed,
This giving and surrendering of
Life-spring’s first and living’s last.
Little more than afterthought,
Hardly noticed,
Seldom lauded,
But oh, so very necessary
For the now,
The when,
The past.
How many of you shall I be gifted?
Tis only one who holds that key.
So, I shall savor every one
As though it were a sweet repast.
And when the play is over
And all the players are applauded,
Tis you, the star, shall rise above
And I but a player in the cast.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Published on June 09, 2020 01:59
June 8, 2020
If There’s Anything I Can Do
Hard times wield an angry hammer
Without conscience or discretion.
Blind side strikes with
Steely stealth and noxious
Brutish attitude.
Havoc grabs the rein and leaves the gypsy
Lost without direction,
Traveling in a downward spiral
Into silent solitude.
Comes a voice in tainted warning,
Ominous in its inflection,
Mettle-gauging caterwauling
Bent on testing fortitude.
Subtleties and undertones
Defy all efforts of detection
Until the veil is lifted
So the truth is unsubdued.
And if by chance my being there
Can offer solace or protection,
My hand is held in offering
If there’s anything that I can do.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Without conscience or discretion.
Blind side strikes with
Steely stealth and noxious
Brutish attitude.
Havoc grabs the rein and leaves the gypsy
Lost without direction,
Traveling in a downward spiral
Into silent solitude.
Comes a voice in tainted warning,
Ominous in its inflection,
Mettle-gauging caterwauling
Bent on testing fortitude.
Subtleties and undertones
Defy all efforts of detection
Until the veil is lifted
So the truth is unsubdued.
And if by chance my being there
Can offer solace or protection,
My hand is held in offering
If there’s anything that I can do.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Published on June 08, 2020 02:39
June 7, 2020
Comforting Words
Pain can possess
And redouble its sorrow.
Faced with a loss too enormous for knowing,
Feet fail
As backbones can’t carry the weight,
And eyes wash the riverbanks
To overflowing.
Silence sits colorless,
Listens only to itself.
No one wants to break its spell
With sullen gush of mindless voice.
But grows a need for duologue,
A word of comfort from a friend
Framed by simple elegance,
The proper time. The perfect choice.
“I’m here.”
“Don’t fear.”
“You’re not alone.”
“We’ll make it through this dark unknown.”
“Come sit a while and reminisce of
All the good times you were blessed.”
Don’t let your thoughts in sadness dwell
As all around you wish you well.
The supple heart, in time, can mend
With words of comfort from a friend.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
And redouble its sorrow.
Faced with a loss too enormous for knowing,
Feet fail
As backbones can’t carry the weight,
And eyes wash the riverbanks
To overflowing.
Silence sits colorless,
Listens only to itself.
No one wants to break its spell
With sullen gush of mindless voice.
But grows a need for duologue,
A word of comfort from a friend
Framed by simple elegance,
The proper time. The perfect choice.
“I’m here.”
“Don’t fear.”
“You’re not alone.”
“We’ll make it through this dark unknown.”
“Come sit a while and reminisce of
All the good times you were blessed.”
Don’t let your thoughts in sadness dwell
As all around you wish you well.
The supple heart, in time, can mend
With words of comfort from a friend.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Published on June 07, 2020 01:27
June 6, 2020
The Great Unknown
A little scary, I would say,
That great ethereal unknown
Waiting, watching, unforgiving
On the shores of Brigadoon.
Never mind that life is brief
And time accelerates with age.
Loved ones leave to their reward
Always too soon. Much too soon.
And we are left to wait and wonder
When our number might be chose and
What may lie beyond horizons
Once mortality has flown.
Shall the soul ascend to find
The joys of everlasting peace
To reunite with loved-ones past,
To sit beside the highest throne?
Faith alone can move the stone,
Can shine a light where none has shone,
Assure us we are not alone
And guide us through the great unknown.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
That great ethereal unknown
Waiting, watching, unforgiving
On the shores of Brigadoon.
Never mind that life is brief
And time accelerates with age.
Loved ones leave to their reward
Always too soon. Much too soon.
And we are left to wait and wonder
When our number might be chose and
What may lie beyond horizons
Once mortality has flown.
Shall the soul ascend to find
The joys of everlasting peace
To reunite with loved-ones past,
To sit beside the highest throne?
Faith alone can move the stone,
Can shine a light where none has shone,
Assure us we are not alone
And guide us through the great unknown.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Published on June 06, 2020 03:01
June 5, 2020
Dinner at Five
Traditions begin in the oddest of ways,
Often defying all logic and reason.
Unlike the rotation of the seasons,
Seemingly out of our sphere of control.
Holidays circled in red on the calendar,
Parties on birthdates or
Sundays in church.
All on a schedule determined by others,
Marking of milestones as patterns unfold.
Other traditions, more privy in nature,
But just as important and more resolute
To the nature and nurture
Of everyday struggle,
The mire and the muddle of staying alive.
Like summer vacations on lullaby beaches
Escaping the hustling, bustling hive.
Snuggling close by the fireside in winter.
Date night by moonlight,
Dinner at five.
Taken for granted, these well-worn excursions
Often unmissed until they are gone.
Looking back now and remembering fondly.
Like dinner at five,
Tradition lives on.
Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin
Often defying all logic and reason.
Unlike the rotation of the seasons,
Seemingly out of our sphere of control.
Holidays circled in red on the calendar,
Parties on birthdates or
Sundays in church.
All on a schedule determined by others,
Marking of milestones as patterns unfold.
Other traditions, more privy in nature,
But just as important and more resolute
To the nature and nurture
Of everyday struggle,
The mire and the muddle of staying alive.
Like summer vacations on lullaby beaches
Escaping the hustling, bustling hive.
Snuggling close by the fireside in winter.
Date night by moonlight,
Dinner at five.
Taken for granted, these well-worn excursions
Often unmissed until they are gone.
Looking back now and remembering fondly.
Like dinner at five,
Tradition lives on.

Lulu Storefront: http://www.lulu.com/dsmartin

Published on June 05, 2020 02:33