Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 190

I Can’t Eat That Anymore

Hot dogs topped with sauerkraut and the
Spicy mustard I adore.
Blaze-hot jalapeno
Meant to make me sweat from every pore.
Greasy, cheesy pizza crowned with
Every topping in the store.
Take it all away ‘cause
I can’t eat that anymore.

Time was, not so long ago,
(It really seems like ages though)
That any grub to grab and go
Could fit my appetite.
And though I’m not persnickety
There’re many foods that get to me
And seem to wage a battle
I am not prepared to fight.

I could just grin and bear the bill,
Or have a cup of chamomile
And maybe I’d be fine as wine
To even up the score.
But I just keep on tempting fate,
Remorseful over what I ate,
Regretfully repeating,
“I can’t eat that anymore.”

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My Best Girl

I couldn’t guess the many-a-mile
We walked together hand in hand,
Both literal and metaphorical,
Til viscid palms would not let go.
And people stare and whisper low
As though it’s hard to understand
How those our age can still engage
In childish act we should outgrow.

I don’t care what others think
Or how they act or what they say.
She’s my best girl,
My lucky song,
My guiding star,
My rudder, my sail.
She’s everything precious in my world as
I travel on life’s weary way.
With her hand in mine
I always can find
A peaceful ending to any travail.

We may not see the ending together.
Life can be cruel that way.
But I’ll hold her hand til
The last fleeting moment,
Fulfilling the vow of our wedding day.

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Age is Just a Number

Father Time is masterful at
Changing plots and storylines,
And all bear witness as
The transformations are discerned.
As season shifts to season
Etched in incremental stages,
Mortality becomes
An unavoidable concern.

But age is just a number
And old is but a state of mind.
And I’ll be here (until I’m not),
So, set the feast and pour the wine.

Like Mister Frost whose lifelong task
Was oft misunderstood,
But found the road to longevity
In a lonely yellow wood.
Or Glenn, the younger, circumnavigating
Time and space
To Glenn, the elder, after
Seven decades and still in the chase.

So, let the aging process roll
Unchecked and unforgiving,
And I’ll be here (until I’m not)
To make the most of living.

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This Book

This book in my hand
Does not weigh me down
Nor spawn an encumbrance
To imagination.
It lifts me on wings to
Fly through the mirror
To magical shores
Of intense inspiration.

The yeoman in me craves
The bliss of blind whimsey,
Borne over oceans,
Shared in the sky to
Glide to adventures
Beyond sweeping eons,
Landing in who knows where,
When, how or why.

Leafing and leaping and
Launching through time
From the comfort and cozy of
My easy chair.
No matter the object
Of my fascination, this book…
This book will take me there.

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If Only

If only I could capture
This sate feeling of elation,
Learn to seal it in a bottle
For when times are not so fair,
Open it for faithful friends
In loving lavish celebration
For lusty dreams and tangled schemes
Of common themes we share.

If only time could take a pause
To relish in this treasure,
To taste the clover honey
Of a sunny afternoon,
To linger but a fleeting breath
And savor life’s pure pleasure
With ne’er a thought that
It might all be over much too soon.

Every magic moment precious,
Every fence an open gate,
Every blessing sent from Heaven
Is a cause to celebrate.

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A Sonnet to Joy

Easy to rejoice in jubilation
For fair and festive victories in life.
And revelry proclaims the celebration
In rituals complete with drum and fife.

Praise to all who join in my elation,
Who frolic with delight my happiness.
To share the mirth and hoist a stout libation
And sing a song or two to my success.

But in the subtle ecstasy of others
I oft time lack the glee they entertain.
Perhaps a touch of anxious envy bothers
To douse my eyes with feathers of disdain.

Lord, help me find the wisdom to attend
The joyful celebration of a friend.

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Texas 1971-72

Leaving home for newfound adventures,
Just the two of us on our own
Two thousand plus miles from
Family and friends,
Fledgling companions together – alone.

Who can we cling to?
New town – no friends,
All unfamiliar in fit or flair.
Olive drab convoys humping the highways on
Juxtaposed journeys going nowhere.

Who chose this Devil’s den
Void of amenities
So near the shores of
The Earth’s ragged end?
Where disquiet dwells in
The green sky of hailstones
And summertime swelter
Is nobody’s friend.

Test of our testament to one another,
A decade of displeasure packed in one year.
Thankful to flee, once our sentence is over,
Back to a place where we won’t disappear.

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Life Lessons

Who was that angry young hot-headed hooligan
Ranting and raving in rivulets of rage?
Awash with the angst of
Contrite consternation,
Keen to react and so quick to engage.
Hustling highways and bristling byways
To get it done my way and rush to the end.
Smashing resistance with strident insistence
Til left and bereft in pursuit of a friend.

Always in danger of onerous anger
Amidst all the clangorous chatter and noise,
Struggling with all my might
Just to avoid a fight,
Grappling to score without losing all poise.

But tough times and trials and tragic tears
Can soften a once stoic steel veneer
Til tall walls of frowns come tumbling down
To fancy as winglets for fantasy’s fears.
And though these life lessons so smartly serve
As treasures (much more that I deserve),
I would not, will not, cannot swerve
And allow old angers to reappear.

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On Being the Age of Us

Boomers, beware! The seasons are changing,
Paths rearranging and fading fast.
The soft silent Spring that rained on your Summer is
Fumbling, tumbling into the past.

Try as you may to stop time in her paces,
She flashes many faces,
Escapes without traces.
And though you may witness
Her bounty of graces
You know she must win in the end.

She doles us her favors on limited basis
To run out our races
In various places.
With all of the gusto good harvest embraces
She dons the mock mask of a friend.

But those of our age
Are not fooled by her witness.
We’ve seen where her
Nightmarish limits reside.
We live in our moment
Secure in our hour
With faith in the prize
On the other side.

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Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring?

ALL:
Magical rainbows have always been there.
We don't know when they'll appear.
Ours is a future of promises made.
We don't look back and there's no need to fear all the
Rain clouds and thunder, the dark and the gloom.
They're not a part of the scene.
We'll hold our heads far above stormy clouds
To see what tomorrow may bring                                                                                                               
DJ:                 
Starting a new life is scary for me,
But scarier it was by far
Thinking that you weren't a part of my life,
But now I know that you are.

KATE:           
Seeing your face and just holding your hand,
It makes my heart truly sing.

KATE & DJ   
Now we are ready to face a new day
And see what tomorrow may bring.

ALL                
Starlight and moonbeams appear everywhere
Casting a magical spell.
Voices in harmony fly through the air
Filled with a song that we all know so well
Til that moment of silence when no one may speak.
Suddenly everyone sings.
Wondering, wandering, waiting to know...
To see what tomorrow brings.


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