Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 44

Punctuality

Ihate being late. YES, being late.

It’sone thing I cannot abide.

I’drather be an hour early

Thanto be one minute slow.

 

AlthoughI know

Thehurly-burly of

Thishurry scurry world can

Forcedelays,

Spreaddismay,

Evenlead to seeds of woe. 

 

Seldomare there fair excuses

Torecuse such slack convention.

Justa sad habituation,

Oneof seven deadly sins.

 

Quickto offer self-defense when

Facedwith fussy admonition.

Sprywith jives and whys and wherefores

Erethe reprimands begin. 

 

Difficultto comprehend

Orhold a grain of empathy

Forthose who pose and thumb their nose

Athints of punctuality.

 

Prudence

Inthe troubled land of prudence

Wheredecisions often linger past

Thepoint of senseless measure,

Letthe watchful warry be.

 

Thoughdue diligence is boon

Andcaution grows a welcome friend,

Deliberationsbear the warning:

“Time may be the enemy.”

 

Carefulis a cunning cohort to

Watchhorizons,

Guardbehind.

Doppelgangerof forewarning,

Sentinelto peace of mind.

 

Butprudence owns its useful limits

Whenprogress is on the fly, for

Opportunitywon’t linger

Andit soon may pass on by.

 

Piety

Dearlord, I beg you,

Giveme peace to be

Thebest that I can be.

Inever claimed to be

Thereverent poster child of piety.

 

Eventhough my faith is strong

AndI am staunch to know my place,

Theway is long and I am far from

Livingin a state of grace.

 

Testme in the zeal and fervor of

Mystretched fidelity until

Thelimits of my passion

Arerevealed for all to see.

 

Youmay find my light to shine

Withhope to spare in time and space,

Ordeem my day in disarray and

Indesperate need of firm embrace.

 

Nomatter how,

Nomatter when,

Nomatter where the road may bend,

Thestrength of honest piety

Canbe a kind and trusted friend.

 

Persistence

Oh,no, here it comes again

Plaguedby that same nagging score,

Likethat fussy Fuller Brush Man 

Knock-knock-knockingon my door

Likethe (ding-dong) Avon lady

Hawking,squawking evermore,

Runsaround in circles like

Arowboat sculled by just one oar.

 

IfI say it oft enough

Perhapsyou’ll take it to be true.

Notso sure if that reflects

Moreshamefully on me or you.

Butmany pacts and promises are

Rubber-stampedwithout a clue

Becausesome unrelenting fool

Refusedto drop the other shoe.

 

Intruth of truth, to close a plan and

Bringit to fruition

Requiresa resolute someone

Persistentin his mission.

 

Perseverance

“I’vegot this,” he said. “No worries.

We’regood.”

Andhe just kept going and rolling along.

Iwasn’t so sure that he understood.

Butthen, after all, he was young and strong.

Mostpeople would wilt tracking try after try

Untilevery venture was spent.

Butevery time he landed

Flaton his back

Hegot up again,

Refusedto relent.

 

Drivenby diligence, bolstered by stamina,

Sofull of moxie and grit,

Noone can question his pit bull tenacity

Fullyrefusing to quit.

 

Sooften a path might be littered with trials

Andperil may get in the way,

Butresolute mindset and

Pureperseverance

Willoffer the sweetest bouquet.

 

Patience

Waitingcan be bothersome,

Ifnot downright unreasonable

Whenweaving through the barriers

Of,“GIVE IT TO ME, NOW.”

 

Wherecomes the need? This instant need

Forpleasure and fulfillment,

Asthough there’s cause to

Reapthe crops

Beforethe soil, for seed, is ploughed.

 

It’swhat I want.

It’swhat I need,

Theone thing I desire.

Thenew, the now, the everything

Towhich I most aspire.

 

ButPatience is long-suffering.

Shemuddles through with pluck and grit,

Herstoic presence taciturn,

Althoughshe may lament a bit

Whilebiding in anticipation

Ponderingthe “either / or”.

Anythingthat’s worth its weight is

Alwaysworth the waiting for.

 

Orderliness

Ilike your panoramic style;

Itvibes of pure efficiency.

Yourperfect sense of order is

Justshort of austere O.C.D.

 

Yourpenchant toward proficiency

Impliesa form of artistry

Noartist’s palette has the

Grippingcolors

Orthe eye to see.

 

Formand fashion have a place when

Competenceis on the line.

Theprocess and routine must never fail.

Andthe keeper of the lamp must

Neverfault to make the lighthouse shine

Lestthe battered waters should prevail.

 

Weyield to order as a

Safealternative to anarchy

Andso, preserve the status quo and

Keepa bit of sanity.

 

Butways and manners may contort to

Tacticsquite unique, so

Thewise man seeks alternatives

Andthinks before he speaks.

 

Openness

Secretsare the Devil’s wasteland

Heldinside the dark recesses of

Anunrelenting Hell

Waitingto unleash their bane.

 

Holdingback and holding on to

Enigmaticmysteries

(Whenonly truth holds freedom’s fare)

Canonly be a source of pain.

 

Mayhapthere lives a smarter option

Tothis lost and cryptic world,

Onewhose prospect need not be

Agrand deception filled with lies.

 

Mightit be an open mind that

Leavesthe hurt of guile behind

Andpaves the path to a peaceful mind.

Theultimate surprise.

 

ShallI listen?

MightI hear?

MayI not react with haste?

Tocast the die before its cue

Leavessuch a bitter aftertaste.

 

Morality

Theytend to dwell on

Asliding scale,

Ebbing,flowing,

Shrinking,growing,

Ever-changing,rearranging

Factsand figures to adapt.

 

Butmorals yield to

Fitsand quarrels,

Cedeto greed and

Clashingcreeds til

Standardsrise to

Meetthe eyes and

Probityis firmly mapped.

 

Weare children of

Thechildren of

Thechildren of “the Child.”

Followingmillennial traditions

Asif blind.

Thelinchpin of integrity

Notto be defiled,

Moralityis never quite defined.

 

Modesty

Iused to think myself demure,

Timid,bashful, coy and shy.

Nobold exhibitionist,

Noproud narcissist was I.

 

Thena malady dispatched me

Tothe town infirmary

WhereI quickly learned the drill

Andlost all sense of modesty.

 

Strippedof clothes and dignity

Andany pride one may uphold

Iquickly learned to acquiesce and

Simplydid as I was told.

 

Nurse,technician and physician

Prodding,poking, nodding, joking,

Opengown exposing flesh to passers-by.

Ifeel like croaking.

 

Yes,I know it’s necessary.

Thisis how it needs to be,

Butit sure does make it difficult

Toembrace modesty.