Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 5

In the Jungle

There is a jungle, dark and deep,

Where countless secrets are defined,

Where questions probe

From lobe to lobe

In the jungle of the mind.

 

Do not dare protest to know

The inner workings of the brain.

A million questions answered, yet

A billion more remain.

 

Running such a frantic pace

As to give a cheetah hesitation.

Spinning, twirling, twisting with

No hint of halt or hesitation.

 

Struggling to calm and quell

The clatter, chatter and the swell

Of mindless clutter, oceans deep.

Impossible to make things still.

 

We may never understand the

Workings of the human brain, but

Our journey through the jungle

Will never, ever be mundane.

 

Boiling Over

Copper kettle boiling over.

Too much water,

Too much fire.

So many inane distractions

Tend to turn the flame up higher.

 

Kettle whistles out a warning

With a sense of urgency.

Begs attention in response

To quell the fierce cacophony.

 

Who began this process, and

Where might they have gone?

Don’t they care the consequences?

Don’t they know it’s wrong?

 

Why, oh why would anyone

Begin a task

Then walk away?

Seems so feckless and so reckless,

But it happens every day.

 

Red Sky in the Morning

Something about early morning

When the earth is cool and still

Brings a peaceful calm that lingers

Soft upon my window sill.

Lifted from sweet slumber

By the light that tweaks my eyes,

My heart beholds the miracle

That bursts upon the skies.

 

No sight is more pleasing

Than the breaking of the gentle dawn.

Red sky in the morning

As a brand-new day begins.

Brightening the eastern sweep

In dazzling display,

To light the skies

And tease the eye,

To get the morning underway.

 

So, brew the coffee hot and strong

To stimulate the senses.

Then sit and watch the splendid show

Before the busy day commences.

 

The Best in Me

When I happen to witness a true act ofkindness,

It always brings out the best in me.

I want to reciprocate

With open mindness,

Without excess hyperbole.

 

Doesn’t need be complicated:

A smile, a hug, a friendly hello.

The smallest of gestures

Can make a big difference

In stonewalling worry and winnowing woe.

 

The larger gestures: the money, the deeds,

The role of the volunteer to those inneed,

Designers of dreams always out plantingseeds

So that others may harvest the prize.

 

Never asking for favors in turn,

Giving to others the only concern.

Eager to join, eager to learn,

Eager to see the joy in their eyes.

 

Giving with love,

Totally free,

Always brings out

The best in me.

 

Cosmos

A flurry of imagination

Begs the cosmos to expand

Til I view the wonders of the universe

And hold it in my hand.

 

Tease me, please me, help me

Understand the secrets that you hold.

Take me deep into your center

Where your miracles unfold.

 

Slip beyond the way that’s milky.

Launch to unknown galaxies

Where none have gone and

None can know your sundry eccentricities.

 

I have marveled at your marvels

From this marble where I stand,

But the breadth of your expanses

I will never understand.

 

If I live for all eternity

Your secrets would be safe and sure. 

For the cosmos is the only thing

That is destined to endure.

 

Communication

“We need to talk.” Four simple words

That send a shiver down the spine.

Might as well begin by saying,

“Something’s really wrong.”

Pardon me, but I thought

Everything was going fine.

Why must we talk things out to get along?

 

Now, I know the importance of

Sincere communication

In keeping a relationship on track.

And I will open willingly

And without hesitation

If it will keep the monkey off my back.

 

But there are times when

Less is more, and silence avoidstrepidation.

So, pick and choose

For there’s much to lose

In mismanaged communication.

 

Right Now

Right now, things are looking up.

Got some bacon. Got some beans.

Got some money in my jeans,

Enough to buy a Reese’s cup.

 

Don’t need much to make me happy.

I’m a jolly kind of guy.

Don’t take much to change to crappy,

And I really hate to cry.

 

But right now, I won’t think on that.

I’ll just say,” Que sera sera.”

We can sit and chew the fat or

Sail away to Shangri La.

 

Plans are for the distant dreamer,

Impatient right down to the core.

Malcontent or desperate schemer

Always wanting something more.

 

It’s a long time til tomorrow.

Doesn’t matter anyhow.

The only thing of true importance

Is what’s happening right now.

 

On Being Human

Being born with all the tools

To shape the future of the earth

Brings a certain cross to bear

Of wardenship and agency.

 

And though we often falter in

Achieving our true worth, 

We cannot hide from or deride

Profound responsibility.

 

We are but a trifle,

A brief cycle in the span of time,

But while we’re here it should be clear,

We are accountable.

We can despoil or we can flourish

In this peerless paradigm

As we leave behind a legacy

That’s pure and proud and full.

 

Earth is not our toy to play with

Then just toss away.

It is home and sanctuary

Each and every day.

 

This I Believe

I believe that truth is

Our most precious commodity,

The only thing in life

That can truly make us free.

I believe in kindness,

Single-mindedness belayed,

Reaching out to those in need

With lives in disarray.

 

I believe that meditation

Offers stillness to my mind,

Offers peace and sweet balance,

Helps to leave all stress behind.

 

I believe in love.

If you find it, hold it dear.

True love never lets you down,

Will never disappear.

 

I believe in Heaven’s gracious promise

For eternity.

Without denying

Anybody’s right to disagree.

 

These and many other truths

Conjoin and interweave

To create the mangled network

Of the things that I believe.

Landslides

Mark the landslide’s devastation,

Mass upheaval, lives destroyed

In sudden seconds, tons and tons

Of earth uprooted and displaced.

 

Mobilize the apparatus,

Any trappings that need deployed,

To minimize the suffering,

To clear the chaos with due haste.

 

In the wake of wreck and ruin

Staunch survivors reassess,

Pick up any bits and pieces,

Deal and barter for the rest.

 

And kindness and benevolence

From strangers keen with empathy

Will fit the pieces back together

Just the way they used to be.

 

Fear the landslide if you must.

The peril lurks on every rise.

Just keep your feet on level soil

With no need to apologize.