Dennis S. Martin's Blog, page 84

Options

Life is just a set of options;

Decisions to be made.

Pathways always branch in at least

Two distinctive ways.

Taking one, we leave the others

Quite unknown where they could lead.

Options beckon, pleading, urgent,

Pressing us to pay them heed.

No one promised it was easy.

No one said, "You’ll know theway."

We can only look and learn

And choose new options every day.

 

The Figure Skater

Grace and beauty on the ice,

They jump and twirl and spin,

Racing down, around and round,

Around and back again.

Poetry on figure skates

Defying gravity;

Elevating, levitating

Angle by degree.

Music playing in the background

Softly, soothing, warm;

Lifting up the spirit

With an easy distant charm.

Every move precision.

Every motion primed.

Like a poet's sense of meter,

Every sentence rhymed.

Coming to a grand crescendo,

Spinning like a top!

Leaving watchers wanting

Curtain calls that never stop.

 

Arms Akimbo

Hands on hips with arms akimbo,

Strident, stalwart, self-assured,

Mother knows that something'shappened;

Knows the truth will be obscured.

 

Questions probe but find no answers,

Yet her fervor still persists.

In the end the child relents,

But "not my fault", he mustinsist.

 

Now he promises he's sorry.

It won't happen e'er again.

In her eyes he seeks forgiveness;

Blind compassion from his friend.

 

Who can punish wide-eyed childhood?

Would it help make him obey?

In the end she finds forgiveness,

And she sends him out to play.

 

Chameleon

One day green, one day brown,

One day smiling, then a frown,

One day hanging upside down,

Next day standing on the ground.

Fickle fancy, changing moods,

Sometimes happy, sometimes rude.

Sometimes raunchy, downright crude.

Ever changing attitude.

Do I know you? Perhaps not.

Running cold. Running hot.

Never sure of what you've got.

Never sure of where or what.

Just like a chameleon,

Never sure when day is done

If you've come or if you've gone;

If you've lost or if you've won.

 

Shades of Gray

There are shades of gray you'll onlyfind

In the folds of a winter sky,

As day goes creeping wearily

And the sun begins to die.

At dusk, as sunlight fades,

The walking shades caress the light.

Shadows wash away all but

The brightest of the bright,

Leaving only shades of gray;

Lifeless, dull and vague;

Threatening, foreboding,

Like the darkness of a plague.

Never only black or white,

Never night or day,

Life is filled with colors

And infinite shades of gray.

 

Trial by Innuendo

By the time the trial had come

Before the judge and jury,

The tabloid press and media

Had all but made their case.

Speculation, insinuation,

Gossip and libido

Contributing to innuendo

As if there was a race.

Little wonder in this day and age

Of blitz and glitz,

Justice takes her blindfold off

And shreds it all to bits.

 

Such a Deal!

"Such a deal!" Was hisexclaim,

"It's meant for only you.

It's so good I'm almostashamed!"

It seemed too good to be true.

The blarney laid so heavy on

His pitch as if he knew

He'd caught a rube,

He'd snared a cube,

The fat was in the stew.

Then backing back and taking pause

To get a better view,

Reflecting on the cold hard facts,

My skepticism grew.

Pitfalls started creeping in.

The devil wants his due.

Decisions made in haste are

Usually the ones you rue.

Whenever someone offers something

Too good to be true,

It's best to seek a different route

And skip that avenue.

 

Circles

Lives are abundant with numerous circles,

Infinite patterns, recurring events;

Intimate places; familiar scents.

Circles returning to where theybegin.

Circles to travel. Circles offriends.

Around they go and around again,

Repeating redundantly, seeking noend.

Do you see in circles

Or in a straight line?

If you claim the later,

You're one of a kind.

 

Praise Be

Praise be to Ala.

Praise be to God.

Praise to Jehovah.

Isn't it odd?

All have a vision

Of what "He" should be,

Or "She" if you like.

God "could" be a she.

The thing is, we praise God;

Forgiving and kind,

Magnanimous, loving and sure;

Encompassing all of the

Thoughts in our heads;

All that is mindful and pure.

So, of all the emotions

That God had to give

That help us fulfill all our need,

Why are we saddled

With anger and avarice?

Why must we have

Hate and greed?

 

The Upbeat Downtown Raggedy Man

Don't know his name.

Don't know his game.

He has no shame,

But all the same

 

He's there every day.

He won't go away.

He never will stray;

Living just for today.

You view him with dread

As he begs to be fed;

A quarter for bread;

A buck for a bed.

 

Calm in repose;

Forgiving of those

Put off by his clothes,

Or the life that he chose.

 

He's the upbeat

Downtown  raggedy man,

Getting along

As best he can.