Keepsakes
Love letters from my Sweetheart, They all say, I love you! Then one day on June the 9th In nineteen thirty three, We were married The happiest day for my love and me. There what do I do now? A tiny baby shoe… I’ll hold it to my heart, Just like I use to do. And...
The Star Thrower
Once upon a time there was a wise man that used to go to the ocean to do his writing. One day he was walking along the shore. as he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. he smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day....
Tahir and the Hostage
The emergency radio squawked, and then I heard the voice of Tahir, the Consul’s driver, advising that the jeep had been sideswiped by a schoolbus. No one was hurt, but the paint on the jeep was scratched. In Peshawar, Pakistan, where I was assigned to the American...
There Was A Boy
There was a boy a quiet and lonely boy He would look into space And wonder what he saw Now the lonely boy A quiet and lonely boy Would look beyond the celestial sky And with imaginary wings Fly into the sparkles and the blue of the night.
Perception
After several weeks of looking for a suitable home for my daughter and I, we found one that was in need of tender loving care. The front yard had a beautiful mesquite tree in the left front yard, a long gravel driveway also, a very large back yard which suited me very...
The Duck and the Devil
There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw...
Robbed Against the Storm
Somewhere, back in yesterdays, A grandfather robed in wool Waits alone in his handmade Morris chair. His knotted hands move in restless raps along the leathered arms. Blue mist of morning shelters his land against the clouds. Ancient trees, barren in the call of wind,...
A Few Memories
During the BIG DEPRESSION adults were apt to gather at one another’s houses to play cards or pass the time together. I never heard of baby sitters until I was old enough to be one. (The wages were fifty cents until midnight and twenty five cents for every hour after.)...
If I Had Know
If I had known what trouble You were bearing What grief were in the Silence of your face I would have been more Gentle and more caring And tried to give you gladness For a space I would have brought more Warmth into the place if I had known (Why do we never...
Jolene
Blond, beautiful, blue-eyed Jolene Hurriedly went out to play. No one knew she would not return To her earthly home that day. An accident happened as she crossed the street We do not know the rest. We only know she's now,in her heavenly home And she's happy with the...
Crabby Old Woman
What do you see nurses? What do you see? What are you thinking When you are looking at me? A crabby old woman, Not very wise, Uncertain of habit, With faraway eyes? Who dribbles her food And makes no reply When you say in a loud voice, “I do wish you’d try!” Who seems...
The Canal
I wonder what it would be like to travel down life's lane and relive some of its more precious memories. Perhaps, some of the happier times were while we lived in Oxford, England. Tony and I were big enough to explore on our own. Often we rode our bikes down to the...
Watermelon Days
We were watermelon rich those lazy autumn days. The long hours we kept vigil on the vines were gone and all the husky gems of fruit lay stretched in greening miles waiting to be plucked. There were days when kids slid under barbed wire fences, ever watchful and...
Taking It with Me
As I travel the paths of this life I will keep a look out for the intangible Keeping my mind’s eye shutter at the ready Forever capturing the beauty of nature And the simple goodness of children The pure contentment of sleeping puppies I will take mental notes...
It Doesn’t Seem
There doesn’t seem to be room for me in my life anymore. When I was small, I was full of myself so you think I’d be use to it. But, my life is small now; so small that little ole me just doesn’t fit anymore. Potential. Promise. Opportunity. Hope. Enthusiasm. Optimism....
Age Before Beauty
Yes yes yes and yes! The older the manzanita gets the more beautiful As years pass it becomes more fascinating We can scarcely keep our fingers off As its silky skin like mahogany or dried blood Becomes shaggy with papery excrescences curled and rolled...
Beware of Grandma
A blooming ancestor their grandmother and mother Walks trails with friends in national parks Eats nothing on holidays feasts on lush landscapes Scenery fresh delicious but never overpowering Bird song fills her with love from the cosmos Ensures no need for holiday...
The Mad Gardener – Patience with Patience
The mad gardener relocated from Tennessee to California and brought a few plants, one tree named Benji (a ficus benjamina), one plant was a corn plant named franklin, and the fern (Boston) was called Kennedy. Benji was known as the town gossip! The fern came only to...
To the Gathering
What is meant by the term offered in reverent tones ….…………….. "El-der?" Who makes the decision about entry into the club? All Elders here, please raise your right hand! What do we mean with the words: "grown up?" One thing I've said to get me off the hook About a...
Snowflakes
Snowflakes that tell a story as they touch the ground speaking softly winter's coming but there is no sound I also have a story and it must be told Old man winter will you help me Help me snow find the words Wise men with all their treasures aren't enough it's true...
The Depression
My name is Ruth June nee Rich Lehti. I was born June 10,1921, so I was 8 years old in 1929 when the depression hit. I lived in Miami, Florida where a Building Boom had not occurred. No jobs were available so my folks decided each would return to their own people and...