Another Poetry Night

I'm in a very Nineteen Century poetical mood lately. Sometimes I think these are bulbs I planted a long, long time ago that - for God knows why - are waking up and growing and flowering now. I suppose you never know what will happen when you major in English literature and listen to Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion on Saturday nights.

Friendship

There are eyes I've met, the clearest blue

Shuttered tight against all storms that lose

The unguarded, open, and unfiltered light

That lose the simple reflection of delight

And rest dull and hard in returning gaze

Just another stranger in a darkened maze.

And there are those I've seen, of hazel,

Brown or green that hide behind a door

And furtively peek, frightened, and unsure

Like a child punished; sad and unassured

That never trust the eyes they long to see

And as quickly out, are just as quickly to retreat.

So few, so very few that let the light of day

Filter in, or inward light of night out shine

So very few that gaze without fear or shame

A very precious few, color for color, eye to eye

Like lantern boats that glimmer on a darkened sea

That meet and pass and know and remember me.

Knocked Down

It's been a rough few days, thanks to a bad pat of butter or mushroom on my pizza Thursday. Whatever it was, by Thursday evening I was in gasping pain the like of which I can't remember, and oh so grateful for some anti nausea medicine that begins with a Z (didn't hear all that much at the time) and works miracles in minutes when given through an IV.

Oh boy, what a wonderful night that was.

It does make me glad for a few things though. If you know the little story of There Was An Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly - not what I did by the way - you'll understand the flow of my gratitude below.

There was a nice wife who stayed with me all night

And held my hand so I wouldn't die of fright.

There was a good grandmother who watched my kids

So my nice wife could stay with me all through the night

And held my hand so I wouldn't die of fright.

There were some good children who slept through the night

So their grandmother could watch them both,

So my nice wife could stay with me all through the night

And held my hand so I wouldn't die of fright.

There was a nice neighbor who came in the morning

To watch the good children who slept through the night

To relieve the good grandmother who'd watched them both,

So my nice wife could stay with me all through the night

And held my hand so I wouldn't die of fright.

There was a good hospital staff who made me better to relieve

The nice neighbor who had come in the morning

To watch the good children who slept through the night

To relieve the good grandmother who'd watched them both,

So my nice wife could stay with me all through the night

And held my hand so I wouldn't die of fright.

You get the idea ... I'm grateful.

It's hard being sick. It's nice when people rally around you though. It makes me feel proud of my family and friends.

That's all for tonight. Just thankful to be better and to have been helped when I was sick.

Good night.

Allergies

Spring is here and it's sneezing and wheezing time in our house.

The pollen is out in force here in New Jersey. Every tree is blooming (which is beautiful) and the pollen is so thick it's lending a greenish yellow tint to the sunlight as it comes through the windows. I'm glad for Spring, but my throat is burning and my nose is stinging. Right now I'm waiting for the antihistamine to do it's work and make me sleepy again.

The kids are feeling it too. Both of them have runny noses and dripping like faucets. I keep telling myself that it's preferable to cold weather and snow.

It usually takes about a week for me to adjust. By then I'll be able to look at the daffodils and smile unreservedly. Their cheerful yellow faces won't look so much like a four year old with an infectious looking cold. I'll be able to feel good about the pansies and the geraniums and the dogwoods going into flower.

Just now, I'm feeling the benedryl take the sting out of some of it, which is close enough. Have a good night.

In Dreams Abide

In the velvet dark my thoughts that in the day

Like seasonal birds flit, alight and fly away

Huddle and thrum in great numbers beneath

My dreams like the great green canopy of trees

Each idea or choice or judgement delayed

Each feeling expressed or firmly restrained

Rest like travelers in the hum of a stationary train

Uncomfortable and still, awaiting a change.