Tag Archives: poetry

Saturday Lightheartedness

Posted on by

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words…and then sometimes a few words can paint a picture, like this one I found on Pinterest which reminded me of my silly little Oliver Owl poem. Happy Saturday. (Original post for today will be posted tomorrow).

OLIVER OWL

Oliver Owl is a happy old bird

as wise as wise can be.

He makes his home in the forest

at the top of an old pine tree

He dines on delicate insects

and wears his feathers well,

they appear as a fine tuxedo

in shades of brown eggshell.

Oliver’s eyes are round and bright,

they help him to plainly see

through the dark, dark night in the forest

at his home in the old pine tree.

©2005

Spooky

 

“The Moon is Always Full”

Posted on by

In 2014 when my memoir, “My Precious Life” was published, I was working on a book of poetry, in the works for over forty years. “The Moon is Always Full” is now about a week away from printing. This is a sample cover of the book which contains one-hundred-and-twenty-nine poems, including thirty-one in haiku form.

This is proof positive that we are never too old to start something new. Having been on this planet for eighty-one-plus years, each day continues to be an opportunity to welcome new ideas and seek new horizons. Carpe diem!

Questions and feedback are most welcome.

THE MOON IS ALWAYS FULL

Once a month…

sometimes twice,

the full moon is revealed:

but when it’s on the wane

that fullness seems concealed.

Its many phases mark the heavens,

earth’s tides reveal its pull

the naked eye may yet espy

the moon is always full.

©Patricia Ann Boyes

 

 

 

Just Checking In

Posted on by

Today’s post came via Facebook yesterday. It was accompanied by a very long, meaningful poem but I’ll just post one verse here. Happy Sunday.

I JUST CAME by TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I’VE BEEN,
SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP
AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN.
I DON’T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY,
BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME,
JUST CHECKING IN TODAY.’

Image may contain: cloud, sky, tree, outdoor and nature

 

Do You Believe It?

Posted on by

In Soul Stories, a book by Gary Zuvak, he wrote, among other things, “Believe that when you ask a question you always get an answer.” I don’t know why, but the question I asked was, “Where am I from?”

I was led to a meditation site online from a note I had taken on a television program a few nights earlier. The meditation that day was titled “Home”. It suggested that I am from another dimension, one of peace, and light, and silence. This explains my love of silence…I bask in it when stillness seems to envelop me from time to time.

At different times in prior years I had written poems, one titled,” A New Dimension” where becoming aware of the things we usually ignore opens our eyes to what’s around us. “The Journey” depicts a life of love and serenity.

To my mind, heaven is another dimension and perfectly fits the description above…love and serenity.

If I had ignored the prompting to take a note from a television program, I would not have been aware of the online meditation that gave me a fairly apt description of “where I am from”.

I attribute the inspiration for “The Journey” to a surgeon who many years ago released me from hospital with these words, “Live, love, and be happy.” And this is precisely my life today.

Do you believe it?

Can You Imagine?

Posted on by

‘Two people were killed and 12 others injured after a man with a handgun opened fire on a bustling avenue in Toronto on Sunday night the police said. The gunman was later found dead.”

This headline this morning prompted today’s blog which is a slightly altered version of an August 1/14 post. It is actually the third time for posting this poem but somehow the times seem to warrant it.

In 1995 I wrote this poem called The Victim. It’s about crimes and war and unsound government, and the entire world possibly becoming victim to all of these things. And then thinking about the poem in a new light, I realized that it’s not only crimes and wars and unsound government that hurt people, but the way we treat each other on a daily basis. The sad part of all of this is the take heed part. If we don’t take heed, nothing changes, and if we do…can you imagine?

THE VICTIM

People dead

before their time,

victims

of some heinous crime.

Callous killers,

world’s worst foes,

victims

of God only knows.

Wars created

through sheer greed,

victims

of abnormal need.

Governments

whose rule a hoax,

victims

of the peoples’ votes.

Our planet Earth,

soon indigent,

victim

of our ignorance.

World, take heed!

The time has come

for remedy

lest you become

the victim.

©1995

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement…Romans 12;3

This post is a slightly altered repeat of an August 1, 2014 blog.

 

 

 

 

Sunshine In My Heart

Posted on by

Poetry is another pleasant pastime of mine. It’s been quite a while since my poetry muse has paid me a visit but yesterday she came along and told me to write about the sunshine in my heart. And so I did.

SUNSHINE IN MY HEART

Though the day be dull and dreary

There is sunshine in my heart

Though I’m sometimes weak and weary

There is sunshine in my heart

When the world seems so unfair

With sadness everywhere

With families torn apart

There’s no sunshine in my heart.

When someone says, “I love you tons”

I have sunshine in my heart

When healing hugs replace doldrums

I have sunshine in my heart

When people care and show compassion

When coldness is replaced with passion

When these give life a brand new start

Again, there’s sunshine in my heart.

 

 

What is Love?

Posted on by

Recently a fellow blogger posted a beautiful poem asking the question “What is Love?”.

Today I am attending the wedding of two people who have found love once again in their lives; the bride is eighty years young and the groom ninety-one. In 2014 I wrote this poem, “What is Love?” Happy weekend.

WHAT IS LOVE

What is love

if not the closeness

of every experience

…sharing.

What is love

if not the oneness

of two people

…caring.

What is love

if not the expression

of honest emotion

…feelings.

What is love

if not understanding

the wholeness

…of all of these.

©2014

 

 

 

 

A Pleasant Surprise

Posted on by

Each day I pray for a pleasant surprise to come my way and for the ability to recognize it when it comes. This weekend I had two but will only write about one of them today. It was a phone call from my sister, Mary, asking if I was alright because she hadn’t seen my blog for a week. Mary and I don’t talk all that often so I thought it very sweet of her to check up on me.  Not only that, it brought to mind a poem she shared with me a few months ago which I really liked and she gave me permission to share it with you. Enjoy.

  Beautiful and Feisty

A mouse that stands up to full height

Bares its teeth ready to fight

The cat stalking its prey

But mouse is not the entrée today.

A snake ready to fight to the finish

An eighty-pound dog that can’t diminish

It’s tenacity as it returns bite for bite

Not knowing when to give up the fight.

 It refuses to slither away

From a dog amusing itself for the day

But coiled and tattered the snake now I find

Is grateful to be dropped over the fence to unwind. 

The spider that drops on a thread stronger than steel

Quickly mummifying its next meal

And just as quickly hauling it home

To the top of its web to eat all alone. 

The baby squirrel that falls from its nest

And does what a baby squirrel does best

Cries for help from anyone near

Its cries do not fall on deaf ears.

Its parents come to determine the damage

And figuring a way to manage,

The dad pins it down and holds it in check

While the mother grabs its babe by the neck.

Up the tree she runs with great speed

To attend to this little ones need

A scratch on the head seems to be all

The little one suffered from such a great fall.

 The mourning dove that hits the pane

And rises up to fly again

A headache may be all it received

From the patio door that so deceived.

 The racoons with their bandit eyes

Ignore my frantic shooing cries

They think it is their right

To raid my garbage can each night.

The dog that boldly saves its cat

From a coyote looking for a fast snack

The coyote was the one to take flight

From an eighty-pound dog ready to fight.

The ants that moved their nursery inside

A stupid place for ants to hide

They covered most of the kitchen floor

Too many just to drop out the door.

I don’t know what they were hiding from

But I am sorry to reveal their eventual outcome

A long dark tunnel with no light in sight                                    

The vacuum canister ended their flight.

There are many more stories I could add

Some happy, some sad

For nature truly rings

With the beauty and feistiness of all living things.

©Mary Frances Martin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Haiku or Two

Posted on by

For those not familiar with haiku, it is a form of Japanese poetry, the criteria being to present an image, evoke a mood and make an observation. There are three lines with five syllables in the first and last line and seven syllables in the middle line. Example:

Peeling an orange (5) image

the bitter juice squirts my eye (7) mood, feel the sting

one blink and it’s gone. (5) observe disappearance

And now I’d like to share with you a couple of haikus I have written over the years which will appear in my upcoming poetry book.

He had a tantrum

it spoiled my serenity

and made me angry.

 

Dinner was superb

red snapper on the menu

tasty on the tongue.

 

Crouched low in the grass

sly cat watched bird eat its meal

one pounce, bird was meal.

 

His gait was rapid

head bent low against the storm

heading for shelter.

 

That’s all for now, folks. Thank you for any comments.

 

 

 

 

Remembering a Pet

Posted on by

Awhile back I posted a poem written by my sister about the passing of her pet dog, Farleigh. Today I’d like to share her poem to Jesse, another pet she said goodbye to.

In Remembrance of Jessie
November 16, 1989 – April 24, 2001
When you flashed me a look from your smiling Jessie eyes
I knew you were telling me your last goodbyes
You were telling me not to grieve
Now that the time had come for you to leave
When you flashed me a look from your sweet smiling eyes
The time we spent together went by fast
I can see you again as I look back over the past
The games of ball we used to play
You kept me playing night and day
You never seemed to tire
We walked the lake on days both hot and cold
We both walked slower as we grew old
We ate ice cream cones all year long
You listened while I played a song
On an accordion no longer new
You served humanity in a very special way
You birthed twenty-one puppies and gave them all away
To CVC to do their best
I hope that most passed the test
And became the best dog guides that they could be
Now that God has called you home
I walk the lake alone
I still think of you
And the things we used to do
And I’ll always remember your smiling Jessie eyes
 ©Mary Frances Martin