Guardian angel
Spread your wings
Shelter me
My soul is troubled
And I’ve fallen into despair.
Ave Maria
Bless my soul
Embrace me
My spirit is weak
And I’ve drifted far astray.
Padre de Dios
Give me strength
Lift me up
My body is frail
And I’ve lost the will to live.
Lord Jesus
Stay with me
Guide the journey
My time has come
And I’ve already said goodbye.
Little Red didst blithely skip
in forest deep and dark.
Forgetting all had been warned
laughing as if on a lark.
She swung her basket to and fro
not looking through her eyes,
for dangers hidden in the trees
not thinking about a disguise.
Upon a hunter meek and mild
Little Red didst soon arrive.
With clear blue eyes she smiled
At him, so sweet, so clear, so alive.
He spoke of peace and gentle things
and she didst fall in love.
He promised not to hurt her heart
and swore to God above.
Red knew him not, but answered yes
despite what she’d been told.
And so struck out on her own
with step both confident and bold.
Ignoring signs of pending doom,
Red whistled as she skipped.
Right up to Grandma’s house
and in the door she slipped.
In bed poor Grandma slept
with fever and with cold.
Red tiptoed up to see her eyes
and Grandma’s hand to hold.
“What big eyes,” Red declared
when Grandma didst awake.
“To see, my dear,” she replied
and took a bite of cake.
“What big teeth,” Red did say
when Grandma opened wide.
“To chew, my dear, these lovely
cakes,” she sneakily replied.
“What furry arms you have,”
said Red, “but I remember not
when didst thou grow such
lengthy hair could be tied in a knot.”
“It keeps me warm on winter’s eve,
and dry during a spring rain.
I’d love to hold you in my arms,
to cradle you once again.”
“No, thanks,” said Red for she did see
that things were not all right.
For Grandma dear was way too dark
even in such poor light.
“I think I’ll go,” Red didst say
and hurried toward the door.
“You shall not go,” Grandma declared
and sprang feet on the floor.
She threw off her cap and gown,
revealing a wolf-like shape.
Red didst scream and run about
attempting to escape.
The wolf didst flash a mighty smile
and throw his arms out wide.
Intending to capture Little Red
without wasting even one stride.
Suddenly there didst appear
a man both tall and strong.
Red ran to him and told her tale
so he could right a wrong.
Listen now for you shall hear
the moral of this tale.
Go careful through yon forest deep
and whilst skipping through a vale.
Rescue might not come your way.
To perish could become your plight.
Unless you’re careful to observe
even on the darkest dark night.
While Little Red didst escape
and her story she soon didst tell.
You must listen and take care,
so for you things will go well.
You cannot walk and prance about,
with head adrift in the skies.
For on you might come, like to Red,
a murderous surprise.
Beware, my child, of strangers met
in forest, field, or glen.
For they might be a dangerous sort,
then we’ll not meet again.
In the humdrum sameness
of my everyday life,
as teacher, mother,
sister, and wife
words have fled
causing undo strife,
piercing my heart like
an unsharpened knife
Oh, please, someone
come and rescue me.
Open my eyes that
I soon may see.
Fill my soul with
words: set me free
that I may write
what’s meant to be.
Why have the words
all flown away?
What did I do
to them betray
my inmost thoughts,
my flight from fray.
Come back to me,
without delay
Like a wee small child
I scream and shout.
throw all my pens
and toss about
long empty pages
lines, words without
hoping that soon
I’ll merit clout.
Tell me, please,
how to live again
with words and rhymes
flowing free like rain.
Send down a storm
to complete my brain.
I need you now.
That much is plain.
Memory fails me, as I try to recall
those things that we did, both momentous and small
The many times that we laughed. Those that we cried.
The children born healthy, and old folks who died.
But as I grow older, my mind has begun
to forget the details, including the fun
things that we did, before our children were born.
When we were that young, was I ever forlorn?
Perhaps. As I part the mist that clouds my view,
I see a lonely place, before I met you.
My heart was heavy with worries, that’s true.
Sorrows befell my soul, until there was you.
With you the sun arose, brightening my way,
and so it continues, to this very day.
As I stroll through life, beauty I can now see:
blue sky, birds, butterflies, and the apple tree
under which we sat, and talked about our love.
And though it sounds corny, even the white dove
that flew high overhead as we pledged our vow
to love forever. I remember it now!
Such a wonderful time! A beautiful place!
The way we danced and the smile on your face.
A white picket fence. The cookie-cutter house.
The cuddly kitten. Yes, even a brown mouse.
Such an exciting time, those long-ago days.
Our children grew up, then went separate ways.
Those things that we did, both momentous and small
As memory tricks me, I sometimes recall.
The tuxedo cat sits outside my door again
like it does almost every day
her (at least I think it’s a female)
expectant eyes and heart
waiting for the welcome in
She doesn’t ask for much:
clean water, shelter from the weather
food and a few kind words
sometimes she comes inside
just long enough to lick
a morsel left behind
by our resident cat
then off she goes
tail held high
into her cat world
How different are we, really?
Sure, we want shelter, food,
a few kind words and
water to refresh ourselves
but our desires go beyond
those of the simpler cat
For us, bigger is better
more is not enough
assailed by ads for food,
clothing, technology
we sense an inadequacy,
a hollowness that cannot be filled
by shelter, food, water,
and a few kind words
I want to be like the cat.
Pat me on the back and I’ll sing
a song of exuberance
that rocks this upside-down world.
Come, on, cat.
I’m ready!
Who’d ever think that her heart would shatter
Standing in the glittery sun of the bus stop
Her angel, lover, seeker-friend
Arm-in-arm with a fiery siren
Strolled by, then made an effort
To move his “love” to his opposite arm
Like a warrior-shield protecting its prize
She choked-back ceaseless cries
Which she buried by her hollow smile
Just as a broken-down building
Stands as empty sentinel
To the glory days of steel,
Death reaches its fingers,
Plucks the tendons,
Unscrews the bolts,
Crumbles the façade,
Leaves only remnants of grandeurs past
Exposed to elemental forces.
There is no place to hide
Even the semblance of warmth
She does not run
Instead she plants roots in the cement
Straightens her shoulders
Stands as a monument to power
Healed
It didn’t take too long to realize
That I had begun to fantasize,
And I was forced to carefully apprise
The situation before my eyes.
My time had come, that much was certain.
I stupidly stared at the white curtain,
After my legs had stopped their dartin’
And my poor heart had ceased its hurtin’
The doctor, a diagram he traced
Of my heart: at me he boldly faced
And now declared, as my eyes gazed
At my demise. I was sorely fazed.
Later that day, I died, to my surprise.
Sad I was this good world to be partin’
The flowers still remain where they were placed.
