Day: October 30, 2019

.
 The speaker compliments
 The complimented acknowledges
 Throws it off as not justified
 Too many others involved
  
 Success is great, but
 It takes many to achieve
 When honored by this sharing
 The spirit of many rises
  
 They all feel blessed with ownership
 Moral is a wonderful lever
 It lifts production and politeness
 Respect for others is elevated
  
 A new climate becomes status quo
 Outstanding people quietly exist
 They show their colors when needed
 Meaningful growth depends on them
  
 This story is not unique
 Achievers are everywhere
 They attract many others
 Who want to be part of the dream
  
 All in attendance understand
 It always takes more than one
 Many are involved in victory
 The next new project will glow
  
 Stanski
 September 2, 2019 ^ 

.
 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
 Not a perfect man
 There are no perfect men
 Except one, who was crucified 
  
 All men are created equal
 They are endowed by their creator
 With certain inalienable rights
 Among these are “Life”, “Liberty”, and
 The “Pursuit of Happiness”
  
 There are all sorts of claims
 We see people leaning the wrong way
 When it comes to people of color
 History shows us remarkable
 Black Americans who are poets,
 Authors, inventors, businessmen, judges
 Lawyers, statesmen and politicians
  
 How do we judge ourselves?
 Are those who are prejudiced correct?
 Is the distribution of education
 A matter of zip code only
 Or do we desire equality and
 Offer equal opportunity?
  
 It is not color but character
 Character is a beautiful word
 Soldiers of all colors had character
 They died for us and liberty
 It is time to slow down and self-examine
  
 Stanski
 September 4, 2019 ^ 

.
 Looking out my window
 I see I am losing
 My Tamarack tree
 Why is nature choosing you?
  
 You started out small
 A beautiful transplant
 Have lived through several seasons
 Now treat me so indecently 
  
 There will be a vacancy
 Another hole in my heart
 Can a beautiful tree betray me?
 I wouldn’t have guessed at the beginning
  
 But now your needles give hint
 Not green but a golden brownish tint
 Shall I wait the year out and
 In the spring give it a fresh start?
  
 Hope for renewal; a real hope
 Failure will insure that we must part
 I’ll talk to you; coax you along
 Will you please survive and be my song
  
 Stanski
 September 1, 2019 ^ 

.
 What can I do?
 What can I say? 
 Strive, strive and strive 
 Send good vibrations your way 
 There are problems you face 
 But not too big for you
 Because you have us
 Your backup crew 
  
 You must begin to listen
 Now is the time
 Too many days have passed
 Everything is not fine
 We know what you must do
 Hear us, we’ll see you through
  
 Stanski 
 August 30, 2019 ^ 

.
 The poetry starts out
 Uplifting and leaning at
 Just the right angle and tempo
 Into a story that may have 
 A lesson attached to it
 You feel safe and content
  
 Now it takes a twist to
 Something or somewhere
 With no explanation
 No logic can sort out
 This metamorphosis into
 Deviation and never land
  
 It can and usually does
 Jump again and then
 Abruptly slides into a finish
 If there is a Guggenheim Award
 On the wall
 The work is proclaimed genius
 I feel abused and short changed
  
 Full moons are beautiful
 I don’t want to leave them
 For pigeons who are disguised
 As missionaries 
 Who meet way up north
 In the land of Svithjod 
 To compare notes
 On mushrooming
 It’s just not me
  
 By Steve Haarman
 03/10/12 

.
 Some of these poets write
 In ways that seem abstract
 Putting lines together and
 In length, but they somehow
 Do not connect.  Writing
 For some friends of theirs
 Trying too hard to impress
 As they read, they would 
 Laugh a little bit, my guess
 He almost did it, almost
 Actually getting close to
 Impressing his colleagues
 A little more time is needed
 Maybe a few more years
 If he keeps advancing this way
 We will all be peers, how nice
 They continue reading, 
 Vaguely follow his “line”
 Pretend they almost get it
 Could he win the Guggenheim?
 Sometimes a little obvious
 But then he strays away
 Goes off on a tangent
 Very clever that way
 I personally like the fact
 That he introduces new
 Characters, many times foreign
 Adds intrigue and culture
 But no easy departure
 Must ramble on to get there
 That special place where
 Momentum will bring him
 To the end and he will smile
 Another masterpiece and
 Then add a few more lines
 For his mother or a former
 Teacher and think it’s grand
 That’s where some of 
 The poets stand
  
 Stanislaus Kuperski the Firski
 November 3, 2013 ^ 

Some people shy away from poetry
They like mine and will say so
Will ask if I am going to publish
I just give them a look and say
there is a lot of poetry out there

Some of it is terrible, they will say,
when I read what they are talking about
I have to agree with them

The poems start out with some
mythological character or ancient being,
then digress into a hodgepodge collection of lines
which are abstract in themselves and unrelated to
what was said before or after

Wasn’t it Lincoln who said you can fool
some of the people part of the time, etc.
I think these poets are writing for the
Guggenheim judges who will probably issue them
an award because they don’t get it either

I think most people are looking for something
they can identify with, something with substance that
they can chew on and think about
They tell me mine are like that

I haven’t won any awards, but at least I am appreciated
That makes a difference and is one of the reasons I write

I talked with an artist who stopped doing creative pieces and
switched to the abstract, meaningless pieces using
the accents of someone’s living room and
matching the colors in their couch
The people love them and pay me well, he said

What about your soul, I asked. I know what you’re saying, he answered, but I can’t feed my family on good work that doesn’t sell
He is sustained by deceiving himself and endures his self-betrayal

I kept my day job

Stanski
December 18, 2019^

.
 It is complicated
 That is what he said
 When he read my poem
  
 So was “War and Peace”, I said
 My work is just a fictional muse
 Embedded with humor
  
 Take a deep breathe
 Start all over and 
 Enjoy the laughs as well
 As the strategy of the set up
  
 I use very little punctuation
 Gives the reader a challenge
  
 Why should I do all the work?
 You usually do, is the correct answer
  
 Don’t forget, my friend,
 I go for quality and quantity
 It is not easy to do both
  
 Some poets spend a year
 Or more on one poem
 Crafting and changing 
 Until they are satisfied 
  
 I have read some of
     the finished products 
 Although they are 
    fine pieces of work
 They do not move me
  
 This is because some of the nuances
 Are peculiar only to the poet
 And the relativity is lost on me
  
 They receive the Guggenheim awards
 So what can I say?
  
 Someone will find my stuff
 Long after I’m gone and 
 Wonder who that guy was 
  
 His musings were so impactful
 And still have relevance 
 That is my dream
  
  
  
  
  
  
 I will keep up as long as I can
 Then there will be an end
  
 By the way, I said to my friend
 Did you notice that I am using
 A new penname?
  
 Stanski
  
 I like it
  
 Something like Frankie, 
 Ella or Elvis
  
 Just the first name 
 Everyone knows
  
 You have it right
 I love recognition
  
 Stanski
 April 26, 2017 ^ 

.
 Sometimes you can’t see 
 Your hand in front of you
 Which should be slapping
 Your face to wake you up
  
 We laugh at advertisements
 That give affirmation
 To behavior that is bad
 They are so cute
  
 We see hypocrisy and 
 Get in line to support it
 Because it affects one who
 Thinks differently than you
  
 We see billion dollar influence
 Causing the firing of a judge
 Of a case involving a son
 Then blown off as an oddity
  
 A president attacked for over two years
 Exonerated – no collusion
 Opposition’s continual lies
 Ignore his amazing accomplishments
  
 Employment up in all sectors
 Inclusive of women and all minorities 
 Wages increase; taxes decrease
 Soldiers given respect they deserve
  
 Regulations removed
 Economy has flourished
 Border security finally confronted
 Even though met with opposition
  
 Billions spent for those 
 Who have illegally entered
 President denied 6 billion
 To finish fencing and defending
  
 We need a slap on the face
 We must wake up to reality
 We must clean up the swamp
 They are all, both sides, our enemy
  
 Stanski, August 27, 2019 ^ 

.The little succulent plant
 We brought from Idaho
 Has become a beautiful man-eater
 We bought it at 18 inches
 Now it is eight feet tall and three feet across 
 The branches are green and spider-like
 Little flowers and very sturdy
 It fills a corner of the room
 Has had several off spring
 Cuttings, rooted and established
 Given away as gifts
 Eyes light up acknowledging uniqueness
 Always given a special place of honor
  
 We could have said no in Idaho
 But we didn’t; we went for it
 Stabilized it in the car and 
 It survived the last week of travel
 I look back and realize
 Our trip was a great one
 Good weather; outdoor dinners
 A happiness we wanted to bottle
 But life is not that way
 Nor should it be
 Each day is an opportunity
 Even plants have a say
 The spidery, green giants they are
  
 Stanski
 August 27, 2019 ^