Day: October 31, 2019

.
 The ice is gone from the lake
 It should be; it is October
 I mention this now because
 The cold wind blowing last night
 Brought back the winter memories
 Last year was a killer
 It started early; lasted through spring
 And marched through part of summer
  
 Now the monarchs are leaving
 The birds will leave or have left
 In their own natural order
 Ice will return and 
 We will feel at home again
 The landscape looks good
 It sometimes becomes 
 Winter food for the deer
  
 Snow-blower is primed and ready
 Now all I have left to do
 Is work on my attitude
 I like winter but also
 Crave spring, summer and autumn 
 I must get my body in shape
 Winter muscles need their own tune up
 Nature will be with us
 There will be beauty
 For this we give thanks
  
 Stanski
 October 1, 2019 ^
   

.
 When I was a kid,
 I wanted to get away
 from the house, so
 a paper route 
 seemed to be the way.
  
 I took a morning route; a
 get up at 4:45 A.M. route, but
 It got me out, 
 seven days a week, 
 out on my own, 
 plus the collections, 
 that would be worth 
 two or three nights.  
 “Collecting for the Herald!” 
 “Could you come back Friday?” 
  
 So it went for four years.  
 I grew to know people pretty well. 
 I saw contentment, anger, 
 cheerfulness, satisfaction and 
 struggle: with the spouse, 
 with work, with the bottle.  
 I saw:  who was broke, 
 who was broken, 
 who had it, who didn’t.  
  
 I was the gatekeeper, 
 the constant, the dependable.  
 They liked me; my service.  
 There was conversation, 
 caring, and good feelings.  
  
 That was 60 years ago.  
 Now, they are gone or going, 
 the paper is gone, but 
 I’m still here, 
 not wanting to get away.  
  
 My memory carries me.  
 I read their obituaries on-line.  
 There is a plunk at my heartstrings, 
 a pang of sorrow, and 
 a little regret that I had to quit, 
 move on like we all do and 
 that I never went back.  
 This pings the heart, 
 never breaks it. 
  
 Life is that way.  
 It is and then 
 you move on with joy, 
 having learned, 
 never forgetting, 
 but missing that bliss, 
 the euphoria and 
 the excitement of 
 those four long ago years.
  
 Stanislaus Kuperski the Firski
 February 20, 2015 ^ 

.
 Lord, God!  Lamb of God
 I think of all the things
 we are asking for
 which we do not need
 but just want and 
 it leaves me in a state of wonder
  
 We have everything 
 Still desire more
 I read about the Haitians 
 and of their sufferings
 the things they need and don’t have
  
 Food and water, along with shelter
 being the highest on the list and
 then I read about their faith in You
 and are sure You will be taking care of them

 Supreme faith, even though they have nothing
  
 We pray for more, which we don’t need
 Our faith is weak when we do not 
 consider helping them in any way
 We are not of this world
 Cannot take anything with us
  
 I read of our Nigerian brothers and sisters
 dying of starvation while dictators are enriched

 Christians, Jews and Muslims being
 killed and sequestered in China
 It is sad as we wait for our leaders,
 the Pope in particular, to step up and
 offer assistance wherever needed

 Wherever, an echo of forever, which
 Is the forever we will have when we die
  
 We see misguidance in our own country
 Revisionists who dislike our constitution
 constantly breaking down our morality
  
 I hear preachers say how 
 They struggled all week
 With what words to use in their homily

 I think of the seven mile trek to potable 
 Water and the struggle back
  
 Water to make soup out of weeds for 
 their starving children, 
 hoping they will sleep
 in the ram-shack shelter 
 that barely covers them and 
 where poisonous spiders 
 and snakes lurk along with mosquitoes.
  
 I think to myself, 
 if we could only overcome
 all of this it would be 
 a wonderful world
  
 Stanski
 October 7, 2019 ^ 

.
 Do you remember me?
 That was the question
 at our first cousin’s reunion
 What was my answer?
  
 It should have been
 How could I forget?
 But I was stunned
 by the voice of a beauty
  
 An angel in white exuding
 a mist of sensuality
 She introduced herself and
 I could breathe again
  
 Then all the small talk
 Isn’t that the way it is
 Years and decades had passed
 Some not seen in over fifty years
  
 The story of modern mankind
 No longer tribal in one location
 But spread all over the country
 Children, grands and great grands
  
 Still it was like yesterday
 Conversation did not run out
 Food and drink and tugs of the heart
 Sadly, after a day, we had to part
  
 What will happen next?
 Will we get together?
 Questions we haven’t answered
 But I would say we better
  
 Stanski
 October 6, 2019 ^
  
   

.
 The season was autumn; 
 skies filled with gray clouds
 Hwy 10 was my choice to reach US 127
 I needed a diversion. 

 Route 55 through Lake City
 Was getting boring, so there I was

 Fall colors were peeking and
 beauty exuded in spite of the dull light
 Traffic was light; the ride joyous
  
 It was a relief from the day before
 where trucks by the hundreds crowded
 A trip from Tennessee north to Michigan

 I felt at peace and was happy with my choice
 The deciduous trees lit up in amazing colors
 Sunshine broke through the heavy clouds
  
 Nature’s chemistry cannot be diminished
 Nor can its mystery and unpredictability

 It could be compared with traffic
 One day a road full of maniacs
 Another calm and peaceful

 In a couple of hours I crossed
 The beautiful, awesome Mackinac Bridge
  
 The waves of the straits were driven and
 Tossed by the wind, an awesome sight

 Colorful distant trees solidified
 My thoughts on nature
 It’s just that time of year
  
 Stanski
 October 6, 2019 ^ 

.
 There was no drama
 Just the meeting and
 Shaking of hands
 He looked over my report
 Had relevant questions as
 He reviewed the situation
 Which had expanded
  
 He gave me an exam
 I can hear the rubber gloves snap
 Talked over the options
 Declared what he would
 Advise his father or brother
  
 Asked me what I wanted
 I am with you
 More pills
 Meet again in three months
  
 I remarked how Israel
 Had a tight election
 Situation and how I hoped
 Benjamin Netanyahu 
 Would be able to put
 Together a coalition
  
 He agreed with me
 I declared how I thought Israel 
 Was on the cutting edge of
 Medical advancements
  
 He said he was educated there and
 Felt that when he came to the States
 He was equal with everyone here in
 His studies and capabilities
  
 He felt he surpassed many 
 Because he talks with and
 Gets to know his patients
  
 Does not jump to giving 
 Test after test and so on. 
 I agreed, totally, with him
 Ethics over profits
  
 We chatted a few minutes
 And then it was over
 I had a new brother
 He is an admirer 
 What could be better?
  
 Stanski
 October 1, 2019 ^
   

.
 Rage on society
 For this or that
 Starving children in China
 Food too good for a cat
  
 Still working - - -
 Don’t throw it out
 You’ll need it...If you do
  
 No animals were hurt
 Doing these lines
 The abortion clinic people
 Think that’s fine
  
 Wash white clothes on Monday
 Hang them in the sun
 Don’t pick flowers in the park
 They will disappear
  
 You know who you are
 That’s why you’re here
  
 Not going with us 
 Beers all right, but
 You are a little skunky
  
 Won’t be any drinking
 No one brought food
  
 Ballgame cancelled
 Referee is a werewolf
  
 Followed my own shadow home
 Until I forgot we moved
  
 Flat tire on Wells Street
 Just in time for full moon
  
 No Guggenheim award for this
 The name was already taken
  
 Grandpa told me to dig deeper
 He was my creosote
 Dreamer
 Driver
  
 Stanski
 October 10, 2019 ^ 

.
 I looked at you
 Hello, beautiful
  
 I want you
 To be part of
 Me and you
  
 You are a romantic
 And radiate goodness
  
 We would
 Be good together
 Like night and day
  
 We could live together
 A sacred union
 Carry on and travel
  
 I travel alone
 Said you
  
 That would be fine
 I would just tag along
  
 You do what you do
 I do what I do
 Only we do together
  
 Why waste time
 Use what there is
 Wisely
  
 I will not forget
 Love, honor, and respect
  
 I feel my like for you
 And want to know you
  
 We may be compatible 
 Beyond expectation
  
 I know you are sensitive
 Your kindness
 Brings me to tears
  
  
  
  
 I trembled with sadness
 When I lost my son
 You reached out
 Until I could breathe
  
 How could I not love
 A beautiful creature
 Who brings me 
 Such calm?
  
 I want to take
 You by the hand
  
 Walk the shore
 Sing happy songs
  
 Do good things
 For others
 And for you
  
 Not for a short while
 But forever
  
 If what I feel 
 When I am with you
 Is like heaven
  
 Then I am ready
 Right now
 Yesterday or tomorrow
  
 Love for you
 Your love for me
 A destiny?
  
 We must wait 
 And see
  
 Be at peace
  
 Stanski
 September 25, 2019 ^ 

.
 Many times the trip was made,
 leaving Gulliver in the morning,
 crossing the Mississippi River
 late in the afternoon, then stopping
 for the night in Walker, Minnesota 
  
 I thought of the river,
 so gentle and tame here
 just gathering itself
  
 Before it reached the delta
 it would be joined by the 
 Ohio and Missouri Rivers
 and become a dramatic force
  
 I think of man
 We start slow 
 like the headwaters
 and quietly advance
 until, it seems,
 We become ancient and
 fierce like no other
  
 We have our ideas, which
 run wide and deep
 like the river
 sometimes spilling over
 causing flood and damage
  
 Eventually the river makes it
 through the estuary joining 
 all gathering waters 
 and becomes part of 
 The Gulf of Mexico
  
 In our part we have the
 collision and resolutions

 Our struggles and survivals 
 join others and become
 part of the roaring ocean of people
  
 Voices call after us, but 
 it is too late, we can
 never return as we become
 lost in our own roaring sea
  
 Stanski
 October 1, 2019 ^
   

.
 I think often about my son
 The angels came and 
 Took him away
 He was sick
 There is no question
 Alcohol and drugs
 Destroyed his pancreas
 Resulting in his being
 A Type 1 diabetic 
 With life expectancy of 38
 He cried to me about this
 I could only tell him
 That 38 was average, but
 If he took care of himself
 He could become an old man
 Death came at the age of 43
 Because he could not
 Drift away from his addictions
 He left his siblings with broken hearts
 And me with a hole in my heart
 His demons won; stronger than our prayers
 Now at peace
 His many friends stunned
 They expected the outcome, but
 Weren’t prepared for it
 Their loss was heart felt
 Two hundred came to his memorial in Bozeman
 They did not curse the angels
 But thanked God for his life
 As did we, his family
  
 Stanski
 October 9, 2019 ^