NOVEMBER WHISPERS


 
Right now the dune grasses sing
The notes come off as sun-flash
Dancing in tune with the wind
Nodding and glowing in noon-time light
Day just starting will soon be over
Late fall answer to summer solstice
No claims on me this day
I have songs to sing
Music waits for me to
Put on my Fred Astaire's
 
My melody comes from the horn of
Grover Washington Jr., who, if nothing else,
Echoes the beat of the breeze
We keep everything in harmony here
Nature is our ally, our soul-mate
We look for signs and they are given
 
Tamaracks tell us change comes in degrees:
Still green are some; others ground brown
    and
In between, the sun’s gift to us is
The radiation of white, yellow, orange and gold
No artist can match the choreography
Canvases weep because they cannot hold this majesty
                                               
The grasses still wave as though loving the dance
When the sun settles in the west
They will become a Technicolor production
The wind whispers, too:
Seasonal change at hand
Prepare
Give thanks
 
Stanski
November 12, 2019 ^

DOG NIGHTS


Let’s talk this over
I don’t want trouble
Can’t we just agree?
I’m okay with
The leader dog
It’s the other one
Who gives me misery
 
It knocks me over
As I walk away
And weighs about
A hundred pounds
And it has its jaw 
Around my shoulder
Before I hit the ground
 
I say good dog,
Nice dog, good fellow
But I know he knows
That deep inside
I reek of being yellow
 
Then other people come
Wonder if I’m okay
I’ll be all right
Just put the dog away
 
I wake up sweaty
That was a really bad dream
I drink a little coffee and
Hope there Will be
No more dog nights for me

I think of the week
All of the snow
My broken snow-blower
My sore shoveling shoulders
Is that where dreams come from?


 Stanski
December 7, 2019 ^

WHAT IT IS ABOUT


 
OUR COUNTRY IS
A LAND OF POSSIBILITIES
A LAND OF PLAINS
A LAND OF MOUNTAINS
A LAND OF LAKES, RIVERS,
OCEANS AND INFINITE SKIES
 
IT IS A PLACE FOR DREAMS
HAVE THE DREAMS
DREAM BIG AND KICK DOWN
THE BARS OF YOUR CAGES
CAGES YOU BUILT FOR YOURSELF
 
THERE ARE NO LIMITS
DON’T LIMIT YOURSELVES
OBSERVE OUR GLORIOUS WONDER
AND BEGIN
 

Stanski
December 7, 2019 ^

THE WAY IT IS


 
The weather is lovely
Direct sun is hot
Air conditioning a must
This as a modern era
 
Hotels going up faster
Then roads leading to them
Lots of trucks on the road
Everyone is in a hurry
 
So much time on people’s hands
How much is wasted
Not for me to say
 
Television watching is
A prime indoor activity
 
Many older folks have dogs
Walking them two or three
Time a day is a necessary inconvenience
 
They do get exercise this way
After that refreshments and a nap
Life goes on; this is living
 
Snowbirds paradise; everyone
Convinced that it beats cold
 
A week is a treat, then
Back to snow blowing and survival
 
Soon ice-mountains will appear
The cycle begins again
 
Stanski
November 26, 2019 ^

POLICE AND DETECTIVES


Doubtful at times
Other times synical
The English seem normal
Follow procedures, but
Bring in someone from Cockney
And all the stories and directions change
 
Emotion becomes a lost element
Reality is now the kingpin
Banging on the side is real
Alibiing and excuses emerge
An affair may be crying out
Or possibly a cover up
 
Police keep trudging
Looking for the truth, because
This is a life and death matter
Soon the truth emerges; people dead; arrested
Others involved have destroyed relationships
Never to be reconciled
 
New evidence opens
New cans of worms
Improbable avenues are opened
Incidents from the past become pertinent
Lies and distractions mislead police and detectives
The worst is expected to come
 
Clues come together at last and resolution is close
But working with a pathological liar
Is not an easy assignment
Especially when another life is at stake
Time is of the essence
British intuition takes over
 
Cockney determination
Individual instincts persevere
A confession is given
But too late to save a life
That is the way
The determined keep working
 
Stanski
November 24, 2019 ^
 
 
 

BIG JOHN


His name was “Big John”
Friends called him that
People he didn’t know
Knew the name
 
Then he was killed
Murdered by a young man
He was off duty at the time
 
Many hearts were aching
The sixteen year old son
Of a deputy sheriff was guilty
 
He had driven away
After the murder, but
Then returned to the scene
 
Turned himself in to the
Relief of many
A sad, sad situation
 
Life in prison for a terrible error
“Big John”, the loved one, still dead
There exists the element of wonder
 
Why does this happen and why so often
Emotions are so unpredictable
Accountability may be very dismissive
 
We go on with our lives
Those mourning are left broken
Hopefully we will soon wake up
 
Stanski
November 25, 2019 ^

WHERE THE GLASS WINDOWS WERE STAINED


The man was soft spoken
Gave a report on the finances
Churches need money
Fifty thousand a month
Air conditioning is not free
Parking lots do not maintain themselves
Money owed on prior extravagances
Landscape looks nice
It is not free
The Diocese needs their share
This fiscal year began in July
We are $36,000.00 behind
I’m not pushing he said
But let’s see what we can do
It is a beautiful day today
Let us rejoice and give thanks
 
Stanski
November 25, 2019 ^
 

AMERICAN FOOTBALL


They play football
Run the ball
Pass the ball
Catch the ball
Kick the ball
 
They score
Make first downs
Then perform
 
Become clowns
Spikers
Spinners
Bowling alleys
Choirs with conductor
 
Dancers:
   Singularly
   Line dancers
   Idiotic mumbo jumbo dancers
 
Runners
   On the field
   To the sidelines
 
Jumpers
   Up into the crowd
   Into each other’s arms in celebration
 
They block, tackle and make interceptions
 
They are heroes, get injured, rewarded, and retired
 
We complain they are overpaid
 
But watch them anyway
 
Stanski
November 24, 2019 ^

LIBERTY NOT DEATH


You think about it once and then you forget
It is such a natural thing to do
When you happen to think about it once again
It has so much more meaning to you
You think, you think
How about that congressman who made the pledge
Then turned his back and voted the other way and
About the condition we’re in now;
What does he have to say?
An empty suit with benefits
 
You think, you think
What of Arlington; what is that all about
No empty suits there, no benefits either except to us
Except for the small white marker
I wonder is it a cross?
The Pentagon is another animal all together
How many free rides work there?
 
Freedom is such a lovely thing
Men lie with a marker
So we can hear the Liberty Bell ring.
We are thankful for them and angry too
When they gave up their lives
Could they imagine such a rouse?
Over what they should do or what not to do.
 
Government faulting and blaming you and me for not doing enough
That is all I want to hear.  They have no idea
They cling to policies that fail
They protect the overpaid and want us to bail
Some are waking up; the giant is aroused
People see the mess and the truth cannot be this
We’re all thinking once and now once again
We coming for liberty not death
We’ll honor our heroes and mow down the rest
 
By Stansberry “Patrick Henry” McKricken
aka Stanski
 
December 6, 2019 ^