Month: March 2020

 
I like to go back in time
                From time to time
Not because I liked it so
                Or couldn’t forget
It was a little different
                A much slower pace
 
Party line telephone
                A land line
Long distance calling
                Something special
 
ColoniaL bakery delivering bread
                Sealtest milk the same
Both used horses to pull the wagons
                You knew their names
The driving crew
                And after a while
                   They knew yours, too
 
Twenty seven houses on a city street
                Twenty different churches attended
                                Eight schools at least
A diversified group
                We got alone pretty well
 
Those times were good times
                And I like to dwell there
Think about it a little
                Go back for a while
                                But not for keeps
I like today, too
                Don’t know about tomorrow
 
Stanski
March 19, 2020 ^
 

Some of the best poems
We’ve never read
Have not been put down
On a paper with pen
Remaining as it were
In the stem of the poet
 
We will never know them
Or recite them from memory
But will be moved to take note
And not repeat that act
Because no one deserves
That type of neglect
 
Stanski
March 19, 2020 ^

We are in troubled times
This is not the first occasion
People individually suffer loss
Nothing new about that
There is always a joyful side
To tragedies of every kind

The band played on
When the Titanic sank
The song was “Nearer my God to Thee”
It was appropriate for many

Other songs could have been chosen
Amazing Grace, What a friend we have in Jesus,
How great Thou art, Abide with me and
It is well with my soul all would have sufficed
 
What kind of music should we choose?
We are in a crisis and must keep our spirits up

Country and Western
Blue Grass
Classic
Operatic
Rock and Roll
Jazz
The Blues

Any or all will do
Just play it my friends
You know the tunes
The ones with meaning
That make you laugh and cry
 
Just think of jazz and the jazz musicians
They came together after hours and would jam until dawn
Hearing it could make your heart stand still
But tomorrow you will be glad that you listened

We must listen now
This is the time
We cannot chase the wind
Cannot count the stars
But we can do music
Can't we?
 
Stanski
March 18, 2020 ^

I think in degrees, often jumping 
from one subject to another,
fascinated by accomplishments of people 
I have read about and
angry at not knowing more, wondering about 
what happened in school
Where was the emphasis and 
why were some books recommended and others not
Why was everyone taught in the same way 
even though we learn differently?
 
No one’s fault it is just the way it was.  
When you investigate you see
that things have not changed much 
except history has been revised
important events reduced to a few paragraphs 
or omitted altogether and recent 
characters of history given a whole chapter
 
It is to our own demise that 
we continue in this way
The ACLU has caused a huge breakdown in 
the morality of the country 
Children need notes from their 
parents for an aspirin tablet but
an abortion many take place and 
the parents have no right to know or interfere
 
Accountability and respect 
are diminishing in importance
Writers spiel out opinions which are praised 
even though they lead to the cliff 
we will probably fall over
 
Hollywood takes great liberty in indoctrinating
the masses creating victim-hood and envy
Uninformed actors grab the headlines
with remarks of hatred 
Judges make unconstitutional decisions 
Politicians who were for something 
important at one time are now against it 
because they do not like our leader
who is actually doing something about
the poor condition our country has been left in
by recent administrations 
 
People do not recognize that there are
no Republicans or Democrats. 
There are conservatives and liberals and
the swamp which contains
members from both sides of the aisle. 
So we have the swamp versus the deplorable
May the swamp, by the grace of God,
be drained and people then wake up
 
Each of us wants out thoughts to be correct
Maybe they are and maybe not
One thing for sure is that truth will eventually rule
we will be long gone and forgotten and
the same arguments will be taking place
Foolishness is perpetual and
the weak cling to it
They should reform and look at things differently
Look at them in the way that I see it
Then they will be alright
 
Stanski
March 18, 2020 ^

We are so important
in our own minds
Waiting to be discovered
Latent recognition
Astounding people
who had no idea of
our meaningfulness and
are late in their acknowledgement
 
We, in the later stages of living,
look inward for discovery
Who were we and were
expectations of us achieved?
What did we leave on the table?
Do we have reasons for this or excuses?
Is diligence a foreign word?
How about attention to duty or obligations?
 
We keep thinking, silently meditating
Were we seeds of anything useful?
Is the world a better place
for our having been here?
We all wish for the positive
Think we were better than
what others will ever know
Knowing that we are only stardust
 
We think of generations past,
civilizations known and unknown
and of our own importance, but
We are only specks; our earth a blue dot
In the vast universe where black holes
swallow up burnt out suns and stars
We will still play our music; write our poems
Make love and war and pray for peace
 
I will die and you will die and our atoms
will be swallowed up by a shoreless sea
Our existence, a cosmic blink, is over
Our dust, stardust, will return to the Creator
 
Stanski
March 18, 2020 ^
 

 
Gray days
Light breeze
Leaves on palmetto trees
Dance in time
 
Rhythm in tune
With offshore waves
Crashing gently on
Ocean sandbars
 
Birds fly low
In flocks
Looking for today’s food
Scurry upward and back
 
Keep moving and looking
Success comes inevitably
Action begets action
Air warriors continually act
 
Moon eclipse today
Won’t be seen
Clouds are the usurpers
Sun denied stage
 
Heavy green grass
Cushions walker’s feet
Flocks join flocks
Eclipse, non-celestial, dazzles
 
Micro-activity occurring
Lazy nuances absent
Four-story ships move out
Life continues
 
Gray days
Light breeze
Real time
For you to seize
 
 
Stanski
March 18, 2020 ^
 

I look at the Gulliver Creek
It is pooled on the north, but
streams narrowly under the road
and continues to flow until out of sight

Eventually it will become a part
of the great inland sea which
we call Lake Michigan

The whole of the water is really
a collection of many drops
much like grains of sand
making up the sugar beach

Many parts to make one
One made of many parts
The whole is important
The individual parts are necessary

The flow goes into the lake
becoming a part of it
Where does it go?

Does the wind blow it to the east?
Down toward the Mackinac Bridge?

Did my friend who swam across
The Straits of Mackinac this summer
swim through what was once
the beautiful Gulliver Creek

So much fun to contemplate
The possibilities are endless
Our potential is unlimited

We observe these things
Do we look at ourselves?
See how we fit into the whole?

We live in a wondrous world
When not confined, our endeavors
May be the beginning of great change

One never knows the ending,
but first there must be a beginning

We must not limit ourselves
to a state of dreaming
Dreams without action remain dreams

We want accomplishment
We desire goodness and dedicate 
ourselves to continual striving
 
Stanski
March 17, 2020 ^

Blame, blame and more blame
It is so tiring to hear the uninformed
blame the President for everything wrong
and on the other hand give him no credit
For all the great things he has done to get
the country back on the right track after
twenty eight years of bad decisions by
his predecessors

Where is the blame and accusations toward 
the leaders in Congress who have been 
around for way too long growing rich
Do they not have responsibilities?
 
Those who do not like the president
for various reasons have been attacking him
ever since he was elected.  He wants to drain the
swamp of all the corruption taking place
He has been under attack by the Senate,
the Mueller Investigation and then impeached by the House
He has been cleared in each situation even though
the odds were stacked against him

People point out that he is not perfect
The only Man we know as perfect
was nailed to a wooden cross
Those who blame should listen to the words
of He who instructed us to love our neighbors
 
The corona virus has people unnerved
and there is no end to their anxiety
This is understandable; a natural reaction

The Stock Market crashes because of fear
There is also manipulation going on by
Those who can play the ups and downs
For their own benefit and can survive
Easily any mistakes they may make
History shows that the market comes back

People shall come back also with a newness
It is perhaps time to reflect seriously on
The words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
We shall overcome, we shall overcome
Thank God Almighty, we shall overcome

I pray that dignity and respect for others
Is part of this important chant and prayer
I pray that critical thinking returns to vogue
 
We have one life and cannot go back and relive it
When time to reflect, what do we want to see?
A path they took with thoughtfulness and responsibility
or were they part of a herd of sheep 
going over the cliff of the foolhardy

So many want to wave the flag of righteousness and
point out how the man in the spotlight failed
They observe through a skewed, prejudiced eye
When they look they will see that their own actions pale
Why did they fail when they had so many chances
They do not hold themselves to the same high standards they profess

They will be gathered up with the rest and then separated 
into the seeds and the chaff; the chaff will be burned 
Just as the rivers are lost in the oceans, these poor souls
will be lost in the neither world with their fellow hypocrites 
 
Stanski
March 16, 2020 ^
 
 

         
I woke at 3 A.M. and 
looked out the window
Long shadows of the trees 
were laying on the ground
The moon was bright but out of sight 
from my vantage point

I looked up through and past 
the trees to see many constellations
I thought to myself 
how impressive it would be if
I could name each of 
the ones that I saw
It wouldn’t really mean anything, 
except that I could

There are people who could 
name not only them but
Others that could not be seen 
in the sky this early morning
There are also people who do not 
know the name of their neighbor

It would seem ironic to know 
the stars but not the people next door
Life as we know it 
is very much like that

We see many people on a regular basis 
but don’t know them
We say hello, have a nice day, 
the weather looks good, but
Do not even know their 
first name or who they are

Most of us are gregarious to some extent, 
but still absorbed with ourselves
Other people’s cares and concerns 
are not important to us

We do not think of these things 
when we encounter them
Everything we do or say is 
wrapped with our personal interests

When an emergency or crisis occurs 
things like this change
Suddenly it is important 
to be recognized and to recognize
Those we encounter and ourselves should 
have a mutual interest in our welfare

We feel our needs and wants 
exceed those of the ones helping us
Now and then we are broken from 
this selfish web of living
We wake to the fact that someone or 
others are in need of our help

No panic takes place, but a concerted, 
personal effort is present
We strive to the fullest degree 
to accomplish the task at hand
Bring comfort and a degree of importance 
to the one we are serving
In the end of this effort professionals 
usually take over and we are not needed

This leaves us with mixed feelings; 
one of being full and one of emptiness
We who have sidestepped involvement up to now 
suddenly feel lonely

That need to be of help has been awakened 
and now we want more
Things that were of importance to us 
seem empty and uninteresting
The desire to be involved in helping others 
and serving them well supersedes
All of the other petty and superfluous 
things we were doing

We have a new outlook on life and 
one that will bring great rewards
The sense of accomplishment is 
a basic need as is recognition
We have a feeling of belonging 
which is a key must have
Along with the opportunity 
to do things for others

We feel very secure as we 
gaze at the moon and stars and
Happy that we have neighbors to 
share our joys and concerns with
Sorry for what we have missed, but 
thankful for what we now have
 
Stanski
March 16, 2020 ^

There is much fear going around
You can see it on the faces of those about you
You can feel it in their body language
Anxiety accompanies fear, as often does rudeness
It is a time to be civil and loving

Churches are closed, but Almighty God is present
He is aware of our every move and intention
He is the light which will overcome all darkness
He is the source of our hope and trust
Caring for and thinking of others first is what we should be doing

You can never go wrong giving of yourself for others
Some, even many, are indifferent toward their fellow man
Their vile and crude behavior should not be an example for others
If we care, we should forgive the bad actions that take place
Greed is never acceptable and often karma rears its head in response

We are not looking for revenge however
We are all part of the whole of our community
There are going to be some suffering for various reasons
If we do not attend to those in crisis, who will?
What good is being all set if others are not okay?

Now is a good time to reflect on how we are living
We are basically a judgmental people
We seldom get to walk in other’s shoes
We are not aware of hardships or stressful conditions
We do not know the truth of their code of living

Many people are silent givers, helping in many ways
They are not seeking glory for what they do

What can we do and how can we find out about the needs?
First we should follow the advice of the medical teams
We may call leaders of various service groups and ask the questions
Many of these people know and can give answers

We must be patient in waiting until things get better
We may pray for those in need, asking God to keep them calm

Beyond ourselves there are many people suffering in this world
The locusts in several countries in eastern Africa are wiping out crops
People in Haiti are suffering from malnutrition and lack of water

Refugees from Nigeria are suffering starvation and many deaths daily
Thousands of Christians are murdered each year by Islamic terrorists
Severe weather has caused flooding and tornado damage

Problems exist everywhere, but we shall overcome
Help us Almighty Father, we pray
 
Stanski
March 15, 2020 ^