Billie Holiday
One of the greatest ever
Sang her jazz real cool
Loved her heroin
Although it caused so much harm
Cuts a life span short
A soulful lady
Knew the way to sing a song
Sang those rhythmic blues
Sang like no one else
Mournful note in every breath
Sadly laid to rest
Loved to gather round
Never quite sure of the day
Nor kept track of time
Beautiful to hear
Quiet without her around
Miss that soulful sound
Ended so badly
We will never forget her
Billie Holiday
Stanski
September 20, 2020 ^
Waves down on the lake and
Wind here blowing on my face
Raindrops, slowly filling birdbath
Remind me to slow my pace
Weeds do not misconstrue meaning
Work awaits, cannot be neglected
Waiting beyond a day or two
Will leave twice the work projected
Sunflower seeds scattered daily,
Our token to the birds,
Are gathered by chipmunks
Whose efforts are heard
Windows call, “wash me”
Car says the same
Forsythias sway approvingly
Withholding any shame
We overload and get bogged down
Have we failed to hear?
Nothing conveyed that isn’t known
About this life we hold so dear
Stanski
September 19, 2020 ^
A red maple leaf
Glued to the road
By yesterday’s rain
High winds
Would not remove
But reworked the beach
Birds gathering to migrate
I think nature is
Marvelous
Never predictable
Always accepted
Always wonder
A porcupine
Climbs a tree
To avoid me
It is a large creature
Resembled
A miniature sloth
Made it up the tree
I lost sight of it
But nature knows
Survival is instinctive
Equilibrium exists
There is a balance
Live and let live
An old adage
Still has validity
Summer will bow
Change is peaceful
We could learn
We should learn
Maye we will
Let us hope
Stanski
September 18, 2020 ^
HARD WORKING MEN
Farmer’s boots full of mud
A fencing chore done in the rain
Posthole digging is tiring
Like digging a grave
A long day makes the whiskey quicker
No one looks anybody in the eye
Nerves are half broken; bones don’t need to be
Drink up and leave
Horses to feed and stall
Evening chores never ending
Children gleeful but careful
Do not upset the equilibrium
Tomorrow will bring whatever Saturdays bring
Men cleanup for dinner
Not much talk of the day
Wagon will be taken tomorrow
Supply list has been written
Mother feels good except for the rain
It continues day after day
Mud—mud—mud
Wet messes; shortages
Children are happy
No school—play in the wet
They know—stay happy
Work hard—don’t irritate
This is their life
Sometimes good; mostly difficult
Now and then bad
They are secure in knowing
This is how life is
The plains were not cruel
There were peaceful times; secure times
Sometimes fires wiped them out
But they emerged again
Too strong to lay down
Too bright to remember the bad
They grew and prospered
Built new schools
New towns and churches
They knew life and lived it
Loved what they did
Stanski
September 17, 2020
Gathering over
Go home
Live for another day
Expound upon
How great it was
Since you were there,
A part of the scene.
But what does it
Really mean?
It was just
Something you gleaned
Here’s what you do
Build your own platform
Make it nice
Because it’s what you do
Then dance all night
Devote yourself to others
This is real life
Doesn’t have to be
Make-believe
Stanski
September 16, 2020 ^
I just don’t understand how people cannot
see the truth and do nothing about condition.
Too many are passive; believe what they hear
and do no searching on their own.
They are not inquisitive; do no critical thinking and
have a capacity for criticism and finding fault.
Too many are suffering in a country where all
should be excelling if it were not for the evil
being encouraged by the opposing party which
has done everything in their power to remove
the president from office.
Swampers from both parties are fighting
the efforts of the President. He keeps working,
accomplishing what was said impossible; ignores the doubters.
He is a flawed diamond working with all he has against
what Aristotle called perfect pebbles.
The radical left wants to terrorize the police.
Antifa and Black Lives Matter lead them.
They are supported by George Soros, his ilk and
the Hollywood Elite. The peaceful protestors
do not know what they are protesting against.
They are anti-trumpsters and are cheering for
the breakdown of this country. They apparently
would prefer to live like the suppressed in Cuba and Venezuela.
Who is standing up in resistance? Not the Pope;
not the Bishops, the priests and ministers.
They remain silent, maybe not knowing
the Black Lives Matter Group is a Marxist with
the goal of defeating our country.
We know all that we need to know.
To remain silent is contemptable; to stand up require courage.
The swamp blames the president for the Chinese Virus.
How foolish; how divisive. The ignorant cheer while victims die.
We witness sheep running over the cliff.
Let us respond boldly. It is now or never.
Stanski
September 15, 2020 ^
Where is the truth?
About this or that
Einstein had a simple childlike question
How does the cosmos work?
A black hole is discovered, but
It is millions of light years away
How does your garden grow?
What can you really teach?
Does discipline mean anything
If it disrupts creativity?
How do you arrive at the center
Of things you know but don’t understand?
Does the collision of opposite forces
Explain the connection of light and dark?
Do answers come just by standing by
Or is intensive work and process in play?
When tulip bulbs are money
Should you weigh yourself down with gold?
Is a work of art a masterpiece
If it is never brought to light?
Where is the truth
In whom do you confide?
Don’t ask the experts, my friend
They will be wrong and then surprised
The mind is a work of art, but is
Not studied in “Appreciation”
Time will never run out if it is
Used judiciously in our endeavors
Sanctity for the truth, a necessity,
But then only for the wise
Stanski
September 14, 2020 ^
Farmer’s boots with mud all over
Fencing put up in the rain
Post-hole digging is tiring
Like digging a grave
A long day makes the whiskey quicker
No one looks anyone else in the eye
Nerves are half broken; bones don’t need to be
Drink up and leave
Horses to feed and still the evening chores
Which were always waiting
Children gleeful but careful; help where you can
Do not upset equilibrium
Tomorrow will bring whatever Saturdays bring
Men cleanup for dinner
Not much talk of the day
Wagon will be driven to town
The list is already written
Mother feels good except
tomorrow it rains again and will not stop;
day after day for over two weeks –mud—mud;
wetness and shortages not planned on
Children are happy; no school –play in the wet
Stay happy; work hard; don’t irritate
This is their life; sometimes good
Mostly difficult; now and then bad
They were secure in the knowing
This is how life was; plans succeeded or failed
The plains were not all bad
There were peaceful times
Secure times; sometimes fires wiped them out
But to their credit they emerged again
Too strong to lay own; too bright to
Remember the bad
They grew and prospered; built new schools
New towns and churches
They knew life and its meanings
They lived it, until it finally came to an end
Those left went on; they knew the answers
The rules of survival were obeyed
Stanski
September 13, 2020 ^
WISHING AND HOPING
I wish:
There were four
Instead of just three
Birds singing their songs to me
Each has its own ring and
While listening I
Desire even more
I should:
Say we when expressing
What I think everyone wants
Keeping it singular is indiscreet
When everyone I happen to meet
Seems to agree and addresses
Things so similarly
I complain:
When there is not enough rain
Sometimes when it’s too hot
If the mail is late; the car won’t start
There’s work to do or sometimes naught
The snow’s too deep and I’m low on fuel
Then someone asks, so I say I’m cool
I turn away:
When the answer is wrong and
I’m looking for the truth
When things aren’t done on time and
No one seems to care
I come up empty-handed
After I was so willing to prepare
I hope:
I don’t always feel so bad
When things don’t go my way
Or when someone has to leave
After only a short stay
There will be other times
When we take time to play
I desire
To leave an impression
Based on the truth
Difficult to do
When minds are made up
Unjust backlash
Then the walking away
Stanski
September 12, 2020
One wonders about all the lies
The truth should never hurt
But when the obvious is ignored
There may just be a day in court
A case is slowly put together
With murmurings of Russian collusion
After three years of boiling it down
It appears to be only an illusion
Trying to bring down the president
The objective from the beginning
But no evidence to back their claims
And still they think they are winning
Meanwhile the President is not idle
A tireless worker; he gets things done
Removes regulations; reduces taxes
Gets us out of wars that can’t be won
Manufacturing returns to our country
Providing countless numbers of jobs
Pulled us from NAFTA and WHO
Offered help to control the mobs
Rebuilt the neglected military
Gave relief to all of the soldiers
Challenged China on all fronts
Hard to think of anyone bolder
Elevated the life of African Americans
Did the same for Latinos
Lifted everyone in the country
He was action and not just show
Is building the wall on the border
In spite of all the resistance
Gets blamed for the cages of Obama
Keeps moving; his way of insistence
Works on rebuilding the inner-cities
Calls them impoverished zones
Looks to offer schools of choice
Wants successful individuals
Not a parade of failure clones
Moves our embassy to Jerusalem
Brokered peace with the UAE and Israel
All of this while under constant attack
By politicians who should be in jail
Stanski
September 11, 2020 ^
Steve Haarman 