Month: July 2021

Sunshine very bright
I sit down to write
Still early in the day
Chipmunks chasing in play
A Red Squirrel jumps around
Trees are there but it likes ground
In the woods beams of light
Brings out undergrowth it highlights
The trees are tall
None are perfect and
They intertwine with each other
Some have dead branches
And other natural scars
Lichen grows and glows on the bark
Nature plays its music
Taking you on a dreamy trip
We humans grow and intertwine
Get in each other’s way at times
Have imperfection and broken limbs
Not being perfect we commit our sins
We freeze; swelter; show up for more
Isn’t that how life should be?
If it’s good for you then also for me
A world in peace; can’t you just see
But this is denied by the need to control
The barking of orders, repeatedly,
Which are bound to fail with an end 
Result which seems like hell
No one rises and chances to rebel
This may bring death; incarceration 
The press is silent; no one can tell
A state of equal misery in which to dwell
So we must take a different route
No feats or heroism do we tout
Silence in leading is the thing
Listen – the liberty bell’s ring
The answers are clear, but
It is the implementation
Like the trees; we must grow
To make a strong nation
Remove the imperfections
Cut the dead limbs
When this is accomplished
We can live free again

Stanski 
July 19, 2021 ^

We have, but

What do we have?

What of real importance?

Some will claim earthly possessions

In reality they are mostly frivolous

Shelter, food, and water

Are important elements

We do not need much more

In earthly treasures

What we have that counts

Is our care for others

Our love for others and

Willingness to sacrifice

And give what we have to others

The fullness of life comes from

These gentle acts of giving

When we realize this and

Come to grips with it

We find what we are looking for

The priceless gift of joy

Stanski

July 22, 2021 ^

Quiet prevails in the waiting room
Lunch hour taking place
I wait in peace and
Think of the needs of others
There are many hardships
Along with many blessings
We have to differentiate or
Wind up in a mental mess
We all have more than we think
Good health is most important
Consideration for others is powerful
It is even transformational
Lifting someone up from dread
Can be a life enriching experience
I think about potential calm
The loveliness of the peaceful feeling
Early morning communication with nature
Listening to the sounds; the music
Then the planning to provide 
This theater of dramatics to others
Not easy, but it is doable if
The recipient is open to receiving
Prophets are never welcome 
In their homeland and advice from a friend
Falls into a similar category, but
There is a spoken word that must be said
A crying baby often needs attention
We approach gently, with grace
We teach to listen; to search for light
To meditate on the source of this
There is a crack in everything
That is how the light gets in
So we look until we are successful and
Find the place where we may enter
We are attempting to renew life
For others and ourselves in the process
I hear my name being called
Time for my appointment
Time to take my counsel and perhaps
Offer the same to my caretaker

Stanski
July 21, 2021 ^

Step inside yourself
Stay a while and dwell
Think of where you’ve been
About where you intend to go
Many things are on your mind
Maybe regrets; maybe ideas
We are given so much time
How are we using your allotment?
Who do you care for and
What is important to you?
Is it looking out for others?
Helping them when you can
Or are your own plans more important
The things that you needed to do
All of these are understandable
What is it that brings you joy
The looking out for yourself
Or the giving of yourself to others
Life is a precious gift
Some call it a miracle
We love to see happy people
And appreciate those who care
Our world is full of misery
It would be great to have hope
Politicians are seeking control
They have destroyed our economy
Opened our borders to predators
Destroyed our energy independence
They are mostly self-serving
Do not know what giving is about
Cheer on the “peaceful” protesting
Smile as we lose our precious gifts
While others refuse to sit on the sidelines
They step up and lay down their lives
As firemen, policemen, volunteers and
Front line workers in the Covid-19 epidemic 
What do you prefer?  Life as a coward
Or death as a hero?

Stanski
July 20, 2021 ^

You hear the pounding
Watch the fingers move
Must be similar to war
May the strongest stay in grove
And who has the say
Those with the biggest guns
Or are tactics to be the key
Do we have to watch or listen to see
Sounds tremble; strings speak
We are on edge; peacefulness we seek
What inspires the meek and mild?
Thunder is driving the masses wild
Placation is not the object here
Arouse them and then hold them dear
You can feel the tension rise
Who is being idolized?
Exhaustion from an impossible pace
You wonder - why the race?
The real players never seem to mind
They take every advantage they can find
A challenge from the maestro 
Some would label him a swine
But up and coming replacements
Are calling the encounter just fine
There are no drum beats
None are needed as there is
Balance in the score
Aficionados are seeking even more
But as in all combats
They have to come to end
But this rendezvous with Beethoven 
Has been exceptionally grand 

Steve Haarman aka Stanski
July 19, 2021 ^

I have been walking the line
Everything going down just fine
I learn all the road will bring
Before I have my cognac and wine
Tomorrow will be up hill both ways
I’ll carry my shovel and pick
The foreman knows that I work hard
And seldom if ever call in sick
First heat from the sun, then
The wetness of afternoon rain
We are ahead of schedule by a few days
Still made progress in spite of all
No one in their saintly mind can complain
I’m trying but that’s nothing new
Not bragging only telling you
Man, the mountain is tall
Long shadows though won’t make me fall
People ask me what is the reason
Striving for the best no matter the season
I’ll pound the road until I’m tired
Excellence, excellence is all I desired
I think I keep my eye on the task
When finished I’ll have time to bask
Until then the chore remains
Perseverance, perseverance; I know I’ll last

Stanski
July 18, 2021 ^

We learn to forget that
Our perfect offering is
Not always perfect
There is a crack in everything
That is how the light gets in
And we need the Light
The Light that overcomes darkness
Our world appears dark 
At the present time and
We cannot see or understand
The evil that exists about us
Our country has gone from
Great to weak in only six months
We need the light to come in
We have so much potential, but
The timid have allowed 
The powerful to take charge
And control us and deny us
The rights we were endowed with
We do not solve anything with inaction
So we will work on our offerings
As we listen for God’s whispers to us
That is how the light will get in;
How we will overcome by
Placing Him before us
So we may come alive again
Work according to His plan
Be strong in faith
Ring the bell again
Listen to its peal 
Watch for the light to come
Through the cracks to us and
We may attempt to make
Our perfect offering

Stanski
July 17, 2021 ^

I lay prostrate on the ground
Wondering if I should just stay
Or rise up and begin to work
It is difficult, I cry out 
It is difficult, I moan
Then as I remain silent
I hear a voice saying
Yes, it is difficult, but
So was the cross at Calvary
I rise, not in shame, but
In wonder for I cannot believe
How short sighted I have been
All things to all men are not
The same and each has
Burdens of different natures
We may not all lie down and
Deliberate for we must,
Each in our own way
Put to use the talents 
Which have been given to us
To lay idle with excuses 
Will not do
We have been given instruction
And we have the Father, 
Son and Holy Spirit to back us
And be with us in all that we do
I see three lit candles
I hear the church bells peal 
I feel renewed and ready
To take a transformed journey
With determination and courage

Stanski
July 17, 2021 ^

No one said that
Life was easy
There is a purpose and
We are to know
Everything we do is
Not unknown, whether 
Good or bad, but
God is forgiving
His Son died for us
And for our sins
He directs our goodness
He knows all and
Each of us has a purpose
We may never know what
That purpose is, however 
We should open up to it
And thank Him for 
Working through us

It is not always the
Momentous; the noticeable
Often the little things
Will make the impact
We are not alone
With God’s help 
We become a duet
He does not need us
But we can not
Live without Him
He gives meaning
To our lives
We must tamper down our ego
This is not a waiting game
We should open up and act now
No one knows how many
Chances will be given
Our movement must be sincere
Meaningless works against us
Follow the good voices we hear

Stanski
July 16, 2021 ^

At nine o’clock I start thinking
About those I have forgotten
I wonder if I have ever hurt them
In ways that I never sought
This is life and things happen
In ways that one never knows
Soon you are forgotten, too
And only your sorrow shows
I think of many things
In the past that passes us by
Wonder how things might have been
When viewed form someone else’s eye
The thing is, we all move on
Except those who tend to cling
They become the champion of stories
Know every song we would wing
No way to go back to the past
Because now it is only pro-log
Look at the steps we took to
Only become a useful cog
In the wheel of life that is turning, but
Waiting not for you or me
Step aboard and become part of the action
Be the best that you can be
Or jump off and seek isolation
Avoid anything that seems untoward
Live a life futile and complaining
Of no excitement and that you are bored
Answers do no come easy
Sometimes no answers at all
I can picture one laying in repose
In a casket in an empty hall
I think of all the people
Wonder where they are
And if they soared like a rocket
Or stayed just how they were

Stansberry McKricken aka Stanski
July 15, 2021 ^