Author: stevehaarman

The water is low

No waves

Whitecaps are history today

What does it mean

A few flurries

Didn’t mean much

Branches barely moving

No animals scattering about

No action taking place

Nature following the oddness of the week

New years is on a Monday

Throws everything off

Another excuse

We are full of them

None however hold water

We must live these days

There is an imperative to do this

We must not sit back and do nothing

There is too much to do and

We will be held accountable

Better to  take action now

Then pay the price later

We are wise people and

Have heard the word

Pick up the cross and follow Him

One thing that is never wrong

Stanski

January 4, 2024. ^

We have many friends

We see their trouble

Unlike the weather

We can make some moves

They won’t always work

But at least we tried

Some refuse to change

It is no use they say

Don’t want to put forth the effort

Would rather sulk or play

I say shake them up

Work hard for their attention

Give examples of life worth living

Versus life with no expectations

Take them along with you and

Let them see your operation

How helping others lifts you up

Ignoring them jus leaves sorrow

Life is a mystery to behold

Accomplishments come by ordinary people

You do not have to be a hero

Once you taste a victory, there will be

No holding you down

You said you couldn’t do it, but

Now you wear a crown.

Stanski

January 3, 2024, ^

The pictured rocks are said to be here

For three hundred million years and

Are beautiful to look at and point out

All the visuals you can find. Jesus on

The other hand has been with us as far

As we have learned for about two

Thousand years. All the history we

Are aware of has taken place during

This second period. It is hard to

Comprehend this as well as the

Never ending universe and eternity.

We know righteousness and forgiveness

Within the context of two thousand years

And had better dwell on our actions so

That we may be a part of the next generation

Of three hundred million years. I want to

Parade on those streets paved with gold.

And I want to do this forever. I have been

Groomed and grooved for this pleasure..

Stanski

January 2, ^

My garden is my life

I know the similarities

Both need attention

Sometimes at the same time

I must distinguish

Which takes precedence

The garden waits if

I am not ready, so I

Must prepare or fall behind.

I am happy with the garden  

And the landscape also

It just takes a pull here or

A nip there and everything is

Perfect in my little world.

New growth does not surprise me

It is treated like a gift from above

I look up to give thanks and feel

That I should be admonished for

Not expecting it in the first place,

Magic is not the word but is close to it.

A tug here, cultivation there, fertilizer

Where needed and water. Then wait.

Little animals love to romp and roll

They do not hurt a thing. Large animals

Find food elsewhere and that is good.

I do not stick out my chest. I have had help.

Mysterious but dependable.

Stanski on January 2, 2024, ^

The third day of gray

One at the end of the year

And two at the beginning of this year.

Safe to say the roads are clear

Black ice should not exist

People will roar to their destination

Sometimes without thinking.

The hospital is not happy

They like billing hours

Just like attorneys

They don’t extrapolate however

Like some lawmen do

They play it straight, although

One doctor told me I could

See him in five or six weeks

As he knew how to do the billing

The wind is from the south and

There are whitecaps slapping the shore

Why can’t we all be friends

I don’t want to be billed just because you can

And why can’t I call you by your first name

As you can call me by mine

I don’t ask you to call me Mr. Von Sloet tot Haarmann

Which was my last name before my dad had it

Shortened when he was naturalized. Anyway

I forgive you just as I forgive the gray. Why

Can’t we all be friends?

Stanski

January 2, 2024, ^

We begin where we eft off

Just like in the garden

But this is about weather

Gray at the end of the year

Also at the beginning of the year.

We are a little weary and as

We ponder about the conditions

Out in the world we know that

We have little to complain about

As it affects us. Everything is not

Perfect, but is far away from that

Which is dire around the globe.

We should be celebrating, but our

Leaders are failing miserably as

They open the doors that lead to

Socialism. They would, it seems,

Like one world government where

They would control everything and

We the deplorables would like a

World where we could do anything,

That is legal and proper, and a world

That feeds it hungry and shelters

Everyone and allows the free worship

Of one’s religion. We would like a world

Where there is not always an ache in our

Hearts because we know something is wrong.

Stanski

January 1, 2024, ^

A new year to

Continue an old year,

With world wars

Religious persecution

Open borders

Political lies

Promises broken,

Like Indian treaties

Nothing new except

Modern versions

Jewish hatred

Taught at Harvard and other Ivies

By people who have no clue

Woman of the year

A man dressed as a female.

The Lord on high lets us

Seek our own destiny.

The need to control,

Blinds us to reality.

Hundreds of millions cheer at events,

While hundreds of millions starve,

Thirst, and live without shelter.

We do not act.

What price will we pay?

Happy New Year!

Stanski on January 1, 2024, ^

It is over

The year closes gray

Celebrations reign

Not for the feign of heart

But for those who welcome

A fresh start

Drink the champaign

Cheer your fellow man

Make exciting wishes

For success and all it encumbers

Some won’t be around

To watch us as we grow

Will remain a memory

Some have forgotten

How they got this far

It wasn’t alone and

Not without fear.

The carpet is swept

Purple, gold, and magenta

Waiting for fresh steps

And purpose. Elements of

Emotion will shake us

Yet we will take the steps

Our hand will be encompassed

By One of a higher command

Thus we have nothing to fear.

Stanski

December 31, 2023,

I gape into the past or look back

The past year particularly

It was semi-lost because of an accident

The year before in February I slipped on

Black ice and tore a ligament in my

Right quadriceps. It has been a long

Time healing. The book says two years.

This takes you away from many things

You like to do in the community. These

Things have always delighted me and

Include gardening, landscaping, working

With art, including framing. There are

Other things such as writing poems and

Muses that take time and tax creative juices,

If there were any to begin with. It leaves time

For reading, but mostly you are involved in

The rehabilitation of the injury. Traveling

Great distances alone are a no-no so I stick

To the so-called back forty. However there

Is much you can do there, such as supervising

And giving advise whether asked for or not.

I do not get out as much as liked, but by the

Grace of God this will change before long and

I will be back to tending the gardens and

Changing the landscape. It is a wonderful world,

With many people to help along the way.

Stanski

December 30, 2023, ^

You have to understand my friend

This is all from a dream

We bought a cottage north

Patchy purple with a poach

Neighbors came, took photos

Then copied, charcoal on paper

Wrote headings in two languages

Sorry that I only knew one

The images they drew moved

They danced and ran through the woods

Returned, out of breath, and

Took their place on the walls

One or two had been institutionalized

The rest pointed them out with pride

Then wrote in their native tongue

Interpreted just below in ours

Their clothes like cloaks blew in the wind

Babies, two or three, they held and swirled

The children squealed in delight

The charcoal nary moved in the dance

But in place they stayed transfixed

The collection of hand drawn animals

We hung around the dinning table

The sky above reflected the house

Sadly they announced their move south

They would return now and then if

Only some of our photos we would send

Stanski

December 29, 2023, ^