Author: stevehaarman

Kindness is part of the marketplace

If is often not seen as it takes place

Often it is obvious

Sometimes heralded

Mostly done quietly

Changing lives

One at a time

Affecting receiver and giver

A passion for compassion

Frees the soul and removes burden

Just a word may be necessary

Serious gifting is also called for

No judgements are made

This would shackle the effort

Reduce its importance

The emptying of oneself

In the service of others

Is the vehicle necessary to

Keep us filled up with grace

How easy to look away and

Difficult to engage personally

But, this is our challenge

We will be held accountable

Fear of this should not be a motivator

Kindness is an act of love

Seeing need and moving on it

One act makes so much difference

It is often compounded because

One good thing leads to another

We keep track of ourselves

There is no human scorecard

A happy heart is a great reward

The burden of ignoring is heavy

Which way are we going to go?

We must all decide

Especially when we are aware

To give is a precious thing

Enduring is not always easy

The Cross was not light

It lead to a great sacrifice

The greatest act of love and kindness

Should we not follow?

There is still time

We can start right away

Stanski

October 28, 2023, ^

A guy writes to me about my poem. 

“Echoes of Whitman”, he says. 

“Echoes of myself”, I say. 

Me and the other guy who is also me. 

I am not just one being, one thought,

one copy but an entity of much. 

Many songs, not just of myself,

many marches, none of which I composed. 

Many parades, some of which I organized

are all part of who I am.

I heard an echo of my own cry. 

It was a lovely echo, consoling in a way,

though, that bothered me.  I enhanced my cry. 

The echo shouted back in such a way as to rile me. 

That is more like it, I thought. 

I want nothing to do with timidity. 

You go nowhere with it and no one cares. 

I will walk above the river, not wishing

to be lost in its currents for no good purpose. 

The bridge is a safe place with the advantage of

being able to observe and then make decisions.

I have no longing to be someone else or

a decoy set out to attract the real thing. 

One of my selves is real, so I use pen-names

to keep the things of life unsettled. 

My other selves will speak for themselves. 

My concepts of the high-desert and a marshland,

except for the intrinsic differences,

may be very much alike. 

I see the spiritual in both and

that is my high-hand or go to in life. 

I do not wish to use vagueness in

an effort to skim over reality. 

I know the food of the soul

just as I know troubled waters. 

We walk swiftly, me and the other guy,

knowing time is so precious. 

We will not take time to be measured

on this perpetual journey.  We know

Who will be waiting for us.

Stansberry McKricken aka Stanski

October 27, 2023, ^

Some of the artifacts from

the great old movies,

called classic by those in the know,

are being auctioned off

for millions of dollars. 

The sizzle in the advertising

is a little flat, but you

can’t argue with the numbers. 

The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca,

Breakfast at Tiffany’s,

to name a few,

have pieces of memorabilia

worth many dollars. 

The announcer says it’s like

owning art and maybe so. 

He mentioned Renoir,

Degas and Cezanne. 

What about Warhol and Lichtenstein? 

They are doing pretty good at auction.  

I looked out in the garage and found

an old garden rake that I used

when I first started yard keeping. 

It has a lot of sentimental value to me

and ought to be worth some big bucks. 

In the attic is a television,

broken I might add,

that we used to watch

the Howdy Doody Show and

the Disney Mouseketeers. 

I’m sentimentally thinking

a lot of money here, but

then you never know. 

It is all just stuff and

significance is in the eyes of the beholder. 

An old bowling ball, a fat-tire bicycle and

a Wilson tennis racket are all there

waiting for discovery. 

Step right up;

may I draw your attention to the center ring?

Stansberry McKricken aka Stanski

October 26, 2023, ^

Committees

and

bureaucrats

slow down

progress

My feeling is

get the job done

and

ask questions

later

By the time

decisions

are made

you have lost

your energy

Better off

going ahead

and

finish the job

on your own

Then let the

critics take over

Easier this way and

gives them something

constructive to do

Stanislaus Kuperski the Firski aka Stanski

October 25, 2023

A long time ago before we could

Possibly imagine, the land of

Israel was promised to the Jews

Until the end of time. There have

Been interruptions but the Jewish

People have always been able to

Claim their land and wars and

Bombings have never negated the

Truth of the matter. In recent times

Jordon removed the Palestinians of

A certain sect from their land and no

Other Arab country wanted them so

They formed the PLO and tried to

Not only take over Israel but also

Kill the Jewish people. The PLO was

Offered 95% of their wishes but refused

To accept because their goal was to

Exterminate all Jews. The Palestinians

Became terrorists, Hamas was formed

And then Hezbollah, all funded by Iran,

Who received money from us for the release

Of prisoners. We have done foolish things

And are now paying the price. I hope we

Wake up soon.

Stanski

October23, 2023, ^

People are saying or muttering

Maybe this is the end time

I compare that to false worship

No one knows and can only

Surmise. We will know when

That time is here. Jesus will

Protect the homeland which

He gave to the Jewish people

We are aghast at what is going on

But we have no idea what God

Has in mind. We could cluster

Bomb Tehran, Moscow, North

Korea , and China, but cooler

Heads prevail. We will know

What to do when the time comes.

In the meantime we must pray

For guidance and for the Jews.

Stanski

October 21, 2023, ^

Many are the lies told

To bring us into the fold.

Birds killed and chemicals

Seeping through the earth

To our water supply. The cost

Of mining for chemicals to

Make the equipment to

Harness the sun’s energy.

The cost of slave labor and

Human life in obtaining them.

The life of the equipment

Cut in half of that stated, but

At the same price. The dependency

On fossil fuel to make and

Transport equipment to desired

Locations. The cost of the land

Needed to house equipment.

The need to rely on fossil fuels

When the sun doesn’t shine or

The wind doesn’t exist. The

Destruction of land in mining for

Necessary chemicals. There are

Many other details to derail the

Idea of cheap and clean. We better

Hurry as our oil reserves are down

To almost zero.

Stanski

October 20, 2023, ^

From time to time we all have wounds

We have heard that time heals all wounds

This is the good news of our daily life

Sometimes we are wounded by others

It is time to imitate our savior Jesus

We wounded Him and still do with our sins.

He gave up His life amidst suffering and pain

The end result is that he healed us and

Gave us back, our right to claim heaven.

Sometimes, when we are weak, we are

Not willing to forgive. We forget about

Imitating Jesus. Later we must ask, Him

For forgiveness for our shortcomings.

We should always remember to do onto

Others as we would have them do onto us.

Stanski

October 19, 2023, ^

Words are just words unless

There is meaning attached to

Them. I hear pleading and when

Met, the words are as silent as

The action is still. They were a tool

And those who took pity were fools.

The learn the difficult way while the

One who fooled goes to the high

Ground and sings a song of victory.

There is always a day of reckoning,

And we are apt to hear the words

All over again, because lessons are

Not learned easily. The pleading

Falls on ears which do not wish to

Hear, because they are listening for

Something new and do not have

Time to waste on those who cry,

“wolf” too often.

Stanski

October 18, 2023, ^

The feeling is that it is over

But there is beauty everywhere

Red leaves in the sunshine

Waves floating to the shore

Birds in flight from tree to tree

The horizon crisp on a semi-gray day

Everything is not perfect

Sorrow may be in our hearts

The loss of loved ones prevalent

But isn’t that the way of life?

We keep our eyes open, looking

For the phenomenal and when

We find it we are awestruck,

Hoping it comes again tomorrow.

Now and then we see the beauty

In other people’s deeds. Then we

Give thanks again as we listen to

The whisper of the trees. The sun

May disappear for a while and this

will let us down, but it will be back,

On that you can put your money down.

We tend to want things perfect and

To exist without fear, but there are

Desperate people out there who

Are liable to be too near. We pray for

Them and stay thankful for what we have.

Stanski

October 17, 2023 ^