Author: stevehaarman

BEAUTY ALWAYS

Gray mist tonight

Silent as it shrouds

The horizon, barely visible

There is no blue

No light from the setting sun

I still see green

And the shades of bark

Composition is beyond comprehension

An artist would mottle

I feel full because

I see beauty

Being in awe is good

I will make up songs

Sing of my joy

Never stop looking for loveliness

Especially that once held

Life gently rolls on

We don’t get what we want

We have to earn it

But searching is so easy

Finding is still a gift

Sometimes sun and rainbows

Often just a mist

Stanski

December 4, 2022,^

.

A DISCOMFORTING DAY

Then snow on the ground does

not bother me.  There is not

enough to make a snowman. 

What does bother me is

the damp cold which penetrates

one to the bone and also the

gray clouds which seem to like

us to the point of showing up

every day, all day.  On the

horizon, the sun breaks

through the clouds and

reflects off of the water. 

We cannot see the sun,

only the blinding reflection. 

My wrist and fingers are sore

from holding my pen. 

Atmospheric pressure plays a role. 

The waves are languid as they lap

the shore.  People who are out

are sullen and nonresponsive to normal

greetings.  It is the time of year

for reflection and thankfulness,

but nature has a headlock on us

in this regard.  Work is piling up,

but we have no momentum in

this regard.  I have cards to write

and send but no ambition.  This

goes for gifts, too.  It is afternoon

and still overcast.  This will change. 

Tomorrow may be sunny and fair. 

Then I will feel for those who have

little food and water and are

suffering without shelter. 

Some are forced to work like slaves,

but would rather die.  Life has no

meaning for them and death would

be a luxury.  Soldiers killing soldiers

over land, once productive, but now

useless.  There is no reason other

than ego and control.  A miserable

life for no good reason.  I feel bad

about my pettiness.  Tomorrow

I will perk up and start anew.

Stanski

December 1, 2022, ^

A POEM FROM UNCLE CHARLIE

I loved you

    once in silence

And misery was all I knew

Trying so to keep my love

    from showing

All the while not knowing

   you loved me too

Yes, loved me,

   in lonesome silence

Your heart filled with

   dark despair

Thinking love would flame

    in you forever

And I’d never, never know

    the flame was there

Then one day we cast away

    our secret longing

The raging tide we held   

    Inside would hold no more

The silence – at last was broken! –

We flung wide our prison

    door

Every joyous word of love

    was spoken

And now there’s twice as

    much grief

Twice the strain for us;

Twice the despair,

Twice the pain for us

As we had known before

Uncle Charlie

Copied by Steve Haarman

November 30, 2022, ^

AFFIRMATION

Gray mornings may have us depressed

Rough inner edges have to be smoothed

I think about this and reflect on life

While waiting in my pew before worship

Rain causes some to arrive late

They are here now being respectful

Just a mid-autumn Sunday

Late in the season of life

Happiness and sadness are intertwined

Today’s message is uplifting and sober

The Holy Spirit is with us

The congregation sings robustly

Sun shines through the stained glass windows

Somewhere there is a rainbow

Hearts are lightened

Angels rejoice

Stanski

November 29, 2022, ^

THE LONG ROAD HOME

It is a long road home and

I have been traveling that way

for quite a while.  No one has

given me a salute as I pass by,

mostly because they don’t know

what I’ve been through.  Many

know that I am a human angel

and many more do not know

and if they did they would care less. 

My job has been to observe and influence. 

There are times when my just being present

has prevented evil things from taking place. 

It is not a glamorous job but can be very draining. 

Sometimes I think that dying would be

an easier route, but I disavowed that

possibility a long time ago.  I keep moving on,

feeling worn and ready to lie down. 

My time for that has not come so I must

gather myself together and carry on. 

Those who know me will understand

and offer encouragement, but as I said,

I have never received a salute.  I would

like to rest, but I know I have work to do. 

This will take me to places I am not familiar with. 

My directions were to go and never question why. 

I felt like throwing in the towel, but I am not one to

quit when things looked bleak.  I had been doing

this for quite a while and the prospect of carrying

on surely looked bleak, but I proceeded and

completed my mission.  When I finally reached home

I became restless for the road again.  This was after

I recovered from all the strain.  My body and soul

were ready to continue my task, but the higher authority

told me to lay back for a while and really mend. 

I would be called when I was ready so I took

the long road home again and this time I stayed. 

I like the arrangement, but will be ready when I am called

Stanski

November27, 2022, ^

ANGELS PREPARING THE LUNCHEON

Soft-spoken, like angels at work

Little ladies who have lived their lives

Always there when help is needed

Some have husbands at home

Others have been alone for a while

Usually, find something to laugh about

Chatter, murmurs, and giggles

Together they put on a lunch

Looking out for each other

Nothing was heard but words of kindness

When I stick my head into the room

I say hello and watch them glow

They want to know everything

Questions from voices that ring

I’ll ask them if they’re in the choir

Oh, we don’t have time for that

And they practice in the evening hours

We don’t like to be out that late

They all agree to this apparent fate

Maybe someday we’ll put on a show

Looks like you’re putting on one now

They just laugh, then we say goodbye

Life goes on and will for a while

I walk away knowing how lucky I am

Just to witness these angels time and again

Stanski

November 26, 2022, ^

ARE WE ALERT

We are alert

There are dangers

Opportunities

Choices

Evaluations

What prompts action?

Does our truth apply?

Let’s study history

Our knowledge is feeble

We can say words

Rivers flow

Some north and south

Others east and west

They carve their own path

Influenced by natural forces

Earthquakes

Volcanic eruptions

Flash floods

Fatal fires

Who holds the power?

We are here

Lottery winners

Still proclaiming victimhood

Able to claim rewards

Marching to a downfall

We watch the priest walk by

Identify with the Levite

Amazed at the Samaritan

Giving without regard

Whom do we want to be?

Five ducks

Fly in formation

Change positions

Get lost in the clouds

So much like we

Stanski

November 24, 2022, ^

WOKEISM

When I went to grade school

So many years ago

You didn’t need to put signs

On the doors telling you that

This was the nurse’s station

Or the kitchen; janitors room

You knew where the girls

And boy’s toilet rooms were

You just knew from day one

Everyone was woke in that regard

Today we have an upside-down world

People are doing crazy things

All in the name of Wokeism

Here are some examples:

Student journalists demand college

Cancel the “What is a Women” event

Maxine Waters hopes that her good friend

Sam Bankman-Fried is okay during

The FTX hearing

“Symbol of hatred”:  Pitzer College

Student demands removal of U.S. flag

Alec Baldwin denies rumors that

He fired a missile into Poland

These are just a few, but enough to make

You long for the good old days when

There were only two genders

Stanski

November 23, 2022, ^