Author: stevehaarman

Pain affects our flow

Removes our glow

Distracts us from the purpose

As though just to curse us

Why do we often wonder

Is it so much like thunder?

Can’t we get relief?

Could we catch this thief?

So much we cannot do

Watch out for the other shoe

Don’t know where to go

Have to find my Mo-jo

This pain’s so bad

It can make me sad

Some treat it as a fad

Seems to make them glad

I have no use for it

When bad I’ll have a fit

Can’t get used to it

Sometimes my pain

Is like an endless rain

Won’t it please end soon?

Release itself, like

A butterfly from its cocoon

Today the sun shines

And I’m feeling fine

Maybe it’s in the mind

Peace is where I’ll find

Stanski

October 23, 2022, ^

My plants are growing in all directions;

being pulled by the sunlight which invites

them to move in every direction in order

to honor the light which is so necessary

for our survival, I keep turning the pots

each time I water the plants.  They put

up with that and continue to grow in all

shapes.  Sometimes they bloom out of

season, especially the succulents which

seem to have their own calendar.  No

matter the season the plants grow and

try to attach themselves to whatever

they can in an effort to be under their

own command.  There is beauty and

when enhanced by the sun you are

humbled by their order and independence. 

It is a wonder and mystery how the cells

 differentiate into the leaves or flowers,

or just growth.  A two-foot strangler in

a few years becomes an eight-foot man-eater. 

It leaves you in wonder and you have no choice

but to believe in the hand of the Creator. 

The outdoor plants and trees have their

own way of working with nature. 

They become home for birds and small animals.  

When the sun shines through the trees

the colors are breathtaking and you find

yourself closer to God and nature. 

Artists cringe because they know there

is no way to put this beauty down on canvas. 

They try and amaze many but deep inside them

they know they fell short of their perfection ambition. 

They, too, fall in line giving nature the prize. 

They love what has been given to us and

that love turns into inspiration.

Stanski

October 22, 2022, ^

This is not a poem or a muse, but a meditation on

What we should be doing if we desire to be united

in God’s work.  The poorest of us in this country

live in luxury compared to the rest of the poor in

the world and solutions belong to us as we are

inspired by our heavenly Father.  We attempt to

feed the hungry and homeless in our area.  It is

good to do this and unfortunately necessary.

Our pain is nothing compared to the Hattians

who have suffered through two hurricanes and

an earthquake in the last several years. 

Home to over a million many thousand lives

were lost and many left with no shelter. 

The earthquake alone claimed 200,000 lives.

If we are servants dedicated to walk through

the storm together then we must abandon

our own interests, pick up the cross and walk

with Jesus.  We must not give until it hurts,

but until it feels good.  Each of our blessings

is a gift from God.  He has a purpose for us just

as He does for the starving, homeless Hattians. 

It is up to us to answer His call.  In the end

we will not have to hang our heads in shame.

Steve Haarman

October 21, 2022, ^

There is beauty

Look for it

Where is the horizon?

Lost in the haze

It is cold

Wind is blowing

Great limbs shaking

Their snow cover flying

Not adding much

To the plentiful mass

On the ground

The snow-blower

Looks tired and froze

We’ll give it another day

Faint shadows give

Hope for the sun

The sky is light to gray

Lake water frozen

Birds are quiet

Nature dominates

We have no say

Can only endure

Call ourselves lucky

We have heat and water

There are many staggering

On the streets of the cities

No home or shelter

They survive somehow

Huddle together

Keep small fires in pails

They bother the wealthy

Living in fenced compounds

This is not pretty

Conditions exist

For many reasons

Addictions, loss of jobs,

Lack of qualifications,

Illegal immigrants

Will we learn?

There is a rule of law

Nature is above this

Acts on its own

Animals hibernate

Deer are insulated

Squirrels and chipmunks

Have warm nests

They are safe and

Mostly stay quiet

Still beauty prevails

Paths through the snow

Pastoral scenes

Running brooks

Artists tremble

Wishing they could

Capture this on canvas

We stay in and wait

Our time will come

To have a say in

This mixed up world

Many opinions

One truth

Stanski

October 21, 2022, ^

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT STANLEY KUNITZ*

The fact that Stanley could didn’t have much meaning.                            

 Until he did, it was all part of dreaming.                                                                                                                                                                      When he did, even then                                                                                                                                                                      no one was gleaning from him or his works.                                                    

Just as in the garden, the results that will be, require time.                                                                                                                                                                       In life we have expectations,                                                                                                                                                                but time must pass before the fruition                   

A process is an act.                                                                                                                                                                      Each part of it can be looked at, accepted, and judged.                              

Until finished we never know for sure the final outcome.                                                                                                   

Stanley was judged and at a certain point accepted as bona fide.                                                                                                      

Stanley knew his truth.                                                                                                                                                                   never worried about acceptance.                                                                                                                                                           

He had his way, and when he satisfied himself                                                                                                                            

he was at the top of his game because his standards,                   

although not written, were so high that his satisfaction

superseded the normal rules of the art.                           

His garden was right and his poems were true. 

His purpose was excellence                                                                                                                                                        because he was ready to have his body of work                                          

represent the deepest gratitude he could have,

for his gift of life.                                                                                           

He did write.                                                                                                                                                                      He did dream.                                                                                                                                                                      He worked within his own structure which was nonstructure                   

and now we glean from him in our attempt to compliment him                      

and in our own way to thank him                                                                                                                                                     

We can see our spirits intertwined,                                                                    

braiding wildly.                                                                                                                                 Oh, we wish.

By Steve Haarman aka Stanski                                                                                                                                                                                                                             October 20, 2022, ^

A FARM IN JUD, ND

There is an abandoned house

Along a dirt road in Jud, North Dakota

I’ve walked by it a few times

It’s off the road a piece and

When it’s not overgrown you

Can see where the narrow drive was

Along the old fence line

Tall trees including a few cottonwoods

Stand proudly around the old place

They were probably planted when the house was new

Rather small by our present-day standards, but

Once was considered stately and envied by

More than one of the gentry and fellow churchgoers

Now the roof has caved a bit and some of

The glass is broken.  Eventually

The earth will reclaim it

Life goes on

I was never curious enough to have a look-see, but

I often wondered who the homesteaders were

What were they like?  Where were they from?

Did they have children?  How many?

How did things go? 

How was it taking the bad with the good?

What did their parents think?

Oh the questions to ask and

Then only imagine the answers

Did they have to leave?

We’ll never know, but

My contemplation lifts my spirits

I thank God for these people

They are my heroes; did not give up

Stayed until the end when there was

Nothing else they could do to survive

Stanski

October 19, 2022, ^

This year each season seems to have been

a mixture of all four seasons.  Today it is in

the middle of October and winter is upon us.

Much snow in the U.P. and Lake Superior

had fifteen-foot waves.  Not many would

trade this for any other place.  When the

weather is off, we just slow down and

take small steps always accomplishing

something of importance.  There is no sun

but a promise of sixty-degree days

coming.  Life goes on and it is a terrible thing

to see and hear so many complaints.  These

come from seasonal people not the year around

folks who find delight in what God brings us

such as the beautiful array of fall colors that

are still intact.  This has been a great year for color. 

The Tamaracks are in their golden brown stage. 

Next will be brown and then ground. 

now birds are writing back how

Delightful the weather is but then again,

Florida and the east coast were devastated

by Hurricane Ian.

We have much to be thankful for and should

just proceed with caution, slowing down and

appreciating what has been given to us. 

There is no harm in doing this and the outcomes

will be delightful.  There is no need to brag about

things we have no control over but we can be

happy with our good behavior.

Stanski

October 18, 2022, ^

The Grand Rapids Chicks versus

The Fort Wayne Daises.  Just a

Few blocks down the railroad

Tracks behind my Grandparents

Home.  A nice excursion and a

Great game.  Hard to know who

To root for so I just watched and

Honored the game.  While the

Girls were cleaning the kitchen

Then had me vacuum the living

Room.  When finished I didn’t

Know where to shut the machine

Off as it was different than the

One at home.  A lot of laughs

Until Grandpa came downstairs.

He was already upset because I

Had messed up his razor by stropping

It on the leather strap.  Then I

Helped dry dishes and took the

Cup the dishes were leaned up

Against and the plates came

Tumbling down.  None broke

However grandpa was very

Critical of the girls for letting an

Upstart do such delicate work.

He picked up his lunch pail and

The handle broke and his thermos

Fell to the floor, but didn’t break

Thunderation he exclaimed; put

The pail back together, then repacked

It with his lunch and took off for

Work.  After he left we all had a

Good laugh.  He worked at

Tokheim’s where they made

Gasoline pumps which were used

All across the country.  During the

War years they converted to make

Artillery.  My other grandpa was a

Baker and his shop had been just

Down the street on Wabash Avenue

He was deceased by then.  Vacation

Was over so I was sent home by train

With a lot of good memories.

Stanski

October 17, 2022, ^

BEWITCHING TIME

The fifteenth of October seems to be a good time

to get Halloween off to a good start. 

About twenty middle-aged women,

probably comparable to the Salem girls,

dressed up in black and around noon

met and began their sojourn around the county

stopping at various homes to snack and drink

and carry on with their picture-taking. 

All were dressed in black with tall dunce-type hats. 

There wasn’t a clear plan so a lot of

wandering and arguing took place. 

They endured the pace and finished

heir romping around seven, worn to a frazzle

and all claiming they had a good time. 

The day was cold and there was doubt that

the time they spent was put to the best use. 

They didn’t have a plan to entertain those folks at

the medi-care building or go help older people

clean up their yards and get ready for winter. 

Some places needed junk removed from their yards

and would have been grateful for the help,

but no it was just wandering about,

stopping here and there to share their witchy enthusiasm

with friends and people they knew until they finally

exhausted themselves and called it quits for this year. 

They said they were happy with the event, but

there were underlying remarks about how

they could have done better. 

Maybe next year will be different. 

All of this is in the past and now they and

we have today to do our part in working toward

the betterment of the community.  I hope we can

step up and get a few things done.

Stanski

October 16, 2022, ^

We are here in this moment and must realize that

we have self-imposed duties and obligations. 

We must defend our God-given rights and freedom. 

To not do this leaves us vulnerable to being controlled by

those who have evil intentions which go against the precepts

given to us by the Almighty.  We must defend our first amendment rights,

our second amendment rights, and the rights of all the amendments. 

We must fight and pray for the sanctity of life; respect and honor

our veterans and first responders.  We must vote out of office

those who in two short years has pushed our country as far left as possible. they

They are engaged in the destruction of what was

the last great hope of the world. 

We must stop supporting companies that are funding the left,

paying for their votes on laws that hurt the public in general and

put us in a hole that will be hard to escape from. 

We must support candidates who will attempt to move us back to

solvency and order and who will respect the constitution and not

embolden those working against this.  We must replace judges who

are making up rules and ignoring the rules of the law.  It is a tall order but

those who think clearly and critically must get out and vote with the deplorable. 

Then after the midterm elections, we must attempt to restore our country

to what it was before the Covid virus set us back and then the present occupier

who did everything he could to undo what the previous administration had accomplished. 

Then get ready for the Presidential election in 2024.  We must pray for enlightenment

and through our vote attempt to drain the swamp.  If we can do this then

we can proudly chant USA<USA<USA until our hearts are content.

Stanski

October 14, 2022, ^