Steve Haarman

Nature speaks:
   Look at my shore!
Could it be Egypt?
  Should I show you more?
 
Behold the detailed print
  Made by wind and waves
Roadmaps to somewhere and beyond
  Or do you need roads that are paved?
 
See the sun, the beautiful sun!
  Look at water and absorb its light
View the trees, the clouds, and sky
  Further expressions of her might
 
Nature speaks in every way
  In the morning soft new beams
Display her power beyond our words
  Majesty and magic; we can only dream
 
Throughout the day on land or shore
  Her beauty unfolds to our delight
Countless times we are left in awe
  Beginning early, lasting through the night
 
When your days are almost over
   And you begin to fade
Remember the beauty you beheld
  Will always be on parade
 
Stanski
July 19, 2020 ^

We are in awe of nature’s feats:
 
   Shadows
   Spindrift
   Hoar frost
   Moon rise
   Sunset
   Evening stars
   Lightning bugs
   Mountains
   Plains and
   Rivers
 
Nothing we do can compete:
 
   Cathedrals
   Museums
   Gardens
   Paintings
   Sculptures
   Photography
   Sonnets
   Scripture
   Rockets and
   Boxcars
 
All pale in comparison
But then, that’s Mother
 
 
Stanski
July 18, 2020^

What I write is what you get
My mind is weak now
I’m writing that down
Not making any excuse
This is all given to me
I make no bones about it
Some think it’s easy and
That’s what they say
I’m sure they’re good at something
Who am I to get in the way?
 
I just know this
There are a lot of complaints out there
Because things aren’t just right
I think about that and
Here is what I have to say
If you have time to
Express your discord
Have you not the moments
To begin the change
 
Courage! 
Yes, but it doesn’t take much
Starting is the thing
Can’t leave that untouched
Commitment to something
Bigger than you
Get into action
That’s what you do
Then you’ll be all right
 
Insist on this
Back to school
Don’t be a denier
Do not be a fool
Anarchy must stop
Destruction of cities
Funding by terrorists
They deserve no pity, but
Our wrath; their death
 
Stanski
July 17, 2020 ^

Petty bureaucrats
Local tyrants
Ruining lives
Strangling the economy
Locking us down
Watching businesses cave
People losing their homes
And their jobs
All by fiat
Nobody speaking out
 
Now they won’t open schools
Even though science says they should
Science is ignored
It does not fit their game plan
They love the disruption
The havoc it causes
Frustration rules supreme
Parents cannot work and
Stay home at the same time
 
Evidence from every state
From every country
Says it is safe and recommended
That children return to the classroom
Lockdowns are disabling
The unintended consequences will be
Worse than the virus
The American Academy of Pediatrics
Says that children should return to school
 
People are fed up
The government has taken
Their jobs, businesses and education away
They act as if this is normal
They have an agenda
They desire chaos, but
We must open our schools
Get back to work
Save our economy
 
Stanski
July 16, 2020 ^
 
 

Roads were wet and muddy,
but we trooped on to the work
that lay ahead of us in
The fields this day

We learned early that
life is not always
a bowl of cherries and
today we had rocks
and boulders to move
out of the fields so that
plowing and planting could
take place as early as possible

This was our third year
We prayed that it would be good
The first two were encouraging
and we felt that fate was on our side

We knew that things could
change in a hurry and
took nothing for granted

We had a good well and
our shelter was substantial
The animals had enough to eat

We counted our blessings
Farm life was a series
of long working days

Beginning, laboring and sleeping
We were not the first
Many will follow and
time may provide us
with a community

We dreamt of the day when
we would have a church,
school and a general store

In the meantime our
struggle was with the stones
We made a hedge row
and hoped to add twelve feet
each day if possible

We were ready for our
noon meal and short rest
The day moved on and 
by quitting time
our muscles ached

We fed the animals
before ourselves
After supper we
retired for the day
thankful for all 
it had brought

Still we knew that
tomorrow lay ahead
and we would begin
all over again

This was our life,
our challenge and
we were thrilled 
with the opportunity
and at peace
 
Stanski
July 15, 2020 ^

I am thinking poetry and
Will attempt to come up
With tantalizing words
That will intricately rhyme
But my feeling of frustration
Takes away the idealism of a poet so
I will designate myself a muse

I try to instruct and cannot understand
How people in this land of the free
Want to reduce us to a Socialistic country
These people want to tax us more so
We can give gifts to those here illegally
 
They support Black Lives Matter
Which is a Marxist group as is Antifa and
They are slowly corrupting the country and
The black lives, which improved immensely
Under President Trump have been set back
By the anarchists who destroyed, burned
And looted businesses in their neighborhoods

By the Mayor of New York City and the
Defunding of the Police who protect them
This action was cheered by the leftists
Especially when the anarchy spread 
across the country causing millions in
damage and the murders of many innocents
 
Some of the citizens were drawn into the fray
By listening to the media which finds no harm
In consistently lying to the American public
These innocent people have been disconnected
With the truth and have been misled on Abortion,
Border Security, Military Buildup, Deregulation,
Trade agreements, the climate, and energy

Because of the lies they are obsessed with
All things LGBTQ and believe in their heroes who
Are the Media, Hollywood, Schumer, Pelosi,
Schiff, Nadler, Mueller, Comey, Maxine and others
They love the lies of Cher, Rosie and Whoopi
 
They are exhausted with the investigations
Which found no Russian Collusion, at least
by the President and his administration

They have been disconnected from the truth and
They should be embarrassed by the left’s position
On abortion, border security, lack of economic acumen
And the continual harassment of the President,
Who was lied about in connection with his response
To the Wuhan Virus, a pandemic which had
An ill-effect on many of his gains which occurred
While he was under constant investigations

He accomplished many things including:
Lowered Taxes, improved stock market,
Increased housing values, appointment of
Constitutional judges, kept the 2nd amendment
Safe, defeated most of ISIS, killed two terrorist
Leaders, rebuilding of the military, fixing the VA,
Trade reforms, fixed NATO, returned jobs to
America, energy independence and more
 
There are those who I know and respect
Who do not believe what is written here
They are anti-Trumpers and will never agree
I am amazed that, if they get involved with
Critical thinking, they can support a
Candidate for the Presidency who supports
The Socialist, Marxist agenda of the left
If he should win we will become
Another Venezuela where everyone
Will be equal in their misery
 
I pray to God the Father, Who’s only Son, Jesus
Died for our redemption and Who left the
Holy Spirit to stay with us and guide us, that 
He will open every mind to the truth and
Allow the Light to overcome all the darkness
That exists today in the media and the swamp
The Republican leftists and the Democratic leftists
Have to be defeated.  The parties are no longer
Your father’s or grandfather’s party
They have changed and have to be drained
 
Stanski
July 14, 2020 ^
 

Could there be a Non-Violent State
I think about this with little hope
Indoctrination encourages violence
We see evidence of it everyday
Read about it and hear it on the news
We begin to accept it as a way of life
 
We hear of police brutality, but
That is a small part of the story
We cannot condone it in any fashion
But it is a small percent of violence
Stories of abuse and murders
Greet us each and every day
 
We look for leaders to show
The way to peaceful living
They are not to be found in the present
America is a particularly violent state
Society is also violent beyond measure
We have seemingly chosen this path
 
A peaceful path could have been chosen
The path of non-violence imagined and
Presented by Dr. Martin Luther King
And Mahatma Gandhi have been ignored
Many Americans would have loved this
But the media was not there to echo it
 
A litter of liberals swathed with kente stoles
Took a knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds
Which was the time it took to kill George Floyd
The stoles dragged the floor showing disrespect
The lawmakers apparently had no knowledge
Of the history and meaning of these kente stoles
 
We have never knelt for fallen Presidents
Floyd’s family demanded no such supplication
These politicians were kneeling to something else:
A fidelity to a new political orthodoxy underwritten by Antifa
When America kneels, toll the bell
We do not choose well.  When will we ever learn?
 
Stanski
July 13, 2020 ^

I
Think
There-
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight-
Teen
Eighty-
Four
Was
A
Very
Good
Year
 
Stanski
July 12, 2020 ^

It is early on a Saturday morning
Just a little after five
The moon is bright in
A cloudless sky, but its
Light is baffled by tall pine trees
I think about this same moon
Rising so spectacularly from
The lakes horizon just a few
Days ago and can picture it
Vividly in my mind
 
I have just woken from a dream
I had wandered into an old store
Which was selling a few snack items
I noticed a few customers looking
A several pieces of art hanging
On the walls of the building
I talked to the owner about the art
The artist, still living, was prolific
His work was abstract realism
 
I heard murmurs from the customers
Saying they would like to buy
This piece or that, seemingly liking
Every piece they saw
The owner took me into the backroom
Stacks of art by this artist were
Piled on tables, with some hanging
On the surrounding walls
This was the first showing
I was completely intrigued
 
I inquired about the prices
There was a hurry to sell the work
Which had been done in recent years
The artist was moving on without
Desiring to take the art with him
We settled on a price for the lot
I wrote a check and was the owner
Customers inquired about the
Pieces they desired to buy
 
I agreed to sell to them at
Escalated prices and sold enough
To cover my purchase costs
I exchanged their payments for
The check I had written and
Made arrangements to pick
Up the rest of the work later
That day which was fine
 
I needed to find a museum
To show the work for about a month
In the process I came across
Another collection being reduced
For a quick sale and bought it
A local museum of contemporary art
Gladly took the work
It would all be for sale and
They would harvest a commission
 
I selected ten pieces from each
Collection to keep for myself
They would be in the show,
And marked not for sale
It was difficult to choose
But I managed to select
With a little glee as there
Were no bad works
 
The museum prospered
The show sold out and
Received rave notices in the press
I had delved into the unknown and
Came out smelling like a rose
It is amazing how things work out
Dreamland is a wonderful place
It is warm and soothing
Reality can be cold and harsh
 
Stanski
July 11, 2020 ^
 

I travel sometimes, down the dirt road
to the place where it crosses Gulliver Creek
Changing seasons paint canvases with
minor miracles leaving me feeling meek
Beauty can be overwhelming
Creation made this a special place withs
shadows and light changing feelings
Whispers of agreement is sung by
flowing water throughout the year
 
Now it is warm and easy to see that
others have been here before me
Light slants through leaf-covered limbs and
reflects spectacularly off the mirror-like pond
I long to hear the voice of God
He must be here
Proof to satisfy me is all about
Now and whenever I’m here
 
I hold this place dear, although
God’s face cannot be seen
The grace you feel is real
Enchantment is another word
An episode in the surreal
The place where I find peace and joy
A chapel in the woods
His love bestowed on all
 
Stanski
July 10, 2020 ^