We are international in many ways Very worldly and diversified We drink mountain water Inhale the nectar from Whatever air we breathe Eat grains and fruit From around the world We love a variety of food And so experience Mexican, Indian, Italian, Thai, French, Chinese, Lebanese And other cuisines Drink wines from Around the world Some of us are polyglots Others speak and understand At least two languages We help people around the World as a country and Especially individually We welcome legal immigrants Travel abroad for education Share our farming technology In areas where nothing grew Send our soldiers around the globe We celebrate religious freedom Have love, honor and respect For all moral people and Even love the sinners We seek an even playing field for all We believe in sharing the costs We respond first in every world crisis We have much to be proud of Still there are doubters who Deny our greatness Defy laws of natural order Refuse to accept the right to life Prefer open borders and Illegal immigrants Have stolen our rainbow Love sociopaths and Respect members of the swamp Stanski January 29, 2020 ^
APPREHENSION ABOUT WHAT IS
I wait for yesterday Knowing it will not return But I want it back To rethink and react differently It will not return, but My mind has it sequestered And my camera has evidence That it did exist and was amazing I will have today What will it present and How will I act differently? I am wise, but grasp for the complex Even though I may be subdued But living with a failure Is more alluring than hiding So many things not understood A world I never made, but a Place in which I now exist Bewildering, only to the extent That it is difficult to observe Technology present and functioning That could not have been a decade ago I will take pictures Point my camera in all directions Look for light to capture Subdue the preposterous with An even older piece of mystery (My camera) People gaze at me, I am sure Thinking, we have all been there, man The lights, the action and Brilliant billboards flashing Little markets; people passing by Looking, touching and purchasing Merchants with ancient carts Still functioning, beholding and Wondering about tomorrow Stanski January 29, 2020 ^
A LOOK AT ANCIENT RUINS
To see the relics of early civilizations Is to be in awe of man’s capabilities Cities no longer inhabited still Possess the results of builders' Fascinating minds and attention to detail I imagine walking through the wooden gates Over a stone walkway, narrow but wide enough Arrive on the far side of the bridge Begin wandering, where allowed From place to place and wondering How can this be man, meaning Capable of building such beauty then How can this be man, meaning Why was this beauty abandoned? Who were the makers? Who did the terrifying? Were there survivors? I wonder about the Kings, The armies, and the battles The mothers and the children Peace transforming to misery And for what reasons other than power Or the knowledge that they could Mysteries of history And before them, who? What was their agony and ecstasy? Beautiful ruins left behind For future mortals to contemplate Stanski January 29, 2020 ^
A PICTURE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS
I see sand and hills Mountains and sky What is below? And below that? How many years Decades and centuries Thousands and millions Time immeasurable Archeologists scrap The surface gives way There is no time To arrive at the bottom We will be gone Generations will pass What will we know? Just what we know Man exists Builds Engages in war Destroys Rebuilds Suffers the seasons Reaches for power Dies Buried with the indispensables Is replaced The cycle repeats Hopelessness Civilizations lie below The elements rule The sun, wind, and sand Water The lack of water Man’s intellectual weakness Failure to act Refusal to listen Or acquiesce Belief in consensus Ignorance of fact Nature will rule Under God Forever Stanski January 29, 2020
LIFE GOES ON
I head to town After a quarter-mile Two deer trot the road Feeling independent One goes north One goes south No coordination A small grouse lifts Settles at once on a snowbank I continue Four more deer Like the horsemen They are together Turn south and Leap over snow-pile Heading for water or food The sky is gray Weather is damp and cold What else lies before us? I cross the railroad tracks Look both ways Deer in each direction The road is slippery Must be careful I get to highway It is clear and dry My car vibrates Snow build up in tire wells I get to town Stop at thrift store Find a wooden carved moose The size of a basketball Feel like the King of Sweden Find a lovely cross-stitched chicken Made by someone in Paraguay I love chickens And moose Then find a tall clear blown glass vase This day is good Life goes on Stanski January 29, 2020 ^
WHAT IS THE QUESTION?
Can we think of The hundreds of millions stars? There, where we cannot understand Their speed or magnetism Their effect on our own energy As we scope magnificence and potentiality We reflect on what might have been Before we appear to know what is How did we come to be? What is our purpose? Are we hiding something? Is our Supreme Being testing us? Weighting us through eons Until we can account for the Days and nights and actions Gather meaning for our existence; our consciousness All of this is good but The final question is Who are we and what are we doing? What are our responsibilities? What is the sky, the light and wind? How do we relate to the mountains, earth and oceans? Where do we go for answers? We go to Him, the Light He has overcome all darkness Has shown us the way Stanski January 29, 2020 ^
READY TO BURST
It is cold I keep the door closed I can remember sunshine Recollect the scent of Lilacs And English Lavender The fragrance runs through my veins I can hear the rustling of leaves But now the sound of crunching ice prevails The sounds that keep my body alive It is too early for new grass But I can visualize it as well as New growth in the farm fields It represents the love I have received The love I have been blanketed with There is no sound, but I can hear love in the wind In the movement of planets Stars are my garland My neck dress I know the colors of the blue sky The green and brown of the earth I am full I am complete How can I not burst? Stanski January 29, 2020 ^
THE GULLIVER CREEK
I look at the Gulliver Creek It is flowing, flowing, flowing Making turns where ever necessary Its banks are covered with snow Shrubs, leafless and with leaves And small trees line the bank There is beauty not describable Objects below the surface are visible Reflections are majestic There are animal tracks about The water keep coming I turn around On the other side of the road The water appears as a pond But it is moving Flowing out to Lake Michigan Its comes from springs Underground sources There is a lot of peripheral snow Ice can be seen forming No birds are near, but A black bird is flying down the gravel path Excitement exists Wonder also Where does the water go Once it joins the lake? Does it just become part of the larger body? Does it side track and form a pool in the dunes? The mysteries of nature Always different, but always appearing the same We are fortunate to be caretakers If that is even possible Whatever is we accept We are grateful, fond and sheltered Stanski January 28, 2020 ^
ROAD SIDE SHOPPING
Stop by the farm stand to order There is an intercom The driveway is long Use the intercom Your order will be ready Two heads cabbage A bunch of carrots Some radishes Four corn A carton of new potatoes Two packs of weed Any eggs? Not today I’m going to lay my own After the weed Better make that four weeds Now you’re talking Weekdays are great No commitments Just show up Everybody loves you It’s a wonderful world Drive up to the house Order is ready Payment is made Can I give you something? What? Magazines How many? A box full Why me You’re the closest drop off How considerate Drive home I meant to get eggs Well next time How soon Tomorrow I’ll need more weed, too Stanski January 28, 2020 ^
RANCOR AND WONDER
I wake up; hear the wind Look up; see vast number of stars Think of time and how condition changes About ancient civilizations All living in wonder Thinking they are the ones Only to fade and be lost As conquering armies Destroy them and their traditions We have documented this manifestation It is not lighthearted reading But it is history What had come before and Was then destroyed or lost? How many times was the same thing invented? How many geniuses were never employed? Millions of questions until we get to today Where our world is full of novelties Application of bizarre non-understood devises A world of abuse, abortion, genocide, war, hunger and disease Moon flights and space exploration are commonplace I hear the peal of a distant train Ancient, but still of great use, reminding me of Computerized farm tractors advanced beyond comprehension Church bells ringing; new days waiting Schools welcoming students in the act of Developing new bones in their neck area for support And arthritis in their fingers and wrists From damage caused by little machines Language arts and understanding being lost Music enjoyed, but learned by only a few Critical thinking and thought development abandoned Repetition of what is not understood, like parrots Was there ever a simple life; free from hang-ups and strife Where ego was not the big thing; everyone invited in Where being wrong was an opportunity to learn There is hope that we will all open up Know the One, Who is really in charge Follow Him as He advised Avoiding our eternal demise Stanski January 28, 2020^
Steve Haarman 