COULD IT BE

If there are dog days
Could there be dog hours
I think there could be
Mine would be after
The sun has set and
There is still enough
Light to see the trees
And covered ground,
But without the dazzling
Wonder presented
Just earlier, when the
Sun highlighted the
Upper branches with
Bronze and golden touches
And lite up the snow
Laying on the high banks
Of the dunes

The sun drops below
The horizon and you
Go from the heights
Of ecstasy to the
Valley of despair in
Four seconds as the
Late Bob Ufer said
When Harry Oliver
Kicked a long field goal
To bring victory to
Notre Dame over
Michigan at the
Notre Dame Stadium
That was a dog day
For Michigan fans

It is amazing how
Emotions are affected
By nature and real
Incidents in life
Dog days, hours, minutes
And even seconds

Stanski
December 16, 2019 ^

MIXED VIBES

Just because someone
Does not offer you a drink
Isn’t a reason to suppose
That he has committed a crime
Some are not generous
Not so hard to understand
Others have a reason
To give a false impression

Technology ruins everything
Where has critical thinking gone?
So you have your feelings hurt
Is the bad or just a set back?
Now the strive to get even
How absurd one might think
The thought of forgiveness lost
Like Little Red Riding Hood

Hansel and Gretel cheering
They are full of spirit
Have a feeling for human kind
Not drifting as in a dream
We are all different creatures
No meaning is quite the same
Don’t make a stand on floating ice
Thinking that you look grand

Step back and look about
The world looks beautiful
Even with all the frustration
No need to play the part of a fool
So many opportunities
So much time
Make the right choices
You’ll find that you’re fine

Stanski
December 16, 2019 ^

SUPERFLUOUS

Some said that I was smooth
Could glide along like the wind
And sweet, too, never leaving
Anyone with the feeling of bitterness
I was observant and considerate
My friends’ mothers called me
Mr. Wonderful. I was superfluous

Then college came along
I had no extra money
Could not spend good feelings
Or compete with the
Gross Pointe boys, with
Nice clothes and flashy cars
I turned inward

I observed them
They seemed to be surface people
Now and then I ran across some
Who seemed to come from deeper inside
Their meaning had more measure
I could relate and also converse
Retrospective analysis: I was immature

I had not learned how to behave
Could not arrange the use of time
Chose the wrong things to prioritize
Was loose with my language
Excuses were not hard to find
I thought my case was different
But I was just one of many

I came to grips with reality
Learned to say no when it mattered
Finished schooling and began my career
Became entrenched in work and doing
Married a left-over who was right for me
Taught our children to think of others first
To be smooth and sweet; superfluous

Stanski
December 16, 2019 ^

GETTING IT

Sitting
Waiting
Wind blowing news-grams
Friendly message arrives for you

No postage due
Subtle warning
Become unglued
From your comfort zone

Spring is coming
But not too soon
To suit you
Or mute you
From complaining

Message is here
To warn you
Don’t lose time
Live today
And take what unfolds

Then no regrets
In future retrospection

Live every day
Don’t waste a minute
Of your miracle
Which is life itself

Damn fool
Move now

With thanks
For new awareness

And gratitude for this
State of enchantment

Stanski
December 15, 2019 ^

GIFTS

These are for you
They are my best gifts
They are my tears
They are my joy

They are my loss
They are my gain
They are my energy
They are my passion

And sadly

They fall short
Of expressing
The true
Higher qualities
Which we all have
Within us
And want to use

As we express ourselves
In living our lives
On a daily basis
Within the parameters
Of God’s purpose for us

May His peace and guidance
Always be with you
These would be the real gifts
The precious gifts

Stanski
December 15, 2019 ^

QUIET JOY

So many time we perceive joy as happiness
Brought on by a successful event or some victory
We may become audacious, even ignore other
Important things going on about us

But there is another joy not marked by
Laughter, celebration or outward smiles
This joy is held by those who do not
Necessarily reek with optimism

They intuitively connect with the
Seriousness of condition. They are
Aware of the hard reality of life, but
Do not build walls of the cages, that

They could find protection in
No, the evil powers about them
Are challenged by legal means or
By prayerful meditation and good acts

Death is a possibility, but it will be under control
It is an everlasting peace that they point to
Suffering will be shared; then released
It is now that they find their quiet joy

Stanski
December 15, 2019 ^

SPEAKING UP

Dads caution their children
Hands off, sonny
Don’t break anything

Officers take children
Under their arm
Help them shop

Compliment them on a choice
That will be nice for your mom
Now let’s look for your dad

Children are happy
This is their day
Glee is the word

Merchants are frantic
Never been this busy
So many children

No music on the streets
Too much work
Setting up a sound system

A lot of white hair
Many men with beards
But no Santa Claus

Ho, ho, ho
On Dasher, on Dancer
Lighten up, Rudolph

A lot of noise
Many good hearts
Happiness prevails

Stanski
December 14, 2019 ^

ADDING IT UP

ADDING IT UP
America is no longer a land of the free
But a land enslaved by ignorance
The Boomers were pampered
Parents did not want them to suffer
No hard financial times for them
No world wars for them
They took freedom for granted
Protested the Vietnam War
Withdrew from society
Narcissistically turned inward
With hallucinates and dropped
Out of society until free-love
Communes and drugs depleted
Their money and they had to work
In the eighties they infiltrated
The news networks and education
We have been paying ever since

Entitlements have replaced
Personal responsibility
Diversity has replaced community
Partisanship has replaced objectivity
Political correctness over civility
Social justice has replaced charity
We arbitrate morality replacing the
Equitable judgment of moral certitude
We incapable human beings have
Replaced the Divine Creator
Human life is only valued by
The importance we give it
The strong oppress the weak
We take human life at will

These are dangerous presumptions
We are still a great nation
But we are living off the efforts of
Those who came before us
The moral, spiritual, and intellectual capital
Is not being replenished by anything real
It is a false capital that we have found
And unfortunately it will not sustain it

Stanski
December 13, 2019 ^