Steve Haarman

.
 We try to get inside ourselves
 Settle down and view condition
 Make peace with what we are doing
 Pause and look for ways to improve
 What has happened up to now is settled
 No way to change the record
 Accept what has happened and see potential
  
 Soothe the pain that we still bear
 Prize the quiet joy that came from enduring
 A cost of darkness need not prevail
 Life has tomorrows often blending with today
 Preparation may cause a separation
 Bring new bright threads into the weaving
 Your carpet and future will be bright
  
 Stanski
 10/23/2019 ^ 

 Can’t get rid of me
 I keep showing up
 chasing after dreams
 filling my cup

 Some may say that
 I concentrate on you
 If they were me
 they would, too
 I think about
 The things we did
 the last summer

 Rides we took
 Joys we felt
 Before the injury
 Which was a bummer
 You were the girl
 with the laughing face

 Said I belonged on the stage
 Funny in any case
 I have heard talk of
 Green Dolphin Street
 How it is a groove 

 Now I’m alone on my street
 feeling more than blue
 I know your chatter
 feel your presence
 as though you occupy
 my vicinity

 Too good to be true
 My total insanity
 You were little girl blue
 When I first met you
 you spoke up
 claimed your place
 wanted my space
 I gave it to you

 Now just silence
 as in the final rest
 What, I wonder,
 was this thing called love?

 The pledges we made
 You called them vows
 to the One above 
 and to each other
  
 Then what happened
 A change in the weather
 I guess it wasn’t 
 necessarily so, but
 it was your song and
 you made it mine

 We sailed the moon river
 when everything was fine
 Then we must have forgot
 to tune in and listen 
 wasting so it seems
 precious hours and minutes

 Some would think I’m crazy
 if I claimed that you are
 one of my favorite beings

 Your outrage, like
 when you threw out 
 the sunglasses on the
 Chicago expressway and
 lifting your cane at a truck
 still half a block away

 Hip, funky and hilarious

 I look at my dried rose
 Nature’s lovely art
 then think of you and
 us a big bridge apart

 I harbor my hope
 pray to the One above
 that His will be done
 while I patiently wait
  
 Stanislaus Kuperski
 January 15, 2018 ^ 

 Fall’s wet, soggy rain
 Had its effect on the color
 Leaves will just be dull
  
 Stanski
 October 27, 2019 ^ 

 The night streaked down on us
 more than half way through October
 No one is ready for this
 We were just getting our feel for summer

 Now the harvest mostly over
 Pumpkins predominate the landscape
 People feel heavier on their feet
 Smiles are hard to find

 The waiting drained us
 Then the rising water alarmed us
 Full moon lasted only briefly
 Our friend in the night abandoned us

 The air is cold as the waves pound the shore
 Not much left of the beach
 The new dune formed over a dozen years
 Has been reclaimed; no permits necessary

 Still it is a place of beauty
 Beauty can go along with disappointment
 We adjust to these things; it takes time
 We have had the first frost

 Indian summer should be close at hand
 We will forget the dreary and
 absorb all the goodness the sun offers

 Thanksgiving will soon be here
 We may renew our thanks 
 Our blessings are countless
 We often forget how lucky we are

 Darkness is a good environment for meditation
 Meditation puts time to good use
 We live one day at a time
 There are wasted hours

 Now with shorter days
 we realize how foolish we can be
 We want things our own way regardless of condition
 We must get stronger; be willing to endure

 Now is a time for growth
 A time to be thankful for our daily bread and
 all the opportunities we have
 Get started now; New Years is soon here
  
 Stanski
 October 20, 2019 ^
   

 I thought about the Vagabond lover
 Always in search of someone true 
 It is not an unusual tale

 One I found chose someone else
 I was brokenhearted, but
 with a little help from my friends,
 I endured
  
 They had seen the troubled waters ahead
 One said lean on me and then lead
 me over the bridge.  You know:  
 The Bridge over Troubled Waters
 There were those who cheered; lots of them,
 but another hundred people who felt bad.
 They were to have been our wedding guests
  
 They had already purchased from our registry 
 We had listed some of my favorite things
 Who am I, though?  I am not going to cry,
 come back to me.  Life would just have to go on
 It did for her; she found another and later
 when I met her significant other I thought,
 there, but for you go I.  I felt lifted
  
 Thank God, my friend said for the road you didn’t take; 
 I must say, I had to agree
 Imagine, I said, when walking through 
 the mall and saw her across the way,
 this nearly was mine
 All the things you are, became to me
 a new sentiment.  

 I felt relief, especially on gray days and 
 even on a clear day
 If ever I would leave you, I would, is how 
 I felt, now refreshed and 
 I would not expect you to pleadingly cry,  
 come back to me, but maybe
 I could imagine you saying brother, can you 
 spare a dime, as your world was slipping away
  
 Where is the life that late I lead?  
 It has to be somewhere and in the meantime I wanted
 to look at pieces of something in the past
 that had meant something special to me
 If you think I’m just a wearyin’ for you, I’m not
 So don’t get that feeling of satisfaction
  
  
  
 There was that tale of the oyster with the natural pearl, 
 more valuable than oil
 Hard to grasp, but the Japanese developed
 the cultured pearl using "duna" as the irritating 
 agent and suddenly oil became 
 the next big thing to cause wars
  
 What a wonderful world, bright sunny days,
 dark sacred nights, all the jabber and 
 I keep thinking how lucky I am
  
 I remember hearing of Frank Sinatra singing, 
 Ol’ Man River, in a concert in 1963 
 that was so dramatic and done with such feeling 
 that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sat weeping
  
 It was not a song of love, but an example of
 the power of music and the stories 
 told through music.  

 Hey friend, brush those troubles from my back.  
 Thank you, I’m feeling lighter already
  
 Stanski
 October 15, 2019 ^ 

 Voices of the innocent
 ring with sentiment pure
 All hope for a future with
 possibilities and no despair
 One leads the invocation
 spirits high; elocution clear
 Thankfulness for the gathering
 and for the joy we share

 Prayer for the occasion
 thanksgiving for his gifts
 articulating slowly, precious
 thoughts not allowed to drift
 The Amen’s were like applause
 Everyone so proud of him
 A Saint Francis recipient 
  
 After the dinner:  The program
 brought forth a young miss
 assigning credit for her growth
 to mentors who acted kindly
 Has a life plan she shared
 Courage to see it through
 Bursting with enthusiasm
 clapping was all we could do

 The seed of hope was planted
 Here we saw it grow
 watching two future leaders
 keeping their life in tow
 They will replace those
 who helped them along the way

 The cycle of life exemplified and
 acknowledged:  Few with dry eyes
 Personal challenge:  To improve
 Adage:  There is always room for this
 Where there is darkness, light
 Not to be consoled, but to console
  
 Stanski
 October 10, 2019 ^ 

.
 It was game day, a home game for the Wolverines
 I was heading home from downstate
 crossing the mighty Mackinaw Bridge
 The home team led 10 to 0, but by 
 the time I made my detour turn
 Iowa had kicked a field goal and it was 10 to 3
  
 At halftime the announcers were nervous
 They proclaimed that Michigan had to come out
 in the second half and smash Iowa in the face
 On my right I noticed an old house
 It was still standing but caved in
 I wondered about the people who had lived there
 What would have been important to them?
 Did they have the need to smack someone in the face?
  
 I thought about the relevance of anything
 The world will keep on turning regardless
 The announcers kept up with their chatter
 A long field goal try failed for Michigan
 They continued to sack the quarterback and
 Cause turnovers but so far only seven points
 Had been gotten (their wording)
 The game ended with Michigan winning 
  
 The post-game symphony began
 The score remained the same
 The old house was still collapsed 
 I felt a loss.  I do not care for vertical:
 Chop, chop, chop, but prefer horizontal:
 Understanding and care
 A game is fun, but not crucial
 Respect the sport is the ultimate good thing
  
 The story of life is interesting and lasting
 Rain began to fall and my spirits began to rise 


 Stanski
 October 5, 2019^

.
 I feel I am part of
 a wondrous household
 I have assisted in the 
 arrangement of furniture
 and the display of art
  
 All done to someone's joy
 and other’s dismay
 Life goes this way
 Sometimes it is up
 Sometimes down
 But I am not diminished
  
 I am an artist
 A creative soul
 But understand emotion
 How it was; will not be again
 A new look is inevitable
 The outcome will be good
 No unintended consequences
  
 You see – life changes and
 These are good things
 Adjustment will take place
 This is what we like:  Acquiescence 
  
 We want happy souls
 who love exploration
 New ideas and condition
 and remain thrilled with life
  
 Stanski
 October 1, 2019 ^ 

.
 Certain conditions come to a standstill
 There are sides of course
 but only one truth and
 the resolution may not represent truth
  
 Actions are taken, demands made
 These are brushed aside as non-relevant
 People in general go on with their lives
 Underneath it all, they know derision 
  
 Still they have no say
 although opinions are not scarce
 Paths can be taken; each has consequences
 There are costs involved; winners and losers
  
 Winners will celebrate; losers retaliate
 What seems so obvious is clouded
 Cultural differences enter the fray
 Boil it down and it points to power
  
 Power and control over people or land
 If this is mentioned, the accused walk away
 They want no discussion involving truth
 More investigations and sanctions
  
 Human treasure has no value
 We are not above it all; alertness is essential
 Everything in a sense is local
 We must stay focused
  
 Be prepared to act
 Stay alert at our posts
 Nip things in the bud
 Don’t you agree?
  
 Stanski
 October 16, 2019 ^
   

 There are many times
 when the answer is obvious
 Another posture is taken
 by those so oblivious
 How do you know I’m asked?
 It is intuitive
 I just know
 Any other position
 is so illogical
 It just doesn’t make sense
 The opposing view
 you can eschew
  
 It is based on hearsay
 No ground in substance
 A political effort
 to show up the other side
 Many go along with this
 Just because they do
 it does not make them right
 This taking the road of a fool

 Intuition is good
 A survival instinct
 Think of Winston Churchill
 Margaret Thatcher 
  
 Throw in Teddy Roosevelt and
 The would be drainer of the swamp,
 who is making America great again
  
 Stanski
 October 16, 2019 ^