Steve Haarman

.
 Walmart seems like a great idea
 Big box store with every item at a great price
 Became a big buyer and demanded better deals
 People in small stores cannot compete
  
 These small stores employed people
 Paid them a living wage
 Many times provided benefits
 Knew their customers by name
  
 Part of a cohesive downtown
 Looked out for people in trouble
 Provided gifts to local causes
 Became a destination for shoppers 
  
 The Walmart family is one of 
 The richest in the country
 Their stores are successful
 Cannot be denied
  
 Our downtown shops are closed
 Fair wages are gone; benefits gone
 Walmart stores succeed
 China manufactures their inventory
  
 The China workers work as slaves
 Walmart workers are underpaid
 Hours are cut to avoid benefits
 The Walmart family is very rich
  
 The old down towns are ghost towns
 Many former workers are on assistance
 Paid for with your tax dollars
 The Walmart family if very rich
  
 Sales below cost drove others out of business
 Empty stores allowed prices to rise
 Neighborhoods lost their identity
 The Walmart family is very rich
  
 The face of America has changed
 Production in China at slave wages
 Employees at Walmart at minimal wages
 The Walmart family is very rich
  
 We walked to neighbor stores
 People knew who others were
 Now we drive to Walmart
 Neighbors are basically strangers
  
 We buy and overbuy
 Things are so cheap
 The Walmart family is very rich
 Where did our country go?
  
 U.S. manufactures closed
 Could not compete with slave wages
 Or Chinese government underwriting
 And manipulating their currency
  
 We have our Walmart, but 
 At what cost to everyone
 Think about it
 The Walmart family if very rich
  
 Stanski
 September 6, 2019 ^
  
  
   

.
 What would happen
 If dreams came true?
 Would there be caution
 Avoid becoming blue
 What would you dream?
 A solid question
 I would dream of heaven
 No hesitation
  
 I’ve been in joy
 Looking at the sky
 Around a campfire
 With friends who just sigh
 The sun’s final color
 Peaceful waves lapping shore
 If this was like heaven
 Would I want even more?
  
 Dreaming is wonderful
 Wonderful and warm
 Reality is stark and
 Rigged is the norm
 If dreams could come true
 Our planet may be peaceful
 Truth would be prevalent
  
 I dream of many planets
 Much like our earth
 People like us existing
 It sounds like Dicken’s mirth
 If it was a dream
 All these earths were true
 Wouldn’t we strive to be the best?
 Isn’t that what we’d want to do?
  
 But dreams are dreams
 And so reality rules
 Let’s improve that in front of us
 Leave the negative for fools
  
 Stanski
 September 5, 2019^ 

.
 I am opening up
 Trying to cause vibrations
 Positive vibrations
 That travel to others
 Improve condition
 Plant the seed of hope
  
 This is one life
 We must live it
 Catch our glimpse of heaven
 Define our goals
 Enlighten others
 Be the path finder
  
 I see a pink-blue sky
 So uplifting to artists
 I look around
 For signs of protest
 No sign at all
 Everyone at rest
  
 Positive signals
 We’ve become gentle and kind
  
 Stanski
 October 2, 2019 ^ 

.
 I went to college
 Received a degree
 My six children
 Went to college
 A few completed
 The others didn’t
  
 Is it really needed
 Other than for parties?
 All information is on
 The computer – all knowledge
  
 Humanities and Civil Justice
 Need not be learned only
 In the ivy covered Halls
 Which you eventually leave
 With an immense debt
  
 Physicians need the experience
 Engineers desire the guidance
 Real experience is on the job
 Know-how is available
 Outside the Hallowed Halls
  
 But education is big business
 Their endowment moneys
 Would make a great dent in
 Our national debt
  
 Unfortunately we are sheep
 Following the conventional
 Over the cliff to our own demise
  
 Stanski
 September 4, 2019 ^ 

.
 The speaker compliments
 The complimented acknowledges
 Throws it off as not justified
 Too many others involved
  
 Success is great, but
 It takes many to achieve
 When honored by this sharing
 The spirit of many rises
  
 They all feel blessed with ownership
 Moral is a wonderful lever
 It lifts production and politeness
 Respect for others is elevated
  
 A new climate becomes status quo
 Outstanding people quietly exist
 They show their colors when needed
 Meaningful growth depends on them
  
 This story is not unique
 Achievers are everywhere
 They attract many others
 Who want to be part of the dream
  
 All in attendance understand
 It always takes more than one
 Many are involved in victory
 The next new project will glow
  
 Stanski
 September 2, 2019 ^ 

.
 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
 Not a perfect man
 There are no perfect men
 Except one, who was crucified 
  
 All men are created equal
 They are endowed by their creator
 With certain inalienable rights
 Among these are “Life”, “Liberty”, and
 The “Pursuit of Happiness”
  
 There are all sorts of claims
 We see people leaning the wrong way
 When it comes to people of color
 History shows us remarkable
 Black Americans who are poets,
 Authors, inventors, businessmen, judges
 Lawyers, statesmen and politicians
  
 How do we judge ourselves?
 Are those who are prejudiced correct?
 Is the distribution of education
 A matter of zip code only
 Or do we desire equality and
 Offer equal opportunity?
  
 It is not color but character
 Character is a beautiful word
 Soldiers of all colors had character
 They died for us and liberty
 It is time to slow down and self-examine
  
 Stanski
 September 4, 2019 ^ 

.
 Looking out my window
 I see I am losing
 My Tamarack tree
 Why is nature choosing you?
  
 You started out small
 A beautiful transplant
 Have lived through several seasons
 Now treat me so indecently 
  
 There will be a vacancy
 Another hole in my heart
 Can a beautiful tree betray me?
 I wouldn’t have guessed at the beginning
  
 But now your needles give hint
 Not green but a golden brownish tint
 Shall I wait the year out and
 In the spring give it a fresh start?
  
 Hope for renewal; a real hope
 Failure will insure that we must part
 I’ll talk to you; coax you along
 Will you please survive and be my song
  
 Stanski
 September 1, 2019 ^ 

.
 What can I do?
 What can I say? 
 Strive, strive and strive 
 Send good vibrations your way 
 There are problems you face 
 But not too big for you
 Because you have us
 Your backup crew 
  
 You must begin to listen
 Now is the time
 Too many days have passed
 Everything is not fine
 We know what you must do
 Hear us, we’ll see you through
  
 Stanski 
 August 30, 2019 ^ 

.
 The poetry starts out
 Uplifting and leaning at
 Just the right angle and tempo
 Into a story that may have 
 A lesson attached to it
 You feel safe and content
  
 Now it takes a twist to
 Something or somewhere
 With no explanation
 No logic can sort out
 This metamorphosis into
 Deviation and never land
  
 It can and usually does
 Jump again and then
 Abruptly slides into a finish
 If there is a Guggenheim Award
 On the wall
 The work is proclaimed genius
 I feel abused and short changed
  
 Full moons are beautiful
 I don’t want to leave them
 For pigeons who are disguised
 As missionaries 
 Who meet way up north
 In the land of Svithjod 
 To compare notes
 On mushrooming
 It’s just not me
  
 By Steve Haarman
 03/10/12 

.
 Some of these poets write
 In ways that seem abstract
 Putting lines together and
 In length, but they somehow
 Do not connect.  Writing
 For some friends of theirs
 Trying too hard to impress
 As they read, they would 
 Laugh a little bit, my guess
 He almost did it, almost
 Actually getting close to
 Impressing his colleagues
 A little more time is needed
 Maybe a few more years
 If he keeps advancing this way
 We will all be peers, how nice
 They continue reading, 
 Vaguely follow his “line”
 Pretend they almost get it
 Could he win the Guggenheim?
 Sometimes a little obvious
 But then he strays away
 Goes off on a tangent
 Very clever that way
 I personally like the fact
 That he introduces new
 Characters, many times foreign
 Adds intrigue and culture
 But no easy departure
 Must ramble on to get there
 That special place where
 Momentum will bring him
 To the end and he will smile
 Another masterpiece and
 Then add a few more lines
 For his mother or a former
 Teacher and think it’s grand
 That’s where some of 
 The poets stand
  
 Stanislaus Kuperski the Firski
 November 3, 2013 ^