Steve Haarman

Many miles traveled along Highway 2

Nothing to see except pasture and green

Fields. Then standing alone was a house

It had been abandoned for years. Even

Though well built it showed its age

The siding was down to bare wood and

The roof line sagged toward the middle  

And the porch was tilted and appeared

Unsteady. My mind wandered back to

The days when this farmhouse was

Vibrant and something to be proud of.

Where did the people go. Did the old

Folks pass on with no children to take over

Where was the school, churches and town

The barn was gone but you could imagine

Noise coming from their stalls with horses

Moving about and restless. Each day

Presented an abundance of work to do.

This was fatiguing as well as lonely.

Where did the people come from and

Where did they go when farming became

Too much for them. The soil was arid and

Each year was different. There were no

Cemeteries on either side of the road.

One day they must have decided to move

On and try a new location. This was not

Uncommon, but the house looked to be

Above average and must have been a

Difficult decision to just pick up and move

From such a nice place. Sometimes you

Had to make tough decisions. That part has

Not changed. We all have to make choices

And often it is difficult. Life goes on. We

Will never know all the troubles they had.

We do know they were hard working

People who were brave and resolved to

Live a good life.

Stanski

June 5, 2023, ^

Traveling for miles

Saving our smiles

For little girls we

Hope to see. They

Are young and I

Would say amazing

As they respond to

Our input. They smile

And break your heart

As they turn away for

A toy or something to

Eat. We adjust to that

It is what young girls do

They are liked in day care

But always anxious to

Come home and would

Stay if they could, but

Rules are rules and must

Be obeyed. At the end of

The day they are tired and

Ready for their bath and bed

They stay put except for

The four-month-old, who cries

For food. It is nice to see

That they know what they

Want. The respond to love

And caring. Tomorrow will

Be here soon enough and

They seem to sense that.

They help in the garden as

Much as they can, which is

Little as they are too young

To visualize the finished

Product, but they are proud

Of what they do and are

Complimented on a job well

Done. Dinner, TV, and the

Day is done

Stanski

June 4, 2023, ^

Dew on the roses

The image on the mind

What could surpass?

Difficult to say

The morning’s light

High in the trees

Eagles seemingly floating

On the evening breeze

Blossoms on fruit trees

Many things in harmony

Nature gives no relief

From all the beauty it brings

We think of sounds

Brooks and creeks

Bubbling over rocks

Birds singing greetings

Announcing the joy of life

Sunrise

Church bells ringing

A lovely walk

Choirs singing

All so lifting

Reminding us

Life is a miracle

We are so blessed

The voice of God

Falling on our ear

Our conversation with him

So private and dear

A feeling sublime

Any time of the year

Stanski

May 24, 2023, ^

When I wake up, I am thankful.

I roll out of bed gratefully.

A new day in which to carry on

and try to live up to the standards

of a good person. Making people

happy is my motto. Don’t look for

faults in others. If you see it,

it is probably a reflection of

yourself. I look out the window.

The sky is very bright and hovers

over the gray inland sea. I am used

to this as it has been going on for

months, and everyone wants some

nice weather, not complicated with

bugs by the thousands. I have a lot

of work to do outside, and the bugs

make it difficult to do. sometime soon

I will have the house painted. I am

thinking about a brownish-orange

which will enhance the shingles.

Building supply firms should put

together a chart of possibilities

which would take the pressure off me.

Painting is a lot of work, and if you do

it with the wrong color, you disappoint

not only yourself but your guests and

those who are just passing by.

The brightness of the sky is overwhelming

and almost blinding. A black bird of good

size comes into view. It glides around in

circles over the water as though it is

looking for a fish for breakfast. He left

after a while, and I had a cup of coffee.

By now the sun was breaking through

the clouds and the day was on. I drove

into town and visited some of the shops.

I always think that they deserve to have

a look at me. I bought a few things, then

came home and took a nap. It was totally

cloudy for the rest of the day.

Stanski

May 23, 2023. ^

I sit at my table, reflecting

On many things, including

The bright light of the sun

Reflecting off the inland sea

I dream of a time when I

Was young and delivered

The daily newspaper

At five in the morning

For five years. I knew my

Customers well and could

Tell when they were hurting

Or doing well. I knew when

alcohol was involved or when

couples were not getting along

many times, I was told to come

back later when I went to collect

the forty-five cents for the week.

at Christmastime, I was rewarded

with generous tips from some

and almost nothing from others

one of my non-paying customers

moved to Ada and was still up

to non-paying until I went to

using the charge cards only and

was told that the only reason he

came to me because he could

get what he wanted and pay only

when he felt he had enough money.

A few others didn’t like it but it

Saved me about three hours on

Sunday afternoons writing up bills

Which I hoped would be paid.

Soon it was a nonissue. That was

about the time the insurance companies

stepped and made-up rules we had

to follow, limiting my discretion in

how much I could dispense while

they offered three times the amount 

for the same copay if the customer

would order through the mail. This

of course, affected business and many

stores closed. We made it through.

Stanski

May 22, 2023, ^

A beautiful day for a walk

The woods were calling

I accepted the invitation

Entered carefully and silently

I felt lifted and right at home

This was a great place to be

I carefully stepped and heard

No noise until suddenly the

Chirping of the little birds began

It was as though they were

Welcoming me to their habitat

I felt welcome and still watched

My stepping as I did not wish to

Destroy inadvertently any of the

Flora unique to these woods

The songs were sweet and soon

The chipmunks and squirrels

Were dancing and chasing up

And down trees. They knocked

Down some of the leaf buds, but

This woods would have plenty of

Leaves of the usual fall color when

The time came. The bugs were not

Too bad and I continued walking

Nature has a way of making you

Think of all the wonder that there

Is in the world. When you are alone

There is a special appreciation of it

And you feel the awesomeness of

Life, not only your own, but that of

The animals and the flora. Soon I came

To a small creek which I was able to

Jump across. I could see small fish and

toads and frogs also jumped. The

evergreens were swaying in the mild

breeze. They, too, were in the growing

stage. How many years before they

were majestic I wondered? Soon I met

up with the road and headed back.

It had been a wondrous journey,

Stanski

May 21, 2023, ^

A meditation and opportunity

A disturbing and deadly trend is

Growing among world organizations

And world leaders, including our own.

The support of Israel is waning and

False claims and accusations are the

Cause. They condemn and critique Israel

At every opportunity and ignore the attacks

And threats against the Jewish people.

Jews living in their ancient homelands

Are called occupiers by those who refuse

To recognize Israel’s right to self-defense and

Self-determination. Israel is being pressured to sit

Down with terrorists whose stated platform

Is the destruction of the Jewish state and

Negotiate peace. This is folly. Many are calling

On Israel to hand over control of much of the

Holy city of Jerusalem and part of the path to

Peace. This would be giving control of the

Holiest sites of Christianity and Judaism to

The Muslim extremists. Nuclear war threats

Are looming and Hezbollah and Hamas are operating

On Israeli’s borders within the eyesight of the Jewish state

Who, if not us, will help? Together we can.

Contributions for the Jewish State may be sent

To “Friends of Zion” along with daily prayer for the Jews

Send to Corrie Ten Boom Fellowship,

P.O. Box 30246, Phoenix, AZ 85046

God’s grace and praise will be upon you.

Stanski

May 20. 2023, ^

The road is well traveled

Farm machinery passes along from

One field to the next

Equipment is so large it occupies

The entire space; narrow shoulders

Are important for oncoming vehicles

Today I am walking in the bright sun

All dust has settled and the

Seasonal sloughs are drying

There is an empty house back off the road

The trail to it is hardly visible

Walls are bowing and the roof sags

Little of the chimney remains

A rusty swing sits broken on what is

Left of the porch or gallery

I wonder about those who left

What were their reasons?

Death or too many bad years

No one has the answer.

I sense ghosts still haunting the place

Uncles, aunts and grandparents surely

Occupied the place as guests for dinner or

Work hands for seasonal chores

Birds fly out of an attic window

The earth is slowly reclaiming the property

Others have annexed the land and

The farms keep growing in size

Men worked weeks doing what

Is now done in one day

Irrigation and fertilizers make a mockery

Of pioneer efforts and human endurance

I cannot fathom the days, weeks and

Seasons of work which kept coming

There was never any catching up

I keep walking thinking these were

Our heroes, but we just didn’t know

Stanski

May 19, 2023^

The poet sings

What’s his song?

Could any choice

Really be wrong

What would you

If you were he

Choose to sing

So romantically

When you think

It’s not an easy call

You are almost there

Then hit the wall

Loosen up

Relax a bit

It doesn’t have to be

A current hit

What is fluid?

From the past?

Contains the words

That will always last

Don’t give up

You’re almost there

Imagine the singing

Loud and clear

Think of color

Beyond the clouds

Imagine the poet

Oh, so proud

Somewhere

Over the rainbow

Birds fly high

While we remain low

Dreaming dreams,

Dreams we knew

If we dreamt them

Really would come true

That is what the poet sings

He remembers it often

When he’s on the land

That he heard of

Once in a lullaby

Stanski

May 18, 2023, ^

Scratching the surface

Barely started, but

Much is found quickly

Slowdown and digest

Carefully sift through

These are life’s rhythms

Known by me

Known by you

Give things a chance

To naturally unfold

Don’t assume anything

Many have and

Before they can open it

They have slammed

Shut the door

Life is full of scratching

Searching for the new

Refining what we treasure

Repairing what we threw

Wisdom is an asset

Age usually required

About the time acquired

Aren’t we all mired

Under piles of stupid?

Bad decisions and worse

The tools of the feeble

The bed of human curse

When will we ever learn?

Stanski

May 17, 2023, ^