NaPoWriMo Day Twenty-Eight

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Loving Life, NaPoWriMo, Poetry, Self Awareness, ValuesLeave a comment

Who was the richest person in the world the year Mother Theresa died? The greatest architect?  Don’t know?  Neither do I.  Nobody remembers them, but everyone knows who she is.  Wealth and power may be fun, but to be immortalized in the hearts and minds of the people, nothing beats outrageous acts of kindness.

The Secret of Immortality

We build it up then tear it down,
Then build it up again.
This cycle seems to be our way,
Let not the past remain.

If those who lived in times long past,
Set stone upon a stone.
We undo everything they built,
Make piles of our own.

We do this even knowing those,
To come will do the same.
We build to be remembered long,
To snatch a moment’s fame.

When our descendants have forgot,
Our names and where they’re from.
We hope our legacies of stone,
Still stand in years to come,

So tear down what we built you must,
To build your future pile.
But don’t forget that all you build,
Lasts just a little while.

It’s how you’ve lived not what you’ve built,
That stands the test of time,
So focus more on being kind,
And live a life sublime.

Cheers, Winston

This Is A Travesty

On By WinstonIn Discrimation, Global Issues, Politics, Society, Values, WarfareLeave a comment

I have to take a moment out from my month of poetry to draw attention to this. Over 200 girls were abducted from their school at gunpoint in Nigeria.  While no one has claimed responsibility the well known terrorist group Boko Haram is believed to be behind the kidnapping.  Read the full story here.

As horrible as this is, it get’s worse. No one is trying to find these girls. Not the Nigerian government, not the UN, not even the Americans. They normally jump at the chance to generate some good P.R. on the international stage, but not this time.

Why isn’t the world beating a path to Nigeria to find these girls?  Well, it’s because it’s in Africa.  These sorts of things happen there and there’s nothing you can do about it.  Also, the girls are…. well, they’re black.  It’s terrible to say, but it’s true.  If a couple of hundred white girls were abducted by terrorists, the whole western military apparatus would already be mobilizing.

But it’s Africa… and the girls aren’t white.  Besides, we’re all tied up with this territorial dispute with Russia.  Besides, we can’t get drawn into another foreign war.  Besides…. they’re not our daughters.

I’m not advocating an Iraq or Afghanistan type invasion.  I’m talking about a dedicated strike force tasked solely with finding and executing the kidnappers and any available affiliates, repatriating the girls to their families and then going home.

I want to send a very clear message that there are some lines that cannot be crossed anymore.

But it’s Africa…. and the girls are black.

If the girls were Ukrainian and it looked like Russia was behind it, the tanks would already be rolling.  Because that’s the drum we’re beating right now…. and the girls would be white.

Despondently Yrs, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day Twenty-Seven

On By WinstonIn Environment, NaPoWriMo, Poetry, Society, ValuesLeave a comment

Commercial whaling is basically a vile practice.  It has been outlawed by the international community and yet some countries persist.  Fortunately, some very brave people are committed to ending this crime.  They are……

The Sea Shepherds

They roam the oceans to the south,
To keep the whales free.
Sea Shepherds lives are on the line,
To end the whalers spree.

Outnumbered they persist despite,
The fact they’re risking all.
To save a whale they’ll take that chance,
They’re answering their call,

The Japanese insist science,
Is why they hunt the whale.
But thousands slain can only tell,
What kind of meat’s for sale.

The Shepherds play a deadly game,
Against a deadly foe.
But they believe right can beat might,
Once more to sea they go.

We can’t afford to lose more whales,
The vital role they play,
We’ve lost too many as it is,
The time to stop’s today.

Support your local Sea Shepherds

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo DayTwenty-Six

On By WinstonIn Loving Life, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Self AwarenessLeave a comment

My life isn’t perfect but it is filled with joy and love.  I don’t always think about that, but I am trying hard to keep it top of mind.  Most of all, I want to make sure the people who are most important to me know who they all.

The Simplest Joys

I love my life I love my love,
I’m richer than you know.
I live each day and thank my stars,
My love still loves me so.

I love my child and love my dog,
My job sometimes as well.
I’ve got some awesome friends I know,
Too much good luck to tell.

So when sometimes I’m overwhelmed,
And I start feeling bad.
I try to keep this all in mind.
So I can be less sad.

The world may be going down,
And all be going wrong.
The simple joys that fill my life,
Still carry me along.

I want to thank the universe,
For all that’s in my life.
But most of all for all the joy,
I want to thank my wife.

Je t’aime mon ange.  Plus que tu sais.  Pour l’eternite, et plus encore.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo DayTwenty-Five

On By WinstonIn Loving Life, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry2 Comments

As I write this, my dog Chester is being kind of a pain in the butt. He’s fussing and fidgeting because I’m sitting on the couch with my wife instead of lying on the bed with him.  He turned sixteen in January and according to my Vet, that puts him now well past the century in human years.  So I try to be gentle with his eccentricities and just be thankful he’s still here.

My Friend Chester

My dog is digging at my bed,
I wish that he would quit.
But I can’t be too angry ’cause
He’s sixteen and a bit.

He’s only acting out because,
He thinks I should he there.
He loves to cuddle all the time,
He lives on love I swear.

I miss my dog when I’m at work,
He seems to miss me too.
First thing when I get home each day,
I pet my dog it’s true.

Now Chester’s been my friend you see,
For over sixteen years.
He’s shared my dreams and shared my life,
My laughter and my tears.

I guess he’s earned the right to be,
At times kind of a pain.
But if I had the choice or chance,
I’d do it all again.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day Twenty-Four

On By WinstonIn NaPoWriMo, Personal, PoetryLeave a comment

I’ve commented here a couple of times that I write my best stuff when I focus on my rhymes and let my story write itself.  This poem is about that process.

Enjoy,

My Write Stuff

I free the words inside my head,
Not sure where they will lead.
I only know releasing them,
Fulfills some inner need.

Each word seeks out another word,
Then they demand some more.
The less I think the easier,
Subconcious to explore.

I hesitate to interfere,
As all these words run free.
I watch as they create a tale,
From somewhere deep in me.

By focusing on quatrain rhyme,
I write much better things.
For when I leave my mind alone,
A sweeter song it sings.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day Twenty-Three

On By WinstonIn Loving Life, NaPoWriMo, Personal, PoetryLeave a comment

The joy of walking back and forth to work is the simple pleasure of each day.  Having started in the middle of winter, the arrival of spring is especially enjoyable.

Springing For Joy

The days grow longer as we go,
The snow is going fast.
I have to say I won’t be sad,
To see this winter past.

There is some green upon my lawn,
A robin in my tree.
And any day the buds will swell,
Their leaves soon bursting free.

The mud quite soon will turn to grass,
And flowers boom and grow.
The season slowly drains away,
Our mem’ry of the snow.

See people walking in the park,
You’ve not seen since the fall.
The dogs who’ve been indoors for months,
Respond to nature’s call.

The honking of the geese above,
Now draws us out the door.
With Spring now here each day ahead,
Just promises us more.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day Twenty-Two

On By WinstonIn Environment, NaPoWriMo, Personal Responsibility, Poetry, Values3 Comments

For those who hadn’t heard, today is Earth Day.  This is the one day each year when we’re supposed to put away our rampant consumerism and give a crap about the planet we live on.  Seems to me that it might need more than one day a year.  Maybe that’s just me.

Thoughts On The Occaission Of Earth Day.

Earth Day today but what’s that mean?
Can one day save the world?
Now really can this day we claim,
Undo the the filth we’ve hurled?

We say we want to change the world,
But that impulse will pass.
We celebrate the earth today,
Tomorrow frack some gas.

We bemoan the latest oil spill,
As we fill up our cars.
Then drive away beneath the smog,
Say how we miss the stars.

We build our subdivisions on,
The best farmland around.
And then complain that fresh produce,
Costs so much by the pound.

Our kids and grandkids pay the price,
For what we do today.
If we don’t change the way we live,
A price too high to pay.

I am no better than the rest,
As I stand here and preach.
We all must change myself as well,
That is the truth I’d teach.

If you would change the world, first change yourself.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day Twenty-One

On By WinstonIn NaPoWriMo, Personal, Personal Responsibility, Poetry, Self AwarenessLeave a comment

I have a hard time letting go of things.  To those who know me, feel free to not comment. At any rate, I have decided it’s time to take steps with another of my bad habits. 

Enjoy!

Less Toys…. More Joys

Somewhere out there away from here,
Is where we want to be.
To leave our troubles far behind,
We want to be set free.

Away from work and daily chores,
Away from all life’s ills,
To live with only what we need,
No massive monthly bills,

If only we could let it go,
How simple then our life.
It’s time for me to simplify,
To focus in my wife.

At last now after all these years,
I see that more is less.
Reducing clutter now should help,
Us to reduce our stress.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo Day Twenty

On By WinstonIn NaPoWriMo, PoetryLeave a comment

Went to visit my wife’s family for Easter. We had a great time, but it did put me a bit behind poetry-wise.  So tonight is a ghost story that has been fermenting in the back of my brain for a while.

Enjoy!

Alone No More?

The hour is late the lights are dim,
I walk alone and wait.
Each room is dark no one awake,
I hate this anxious state.

Excitement, fear and hope all vie,
Within my breast of mist.
Perhaps tonight will be the night,
So long since I’ve been kissed.

So many years since I had died,
So many years alone.
Have watched the loves and lives lived here,
Had no love of my own.

But now at last she senses me,
She feels I am near.
Yet unlike those who’ve gone before,
I sense in her no fear .

At last I draw near to her room,
She writes, she cannot sleep,
She feels a chill and shivers as,
Into her room I creep.

It tears my heart to see her thus,
With one foot on each side.
She wants to die but wants to live,
Which way will she decide?

I do not want to see her die,
To throw her life away.
Yet if she dies she’s here with me,
Together from from this day.

And so I sit and wait and watch,
As I watch every night.
I hope she’ll win where I did not,
I pray her choice is right.

Cheers, Winston