People are Running Here and There

Running here, running there
It seems that these days
People are running everywhere
Running to work, running to play
Even running at night
And running all day
When running to work
They don't want to be late
When running from danger
They are often running from fate
Either running to catch something
People don't like to lose
Or running to avoid
Sometimes it is hard to choose
Yet, quite often people just run
Knowing not why
But the answer is there
In their mind's eye
As they run from themselves
It is the trend these days
People just running everywhere
Running and running
Running here, running there

The Near Endless Household Chores

A day of household chores
Not part of my usual daily tasks
Yet, not entirely unusual for me
Just things that need to get done
Kind of mundane and not so fun
But still need doing all the same
Like washing and drying clothes
Followed by sorting and folding
And then putting them all away
Then there is emptying trash
Followed by cleaning bathrooms
Scrubbing the toilets and sinks
We want those things clean
We don't want them to stink
And so what is now next?
Is there still more?
Do bears poop in the woods?
Household chores are never done
Because there is always the floors
Followed by more and more

Quite Simply, I Love You

I love you
And I tell you so
Every single day
I love you
And so I pray
That you will love me too
Even when I turn old and grey
I love you
With all my heart
It has always been that way
From the day we first met
I have loved you from the start
I love you
You hear me say it everyday
And you can see it in my eyes
I love you
As I gaze at you
And you can hear it in my sighs
I love you
Both day and night
You are always on my mind
I love you
And want to hold you close
You make my life so bright
And by the way
There is something you need to know
Quite simply, I love you

Soaring Temps of a Hot Summer Day

100+ degrees today
Hot to say the least
As I worked in the garden
Beneath the blazing sun
Yet, my desire for you
Burned even hotter
Every time looked at you
And your bare legs
My temperature rising
Ever high and ever higher
Each time you bent over
As if inviting me
To sweep you into my arms
Kissing and making love to you
Causing the temperature to soar
Ever so much higher
A burning love on a hot summer day

Celebrating Through Pyromania

The pyromaniacs are out in force
Chasing away the shrouds of darkness
On this dark, warm, and humid summer night
With a pyromania celebration of our nations birth
Fireworks of every kind punctuating the nighttime sky
The colorful explosions bringing to mind the sounds of war
Along with memories of wars fought and lives lost in quest of freedom
As we celebrate both freedom and the independence of our country won on this day
On the 4th of July in 1776 - The birth of our nation, The United States of America!
May God bless this great country of ours along with all of the celebrating pyromaniacs
Who on this special day and night are lighting up the night with their loud and colorful celebration.

Late Night 4th of July

Late night 4th of  July
Nearly midnight
With fireworks
Still lighting the sky
Making the night
Seem like a war zone
With explosions
Both far and near
All over the city
As we the people
Or at least some of us
Celebrate our nation
On its birthday
The 4th of July

Time Will Go On (and on and on and on)

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock
Our lives are often ruled by the clock
Second by second, Minute by minute
Time is either our friend or our enemy
No mater which way you choose to spin it
As the seconds go by they become minutes
And soon the minutes become hours
With days to follow that soon become weeks
Time rules so much of the things man often seeks
But time marches on and months become years
The ticking of the clock just adding to our fears
So that we find over time we have no power
And really no control over the hours
So the hours continue to pile up
Which when looking at the clock we can see
Time passing so fast we're often lieft in a daze
 As time marches in in a rapid  kaleidoscope craze
With the clock just ticking and tocking
Its unending ticking and toking creating a sad malaise
But as we know time paases us all of us by
Time really doesn't care if we laugh or if we cry
The best we can do is just accept the ticking and tocking
And perhaps sigh in knowing that in the finality of time
That time will go on and we will just die . . .

Time to Build Some New Capstones in My Life

Yesterday, a friend asked me
A deep probing question
As to my life's capstone
And what that might be?
Which question leaves me
To ponder the past and present
And what the future might bring
And what that might be?
So, I begin by pondering the past
And how full my life has been
And indeed it has been full
With successful careers
Worldwide travels and adventures
And a beautiful family
A very beautiful and precious family
And a veritable wealth of friends
A lifelong experience and life
That many only dream of having
Yes, a rich and rewarding life
But, until questioned by my friend
I had stopped living my life
At least in the manner of the past
So, maybe not stopped
Just slowed way, way down
And perhaps just too slow
Especially with the burning question
That my friend asked me yesterday
About my life's capstone
And what that might be?
Which question leaves me
To move beyond the past and present
And begin a new life and journey
To have not just a capstone
But perhaps a series of capstones
To this wonderful life I have lived
And to the wonderful life I am living
And have yet to live . . .

Note:  I once heard a quote which was once one of my life's mantras.
A quote that I need to revitalize and infuse into my life once again:
"Life isn't a Beach.  You will never go anywhere in life by leaving
your butt prints in the sands of time."

A Tribute to Steven Stokes

A good, longtime friend died
Just this week past
A good longtime friend died
He wasn't a good man
No.  He was better than good
And just this week past
He died . . .
His death creating a void
Filled only by memories
Of how he touched lives
Making a better world
Through his example
As a husband and father
As a neighbor and friend
And as a teacher . . .
Teaching and touching
So many lives
Leaving a true legacy
That will continue on
Thus, filling the void
Keeping him alive
In our minds and lives
And in our hearts
Yes, alive. . .
Our good, longtime friend lives
As long as we don't forget him
Or forget to follow his example
By living meaningful lives
As he lived a meaningful and memorable life

Authors note:  In writing this I was drawn to the following quotation taken from
"Thanatopsis" by William Cullen Bryant -
"So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan, which moves
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."