Out past the pier
The sun sank low in fear
And one and all were lost
Tag: Memories
Scholastics
What filled her days with terror, fills with space
Her cushioned footsteps echo down the halls
That long-remembered fall from childhood grace
Now lives beneath these lights and in these walls
She found herself contested on all sides
By images of what she was to be;
The human packs: the flock, the herd, the pride
Their self-enforcing mediocrity
This empty school, her province, her domain
She freely walks where once was sufferance
And enters classrooms lightly, without pain
Although pain still indwells past utterance
She lets go of what seemed unfair, or cruel:
And stands there, empty
In the night
A school
To share is human:
Christmas on the Beach
If I was “Home for Christmas”, a
“White Christmas” it would be:
The pure white of the Destin sand
Beside the emerald sea
The crowded summer beaches
I don’t miss, even a tad:
But empty, there at Christmastime?
I miss that
Pretty bad
To share is human:
The Varsity
The year that my father was born
The Varsity got its start;
And eighty-six years later
It is still a vital part
Of the Atlanta scene – the largest
Drive-in anywhere.
You should stop in and try it
If you happen to be there
It’s strange to think throughout the lives
Of my father and me
That place has stood there all this time
A drive-in redwood tree
To share is human:
3:22 AM
It is 3:22 AM
And she can’t get to sleep:
So she goes to her kitchen
Where, all boxed up in a heap
The Christmas decorations are
That she has long accrued.
She hasn’t even opened them,
She’s not been in the mood.
Deciding, she then opens one
There’s a toy village there:
She puts together all its parts
With noticeable care.
Or, it would be noticed, if
She wasn’t there alone.
This village has been hers since, oh
Before her kids were grown
Or even out of high school;
But, that was some years ago.
She looks at all the tiny lights,
The people, and fake snow —
Remembering the magic of
A world transformed by light:
The music of a heart
That didn’t lie awake at night.
And when the morning came
The house was festive, stem to stern;
Her husband looked at her in wonder
Then with slight concern
“When did you… why do all this?
I would have helped you know.”
“I know,” she told him simply
And then took his hand to show
The people in the village there
Amidst the Christmas lights:
Who still believe and understand
It’s not
Like other
Nights
To share is human:
Caroling
My parents both were singers,
Taught us each to sing a part;
We would go out at Christmas and
Would carol folks by heart
I didn’t mind it very much
Out in the frost and rime:
I usually was rather shy
But not at Christmastime
When light and music filled the air –
The sound comes back to me –
There’s still no gift more special than
To sing
In harmony
To share is human:
The World of Coca-Cola
Their grandfather, he worked for Coke
And he had a selection
Of Coke memorabilia that
Became his prize collection
Of red and white with green bottles
Of merry Santa Claus;
Which, seeing now, reminds them of
The childhood world
That was
To share is human:
First Love’s Memory
We wandered down a hill to find
A secret place I knew;
There was a picnic waiting
And a beautiful lake view
She was surprised to see it all —
Delighted, nonetheless;
And I – well, I adored her
I must honestly confess
And she sat on my lap
As we enjoyed the glittering lake;
With fruit to eat and wine to drink
Our daytime thirsts to slake
And in my arms, down to
The waterside we did transfer;
If ever any boy loved girl
Then truth knows I loved her
Into the water soon we went
The two of us got wet:
And how it felt to kiss her
Is a thing I won’t forget
And passion flowed like water
On an endless smiling sea;
And soon engulfed the two of us
My true young love and me
I recall as we dried that she
Had flowers in her hair;
And though the day was long ago
It’s like I still was there
For that first love, that comes but once
Can fade like summer flowers:
But this one memory we share
It is
Forever
Ours
To share is human:
Way Back When
There’s no one cheering anymore,
All the applause has died;
Here in this grand abandoned place
Anamneses abide
I walk the field of glory,
With my memories in tow;
And soak in spectral accolades
From long, long years ago
Loud kudos to the conquering ones!
They shout for all their worth —
The days when we were champions
True giants of
The earth
