You dreamed of seeing me up there,
Alas, I never made it;
I moved beyond, to other things,
And your hopes slowly faded
Oh yes, you had so many plans
For this fly in the ointment:
I was a minor talent, but
A major disappointment
Tag: Parents and Children
A Parent’s Yearning
We long to show our children A better life ahead, And so we tell them fairy tales Before they go to bed But just like shadows on the wall Get hidden by the night, We sometimes lose the picture when We cannot find the light But we cannot despair for long: The stars again unfurl, When we will spin more stories of A better kind Of world
To share is human:
But love was the best we had…
They tried to make things beautiful, Most years, they'd change a room -- They hung lights and placed furniture To stem the backyard gloom And we were rich, as some would reckon, Three kids, mom, and dad: We owned a house, we owned some things, But love was the best we had. My father fought in Vietnam, My mom was raised in sorrow; We didn't owe a lot, my folks Were rather loth to borrow -- And things were calm, as some would see it, Yet we had seen loss: And though they made things beautiful, They felt it worth the cost To sit outside and watch the lights, Together, with the birds, And tell us that they loved us, though That wasn't said In words
To share is human:
a super sunday thought
think, this sunday (if you'd like, and if one moment you might take) if just as many played as watched, the difference that it might make
To share is human:
A Common Mistake
We want to see our flowers grow,
But somehow, don’t suspect
We won’t get buds of love,
When we have watered with
Neglect
To share is human:
Little Understood
When I was just a kid, this was
The height of elegance;
My parents took their three kids here
And dined
And now I’m back in this old place
By dint of random chance:
It’s faded, slightly, but it’s still
Refined
I little understood, back then,
Just what it must have meant;
My parents did not throw money
Around
We take what we are given
As a grant when we are young;
Just part of life, like food or air
Or ground
And parents never know, when they
Set out to give a gift,
Which of the many treasures they’ve
Amassed
Will mean the most to kids, who tend
To take it all in stride;
But now, I finally understand
At last
To share is human:
A Covered Bridge
Now may I be a covered bridge to you
To lift you o’er the turbulence below;
With walls to help you some in blowing winds,
A roof to shield your head from bitter snow.
May I provide safe passage on your way
A respite from the frigid arctic blast:
A covered bridge along your winter’s way,
That you must leave
To journey on
At last
To share is human:
Love’s Last Labor
He worked until the day he passed.
A man his children barely knew;
His son and daughter came back home
To do whatever they could do
And out there where he’d left it last:
The old truck that he’d always had –
They sat and watched the sun go down
And traded stories of their dad
What do you say about someone
For whom to speak was rare?
Who never showed his tenderness
Or gave a sign he cared?
But in the glove compartment, there –
Three pics of long duration:
Of their two parents’ wedding day
And their, each, graduation
He’d carried with him all these years
Since they had moved away:
They realized he was proud of them
He just could never say
The sun goes down in silence as
The darkening night forbids —
But love’s last labor knows the truth:
Their father
Loved
His kids
To share is human:
shades of neglect
when it comes to
lack of parental affection
few things are sadder
than for the disconnected child
to realize
not
that a parent didn’t
give what they had
but
that the parent
just
didn’t have it
to give
