A SAFE CHILDHOOD

 

I was never very young,  

But that doesn’t mean

I was never naïve.

I was foolish enough to think

My thinking was sound

Though in reality

It was simply prideful pomp.

My high school photo

Showed my banker’s stare,

It saved me much trouble,

No miniskirted girls

Looking for a good time

Ever passed me notes.

My youth

Was my chance

To make mini mistakes

With only small penalties to pay.

If I had been bolder,

My adventures would have been grander.

The costs would have been steeper.

I seek no second youth,

No chance to do it again,

To decide between mini and grand.

For me, living without lament

Is a satisfying grace.

Watercolor by Pat Morgan

BROTHERS

Brothers are like billiard balls

Banging against each other

Bing, bang no harm done,

Blood washes away,

Bones heal.

Insults and headlocks

Are common.

Mom, always there, ignores most,

But occasionally snaps, followed

By silence cold as artic ice.

Brotherly bonds grow strong,

Become woven steel.

Brothers cause

Little need for

Therapy.

I bruise easily,

Heal slowly,

Realize now

My loss -

No billiard brothers.

SING ME

Will you sing me a show tune,

Lighten my heart

As I sit front row

Waiting to die?

Sing me “You’ll Never Walk Alone”

Since I am so scared.

If I don’t comfort you, it’s because

I need comforting.

I may even turn away,

Ashamed I’m not stronger.

I used to be the one singing,

“You’ve Got to be Taught.”

Just don’t sing me,

“Climb Every Mountain.”

I’m so tired, there’ll be

No curtain call.

Sing me a show tune

So I can hum along

Until it’s over.

from  SEA GLASS SOUL – Invisible Colors (Book III)