She sits with chin upon her chest
Quietly asleep.
A peaceful smile upon her lips
Her breathing slow and deep.

She dreams of once upon a time
When love was hers to give.
Lost in pleasant memories
When life was hers to live.

Hand in hand with those she loved
Meandering through life
She had her share of sorrow
She had her share of strife.

I've never seen her shed a tear
Or show the pain she's in.
Life's finish line is coming close
I know she's going to win.

She'll cross that finish line real soon
With loves redeeming grace.
She'll greet her death with open arms,
Chin up, smile on her face.

The painting is one I have always loved by Monet. Seems strange to use it in a poem about the end of life, but I believe the finish line in the race of life is a bridge. I don't know where it leads exactly. I do know where I would want it to lead.

Perhaps

Sunlight through the window shines
And draws you to the place
Where you curl up to take your nap
And feel the warmth upon your face.

What do you dream my feline friend?
Do I really want to know?
In your dreams are you outside,
Where I won't let you go?

Are you chasing leaves or birds?
Or padding through the grass?
Skimming lightly across the snow?
Or waiting for the rain to pass?

Are you traveling at night?
Or hunting for your prey?
Are you chasing moonbeams,
Are you just a cat at play?

These walls will keep you safe my friend
Confined though you may be,
And as you sleep in sunwarmed bed
Perhaps you dream of me?



Triumph

There is a crocus blooming in the snow.
Triumph of nature not of man
Though it was planted by his hand
In hopes that it would grow.

Sown in dark rich earth
Before the winter did arrive,
No guarantee of life
Just hope that it would thrive.

For all the winter, there it was
Putting down it's roots
And bit by slow painstaking bit
It was pushing up a shoot.

Mother Nature briefly touched
the earth with breath of spring,
I wonder if she even knew
The miracle it would bring.

There is a crocus blooming in the snow
Triumph of nature not of man
It was planted by his hand
But Mother Nature made it grow.

I don't believe that a pragmatic person like myself can ever write good poetry. I don't have a poets soul, I do have a brain, and it needs challenging once in awhile to keep it healthy. So this is an exercise in brain health. I have 10 of these things written, and these are the only 2 that I like, but one has to start someplace.
I promise not to inflict them on you too often, and in exchange I am asking for ideas in how to improve. Hows that for a deal?

Thank Heavens it's Monday. Yes...you heard me right, I said "Thank Heavens it's Monday." No, your screen does not need cleaning, I have actually typed out loud that phrase no less than two times. Didn't even stutter. For the sake of those who do not find Mondays to be a day of joy, I shall refrain from committing the deed a third time. I will, however, reserve the right to refer you to sentence number one at the top of the page. I am sharing with you a Monday that is sunshine and lollipop good. It is bright and sweet, with just a touch of Girl Scout Cookie. Well, more than a touch. Shall we say just a taste of Girl Scout Cookie? No, that's not right either. It's more like half a box of Girl Scout Cookies consumed with the FIRST cup of coffee this morning.... Monday. Yes, definitely a sweet day. A sugar charged day. An I don't give a damn if it's Monday or not, pass me another Girl Scout Cookie day. Ahhhhhhhhh......bliss.

My oh so lovely and super intelligent Granddaughter. The joy of my life. The Girl Scout of the family. The enabler of Grandma's Girl Scout cookie addiction, made a mistake in Grandma's order. Grandpa, being unaware of exactly what I ordered, simply paid for the cookies on Sunday and brought them home with him. The order was for two boxes of Tagalongs, one box of Thin Mints and one box of Trefoils, for a total of four boxes. Order was placed the end of January with a March pick up date. No problem. What I received was four boxes of Tagalongs, two of Thin Mints and she got the Trefoil order right, one box. Seven boxes of cookies for a total of....drum roll please......$24.50.

She's 14, I thought that by now she would be able to handle taking an order over the phone. They have a sheet on which is listed, at the top, all of the cookies available. To the left is your name, and on the line that extends from there to the right side of the page are all these little boxes. One marks in the little box the number of each type of cookie ordered. When one arrives at the end of the line there is a space for total number of boxes ordered, plus the amount owed. She didn't have the order sheet and I said I was going to order four boxes which she wrote down followed by my order. So, since she has 4 written down, when I say Tagalongs 2 boxes it became 4 boxes of Tagalongs, and the 2 boxes became the Thin Mints. I asked her to read the order back to me and I was so proud of her, she had it right. The problem seems to have happened in the transfer of those figures off the paper she was using to the "official" Girl Scout Cookie order sheet. Apparently between the taking of my order and the "official" listing of said order a cute boy must have appeared.

Teenagers, I believe, seem to have a port in the brain which allows the contents to leak out when attractive members of the opposite sex appear on the radar. Seems to me that boys never outgrow that phenomenon. That's assuming that the male of the species actually has a brain installed in the head that sits atop their necks. I must admit to have seen some evidence that they do, but more evidence that they don't has also been observed. Excuse me, I'm getting off the subject. It's all that sugar, from all those Girl Scout Cookies.

Anyhow, I am now the proud possessor of a bit of knowledge that until now I was unaware of. Half a box of Tagalongs can make anything better. Before you decide that any 57 year old Grandmother that eats half a box of Tagalongs with her first cup of coffee on a Monday morning is the glutton of the century, let me advise you that half a box equals 8 cookies. Cookies are approximately one and a half inches in diameter. Hubby ate four and I ate four. One box of Tagalongs contains 15 cookies for which you pay $3.50. They are worth their weight in gold. Anything that can give one this nice a buzz on a Monday morning is worth whatever Hubby paid for it. There are 52 Mondays in a year, half a box of Tagalongs would be necessary for each Monday. That makes it 26 boxes at $3.50 per for a total of $91. I don't think so. Unless of course she calls for my order on a Monday next year.

I was surprised to find out that the snowfall totals for New York State this year were NOT above average. The difference this year is that we didn't get any snow until the middle of January. I am not a fan of green Christmases, in my experience we pay for them one way or another, plus it gets harder to think about shopping for the season when everything is green. Every time we've experienced one, (note that I did not say enjoy), we've paid for it dearly.



The above picture was taken when Oswego County's "lake effect" snowstorm finally ceased after 4 days. This was how they had to remove snow from the roads. I remember the aftermath of the blizzard of 66, but that didn't compare with the sheer volume of snow I'm seeing in these pictures. I'm not given to the use of the word "awesome" unless I feel that something truly is awesome, but this qualifies.



I've been looking at these pictures for a week now, and the word that comes to mind is "AWESOME" and frightening in it's magnitude. I live an hours drive south of the area where those pictures were taken. I don't believe I care to experience this phenomenon up close and personal. We had snowbanks that were as high as 6 feet, and I suspect these banks were close to being twice as high. I look at this and ask myself whether or not I still want to live in New York State. The answer is still....YES. Only, can we skip the green Christmases? Mother Nature appears to work overtime when we don't.