ROSE'S UNIQUE POEMS

On my birthday, I contemplated what the day meant to me and came up the following poem:

Another Milestone

The older I get

The longer I set

Pondering the ways

To get through the maze.

The turns and the blocks

The big and small shocks

The triumphs to cheer

The risks if I dare.

This labyrinth called life

Full of happiness, strife

Each cycle I chart

An end, a new start.

What are the odds? Are they as random as I imagine them to be?

Random Odds

by Rose Marie Boyd

The days, long weeks, short years

New loves, old hates, the fears

The where’s, the what’s, the why’s

Wide grins, loud laughs, soft cries

Hothead, warm heart, cold feet

Burdens, demands to meet

Things to learn, to teach

People to hold, to reach

The challenge, triumphs, joys

Silence, the shouts, the noise

The weak defeating strong

Knowing what’s right from wrong

Fresh sights, strong tastes, the feel

Imagined, wished for, real

Deep wounds, rejection, pain

The wind, cold snow, wet rain

To know and trust a friend

To fight, to hurt and mend

Long tales, the truth, the lies

Big loses, wins, or ties

Anger, a curse, deaf ears

Too sad to shed the tears

Soft music in the breeze

Photos, mementos seized

To greet, enjoy, depart

Absence, a broken heart

Nature, a painting still

Ideas, a mind fulfilled

To have, misplace or find

A heart, a soul, a mind

To eat, to drink, bad taste

To save, to toss, much waste

A dream, a thought not clear

Take hold, keep close or near

Fitness, health, the cancers

Questions, search, no answers

A birth, a life then death

First cries, one chance, last breath

A poem I wrote for a relative's wedding ceremony.

Shelf Life

Does love always taste the same?

No, over time its flavor changes;

Its once-spicy tang mellows.

But add a pinch of understanding

Then pepper it with affection,

And it’ll store well in the heart’s cupboard,

Scrumptious and ready to be shared

At a moment’s notice.

When my father came down with Alzheimer's disease, we saw him slip away. At first it was for short bits of time; but then the lapses grew longer. Although his body lingered on for years, he no longer seemed to be with us. Where was he?

Present Yet Unaccounted For

The more unfocused minutes pass,

And sand slips through the hourglass,

The days, they seem to disappear,

What happens to them still unclear.

Though cause unknown, brainwaves resign

To be confused by common signs.

They seem to journey somewhere far

And flee the now in ways bizarre.

Perhaps they seek the distant past,

Nomads who roam through days recast,

For there the route was somewhat clear,

With far less conflict, far less fear.

Can minds demented, damned by fate

Have conquered time, have found the gate,

Unbolted it and used the means

To fade away like time machines?

Image Source: http://michiganelderlawcenter.com/resources/was-a-loved-one-diagnosed-with/alzheimers-disease/

Two poems inspired by the weather.

RESTORATIVE POWERS

Raindrops slide down transparent window panes.

Salty teardrops caress a hollow cheek.

Torrents plummet, the thunderous storm wanes.

Sobs exhausted, the future seems less bleak.

Weathering the Storm

Rain falls and gloom prevails

But light breaks through the clouds

And reflects hope against the tears

Creating an optimistic rainbow of light

With a promise of bright tomorrows.

I spotted this small bridge in the middle of someone's front yard. It didn't go anywhere. It got me thinking where I might be headed. Do you know where you'll end up?

THE Bridge of Life

Where does it lead, this span so short,

the days, the years that time distorts?

Its tread is worn from soles that passed,

that took it slow or crossed it fast.

Hold tight the rails, impede the stride,

or wind up on the other side.

The end traversed, the last plateau,

what lies beyond…a flame, a glow?

My neighbor Stacia sent me this picture with the following message: "The western sky looks like it’s on fire!"

At Evening’s Performance

With blazing vibrance,
Yon star takes a final bow
‘Fore dark curtain falls.

© 2011 Poem by Rose Marie Boyd/
Photo by Stacia Mercurio

Last night’s full moon enticed me and my camera outside.

Mooning

Lured by a vague tidal pull,

I shake off my weariness

and plunge into the waves of night

holding tightly onto my camera.

Anticipation floats in my belly,

as I focus my lens skyward

and capture a hypnotic sight,

displayed unabashedly full circle.

These Icicles were dangling in the grand foyer of my front yard.

Crystal Chandeliers

Dripping with luster,

These prisms of ice brighten

Winter’s vestibule.

In the moist summer, the male tarantula can be seen roaming in search of a consenting partner. I recently spotted this 5 inch arachnid in my backyard.

Compelling Mission

Late summer rains awaken thee.

‘Cross wide terrains go willingly.

With wanderlust, search out thy mate,

And win her trust to procreate.

Upset over the destruction of trees during the widening of a local road, my friend requested I write a poem that expressed her distress.

Photo by Susan Popko

Tears for the Slaughtered

For decades they flourished,

Tall verdant characters

Verging the narrow course,

Only to be brutally hacked,

Martyrs quickly downed

As sacrificial lambs

To the pagan gods of progress,

The stout powers-that-be,

Craving wider paths

Of copious tar and asphalt.

Carl and I will be celebrating our 34th wedding anniversary this Sunday. The below poem commemorates the occasion.

Floating Along

Thirty-four years together

In fair and stormy weather,

This pair drifted side-by-side,

Coping with the changing tides.

Carol & Jimmy Bettino celebrated their 40th wedding Anniversary on April 18, 2010. We're privileged to enjoy this amazing couple's friendship.

Extraordinary Moths

Once they caught each other’s eyes,

Both hearts soared like butterflies.

Sustaining what had begun,

Two enamored joined as one.

Forty years they’ve kept up stride,

The pair flitting side by side.

Through life’s fast and hurried pace,

Their loyal wings remain embraced.

© 2010 Poem by Rose Marie Boyd

Photo from: http://www.buschelmanphoto.com/butterfliesinsects.htm

A Nebulous Performance

I’ve viewed numerous sensational sunsets here in Prescott, especially on overcast evenings. But, contrary to the publicity they receive, I haven’t enjoyed but one dramatic sunrise, the one pictured below.

A Nebulous Performance

A somber backdrop for the dawn matinee,

Dismal grays let the rising star

Ignite the stage with a fiery flamboyance.

Down the Home Stretch

Winter portrayed such cold tenacity during yesterday's early morning snowfall. If it races through the rest of the season, and approaches the end with a spring in its step, I’ll be thrilled.

Winter

Down the Home Stretch

The hoofs of Winter trot toward spring,

A frozen March to the season’s end.

Closing in on the final finish,

Winter displays an icy determination.