The Lost Stork

His Mother had told him

that on Christmas Day

he'd have a baby brother

with whom he could play.

-

The stork got sidetracked,

he was too young to understand

why he couldn't have the brother

for which he had planned.

-

Early Christmas morning

he ignored the shining tree

and all the pretty presents

piled high for him to see.

-

Instead, he looked behind the door

and underneath the bed.

"Honey, what are you looking for?"

his Mother softly said.

-

"Where's my baby brother?

The one you promised me?

I looked, but couldn't find him

underneath the Christmas Tree."

-

Tears welled up in Mother's eyes

on that sad Christmas day,

she held him and she told him

that the stork had lost his way.

-

He never quite got over it,

this lonely little lad.

Eventually he grew up and

became a loving Dad.

-

Hands

We hold hands with a lover,

we shake hands with a friend.

Childish hands pat the face of a mother,

parental hands pat the other end.

With our hands we lift a brother,

and sometimes a hand we will lend.

-

With folded hands we kneel to pray.

Hands turn the pages when we read.

With potter's hands he molds the clay,

the sowers hand plants a seed.

Mother's hands put toys away,

the gardener's hand pulls a weed.

-

We wave our hands to say goodbye

or beckon, "Please come here."

A hand wipes teardrops from an eye

or playfully, boxes an ear.

Frustrated, we shake a fist at the sky,

hands tremble and shake when we fear.

-

Hands, a marvelous creation,

without which what would we do?

Used both for work and recreation,

each of us was given two.

This seems an adequate ration,

what I'd do with more, I have no clue.

Why?

Good things happen to bad people,

and bad things happen to good.

Why?

-

Smart people do dumb things,

and dumb people often do smart.

Why?

-

Cruel people are sometimes kind,

and kind folks sometimes are cruel.

Why?

-

Rich folks pinch their pennies,

while poor folks give their last dime.

Why?

-

Beautiful people can be ugly within,

while an unsightly person shine inside.

-

A mother with one child is harried,

another mom takes six in her stride.

Why?

-

A wealthy person has no faith,

the homeless give thanks to God.

Why?

-

The more we learn, the more we question.

Only God in His Wisdom knows,

Why!!!

I Survived

Why have I survived so long?

Is there a purpose for my life?

God has had ample opportunity

to remove me from this earth.

But I survived.

A child of three

locked herself in the bathroom

and ate six boxes of Ex-Lax,

seventy two tablets.

"Ummmm, good chocolate!"

Rushed to the hospital,

stomach pumped.

The Doctor said,

She would have been dead by midnight.

But I survived

A sixteen year old girl with Strep Throat,

eight days in the hospital,

sixty-four shots of Penicillin,

ninety-six Aspirin,

gargled Penicillin and

Saline water alternately, every two hours.

But I survived.

A fifty something woman with overactive thyroid

caused by exposure to radio-active Iodine in her teens,

(a down winder)

Drank radio-active Iodine as a cure.

But I survived.

A sixty-plus lady lay on the floor

with a gun pointed at her head

and prayed. Tho terrified, she was unhurt.

But I survived.

Now, a useless old lady,

I can no longer keep my house clean.
MY cooking has gone to pot!

I am exhausted, cranky and tired.

I love my God and my Country.

I love my husband and my son.

I love my grandchildren

and my great grand children.

Is this why . . . I still survive?

Ella: On Flirting

When I was young I flirted,

and I wasn't understood.

I was trying to be friendly,

to tease and just have fun.

I soon learned there was danger

in my attempts at play,

so I squelched my playful nature

as I traveled life's highway.

Ahhhh . . . but now that I am older

the danger's there no more

and I can flirt and tease and play

with all the cute young boys.

I never flirt with men my age,

what would I want with them?

I'm not looking for trouble,

I just want harmless fun.

So I flirt with cute young fellas

of my grandson's age,

and I think that they enjoy it

as they laugh and grin and blush.

And they don't think I'm naughty,

or evil or obscene . . .

No, they just think I am senile

and they patiently humor me.

War and Rumors of Wars

War again;

Last night we bombed Iraq

to free the suffering Iraqis

from that Despot, Saddam!

A good cause.

I hate war!

It seems there has been war

of one kind or another

throughout my life.

Seventy years I have lived . . .

. . . through World War II . . .

. . . Korea . . . Viet Nam . . .

. . . The Cold War . . .

. . . Desert Storm . . .

and now this.

My mind whirls -

heart aches -

I live in deep despair -

My world crumbles.

Then . . . then . . . there was hope!

My husband surprised me

with pussy willows.

It is Spring!

Negatives And Positives

I jumped out of bed to greet the sun
expecting to find a beautiful day had begun.
But I looked out to find a cloudy sky,
so gloomy and dismal, I started to cry.
Then came the rain with the drizzle and drip,
I felt so down I could step on my lip.
-
Ah! . . . But soon, the sun came out again,
all was freshened and cleaned by the rain.
The rainbow stretched from the east to the west
and I heard the birds as they sang in their nest.
On such a day, how could I have been blue?
Why had I let myself fuss, fret and stew?
-
Darkness always fades in morning light.
Making up is glorious when we've had a fight.
When we eat the meat and 'taters, then we get the pie.
Soon after cold December comes a warm July.
It's been proven sunshine always follows rain,
and joy is always sweeter when we've tasted pain.
-
If I'd never been cold, would I appreciate fire?
If I'd never been without, I'd never know desire.
When I've labored long and passed the test,
then, and only then, Can I enjoy my rest.
So it seems, we really need the negatives
without which we wouldn't look for positives.