Poems, Personal Stories, and Observations

Posts tagged ‘family’

At the Laundromat

Sixty washers and sixty dryers,
All going ’round in circles,
Never ending …

Until a buzzer rings,
Until the fat lady sings.

Here’s a family with two kids,
Here’s a senior, down on the skids —
Changing his clothes just after drying.

Here’s a young man just returned,
His clothes have disappeared, he learns,
Surprised and shocked, he looks around.

I’d wondered ’bout that lady who
Said, “Don’t know
Who these clothes belong to –
Are they mine?”

Well, eventually it was straightened out.
Indeed, she’d taken what was his
And into the dryer, along it went
Tumbling ’round and ’round, along with hers.

Next week, I visited once more.
The young man came inside the door.
I asked him if he’d got his clothes.

Of one pair socks, he was depleted,
He shrugged, not seeming too defeated —
Serenely accepting an item deleted.

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Graduation

Cathys Graduation 002z

For twinkle in my father’s eye,
For mother’s constant sacrifice,
For precious, awesome gift of life –
I give thanks.

For patient husband, children too,
Grandparents, siblings, nephews, too,
For cousins, in-laws, nieces few,
I give thanks.

For teachers full of expertise,
(Those projects – staying up ‘til three) –
But passed on knowledge expertly –
I give thanks.

For fellow students com’radarie,
For late night chats, and shared coffee,
For sharing notes (I’m panicking!) –
I give thanks.

To friends who shall remain unnamed;
Like parents, they did guide my sail,
Much wisdom did their words contain –
I give thanks.

For other friends, who stood nearby,
When I could not then socialize
(They really do deserve a prize) –
I give thanks.

But most of all to God above,
His plan, His purpose keeping on —
I couldn’t have done it without His love –
I give thanks!

(June, 2016)

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Missing Men

Missing men and absent abbas,
Deadbeat dads and passive papas,
Men who have gone off to fight,
Men who seem to be off site,
Men who sit and read the news,
While their kids are so confused.

Men who don’t know how to be men,
‘Cause their dad was missing when …
As they grew up, there was an absence
In body, spirit, or emotional lapses.

God, our Father, we pray to thee:
Fill the gaps we cannot see.
Help the men who never learned
For family, wife, to be concerned.

Who might not know to show respect
To women — sometimes they in fact reject
The ones who dare to have a mind;
Some men have not learned to be kind.

Don’t get me wrong, the ones who fight —
The rough guys, tough guys, they’re all right.
I only hope they will include
Some kindness in the interlude.

Yes, dear men, you have a role
To care for wife and children’s soul.
And like us women who too have flaws,
To see God’s plan we must give pause.

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Christian, Commentary, family, Poems

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For the Children

For the Children

There can be an ache inside
Truly cannot be denied
We try to hide the pain inside
But pretty soon the hurts collide
With others’, and the wound gets wide

I had two mommies, don’t you see
They really didn’t think of me
And no one ever thought of them
The cycle it goes ’round again

I only had a mom, you see
My dad and her could not agree
And so he left; they could not see
A way to be in harmony

I had two dads; ’twas really sad.
Wondered who my mother was;
I cried sometimes at night because
She never was

I had a mom and dad, you see
But dad was gone emotion’ly
He read his paper, watched TV
Didn’t have the time for me

Oh, who cares for the children?
Who really cares?

Dads and moms, they were abandoned.
Never learned to love, it saddened
Their hearts, but they could never see
What it did to you, to me

The only way to get beyond it
Is seek God’s way; you’ve got to find it.
Move beyond the pain and anguish
God’s way for life we must establish.
Forgive, let go, and let it show
God’s joy in time you’ll get to know.

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