For My Lover

Such chill and blustering night was that
You whispered I love you
And Winter smiled; she sighed and swept
The chords of life and love.

This moment I have stored within
The grotto of my heart
I've locked inside an age, a day,
An instant of delight.

Forever forth these words exalt
From wedded souls of ours,
Where faith and hope and lasting love
In warmth and sunshine dwell.

--gigi

The Air Is Like a Butterfly

The air is like a butterfly
With frail blue and marmalade wings
The happy earth looks at the sky
and sings.

Don't grieve for me, for now I am free
I follow the plan God laid for me.
I saw his face, I heard his call
I took his hand and left it all.
And if my parting has left a void
Then fill it with remembered joy.

Do not be burdened with tears of sorrow
Enjoy the sunshine of the morrow.
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near,
Just around the corner
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting
When we meet again.

-- Author unknown, submitted by Willy

Retirement

There once was a teacher named Paul
Four decades he gave it his all
Both baseball and Lit
Lent force to his wit
Now’s time to hear praise and stand tall

[For Paul McGeehan on his retirement, 03/09]

--gigi

Old Age

Old age, they say, is a state of mind.
I am in that state, trying to resist.
Exercising my body, sweating and straining
To stay lithe and lean.
Always stepping on the scale of truth.
Willing the pounds away.

Burning calories, exhaustion creeps in.
Quicker now than in past years.
Will my body know when to stop?
When will it know it’s okay?

It’s okay to witness change.
It’s okay to feel love handles
In place of a slender waist.
It’s okay to relax.
To live a sedentary life.

But is it really?
Should a person surrender to time?

Give in to an age where life is good,
No matter the size.

I don’t feel old in my bootcut jeans.
Confidently continuing to wear such things.
But noticeable my hands are wrinkling with age.
My skin revealing a map of my past.
With its crevasses and lines.
Worry and guilt busily partner
Sculpturing my face.
Carving their signature on my image.

But again, is it okay to accept age and its consequences?
I think not.

They say old age is a state of mind.
I prefer to attain an altered state.

--Lu-Ann