Different Slants

                              © 9/11/10

 Written to comfort a good friend on the loss of her mother who lived in another country.  But the meaning is so universal, I decided that others may take comfort from it as well.   If you happen to know someone who will appreciate these carefully chosen words, please tell them to come read my poem.   And…Happy Mother’s Day!

Mothers can be

Far away

and

Deep within you

at

The same time

They are like

the

Sun

You rotate

Around them

No matter

Where you are:

Across

A town

A country

A continent

An ocean

They

Pulsate

in

Your mind

Their voice:

Talks to you

Scolds you

Loves you

Curses you

Embraces you

Regardless…

Mothers

Can

Make you

Crazy!

They can be

Someone you flee

Someone you’re moored to

They can be

The Standard

of

What NOT to be

or

Love And Justice

In

Human form

Distance

is

Not enough

to

Escape

the

Wrong Mother

Holding them

When

They are loving

Can seem to be

Not

Close enough

While they live

They can

Control

Your emotions

Like the tides

When they die

Sometimes…

You can see them

Better

Like sunlight

Refracted

You can see

Their

Many parts

Their essence

Sometimes…

Sometimes…

If you are lucky

You can see

the

Heart of them

When they die

They are no longer

So

Far away

They

come

To live

Within you

If

Your Mother

Was like the

Sun

Radiant and Eternal

I hope she

Still

Warms you

Gives you strength

and

Illuminates

Your horizons

Even if you

can

No longer

See her

I

Hope

Her glow

Within you

Lasts

the

Rest of your life

Poetry? For me, writing poetry is not an option.
It’s a response to emotion. Like cigarette smoke,
it’s fast-flowing, shapeless and with little time to capture it.
Writing poetry in an imperative. I say what I feel compelled to say.

I’m available for hire to read my true Chicago stories to organizations
and answer all questions. I autograph my books when I sell them.

I am currently seeking an agent to do more readings.
Feel free to call me at 847.274.1474

We arrived in Stavoren Holland on June 6 to move aboard our newly purchased Westerly Berwick sailboat.  Our prior experience in the country was limited to two jet-lagged days in Amsterdam, and two days of driving around in April looking at boats.  We really did not know what to expect.

In April the weather had been freezing, windy, and wet.  By June, it had moderated to cold, windy, and wet.  However, one day in mid-June, it switched from cold to warm with light winds (and wet) and stayed that way until we left in August.

The food was a bit of a surprise.  Stavoren, which is just a village, has only one small grocery store.  It is reasonably well stocked with a good variety of fruits and vegetables, plenty of cheeses, bread, wine, and a selection of meats.  What it does not have, is canned goods.

The grocery store in Stavoren

We were used to American supermarkets with aisles of canned everything.  In Holland, we found even the larger grocery stores carried few canned goods.  It seems the Dutch people are constrained to eating nothing but fresh, wholesome food.  We got used to that after a few days and resigned ourselves to eating well. (Read on …)