Psych Students: This is #1; read & scroll to #2

One young student said, “I shun review;
with old chapters I thought we were through.
I just hate going back
to pick up needless slack,
so go slowly with anything new.”

At Thanksgiving I have a dark mood
and then so too do all of my brood.
Though I know it won't last,
I'm so glad when it's past
'cause we gobblers won't wind up as food.

Prayer

I put my hands together and enjoy the way it feels.
I sense His presence strongly then, and know
that I'm connecting with a power that heals.
My fingers are antennas, clasped just so
or palm to palm, and bathing in his love
my faith is stronger--as it should be when
I open up my heart and thereby shove
all doubts away. I'm much more peaceful then.

As simple as it sounds I still desire
to learn the complicated physics there.
His laws of universal truth inspire
my curiosity. I'm quite aware
I ask a lot. Perhaps too much...but see?
To search is how he fashioned me to be.

The Last Rose of Summer

I watch the shadows lengthen every day
and wonder if the crispness of the morn
will make it hard to straighten up the way
I did when every eager bud was born.
The warmth and cheer of summer green and bright
emboldened me to do my best to share
my modest gifts with anyone who might
come by to stare and gulp the evening air.

But as the days grow short and leaves turn brown
I find it tougher to stand tall and proud--
and harder to gaze up than down.
Of course, surrendering is not allowed.
Besides, I’d like to linger just a while
and make another careworn person smile.

Ben's and Piroshka's Visit

A big smile lingers still on my face
since Piroshka and Ben hit my place.
Though the time went too fast,
the warm fuzzies will last.
Wow! P. carves at a furious pace.

Little Ben's Hobby Horse

Labor Day Verse

The Miner’s Daughter

Her daddy’s old black lunch box is the same
almost as when he first began to dig
for coal. He stood quite tall and wasn’t lame
at first, and never coughed till she got big—
well, ten is old enough to read his eyes—
but when he tucks his lunch beneath his arm
and gently kisses her goodbye, she cries
inside and tries to smother her alarm.

She watches at the window every day,
her kitty by her side, and hopes to see
him come back home less tired than before.
Or just return. The newsmen have a way
of scaring girls. As hard as it can be
to wait, she wears a smile at the front door.