My Dream

Last night I heard God chuckle,
It was in a dream I had,
Our Father up in Heaven,
Was laughing with my Dad.

The two of them were joshing,
With dear and long lost friends,
And then and there I realized,
True friendship never ends.

They were having such a jolly time,
Swapping tall old tales,
But as I stood apart, I felt,
The wind go from my sails.

There they were together,
And there I was alone,
I longed to gather up the gang,
And bring them all back home.

Then the Lord looked down upon me,
And He spoke into my heart,
He said, “Your Dad has never left,
No need to feel apart.

He’s with you every day of life,
He’s there each breath you take,
He’s a major force behind,
Decisions that you make.

He’s watching everything you do,
From his place up above,
He’s watching all his loved ones,
And he’s sharing in their love.

I know you miss your Dear Old Dad,
But you must know My son,
The world’s a sadder place these days,
But Heaven’s much more fun.”

Last night I heard God chuckle,
Best dream I ever had,
I loved to see how close they were,
Our Father and my dad.


I awoke on what would have been my father’s 85th birthday, March 9, 2002, with this poem running through my head.

My Yellow Rose

My Yellow Rose is gone from me,
A victim of the frost,
When winter’s wind has scourged the land,
And everything seems lost,
The world is bleak and featureless,
And life is bare in scope,
My garden is in dormancy,
Without a ray of hope.

I don’t believe in what they say,
That deep down in the earth,
Is a seed of love that holds within,
The promise of rebirth.

Late winter winds keep up the chill,
But the sun peeps through the clouds,
And occasionally, a burst of warmth,
Will thaw away the shrouds,
The garden’s still in silence now,
But in the new sun’s beams
Are rays of hope awakening,
From unremembered dreams.

Perhaps there’s truth in what they say,
That deep down in the earth,
Is a seed of love that holds within,
The promise of rebirth.

The early spring brings verdant hues,
With buds and sprigs of grass,
The snow is all but melted now,
As the pain of loss will pass,
And though I never shall forget,
What my Rose meant to me,
I’ve come in time to realize,
That what will be will be.

I think there’s truth in what they say,
That deep down in the earth,
Is a seed of love that holds within,
The promise of rebirth.

My garden’s filled with beauty now,
The flowers bloom in May,
And though my Yellow Rose is gone,
She left me a bouquet,
I see her vision everywhere,
She’s watching, I suppose,
The glory here reminds me of,
My Blue-Eyed Yellow Rose.

I know now what they say is true,
That deep down in the earth,
Is a seed of love that holds within,
The promise of rebirth.

Virtus junxit, mors non separabat

(Virtue joins, death does not separate)

Tupelo Jail House Blues

I got me a woman mean as can be,
She spends her time raisin’ hell with me,
She gives me lip and I can’t talk back,
All she’s good for is givin’ me flack.

I came home from work feelin’ worn and beat,
Hopin’ for a slab of good red meat,
I shouldn’t a whopped her up side the head,
But she gave me a tofu burger instead.

I always make the wrong choice when I chose,
I got the Sittin’ in the Tupelo Jail House Blues.

My woman was madder than I ever saw,
She picked up the phone and she called in the law,
The sheriff put the cuffs on and said, “Hey Sport,
You and I are headed straight down to court.”

The judge on his bench looked down at me,
Sayin’ “Son, you’re a menace to so-ciety,
I’m givin’ you five long years in jail,
Startin’ right now, no chance of bail.”

I’ve just been nailed and I got the screws,
I got the Sittin’ in the Tupelo Jail House Blues.

They got no red meat in this jail,
Just bread and water and the bread is stale,
They got no wine and they got no beer,
But they don’t serve tofu burgers in here.

Spend my nights behind bars and locks,
Days on the chain-gang breakin’ up rocks,
Missin’ the time when I was free,
And my cell-mate’s taken a liking to me.

It seems like I always get bad news,
I got the Sittin’ in the Tupelo Jail House Blues.

I shouldn’t have given in to all that rage,
All it got me was this cold iron cage,
If ever I get out of jail alive,
My woman’s waitin’ there with a Colt 45.

At night I lay here behind these bars,
Talkin’ to the Lord up there in the stars,
Askin’ why he gave me the life I got,
And the Lord, he answered and said, “Why Not?”

I tried to win but I always lose,
I got the Sittin’ in the Tupelo Jail House Blues.

Moab

I’m living in my memories and dreams of long ago,
Of the land that filled my childhood, and how I loved it so,
The cottonwoods in springtime, the aspens in the fall,
They held me ever thunderstruck, the beauty of it all,
Perfection unexpected in the crimson cactus rose,
That town in Spanish Valley, where the Colorado flows.

The red cliffs in their majesty, the arches made of stone,
They made me see the Purpose, and I felt it to the bone,
At night beneath the cosmos and the vast eternal plan,
Brought me closer to my Maker than cathedrals made by man,
To me that place was heavenly, as heaven only knows,
That town in Spanish Valley, where the Colorado flows.

I’ve seen so many wonders since the day that I left home,
The Grand Canals of Venice and the glory that was Rome,
I’ve seen the Alps at sunset and the castles on the Rhine,
But none of them can quite compare to that sweet home of mine,
The tempo of the canyons where the pace of living slows,
That town in Spanish Valley, where the Colorado flows.

Oh, I’ve been gone for many years, but do not feel apart,
That place is still inside me for there’s blow sand in my heart,
And in my mind I see it still, and all the folks I knew,
It was the land and people there that taught me what is true,
They gave me needed stamina to face life’s highs and lows,
That town in Spanish Valley, where the Colorado flows.

Castle Valley Rocks!

Lullaby for Dreamland

Come now, little children,
Let’s turn out the light,
Lay down on your pillows,
Let’s go nighty-night.

You all must be happy,
And never be cross,
Think of white bunnies,
And pink candy floss.

Ignore all those vampires,
And dragons and gnomes,
They can be found in,
The finest of homes.

Those trolls in the closet,
I think they’re asleep,
And werewolves have other,
Appointments to keep.

Don’t fret on those monsters,
Down under your bed,
Perhaps they’ll eat Mommy,
And Daddy instead.

Those giants and zombies,
And ogres and ghouls,
They all are attending,
Appropriate schools.

So think of bright rainbows,
You must concentrate,
Forget all those bad things,
Before it’s too late.

I’m closing the door now,
To stifle the screams,
So goodnight little darlings,
And have pleasant dreams.

The Distaff Side

Women are a conundrum,
Oh, they’re a mystery,
They really make no sense at all,
To fellows such as me.

One moment they are happy,
The next, they’ve got the blues,
They have the strangest mood swings,
And what’s with all those shoes?

They fret on their appearance,
And raise a lot of fuss,
They worry that their butt looks big,
When they look fine to us.

They have no sense of humor,
At least, like you and me,
They don’t laugh at the Brothers Marx,
Nor at the Stooges Three.

They don’t like Stan and Ollie,
They don’t like Bud and Lou,
They’d rather watch a chick flick,
Does that make sense to you?

They buy the strangest objects,
For reasons no one knows,
Guest towels no one uses,
Throw pillows no one throws.

They hate a messy kitchen,
There’s nothing could be worse,
They know where everything belongs,
Except down in their purse.

Yes, ladies are a strange breed,
A colossal mystery,
But they look and smell and feel good,
And that’s good enough for me.