22 August 2012

Life's Game

The channel of life is long and deep
Like the whispering wind, the impatient sea
Timeless as the years go by
Happiness, just a word
Sadness in its many faces
Hate, destruction in people’s minds
One by one, they come, they go
Two-faced as they are
People never learn, never feeling
Wrapped in self, one reflection
Too eager, such a pity
God save this world one more day
They lie, they cheat
Profit, money, greed too
Funny, life’s game.

Circa 1970

07 August 2012

This Day

Laying on my back
In the grass
Gazing at the clouds
As they roll by
What do I seek
As the minutes drift
I look for the memories
That elude this day.

February 2009




30 July 2012

Words of Wisdom

Come hither, come now
Take heed, to words of wisdom
Enjoy your youth, take each day as it falls
Relate to your friends and peers
Place your best foot forward and
See the world for what it is
Save the drama and hysterics
For old age -----
By then, you will have earned it!



October 2005

25 July 2012

Christmas in July! "Santa Darling"

I sit on Santa’s lap
Waiting for him to ask
Old Lady, have you been
A good “little” girl...
I reply, yes Santa, I have....
What gifts do you want this year...
Old lady that I am, I reply
You, Santa Darling!

Dec 2009

We Have a Winner!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our Amazon Gift Card Code Giveaway!


Please stick around and explore the blog, we want to hear if anything inspires you.


Congratulations Helen S., you will be contacted by email shortly after this post is completed.


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Gwendolyn's Blog

23 July 2012

Willow Tree

If I close my eyes
I see the nucleus of my soul
Nurtured within my womb
A young sapling, little willow tree
Swaying with the breeze
I watch you develop day by day
Stretching your limbs upwards
Pride bursts through a haze, a rainbow
Your precious smile takes away the chill
On a cold rainy day, storms we have weathered
To remain true, willow tree
My son!

June 1998

20 July 2012

I Am

A woman in a dream
Of knights, shiny armor
Gallant men of long ago
Cheerful, angry, sad
Too much sorrow, hate
As time goes
What tomorrow’s menu brings
Hope, despair, peace
Weary traveler of foreign lands
Settling neither shore
Forever moving
Black as night
Warm as the summer breeze
Shifting with the sands of time
Nature’s child of darkness
Clashing with human ills
Racing against fate
Woman of color
Heart filled with love and hope
I am me.


1970s

17 July 2012

An Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

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16 July 2012

Stuff It Momma

Lordy, lordy, good day Miz Glory
The sun’s a shinin, a rainbow of color
Momma’s in the kitchen fryin chicken
Cornbread’s a bakin in the oven
Poppa’s snoozin in the corner
Grandpa’s down by the water shed makin liquor
Grandma’s hips are twitchin
Down the garden path, chasin chickens
Pickin string beans and collard greens
Polk Salad Annie comin to supper
Parson Jethro two steps behind
Stir that bubbling black kettle
One more time
Stuff it Momma!




Spring 1996

Letting Go

I.
Kat and I sit inside her home
The air conditioner buzzes softly
It keeps us cool from the sweltering heat
Outside our sons race through the sprinklers
Their young laughter fills the air
We sip burgundy wine and compare notes on the price of food
The telephone rings, Kat drops her glass

II.
I wrote you a letter today
It was mom’s idea that I share my news
I do this before Kat drops the glass
In two months time, my life will take a turn
Motherhood lurks around the bend
I’m all alone in Houston

III.
Mom was on the line, call your father
Cheer him up, he’s in the hospital
A veteran of one war, two conflicts, I sense panic
We got the number to the hospital
Kat used her I’m Captain Richardson’s wife voice to inquire

IV.
I’ve waited for a response
It’s just like you to ignore me and my thoughts
Years of frustration need to be addressed
Do you remember, telling your cronies
Girls aren’t worth shit, why

V.
One-sided conversation, the doctor answers
You were improving, you had gone to the john
Back in bed, you began to read the paper,
A huge jack-hammer struck your chest
They tried to resuscitate you
Fifteen minutes later you were gone

VI.
Did you have any reaction to my letter
Or did you treat it like an ad from the newspaper
I don’t give a shit anymore

VII.
Dew blanketed the grass at night
We pulled up to the house in the early morn
Mom was at the breakfast bar, drinking lukewarm coffee
Kat and I console her for all our loss

VIII.
My son is nine months old
I’m coming home, back to my old job
I hope you will meet us at the airport

IX.
Your friends drop by to pay their respects
A crony from World War II spoke with me
‘He was proud of you girl, you always landed on your feet’
I stroked your chilled cheek, thinking back
When I was daddy’s little girl.



6 June 1998

Always

I love you always
With every breath I take
Rustling leaves in the meadow
Birds flying high in the sky
I love you always
Every moment we are apart
In my dreams, nestled close
Til we’re together once again
I love you always
Knowing you will never be mine
Fantasy keeps me alive
For dreams of you and time.




Date Unknown

13 July 2012

Godmother

Time has passed, like the millennium
Farewells not to be spoken between us
Fifteen plus years, face to face
Just frequent calls


Memories often fade
A little girl remembers
Sunday church, country drives
Trips to the ice cream parlor, days gone by


Baths in a wooden tub
On top of the kitchen table
Watching the cows come down the hill
Spitting watermelon seeds on the grass
Fresh corn right off the cob
Fried with young tomatoes


A journey to Alameda to see my Dad disembark
A young soldier just back from Korea
Reunited with his young family whom you held safe


I still can picture you
Your red can of chewing tobacco
A piece to place inside your mouth
A virtual habit of days past


Hanging on to my comforter and pillow
Stored lovingly among your treasures
Singing the praises of the Lord for his creations
Now you rest in his loving arms
No more pain, no more suffering
Someday we will meet again, and I can say
I love you once, once again



30 January 1996

Color

Love, a four letter word
Knows no color
Picture, you and I
White, black
Color me love
Imperfect that I am
Erase your fears
Touch my heart
Bond, you, I
Across the divide
Picture me awake
Loving you,
An illusive dream!



December 1992

12 July 2012

Last Visit


Stark, white walls in a antiseptic room
Computerized monitors of life, their silent beeping tones
It was the last time I saw, your black pain riddled body
You were not my grandmother, just a hallucinatory spirit, curled in a fetal posture
Anticipating father time
I gazed into a face lined with rough living
The cotton fields of Little Rock
To the hospital corridors of Wilmington, as a domestic
I stroked your callused hand, an angel in white
Administered medication, which you promptly spit out
Eyes closed, all the while, you, ready to die
With a smile
Four days later, in your shallow sleep, you passed away
Buried, to the hymn, of Amazing Grace.



4 April 1994

11 July 2012

Once


Once in a while
Someone special comes
To touch our very soul
But never to linger
As life deals unjust blows
Alas, life goes on
Friendships are built
To withstand the fate of time
Thus shared between two people
Tears, sorrow, joy, laughter
Building a bridge of steel
For all the world to see.


November 1992

Firelight


Firelight, two people
Gaze into each other’s souls
Seeking, pulling back the memories
When two bodies meld as one
Caressing, whispering, loving
Your long tapered fingers play
Music upon my soul
Sweetly releasing the notes
Within my body
Bodies intertwined
Climaxing into a symphony
As the ashes play out.




February 2009

Gwendolyn’s Kaleidoscope


Visualize
As willow trees bend
A half-moon outhouse
Grandpa’s princess dancing in the dusty road
Queen of the May, decades ago

Daddy’s gone to Korea on a big ship
I’m too young to realize the graveness
Mother, me, and brother Butch
Living in Floyd Terrace, up on the hill

Alameda at night
Searching for Daddy
As soldiers disembark
In the night mist
Home again

Great adventure at six
Wilmington to Dover, corpman’s delight
Chasing a young girl in flight, too many shots in my arm
Coast to coast by train to board a great ship
U.S.S. O’Henry, leaving Seattle in the rain
Along the gang plank, one by one, off to see Daddy
In a faraway place, the land of the Rising Sun

Roses for me, a kiss for Mom
A handshake for Butch and Al
Cousin Moses came to say how do
From Yokohama to Gifu, three years
Laced with burdensome snow, torrential monsoons
The smell of cherry blossoms in the spring

A short stop to visit with grandpa and grandma
Brothers three, a sister at last
Lynford Hall, and English estate in the 50’s
A quaint village, Mildenhall is where I live
I meet a young English girl, Judy, oh, I have a new friend

Kings and Queens, museums galore
History abounds, the Tower of London
Anne Boleyn
Will I ever stay in one place long enough to
Keep my friends

5:00 a.m., to the mess hall for a gastronomical feast
London bound for a flight, Boeing 747
My 60’s treat, land of Adolf Hitler
An historical event
The Berlin Wall

A Rhine River cruise
Meanders through the German countryside
Dreams of castles, King Ludwig and Hitler’s Retreat
High in the mountains, covered with snow

Towering excitement generates the air
Summer 1963, a Wiesbaden cheer, J.F.K. at the Von Steubin
Months later, one fateful night
Across the airwaves, death of J.F.K., sombers the evening
A secured childhood passes away, civil rights

Exciting news, I’m going home
Five years, a long time
Along the way, one last sibling, foreign born
Eagerness dies as I return to country about to erupt
Poisonous venom from slithering vipers, riots
Harsh realities….
At sixteen




1 February 1994

Place the Shell to Your Ear



Place the shell to your ear
Listen to the voice from within
Calling your name in a whisper
A whisper of love, with affection
From deep within, across eternity
Though the nights are long, and lonely
Place the shell to your ear
Let joy rise to the surface
A burst of rainbow light
Collides within your soul
Place the shell to your ear
Respond across eternity
Let the dance of life begin
From me to you
Place the shell to your ear.



February 2009

Blue & Pink Rollers Atop My Head



I.
Saturday, somewhere, around 6:30 a.m.
A voice, familiar yet far away
Drifts into my slumber.

II.
Question, ‘where is’ begin
My uniform, batting gloves
Hat and mitt
The pitch is made, swing
Strike one, I pace
Strike two, I pace some more.

III.
Did you see my jock strap
(protects, the whisper of manhood)
Can we have breakfast at Garlands?
The batter steps out of the box
Takes a couple of deep breaths
Back in the box one last time.

IV.
Groaning, I roll over, whispering
‘My only day to sleep in’
Small hands shake my work weary body
Detonating blue and pink rollers from atop my head
The pitch is made, the batter swings
The ball whistles through the air
Between center and left field

V.
Shutters open, I ease out of bed
Resigned to Saturday fate, I shower
Thinking, how can a small person be so zealous
Runners fly around the bases, two runs scored
A runner on third, one at second
A spectators’ voice cries…’YES’.

VI.
I dress with a shadow hovering
Prodding me to make haste
Don’t want to be late
Mighty Mite…well he’s in the car!



June 1994

Fade



Fading light
Against the dark
Distance separates
Two halves
Of one.



March 1993