Do You Think God Saw Me?

~

~

I'm in trouble now, Spike!  I'm in trouble.

You're lucky you're a dog

cause no one cares what a dog does

as long as you don't bite someone...

or chew up daddy's shoe...

or bark too loud at the postman...

or tear up the newspaper

before mom has a chance to

cut out the coupons.

You're just a dog.

God don't care what you do, Spike.

You probably don't even know

that He's watching.

You're just a dog--a lucky ol' dog.

Right now I wish I was a dog

like you.

~

Collage Composition from old magazine cutouts

by TAPS/Betty Stone

Tomorrow The Sky May Fall

~

~

Today you bring me flowers

with a smile upon your face

and love thoughts glowing in your eyes,

and we embrace

with warm and tender touch

that does not want to cease.

I close my eyes with giddiness,

enjoying your manly scent,

mingling with the perfumed blossoms

on which your pay was spent--

the sunshine bright, the sky so blue

our happiness beyond extent.

Know today that you I love

for tomorrow the sky may fall,

or you may wish that we had never met,

or one of us may not recall

the specialness that we possess

and promises we made, at all.

Love me this day before the petals

wilt and and fall in seeming sorrow;

'fore autumn leaves have blown away

and beauty's gone with none to borrow.

Smile at me so tenderly

as if there's no tomorrow.

~

Computer art:  "Aftermath"

by TAPS/Betty Stone

Heart Anchor

Always A Bridge

~

As love's heart anchor,

those immutable bits of yesterday,

when feelings crystal clear and sharp

as waters from the mountain streams

cascaded fast and cold

from year to year

with love untold.

~

You were my all,

my reverie when days were not

exciting as I thought they ought,

and hard to take, with pain,

yet no regret or fear

that you would leave

me standing here.

~

Always a bridge,

a hand outstretched to draw me back

across the flowing streams of life

that would have carried me afar

when I would go away

with no desire,

or thought to stay.

~

Now, memory

is what I have of days gone by,

the life we shared washed down the stream

though once we ruled the mountain high.

Still, there is no weath'ring blast

could cause to fail

that love held fast.

~

Photo:

A Colorado mountain stream

west of Denver

INTERRUPTION

Your entrance into my reality,

so unexpected,

at first unwanted,

set at naught the blueprint

of the life that I had planned.

"I have no room for you!"

my intellect shouted,

"Go away! Let me be!"

But, my heart had a mind of its own,

and in its quiet, gentle way

took you in,

and would not let you go.

It slowly brought my stubborn mind

into sweet submission.

Now, hearts of two

are melted into one

that never more can part

without the destruction

of us both.

Photo:

Rose of Sharon in the morning

Beyond The Gate

Do not fear to go beyond the gate

no matter how thick the hedge,

how moldy the walls,

or how dark the way.

Do not let the unknown hold you at bay,

and leave you with regrets

of missing out on something grand

in having failed to venture forth.

Focus on the light at end of way,

down darkened stair,

through passage dim and dank,

to burst out upon that which

is worth the stumbling steps.

Life is exciting.

It holds that vital spark

to light the fire within.

Do not hold back with fear,

nor dread what lies beyond the gate.

Photo:

Outside of Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Madrid

Words Can Do It

I went there again today--that place I love,

with azure skies and amber hues

against the rocks of red and bronze,

with scrub pines guarding mountain trails

that lead to places that I knew

so long ago.

I went there again today--and I took you

to places you have never been, or seen.

I held your hand and guided you

around the rocks so rough and bare,

to vistas you could never know,

or even dream.

I took you there o'er rocks and rills,

and 'mongst the treasured lofty peaks

we lay among the columbines

and gentle paintbrush strokes.

All the while, still in your chair,

with simple words,

I took you there.

Photo:

Red Rocks Amphitheater, Denver, CO

It's Been A Long Time

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime
Jamais je ne t'oublierais.
Yes, I've loved you for so long,
how could I possibly ever forget you?
If the moon should cease to shine

in the midnight sky,

if fluffy clouds were forever banished,

if stars nevermore twinkled and flashed,

and water ran up hill,

it would surprise me less
than if I forgot the tiny wrinkles

around your eyes

or the dimple in your chin.

How could I forget your laugh

or the satisfied little moan you make

when we kiss,

and your sigh

when we don't?

Yes,
Il y a longtemps que je t'aime

I wouldn't recognize myself as me

if my love for you disappeared,

or turned to dust

and blew

another's way,

or played a different tune,

or sang another song.

Jamais je ne t'oublierais

no matter if sweet sorrow parts

and erases all our dreams,
and our plans go up in smoke,

or vanish in the mists

of yesterday's

failures,

I will never forget you.

Never!

How could I?

Photos:

flowers on my balcony/porch

Reverie At Summer's End

You are my quietude,
my peaceful cove--
haven from the billowing sea
where battered and broken,
I foundered long,
my hope submerged
neath crashing waves
of soul's despair.
My song was gone
until you rescued me.
You are my harmony,
my sweet repose
where melody wafts on air
and lilting strains gently swell
to passion's rousing anthem.
You are forgetfulness
of all the pain
accumulated o'er the years.
I set it free at last
because you gave it wings.

Photo: One of the lakes across the road