Wordsworth’s definition of poetry: “Any object or idea may generate poetry if it is borne on feeling and carries significance; and any style or language can be poetic if it transmits such feeling and significance. ‘Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings; it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility‘; . . . such emotions are not confined to the literate or the elite; they can appear in the unlettered peasant as well as the scholar or the lord; and perhaps in greater purity and clarity in the simpler soul. Nor does the expression need a special poetic vocabulary or style; the best style is the simplest, the best words are the least discolored with pretense or pomp. Ideally the poet would speak in the language of the common man; but even learned words may be poetic if they convey the feeling and the moral force.” – Introduction to Poetry for Dummies.
“Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” Percy Bysshe Shelley, A Defense of Poetry, 1821
Mother Nature
Sunrise is like Mother Nature raising the shade of Day
greeting her sleeping children with the sunshine of another
Good Morning!
Sunset is like Mother Nature kissing her children
on the forehead with a gentle breeze
saying Good Night – I love you.
How can we not be grateful
for each and every day? – Ligon
“In the oddest times and places and doing the simplest things, suddenly the words come floating by, and I reach out to capture them, and write them down.” – John Denver
“I often wonder which will win
in the end.
Awesome wonder at the Beauty
of His creation,
Or the thundering silence
from decades of Solitude?
Paradise or Perdition?
Roller coaster solo condition
Heights of joy
or Depths of depression?
Alternating current
In my brain
Like a sine wave
on a fast moving train. – Ligon
Trump’s Epitaph:
“The rich man lived in luxury
surrounded by his [ore]
He’d always had the very best
that money could afford
He left this world not caring
about his resting place
He laid his eyes toward Heaven
but it was too late.
Give me one drop of water!
the rich man cried from Hell,
One drop of water!
But still no water fell.
He always was a selfish man
His heart was filled with Greed
Now a little drop of water
Is all he’ll ever need.”
Lyrics by Dr. Ralph Stanley
My America:
“This land is mine
God gave this land to me
This brave and ancient land
To me.
And when the morning sun
Reveals her hills and plains
Then I see a land
Where children can run free.
So take my hand
And walk this land with me
And walk this lovely land
With me.
Though I am just a man
When You are by my side
With the help of God
I know I can be strong.
To make this land our home
If I must fight, I WILL FIGHT!
To make this land our own
Until I die, this land is MINE.
– Lyrics to soundtrack of 1949 film Exodus (and words for every American patriot). Composer: Ernest Gold
Lyricist: Pat Boone – who scribbled the lyrics on a Christmas card in 1960 and which is now displayed at Yad Vashem.
see: Andy Williams sings Exodus on YouTube
The Last Dance (to Kathleen P.)
So, so many years
since I last held you.
Dancing
Embracing my
“Lady in Red”
Aching with love
Gazing into your
blue, de Havilland eyes
Remembering kisses
never to be again.
It feels like yesterday
and I wish so much
it was.
Maybe then I could
convince you
I love you more
than he ever could
And still do. – Mike
Pig Putin and His
Bombastic Billionaire Boy:
Vladimir Putin
is such a Little Man
Who thinks he’s Big
cuz Trump keeps Puttin’
Lipstick on his pal
the Commie Pig.
Putin pets his boy
the boisterous billionaire
with his golden Towers
and combed over hair.
Tugging on his leash
like a birthday pull toy.
One covets land
and domination.
The other GOLD
and ADULATON!
Business partners
in international crime
Feeding their pig snouts
While Ukraine does the dyin’.
One uses tanks
The other extortion
Ignoring free people
And their national devotion.
All they ask is a little help
And a few more tools
To whip the Commie whelp
To kick Putin’s ass
and Liberate their Kin
in the occupied Donbas
Ukraine is not Afghanistan,
Iraq, Bosnia or Vietnam.
Those disasters were doomed
before they began.
Ukrainians fought for freedom
more than once –
And still do.
They’re fighting our fight
Like the Poles and the Czechs
did in World War II.
They’re paying the price
for the world to be free
With their blood
and their children
Knockin’ Putin
to his knees.
The Alamo of Europe
standing tall
Protecting NATO’s treaties
Like the Hadrian Wall.
Zelensky like Churchill
is warning the West
If we don’t act NOW
and give it our Best
It’ll be OUR blood
and OUR children
Dyin’ next.
– Ligon
“The blood-dimmed tide is loose
Everywhere innocence is drowned
The best lack all conviction
While the worst are
Consumed by passionate
intensity.”
– W.B.Yeates, Collected Poems, 1996
A Father’s Lament
Day after day
Week after week
Working so hard
For the Life that I seek.
Month after month
Year after year
Time passing so fast
Increasing my fear.
Working so hard
Raising my dears
So much to say
For so many tears.
Once a hero
To my little babes
Now a zero
To teenagers’ hate.
Hurt so deep
By hormonal rage
Thinking my Love
Is keeping them caged.
Yeah, I’m tough,
And hard, and “mean”
But I’ll do anything
To keep them safe, honest
And morally clean.
It’s hard, and it hurts
Not being their “friend”
But it’s the best way
To raise them
In the end.
They’ll curse you and hate you
As they rebel
But sticking to your guns
Can save them from Hell.
Feeling condemned
for holding my way,
Solace from their mother
“Friend” only betrays.
Day after day
Week after week
Longing for the Love
With them I seek.
Month after month
Year after year,
Praying for God
To see our tears.
Hoping they live
And stay out of prison,
The choices they’re making
Keeping them from Heaven.
O God, hear my plea!
Please bless my children
With what they need
To see the Light of Galilee!
I have done my best
I can do no more;
I surrender my children
To Thee, O Lord.
Hear my prayer
To your sweet Face;
To save my children
From this worldly place!
May I live
To see the Light
Of thy Amazing Grace
In their troubled eyes. – Ligon
Billy Banjo
Billy Banjo went for a walk
To pick some flowers and have a talk.
He listened to the birds,
He listened to the bees.
Then he went back home
And put Billy on his knees.
He picked and he strummed
And he smiled as he played
And all who listened
Happy he made.
– Magnus (6) and Grandpa Mike (73);
on a beautiful banjo morning
on the front porch, August 2, 2024
PS.
Well, they tapped their toes
and they stomped their feet
Billy smiled and thought
that was mighty sweet!
Now Billy’s grown
And Grandpa’s gone
But playin’ on the front porch
Memories linger on
– At least I hope
Memories of Grandpa
Do linger on.
Love,
Grandpa Mike
April 9, 2025
“It was only a sunny smile
And it took little in the giving
But like morning light
It scattered the night
And made the day worth living.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald
My Town
My town’s the best there is
To work and play and
Yes, to live.
Snow in the mountains
Short sleeved shirts in town
Better weather in winter
Can nowhere else be found.
Hot July summers cooled by “monsoon” fury
Thunderous and wild
Chases away the dog day drearies
The secret to our summers mild.
Refreshing the air
Making townsfolk gay,
Making green grass
– yes! green grass! Grow
in Mother Nature’s way.
Doves cooing in the morning
add to the Peace,
Quail add to the chorus
Waking us from a cool, summer sleep.
Yes, we all love our little town
Where you hear Nary
a cross word
Or see nary a frown.
It’s our secret Paradise,
But!
If you think we’ll tell you where it is,
You are surely off your Nut! – Ligon
How Long, O Lord?
Watching the sun setting
on God’s Good Earth
Balm of Gilead
For souls that hurt.
Grateful for His
proffered Plan
To redeem forever
the sins of Man.
Remaining faithful
in His Good Word
But worried and wondering
How long, O Lord? – Ligon
My Latina
Unsullied by women’s Lib
Her brown eyes’ gaze
Wise as Adam’s rib.
She’s turned on by
Un Hombre well built,
Passion personified,
Faithful to the hilt.
Quiet comfort every day
And, “Mi Amor” whispered
warmly as we lay.
Brown skin, almond eyes
Black hair and warm body
Never fails to hypnotize.
Take care of her
And she’ll take care of you
Right up to the moment
She suspects you untrue,
Then Dios Mio!
The Gates of Hell are wrent!
– Ligon
Hillary & Bill
Hillary, Billary, Dock
Their careers were quite a shock!
When the subpoenas were done
Their accusers and emails were gone!
Hillary, Billary, Dock!
– Ligon
The People
“The people is a beast of muddy brain
That knows not its own force and therefore stands
Loaded with wood and stone; the powerless hands
Of a mere child guide it with bit and rein.
One kick would be enough to break the chain;
But the beast fears, and what the child demands
It does, nor its own terror understands,
Confused and stupefied by bugbears [politicians] vain.
With its own hand it ties and gags itself
– gives itself Death and War
For pence doled out by kings
from its own store.
Its own are all things between earth and heaven,
But this it knows not; and if one arises
To tell the Truth, it kills him unforgiven.”
– Tommaso Campanella {1568-1639) shortly before
being burned at the stake – after 27 years in prison
and hundreds of hours of torture for questioning
the Catholic creed. Durant VII:625
My Country
“I see the ramparts of my native land,
One time so strong, now dropping
in decay.
Their strength now decaying by
this New Age’s way
That has worn out and rotted
what once was grand.”
– Francisco Gomez de Quevedo y Villegas (1580-1645);
last words warning Spain it was dying as well.
Durant VII:306
Christmas Lost
I yearn for the Spirit of Christmas
I ache for the Holy Ghost
that made that day special
and made it mean the most.
I mourn the absence of
the Nativity crassly replaced
by corporate cartoon characters
and products shoved in our face
Before time to even thank Him
for our bounty
and God’s free Grace.
I cringe at young minds stamped
with the ghoulish green face
of the Grinch who stole this
and stole that;
He not only stole Santa Claus
but Christ as well.
Sunday worship
and keeping it holy
a distant memory,
Now commercialism, gambling,
booze and football
the currency of “sacrifice”
Of our Father and His Son
to the Almighty Dollar –
and Black Friday-
at the altar of Mammon.
It’s not credit card debt
we need to fear;
It’s the cancer of our souls
that’ll cost us most dear.
Crucifying our Savior again
by our selfish, greedy, sins. – Ligon
“This [President] whom no conviction
constrained
Grew so broad-minded he was
scatter-brained.” – J.V. Cunningham
“To the poet everything should be a miracle, even when, like the sunrise or a tree, it greets him every day.” – Durant, III:249
Obedience
The Sun and the Moon
are obedient Souls
They’ve done their jobs
for eons untold.
If Man could just learn
from those two bodies
Earth would be free
from so many follies!
And why is it the Moon
that takes all the hits
When it’s the Earth
that’s going to shit?
There must be some reason other
Like a child
Protecting his Mother? – Ligon
Jenny
I fell in love with you
the moment I saw you.
Sitting there silently,
regally poised;
Head erect,
Brown eyes so clear, so alert.
Elegant, slender, graceful neck;
You stay awhile
then leave awhile.
Then return again.
Ready to fly at the slightest
danger to your dear children
Nestled beneath your warm breast.
My feathered Mona Lisa. – Ligon
War
Is it ever too late
to shed a tear or two
For those who died
In World War II?
Or any other war
that brave men
and women died for?
Donne said it best
of the dear long gone,
Each death diminishes
us
Each and every one
a Mother, Father,
Sister, Brother,
Daughter or Son. – Ligon
The End
I knew without a doubt
the exact day
it was over.
I was leaving for work
and, smiling, bent to kiss you;
then saw the look in your eyes
as you turned your face away. – Ligon
Chemistry
I not only saw you
I felt you.
Did you feel the same
as I?
In the moment it took
to pass me by?
Did you think of what was possible
if time and circumstance were different?
Strange that in just a fleeting moment
thinking (and feeling!)
Life could have become so bright
But like a swan gliding into moonlight
Left aching with thoughts
of what might have been. – Ligon
Hunger
There’s a special type of hunger
having nothing to do with nutrition
But everything with Life
and the Human Condition.
It hurts just as much
to live without it and such,
But craving companionship
isn’t as bad a hex,
As still being married
to the same ol’ ex! – Ligon
Rock Star
I love dogs
for who they are
And they love me
for who I’m not
Or maybe I am
and they can see
What I forgot.
Whether it’s True
Or whether it isn’t
The Love they give
Makes Life worth livin’. – Ligon
Mortality
The older I get
and the more I know
The less concerned I am
with getting old.
My kids harangue me
day and night
With eatin’ proper
and drinkin’ right.
They must think I’m stupid
or just plain lazy
For not seein’ the benefit
of their “health” food crazes.
I was raised on the basics
of the five food group
And compared to their ascetic style
It did me a lot more good.
Bigger, stronger, bones more dense,
Muscle mass more natural
At much less expense!
Took nary a pill
Nor chemically charged
“energy” drink to swill.
They weren’t around
and didn’t see
The hard work I put
into being me.
I sure didn’t get this body
at GNC!
Just hard work in the gym
and out
Construction in the summer
Football in Fall
Was what my generation
was all about.
Now, I know you love me
and I love you
But let me make my choices
on how to live with
what time I’m still due. – Dad
August Moon (to Sue B.)
Like a new dime lying
on the sidewalk of space
Reminding me of
a happier time and place.
I was young, and strong
(and handsome) back then
Now I’m old and achy
alone in my den.
From years and miles of
a Life well spent.
With fond memories of a girl
and a time passed too soon,
In a Georgia peach orchard
Breathless under an August moon. – Ligon
Tears Are A Language God Understands:
Often you wonder why tears come into your eyes
And burdens seem to be much more than you can bear
But God is standing near, He sees your falling tears
And tears are a language God understands.
God sees the tears of a brokenhearted soul
He sees your tears and hears them when they fall
God weeps along with man and He takes him by the hand
Tears are a language God understands.
When grief has left you low it causes tears to flow
When things have not turned out the way that you had planned
But God won’t forget you His promises are true
And tears are a language God understands.
God sees the tears of a brokenhearted soul
He sees your tears and hears them when they fall.
God weeps along with man
and takes him by the hand.
Tears are a language that God understands. – G. Jensen
Stand! Alone If You Must!
I could not believe Americans
Were fooled so easily
To roll over on their backs
And believe the CDC.
It seemed the whole world went plum crazy
About just another case of flue
When the real facts and the numbers
Didn’t justify a big to do.
But the Truth and common sense
Have no place in the world today
Just the PC hype and the Lyin’
Got the snowflakes to have their way.
I was born a free American
I fought for freedom more than once
I never thought I’d see the day
When free Americans would march so blindly
To the babblings of a Dunce.
A few with a social agenda
To control our hearts and minds
Convinced the light upon a hill
To close their ears and mouths
And put our liberty in a chill.
Our Bill of Right’s been trampled
Ripped beyond repair
Our Founding Fathers’ hopes and dreams replaced
With entitlement and Welfare.
The Greatest Generation dies away
Having sacrificed so much
For a bunch of little snowflakes
To live on workin’ folks’ cash money
As an easy Social crutch. – Ligon
Young Mothers
Young mothers are
a sight to behold,
Trying to survive
’til their kids get old.
Days and nights
Nights and Days
All seem to melt
into one endless haze.
Then one day
when the blur is gone
The kids have grown
and suddenly gone!
Mom’s heart aches
for the noisy bliss
Of the children’s chaos
that’s now amiss.
They’re not “gone”!
They’re just not “here”.
And all she has now
are her memories dear. – Ligon
Empty Nest
Raised four kids
All now grown
Raising families
of their own.
Hither and Yon
Across the Land;
Too far from home!
For this old man.
All doin’ fine
Far as I can tell
The empty nest
Lonely as Hell. – Ligon
Roofs
Fair weather is such
a seductress
It fosters such
false hopes
And panders to
our procrastinations
That leaky roofs
will fix themselves. – Ligon
Fireflies and Butterflies:
Oh how we used
to play among them
Chase them, catch them,
wonder at ‘em.
Now we hardly see them
Are they there
and go unnoticed?
Or gone forever
Amidst our chaos? – Ligon
Hillary
Been dazed and confused
For so long she’s not True
Dealing with her crises
With nary a clue
She hurts and abuses
Telling all of her Lies
To Bill and the masses
She can hypnotize
Lots of people talkin’
Few of them Know
The soul of THAT woman
WAS created below!
– adapted from Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin
Dads
Dads are here
And then they’re gone
Judged highly
Or harshly
By what they’ve done.
Whether out
Or whether in
I’m who I am
Because of him. – Ligon
“Coleridge defined poetry as “the best words in the best order.” St. Augustine called it “the Devil’s wine.” For Shelley, poetry was “the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds.” For the attentive reader, poetry has the power to send chills shooting down the spine and lightning bolts flashing through the brain – to throw open the doors of perception and hone our sensibilities to a scalpel’s edge.” – Intro to Poetry for Dummies
“I keep six honest serving men
(they taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why
and When and How
And Where and Who.” – Rudyard Kipling
Thoughts Within
I sit beneath the steel and tin
to keep the rain out
And my thoughts within.
Beholding God’s gifts:
The mountains, the trees,
the beasts who live.
Pondering His greatness,
His love, The Peace it gives
The beauty, harmony
Of His eternal Plan
Evidence of the Great I AM!
The inspiration that flows
Grants wisdom to a child
Only his Heavenly Father knows
Father, thank Thee for this Life
Thou has given.
Wilt Thou thus bless
My dear children
As each one of them grows? – Dad / Grandpa Mike, February 23, 2023
Islands
So many islands
Marooned by seas
Beautiful beaches altered
By waves eternally
Some are beautiful,
Some are not
Some sustain Life
Others not.
Some are green
Others sand
The most lonely
Are those of Man
Marooned among the masses
By higher thought
From other classes
Inflamed by Truth
No longer spoken
Ignored, suppressed,
Progressively broken.
Condemned to a Life
Of higher Self
Among the Masses
Devoid of Adler’s Shelf. – Ligon
“We’re all islands shouting lies to each other across seas of misunderstanding.” – Kipling
Despair
Lurking here,
Creeping there
The bottomless abyss
of deep Despair
Heavy, hopeless, sleepless presence
Always there
deep within us
Nights longer,
endless days
Once there
can’t cast away
Dreams are nightmares,
Reality a blight
Demons of the past
A constant sight! – Ligon
