A Trio of Poems by N.J.

A Quartet of Poems by N. J.

Missing Home

There used to trees here
So thick you couldn’t see
The fields on the other side
The crops that were to be.

There used to be a bridge here
Right at the end of this road
Dockside in the other county
That’s torn down and closed.

There used to be a store here
Right as you entered town
It was sold for profit last year
Now an empty lot is found.

There used to be a house here
With a fence I used to paint
Gone now too is that fence
The color of the house now faint.

There used to be a family there
Now scattered far and wide
Home is not what it used to
Nowhere to go hide.

The young are taking over now
The old are moving on
I miss my hometown the way it was
Time would not leave it alone.

-N.J.

Untitled

I looked at her as she stared back at me
That girl I used know....
And she gazed at me with her tearful eye
Her hair in curls and bows,

Have you forgotten the wonderful plans
And hopes I made for you
That great career, that splendid fame,
all the wonderful things we were going to do?

Where is the mansion so big and strong
With pretty gardens around ?
The silken robes that I dreamed for you
And the jewels for your crowns?

As she spoke, I was very quiet
My mind thinking quite slow
This slender girl from the shadowy past
That girl that I used to know.

Then I smiled and said to her “Please follow me”
And took her up the stairs
Where my daughter slept peacefully
Innocent, sweet, and fair.

And I told her Look, that this is my only jewel,
She is very precious to me;
That silken robe is my motherhood
A price very worth it you see.

And my mansion is this house of love,
And the only career I know
Is teaching little ones just like her
Peace, joy, and how to grow.

And as I spoke to my shadowy guest,
She smiled through tears of long ago.
And I saw the woman that I am now
Make happy the girl I used to know.

-N.J.

Family Tree

You and I, we come from different
Sides of our family tree
Amazing how much alike
We are, you and me.

A tree with so many branches
Growing upward high and strong
Green leaves on each for every child born
I wonder if here is where I belong.

My leaf did not bud from this tree
Like all the other I know
But was tied on by loving hands
And knotted on tight, away I would not blow.

So here I hung unsure and different
Not too high on a branch but down low
Then I saw you across the tree
Your leaf blowing hello.

Welcome you said, don’t be afraid
Never again will you be alone
Our ancestors chose you to be a part of us
We are now your home.

Thank you, I said though I’m tied here
For letting me onto your tree
There is no place on this earth
That I would rather be.

Do not worry about the tie you said
For time will rot it away
And you have taken root, you see
Here, in our family tree to stay.

-N.J.

Advice for a father......

Be peaceful in your work and patient with your own
Hold her hand but know when to let go
She'll always consider you home.
Let her grow her own way find her place in this world
Don't worry daddy her view points will change
After all she's still just a little girl......
Listen instead of lecture guide her on her way
She'll respect you more tomorrow, maybe even today.
Tell her everyday that you love her
Even if she doesn't want to hear it
That will be the one thing she'll remember
When other things are fighting her spirit.
Deal with her on her own terms as her body and mind grow
Take if from me she's a good kid, daddy
I was once like her, you know.

-N.J.

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