Kitchen Table’s Witness

Courtesy of Pinterest.

Farm’s eternal footprint

Memories held tight

From each generation

Nurturing what’s right

 

Kitchen table’s witness

Writes each diary page

Chronicles history

Filling life’s rain gauge

 

Precious hope’s future link

Tough times overcome

History comes alive

Leaving each bread crumb

 

Confidence builds each spring

Another crop sown

Expected fall harvest

Paying back bank loan

 

Farmer’s faithful outlook

Every season’s birth

Tomorrow remains bright

Blessing Mother Earth

 

Courtesy of Pinterest.

Monday Memories: Generation to Generation

The inspiration for this poem comes from an essay written by William E. Farr, “Troubled Bundles, Troubled Blackfeet:  The Travail of Cultural and Religious Renewal.”  This essay is part of a larger collection of writings that link Montana’s past with its future in the book, MONTANA LEGACY.

Courtesy of Pinterest.

Facing an uncertain world

Life asking questions of “when”

Intertribal wars threaten

Hostile danger setting in

 

Preserving Blackfeet culture

Each passing generation

Saving sacred heritage

Hold for next generation

 

Ritual artifacts cache

Spiritual lives won’t rest

Supernatural visions

Medicine dreams will attest

 

Honoring warrior life

Holy treasures speaking out

Collected and safeguarded

Sacred bundles carry clout

 

Filling with key elements

Common and natural sought

Feathers, hides, shells, horns added

Teeth, wood, bones . . . each with a thought

 

Passing on these rituals

Mother Earth, Creative Sun

Guarding life’s sacred relics

Legacy, father to son

 

Sample of a bundle’s contents (courtesy of Pinterest).

Originally published November, 2020.

Just Another Day (Haiku Series #319)

Hoop’s March Madness

Witnessing upsets

“Cinderella” storylines–

Underdogs rise up

Lessons from Dad

Time for spring cleaning

Hey son, use more elbow grease—

Ouch . . . tennis elbow!

Missing Link

 Humor striking out

“Generation Gap” witnessed—

Dad’s jokes falling flat

All images courtesy of Pinterest.

Monday Memories: Passing the Torch

man wearing gray and brown hat with eyeglasses

Photo by Marllon Cristhian Barbosa on Pexels.com

Watching Saturday’s unhurried sunrise

Feeling gratefulness, spirit shall arise

 

Being retired, life moves at much slower pace

Realizing, there’s no need to win life’s race

 

Remembering grandfathers, crisp and clear

Teaching life lessons, steady and sincere

 

Growing up, learning from their example

Tasting life with every new sample

 

Loving family, with kindness and care

Treating marriage, with love beyond compare

 

Passing on wisdom, making good choices

Sitting here now, hearing cherished voices

 

Accepting their torch, these years move along

Being a grandfather, where love belongs

 

Filling up life, grandchildren sharing love

Joining other grandfathers, fits like a glove

green lit torch

Photo by Kelly Lacy on Pexels.com

 

Originally published April, 2020.  Edited September, 2023.

Ronald Reagan Quote

Photo by Brett Sayles on Pexels.com

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.  We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream.  It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) was America’s 40th President.  Years before he served his two terms of office as President (1980-1988), Reagan addressed the Republican National Convention in 1964.  The above excerpt comes from his Freedom Speech.

George Orwell Quotes

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.

One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes a revolution in order to establish a dictatorship.

English novelist and journalist, George Orwell (1903-1950), was an outspoken political commentator, but he was much better known for his literary works, including the novels 1984 and ANIMAL FARM.

Generation to Generation

The inspiration for this poem comes from an essay written by William E. Farr, “Troubled Bundles, Troubled Blackfeet:  The Travail of Cultural and Religious Renewal.”  This essay is part of a larger collection of writings that link Montana’s past with its future in the book, MONTANA LEGACY.

Courtesy of Pinterest.

Facing an uncertain world

Life asking questions of “when”

Intertribal wars threaten

Hostile danger setting in

 

Preserving Blackfeet culture

Each passing generation

Saving sacred heritage

Hold for next generation

 

Ritual artifacts cache

Spiritual lives won’t rest

Supernatural visions

Medicine dreams will attest

 

Honoring warrior life

Holy treasures speaking out

Collected and safeguarded

Sacred bundles carry clout

 

Filling with key elements

Common and natural sought

Feathers, hides, shells, horns added

Teeth, wood, bones . . . each with a thought

 

Passing on these rituals

Mother Earth, Creative Sun

Guarding life’s sacred relics

Legacy, father to son

 

Sample of a bundle’s contents (courtesy of Pinterest).

Passing the Torch

man wearing gray and brown hat with eyeglasses

Photo by Marllon Cristhian Barbosa on Pexels.com

Watching Saturday’s unhurried sunrise

Feeling gratefulness, spirit shall arise

 

Being retired, life moves at much slower pace

Realizing, there’s no need to win life’s race

 

Remembering grandfathers, crisp and clear

Teaching life lessons, steady and sincere

 

Growing up, learning from their example

Tasting life with every new sample

 

Loving family, with kindness and care

Treating marriage, with love beyond compare

 

Passing on wisdom, making good choices

Sitting here now, hearing cherished voices

 

Accepting their torch, these years move along

Being a grandfather, where love belongs

 

Filling up life, grandchildren sharing love

Joining other grandfathers, fits like a glove

green lit torch

Photo by Kelly Lacy on Pexels.com