Poem: If I Could

Rita Bourland © 2010

If I Could

If I could write a song,

I would find notes and chords

to ease the sorrow in your heart. 

If I could paint a picture,

I would mix colors to match the sunrise

then give you a canvas

brushed with the dawn.

If I could sail,

I would steer my boat across the sea

and return with soothing tides

captured in a bottle.

If I could find a sage

to explain the mysteries of life and death,

I would pay a king’s ransom

for his erudite words,

then bring them to you in a box

with a gilded lid.

If I could find the right words,

I would speak to your pain,

wrapping your sadness in lyrical prose;

pouring comforting words

‘round your wounded heart.  

If I could bring your loved one back,

And allow him to live once more,

I would do that and more.

When there’s a loss so deep and raw

that nothing touches or heals,

then I would be your friend and stay with you,

sharing in your silence

until you wished to speak again. 

Poem - Surprise

Google Image 

Surprise

“I ‘prised you,” she said.

She certainly did,

at least twenty times every day,

from under the covers

and under the bed,

behind every door

the curtains and more,

she’d catch me off guard

then shout with delight,

“I ‘prised you.”

She’d hide in the yard

behind every bush

and every tall tree,

under a bench

and next to the slide,

she’d catch me off guard

then shout with delight,

“I ‘prised you.”

At bedtime each night

I’d read her a book,

give her a kiss,

tuck her in tight,

turn out the light,

I’d catch her off guard

then say with delight,

“I prize you.”

I knew in my heart it would always

be true,

‘cause the ‘prising thing is

 a child’s a prize

all life through.

Poem: Why Does that Guy Have a Gun?

Google image

Why Does that Guy Have a Gun?

Tranquil Sunday,

coffee shop in the suburbs,

folk music on the radio,

barista busy with lattes,

young man, mid 20’s comes in,

pistol on hip,

hung in a holster like

an old time western,

I wondered why,

so did a little boy giving him

the once over

before asking his dad,

Why does that guy have a gun?

but nobody asked the guy,

he got his coffee and left

like no big deal,

like I have the right,

like nobody can stop me,

like I don’t care if I just scared a little kid

who might have watched too much news

about little kids getting shot in a school?

I wondered about the law,

and whether it’s okay to carry a gun

on your hip in Ohio,

but I mostly wondered if its owner felt safer,

more in control,

ready for a shoot-out on Main Street

to defend his way of life,

his country,

his 2^nd amendment rights,

on a tranquil Sunday

in a coffee shop in the suburbs

 of Ohio?

I found this on Wikipedia and it was news to me:  Ohio is a traditional open-carry state. The open-carry of firearms by those who legally possess the firearm is a legal activity in Ohio with or without a license. While legal, the practice is not common in urban areas and often results in police responding.   Various cases of harassment by police on those open carrying have been documented.   Furthermore one must have a concealed handgun license to carry a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle regardless of whether or not it is concealed.