Way Back Then©

I remember way back then,
You could see for miles and the stars were so brightly lit,
Before the smog and other pollutants hit

There were trees and bees, and other such things
Where now pavement rules for miles on end
And eight lane highways do extend

But progress must come, as we all know
So stand back the bear and the doe
And make room for another condo

We all know profits must be met
And there's no time for a study
For there isn't total global warming just yet?

There are schedules to heed and deadlines to meet
So we need more concrete to get us there
Who cares about the quality of the air?

For in this day and age where everyone has a cell phone
It is easier to clone than to let nature on her own
And if that doesn't work we can use something genetically grown

Then there's always the lotto or casino to make our day
We no longer need Mother Nature to have her say
For we as humans have figured out a better way

So let us raise our beer in cheer
Dawn our hats, for skin cancer is always a fear
And off we go for another great year

Maybe by now we've figured out there are too many
Of us to fit on a shuttle to that unknown place far away
And for all of us to survive a nuclear explosion on any given day
So in its stead we'll settle for our own implosion

Have a great day

Andreas Simic©

That Feeling ©

Maybe it's the snow-capped mountains piercing the clouds with their magnificence

Maybe it's the tall green pines that have been here since before
Columbus's birth and are over thirty stories high

Maybe it's the roaring river cascading down the mountainside
To the valley below with its salmon defying logic and odds

Maybe it's the rocky ledge so subtly shaped by glaciers thousands of years ago

Maybe it's the smell of the ocean air that greets you in the morning

Maybe it's the pod of killer whales playing alongside the island ferry

Maybe it's the ocean going vessel like a ghost ship on its way to parts unknown

Maybe it's the sight of a soaring eagle gliding oh so effortlessly through the blue skies

Maybe it's the sound of a baby deer born within earshot of a friend

Maybe it’s the fragrance exuded by the myriad of flowers of varying shapes and colors

Maybe it's the sunrise and sunset that makes you gaze in awe

Maybe it's the open arms that greet you when you return home.

And that feeling, it is the knowing that you are exactly
Where you are meant to be

Andreas Simic©

The Patient©

As I sit here in my room, watching
The people in white suits rush back and forth
It makes me wonder what separates us from them.

I was one of them wasn’t I
Did I not have what they all have:
a family, a job, a home, and a hectic schedule
What has delivered me to the other side?
What separates me from them

Those of us on this side are tucked away until
One of them has time to tend to us
We wait hoping that one day we will return to our
Former selves: to be able to dress or to eat,
To function without one of those white coats
What separates them from us

Time keeps passing, yet I am still here.
The white coats are looking more and more familiar
The days are becoming more and more routine.
They say that they are helping me and that I am getting
Better. Yet here I wait still
What separates me from them

Days pass into weeks, weeks into years and the white
Coats become a blur.
There is no calendar with which to measure time yet
The minutes and hours tick by, I know. I hear their stories
Of family and friends; of colleagues and all
Those they meet, the weddings, funerals and vacations
What separates them from me

They say that I am well now.
That I can leave and have a normal life, yet I know
I am not my former self
I have been separated from them

Andreas Simic©

HOME IS WHERE THE FAMILIAR IS©

I have never quite understood the saying "Home is where the heart is"

Does it mean where your physical heart is

Does it mean where your emotional heart is

Does it mean where your sweetheart is

Having just returned from a trip a thousand miles away and in length,

I can now describe home as the place where;

Your clothes are not lost (by the airlines) and do not appear to have been purposely wrinkled on arrival

Your life is not at risk in the hands of another, AKA the seemingly mad cabby

You don't take the subway going in the wrong direction despite the use of maps and clear written instructions

You know where the shifter is on the car

Finding which key fits, which lock, is not an exercise in futility

Locating which cupboard contains the right glass, cup or dish you are looking for is not a mad search mission

All your favorite foods are in the fridge.

The right knobs on the stove turn on the right burner.

The buttons on the remote are broken into for your favorite channels

You rarely run out of all your clean underwear and if you do, you know how to operate the washing machine

When your shoelaces break you know where the store is to buy new ones

The buttons on your shirt don't pop before an important meeting and there isn't a thread and needle to be found

The cake cutter you receive, as a gift is not treated as a weapon of mass destruction by a customs officer

The welcoming committee at the door no longer resemble miniature terrorists in waiting

The feel of your bed and the touching of toes are a giveaway

That you are home

Alas, though it may not sound as exotic or romantic as
"Home is where the heart is"

Home is indeed, that place where all is familiar

"Home is where the familiar is!"

Andreas Simic©

Now and Then in 2017©

There was a time when I was younger
That there was this constant hunger

Time has passed and the years have flown by
Sometimes joy and laughter, sometimes a good cry

Vows kept under the stars we met
A grandson that keeps me young without regret

Where once I had a great left hook
I now rely on Facebook

Used to compete at a track meet
What I do now is Tweet from my seat

In lieu of at the rink with my team
I’m Linked In to the latest dream

Before, at the diamond with a bat
After, share the world with Snap Chat

Amazon was a great river in Brazil
Now an eCommerce site with a bill

Past, hanging out at the mall looking for chicks
Present, watching Netflix pics

It used to be four on the floor
Instead my best friend is an I Phone more

Many hours once spent polishing chrome
Replaced by Google Chrome in your home

Parallel parking used to be a real pain
My car parks by itself again and again

At the pumps no more
The car is electric and less a chore

I find myself often saying
Is there an “app” for that, and then playing

In conclusion I have no dilution of days gone by
The days of yore are long gone and I’m on standby

To give it all a try

Andreas Simic©

She is the Flower Amongst the Flowers©

Like her fellow kind she is graceful as her petals reach for
the morning sunlight
Soft and gentle in the cool morning breeze she sways
In that moment there is calmness that belies her truth
For she sheds the morning dew drops like the tears of someone
you hold dear
Her long slender neck carries the heavy load which grows
with time and maturity
If she had lips one would need to be cautious for she is
laced with thorns
Thorns that can stab you whether wittingly or unwittingly
and make you bleed
The cuts sharp and piercing and not something to be taken lightly
They will leave you in pain like a heart that has been torn
Her beginning is like most from a small acorn of a seed,
she begins to sprout
Only a glimpse of what she will ultimately become shows
in those early days
But one day her long stem like the legs of a shapely woman
will be firm and supple
Time will pass and she will outgrow many of her family
She will be more popular and hold a special place
When selected for meaning in people’s lives
Like the moods of a woman her colors are varied
And carry with them the potential for an array of emotions
The deepness of meaning representing the well of life
Sometimes half full and sometimes half empty,
but always refreshing
Each color part of a spectrum and the bounty
of feelings it can bring
The folds of her blossom are complicated and intricate yet delicate
From a distance she stands out to your eye,
her beauty catching your breath
Her shapeliness recognizable on sight like a familiar friend,
relative or lover
She is the flower amongst flowers
She is the rose

Andreas Simic©

Love’s Fatality©

Love is a fickle partner

One moment it is deep like the color of a red rose
The next it is melancholy like a faded yellow lily

For the slightest interpretation of the mind
Can render it to be trivial almost useless

Inevitably time will find fissures in the walls of life
These become cracks that cannot be mended

Good intentions are mere bandages to a wound
That will not close

Slowly but surely like the wilting of a flower
The inevitable occurs

Best to remove any ill will afore it spreads
Like a cancer run amok

To call a ***** a *****
Before the pain becomes too great

Love lost is better than none found
This is the plague that follows us all

Andreas Simic©

The Masquerade©

He thought it was just a game well played
Sitting here in the grass and shade

He never wanted to hurt anyone
Didn’t she know he was the kind who would run

They held hands and he saw her swoon
This was the maid normally holding a broom

He told tales of wealth and stature
As though it was rapture

In this tale of lore
He was the hero for sure

A man with oh so many talents
An estate no less on balance

He was the pride of the British side
A lie he well knew deep inside

A gentleman due for a great inheritance
Gathered here for her pretence

His tongue spoke of proper education
Not the poverty of his preoccupation

Of course he was a great success in business
For a man for a who was utterly clueless

Oh so many lies
Just so he could lie beside her looking into her eyes

It wasn’t as though they would be wed
This was just a ploy to see her to his bed

Andreas Simic©

Mind Games 1001©
Silhouettes here shadows there they could be anywhere
At home I check everywhere with a thorough sweep
On the road like this motel, I make sure that they can’t peep
Always look out the window before you leave they can deceive
When driving check mirrors often it might be a tail and
they could be on your trail
A disposable cell phone is a must or use a public one just
don’t let them hear you, they might be near you
Move often from city to city they can be witty
and they are not beyond sending someone pretty
She might say they are here to protect the nation
in a conversation, like she’s as good as her word
Never trust anyone including a neighbor
even if they say they are a savior
When submitting to WikiLeaks be anonymous
for it is your identity that they seeks
When the occasion arises you may need
to wear disguises, a wig, hair dye, no less
you may resort to wearing a dress
The car you drive you should never own
a rental is safer in a different time zone
CIA, FBI, NSA, Homeland security
anyone of those it could be
My name is paranoid but you
can call me delusional or
Bob which is not that unusual

Andreas Simic©

My Little Queen©

I’m not her father, but she is my daughter
I knew her when she was young,
A small girl with a twirl

Time went on we moved to the coast with the most,
My bride and I as we said goodbye

One day a bus arrived with this little princess fresh
From a three day journey by bus made with no fuss

Swollen feet and tired as could be she lay on the couch
And I realized then and there she was no slouch

During those early days she would amaze and
Watching her grow was quite a show

The more she grew the more beautiful she had become
Even if it felt like she was always on the run

Her vivid imagination would have her end up
Working at a gas station to my fascination

Then one day she would announce out of the blue
It’s time to live on her own and have a home

A new job and boyfriend would ensue as she blossomed
From princess to bride and I would profess my pride

My princess now a little queen was far from done
For she had a son that I could adore galore

But life presents many ups and downs and even frowns
Even for someone with a crown, as we all do, who knew

A move here, a move there,
yet she found her way to another day

When revelations would arrive at home, my bride
Would give me a glare and stare and say

“and who do you think she got that from”
I am not her father, but she is my daughter

Now settled in a city nor far away, a wife, a mother
But still my pretty little queen

Andreas Simic©