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©

Word Association 101©

Today’s word is G-R-A-T-I-T-U-D-E

Select the option you like best as there is no real solution,
and this isn't a real test

So take a position, if it is not an imposition
after all this is nothing but fiction, not a prediction

Leave your hesitation and caution at the door
and put the pedal to the floor

So without procrastination or introduction move trepidation
to elation

Take the plunge it’s not a leap,
for someone here will say throw this on a heap

It may be taken with affection or rejection and
probably needs correction

But onward we go for somehow I must make this flow
Tick the right box if there is such a thing or give it your best fling
If you can’t think of anything

Gratitude is...
Satisfaction
Appreciation
Creation

Gratitude isn’t...
Crude
Lewd
Or attitude

Gratitude leads to...
Fascination
Imagination
Intimate relations

Gratitude may bring...
Evolution
Re-action
Hug action

Gratitude is for...
A job well done
A rising sun
That special someone_

Gratitude, let’s start a revolution that leads to emotion
and maybe to a promotion

Gratitude, life’s gift that keeps on giving
and a premonition in addition

Gratitude, for brothers and sisters and others too, pass it along for all to share because we really do care

Andreas Simic©

The Prisoner©

It feels like I am encased by these four walls

Any direction I look I see darkness

There is that constant chatter of voices

Within the solitude of that small space is a growing fear

My eyes scan from left to right as if I were
a canary in a cage

Senses are heightened as I seek out anything or anybody
that may wish harm to me

It is as if I can smell trouble

Yet every once in a while I allow myself to venture out

During those rare moments I sense what it is like
to be free again

To feel calmness, completeness, wholeness

That is until I close the doors to my mind yet again

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©