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Vernon Waring Jul 2015
Pakistan.

A moonless night in May.

Inside the compound,
everything appears to be
almost pitch black.

Night vision goggles lift
the veil of darkness.

With the goggles, everything inside...
         all the details of the home,
         become startlingly visible,
         revealing all in this surreal setting
         - suffused as it is with
           a dreamlike green hue.

And then there are the eyes
of those looking on...
     Osama Bin Laden's wives, children, couriers
     peeking out from doorways,
     huddled in rooms and hallways,
     their voices whispering in Arabic;
     those large curious eyes incredulous
     as they study these invaders
     with their goggles, their strange gear,
     their weapons drawn as they methodically
     carry out their mission.

This night so far four people have been silenced by gunfire.

The raiders are certain Bin Laden
is up ahead on the third floor.

They climb slowly up the
dangerously slick steps wet with
blood, moving with deliberation
toward their target's bedroom.

They hear suppressed shots fired
by their point man
and see a tall figure flee
back into a room.
He's been shot.
The men in pursuit enter the room and
more gunfire ensues.

A small cluster of people are also
there in the room - two women, three children -
eyewitnesses to history...

They are confused, dazed, shocked.

They see this wild man,
this phantom of our most torturous dreams,
writhing on the floor,
desperate, struggling,
about to take his final breath.
Vernon Waring Jul 2015
Giddiness
Feeling jumpy
Breathlessness
Rapid heartbeat
Lightheadedness
Constant daydreaming
Smiling inappropriately
Butterflies in the stomach
Feverish but in a nice way
Extreme feelings of euphoria
A springlike rise in one's temperature
Hearing singing when there's no one there
An unexpected interest in romantic poetry and schmaltzy love songs
And
Finally
A sudden urge to dance

DIAGNOSIS: You're not sick -
                         You're just in love!
Vernon Waring Jul 2015
You are beauty
You are light
You're our morning
And our night
And you climb into our arms
And we hold you oh so tight
And you climb into our hearts
With a love that beckons bright

You're the answer to our prayers
With a smile sweet and true
God understood our every word
That's why He sent us you
Vernon Waring Jul 2015
Who wrote these famous lines?  I know.
His name is Frost.  How apropos!
The poem has woods and a lake,
A farmhouse, horse, and falling snow.

There's also a harness bells' shake,
A sweep of wind and downy flake.
Though some say symbols do abound,
Frost wrote it for remembrance sake.

His rhyme scheme's difficult yet sound.
How he labored to put it down -
A work with a majestic sweep,
Simple yet so deeply profound.

The final words are very deep.
They speak of promises to keep,
And a journey that will end in sleep,
And a journey that will end in sleep.
Vernon Waring Jul 2015
now i am airborne

   floating

                drifting...

                                surrounded by the lightest of waves

i am reclining as my eyes search upward and
i glide ever so softly so slowly in a perfectly
light blue celestial expanse

i am suffused with hope
with fullness and love
with great faith in seeing them again
my mother    my father

i will find them at peace and
be comforted when i see them together -
with swords bent and broken and buried -
their eyes smiling...their arms open to me

no more will they be the warring force  i'd been subjected to
no more the awful couriers of malice i'd been witness to
and when i find them in heaven's home, this once
sainted child, this damaged soul who glides
toward them will forgive them...my heart
will be rich with love and goodness
transformed and transcendent
i will rush to receive their
blessed embrace
Vernon Waring Jul 2015
The pond's a stage
On this shining day
The sun a setting
For serene ballet

Six swans debut
With a regal drift
Float by to create
A wondrous gift

Ripples of waves
Accompany the ride
As the dancers present
A majestic glide
Vernon Waring Jul 2015
I like a classic movie
One with Bogie and Bacall
Kate Hepburn in her heyday
Or Errol Flynn in a brawl

A Cary Grant comedy
Irene Dunne at his side
Bette Davis raising hell
Or Frankenstein's scary bride

I think of Ingrid Bergman's smile
The sweetest nun appearing onscreen
And Mae West's sassy manner
As she lit up every scene

Spencer Tracy wowed us
Charlie Chaplin made us roar
Great stars, great stories, great times
The movies I adore
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