The faces we show
in the work field,
 Our business or to
our Boss,and customers
The faces we show
at church,
when we ask for
forgiveness and pray
The faces we show
our friends,
Even those differ
with each person

All predicated  
by the walls we so
carefully construct
strategically hiding
who we really are

The faces we show
a loved one
When we
Let down
the walls

The faces we show
to the innocent children
are the most honest  
depending upon
the age of the youth

The inner me is in
direct contrast
to who I am
The only time
we show
our true face
Is when we
look in the mirror

Do we know
who is looking
back at us
Do we like
what we see
Is it you?
is it me?
Push away

We are all
masters in  disguise
Hiding in plain sight

The inner me
is in direct
contrast to
who I am

What I see
in the mirror
I think
HECK NO
Who is that
old lady
looking back
at me

My faces
have deceived
Even Me!

Please excuse me I am not one to rant and rave
I need to vent some frustrations I crave
My patients are ****** beyond belief
This sites’ flaws are a thief
I have have lost parts of poems two completed ones as well
Written on the cuff
It’s a nightmare a living hell
The perfect poem lost in time

This is a unfortunate  crime
I hope you all learn from my pain
Write it out so your original remains
Lost the  sentence are easy to fix
But disrupts the flow creating a new feel mix
That’s not always a good thing first the curser drops Down
Several lines then the fun begins its happening now
Making corrections hard to manage
I know this site is free is it just me
I have know poets to leave in the past
Pleaset tell me these problems will not last
Or I fear more poets will be a thing of the past
I love the people on this sight
But posting is a constant fight

My mother was a *** on the streets of L.A.

I use to pray
Let mommy be alive
Father told us
She was dead

Sisters whispers
That’s not true
He took us away
So now I knew

Years of search
To find her and care
Many empty faces
It’s awful out there

The streets of L.A.
A bitter cold place
Survival changes
God’s good grace

My preyers
Had been answered
She was alive
Dying ,each passing day

God gave
Her to me then
He took her away

No more
Do
I
Pray

Nana wants very slow
perfect for little legs
to keep up
wherever they go

The whole world rushs by  
yet stops for them
in the wink of her eye
there is nothing more important
then the tears of her grandson's cries

Play time a must at Nana's house
building a castle out of Play dough
for Mickey Mouse
playing games, reading books
watching them grow
time is priceless she knows

Nana can see no wrong
in the innocence of childhood
Her unconditional love is a lullaby
a sleepy night song
morning, noon, and night
a smile graces her face
there's no place
like home
except
In Nana's Grace

Brothers and Sisters are we
standing proud of our heritage tree
Deep rooted values are held so dear
Our family bond that kept us near

One by one we married or moved away
Yet still remain close to this very day
we have all grown in our love
Our Parents and Peter keep watch from up above

As we start to reach old age
will look back on life and love as our gauge
Smile knowing for better or worse
A Bowen giving up, now that would be a first

Sitting back in our rocking chair
Jessie and I will both be there
Life passes by in the blink od an eye
Proud to be a Bowen until the day we die

A godmother has much to do
Isaac nearly two
It was a bright sunny day  
he wanted to run and play

Isaac didnt understand
what the priest had to say
Wiggling in his mother's arms
to her dismay

loudly asking for Nana
Full of sweetness and charms
in the warmth of my arms
I held him tight
quieting him with patience and foresight

Whispering sweet nothings in his ear
for only him to laugh and here
Isaac looked up at the ceiling
we were praying while nelling

His young life bright without a flaw
Pointing determined intently  
to show me what he saw

PRIT-TEE (pretty) he flashes a smiles
"Nana see" he points
Above the fourth isle

I didn't know what he was trying to show me
he continued to do this you for a while  
Whispering I asked" tell me what you see"
Until I understood his plea
his face lit up instantly

He smiled with a joy that would last
"Angels " he whispered
Skipping a beat my heart gasp
in the heart of a child
so willful and wild  
yet he could still see
the glory of where he used to be

I have written on other
Poetry sites
As this one you
have to be invited
For the right

There are issues with this site
Freezing word lines ,curser going
Haywire
Unable to fix your errors
However

I have also noticed
When you offer critique of  a poem
that you feel is great
  Admire Even
Yet you see a little tiny
thing that could suggest
To be looked at by the author

Your jumped on by someone
And band wagon begins

Poetry on other  sites
you must make
Two critiques on the poem
and one on the title

It’s all about working
Together with fellow writers
Of verse and proses

A site without helping each other
Is  only about posting for practice
Nothing else
People are too sensitive

Writing with blinders on
Does not allow for growth

It’s all a matter of perspective
people don’t mean
criticism negatively
they are just  honestly
trying to help
but then others
take it wrong
feathers get ruffled

And out comes mr. nasty
Giving a poem thumbs down
REALLY IS THAT  necessary
Just don’t read or write on it
Pass it by

If  you want to get published
advise should be welcomed
Surely rejection letters are
Not the end goal

When one is not able to
here the reflection
In one’s voice
it’s difficult to determine
Friend or foe

just let it go
It’s not worth the effort
only have good intentions

It’s all a matter of
Perspective

Anger consumes the heart
Blinds the eyes
Two in pain soon part
Frustration sobbing cry’s

Living in the past
Unable to enjoy today
Judgements never last
There has to be a better way

Marriage is easily destroid
When both are quickly annoyed
With so much to lose at loves core
What are we fighting for

In the end you could not take back what you said
When your heart is broken and love is dead
You cannot unring the bell
Your arguments now quiet, replaced with a new lonely living hell

Be careful what you wish for,
Is it what you wanted
That final slam of the door
Left a lonely soul lost love haunted

A child stamps her feet
Holding a sign
Looking around
in  wide-eyed FEAR
Watching her mother
the entire time

A new generation
Indoctrinated
Lack of emotion
Emancipated

From rules and decorum
From respect for others
Soul less empty forum

Her mother lights a
Molotov cocktail
Holding it high,
HER holy grail
While walking
down the middle
of the street
chanting
“there is
NO Defeat”
Yelling, screaming
FISTS clenched
in the air
IT’S NOT FAIR

Her ****** expression
Hate,
Distorted
twisted,
Her kindness, and beauty
Until the evil
from inside
matched her
Outward behavior

Defiance
of logic and reason.
Her latest
tantrum
Word, *****
******
obscenities
Filled the air.
IT’S NOT FAIR

Daddy, A prisoner to
the unfolding  situation
“I’ve exhausted My patience!”
His words dwindle
in frustration

Daddy believes
” Patients belong in hospitals”
Is this another case of retribution!?
He concedes  
Offering no solution

There  comes a point ,when the person
you’ve engaged in Conversation
just won’t hear, what you have to say.
I’m right, you’re wrong, GO AWAY

What do you do?
Perhaps Ponder this
What is FAIR?
All fair means is
somebody gets what they want
while the other person
cannot contest it.

Who ever told you
life is FAIR?

It’s a CRAZY world
out there!!
Observation;
todays generation
Innocence
LOST

The Baby Boomer Generation
was between 1946–1964.
Currently today between
the ages of 57 and 75.
So that would make most
of us still alive and kicking

No, two people experience,
their generation the same.
It depends upon your age
going through the experience
Facilitates our gauge.

These is what I remember along my way.
Details, I leave out the baby boomers will know what I’m talking about.
One of 8 kids I’ve seen many layers
These recollections are from many players
This memory train stops ,Ends 1979

My generation as a child;
Buying our clothes from the
Sears and Roebuck catalog
Weekend chores morning till night
Sunday church, youth fellowship group
A treat to play baseball in the street
First set of wheels a Banana Bike
with high handlebars, Ten Speed bike
We road for miles but never lost our way.
Made and played with Paper, Airplanes,
Lincoln Logs, Click Clacks and Jack’s
We dug holes to make a Mini Golf Course

I sold fruit from our many trees For lunch
money cafeteria food 4 fruits NO sac lunch,
We were resourceful, earning our own way.

The boys had a Paper Rout
The girls Babysitters. I bought my clothes, by the age of 12 with babysitting money.
And happy to doit.!NO more sister’s things
The embarrassment of hand me downs

We covered our School Books with
Brown paper, trash bags, creative Kids used
comics from the newspaper cool!
We walk to school and back, never alone

We dial a rotary phone plugged in the wall.
Dial zero for operator to connect your call
Yellow page phonebook to find numbers.
chores and homework done, before fun!
Boys collected Baseball Cards MadeCrafts

Junior High; The quarterly Shop classes
Boys Only,
Auto Shop, Wood Shop,
Electronic Shop and Plastic Shop
The boys sold what they made
for a pretty penny(expensive price)$$

Drivers Ed
In the classroom and in the Car
The schools had four Cars;
4 kids and the Instructor

Home economics
Girls Only;
learn to Sew, A-line Skirt, Gym Bags
with Embroidered Names, one freestyle project. Anything from Turning jeans into a Jean skirts. Imagination creation,
Original design Homemade crafted gifts

Cooking Class had 7 mini Kitchens
Nutritional well-balanced meals, but my favorite Cake Baking tips and techniques.
We had a lemonade Stand in the summer
Sold Fresh lemons off your fruit trees.
Baked cookies, cupcakes, and cakes as well.

Every meal was made from scratch
Feeding 10 meant more than one batch.
We ate Dinner as a Family every night
Us kids, brothers and sisters were tight
We went to Drive-in, Movies in our PJs
We got our information from Encyclopedias
We waited for the Milkman, and the Helm’s 
Whistle Blow, Diaper Services at the door.
We listened toTransistor Radio on the floor.

My Generation as a Teenager
Bellbottoms and Crop Tops” peace signs”
mini skirts, go-go boots, moccasins beehive
Hair with Flowers everywhere
Bought my First Vinyl Record

Rationing Gasoline;, odd, and even days
By The last digit of your license plate
In 1993 and again in 1997. Gas Ran Out!

Changing the TV channel with the ****
First black and white TV followed by color
FineTune the antenna, rabbit ears for clarity.
We piled in the wood panel station wagon

A Phone Booth on every corner $.10 a call.
The simplicity of it all
Until The Moral pendulum Shifted Society
The shooting of John F. Kennedy
I knows where I was the day it happened
The shooting of Martin Luther King
These two Events shaped our Generation.

The Vietnam war, Kent State Univ. shooting
Our Generation Before
Cell Phones, CDs, ATM, machines, Internet, Pagers, Cassettes Tapes Eight Track tapes
in the car. The swear jar

We barter food, sold eggs Goods,& Serves
Wore Galoshes to school on muddy roads

My generation as an Adult
Neighbors Voted in our garage
Their loving façade was an allusion Mirage  
Never answer “Who did you Vote for”
Airing ***** laundry in public, not smart
VOTING couples screaming, fighting in the street taught me.NEVER talk about;
Religion and Politics. Two Deadly Battles
The price, too High, to lose, your happy life

Gypsies gave daisies At the Airport
Make Love Not War, Peace bohemian style
California rock ‘n’ roll bands in the city
And to the sand, Artistry in the air
Music flourished,Bands played everywhere

The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd,
The Beatles, , Crosby, stills, Nash, Young
Simon and Garfunkel every day fair
Woodstock a whole other scene
To describe it, you had to be there

Drugs,;mushrooms, ***, psychedelics, acid
Roxy, & Rainbow Club where the weirdos went or Chinese tour buses,
filled with people dressed in 60s wear
Men wore a camera around their neck, Hawaiian shirt, black Horn rimmed glasses, Ladies poodle skirts with Peddicoats and white button down blouses and sweaters
in the 1979. I kid you not. strange people!
I wanted to ask what movie they saw that made them think this was California style?

Car Races on Van Nuys Blvd.
Parking with your boyfriend
Teen center held under 21 Dances.
The San Fernando Valley(Valley Girls)
Really said “for sure”. “Totally awesome” “whatever” “ not even” “ As If”

Orange Grove and walnut trees as far as the eye can see. The city Tarzana was named after Tarzan. South of the Boulevard 4 miles from Michael Jackson’s house. Modest home. Difference as night and day

Curiously, I never thought we were poor
We were rich in love, and that was more than enough. Help a friend in need
Because it’s the right thing to do.

people were people, Just getting along
Decent folks Kind and Caring,Sharing
God-fearing Christians, Moral Values
Live and let Live. The American Way

Promises to keep; yet
Death is beating at my door
Rock myself to sleep
What Am I living for
when all I do is
Weep, weep, weep
Longing for life once more
   Promises to keep
The grim Reeper is keeping score
From my destiny chance; leap
Family, friends; ignored
All I want to do is
Sleep, sleep, sleep
   Promises to keep
No pain I implore
Please end it ever more; worrying
   Promises to keep
Upon the cold bare floor
Walking with Jesus once more
   No more promises to keep
In peace, I shall sleep

He will always be there
the serpent in the room,
Life in his burning tomb

Come one Come all
To the Family Circus

The walking Dead
Calculating numbers
in their Head

The RINGLEADER
Always in Control
Follow the Agenda
Play your Character’s part
Lose your Soul.

Come one Come all
To the Family Circus

TIGHT-ROPE WALKER
Notorious  
Boyfriend Stocker,

Always a Smile
Painted on the CLOWN,
Who hides
An Emotional Frown.

Characters
in the same sick play
year after year
Fighting Fears and Tears

Control what you Do,
Control what to Say,
Predator becomes Prey
The Eyes look Away

The Eyes are the
Windows to the Heart
Where pretend Ends
And LIFE begins
A New Start

Come one Come all
To the Family Circus

The Extravaganza
called “Perfect”
Expectations,
NOBODY Wins
Their Lives are Filled
with too many SINS

How Long do We
have to STAY
BEFORE We can
make our GETAWAY.

Come one Come all
to the Family Circus

Watch the
TRAPEZE ARTEST  
FALL,
The Absurdity
of it All

The DANCERS
on STILTS
Glide carefully
hiding their
Guilt

The MOST
Beautiful of Creatures  
Look closely
At Her Features

Looks are DECEIVING
See the Wicked Web
She is Weaving

Come, one Come all
To the Family Circus

What God do you SERVE,
What do you Think
You Deserve?
Do you Feel
The Difference
In Their CALL

The Rarest of Rare
Nearly Nonexistent ,
A True CHRISTIAN.
BELIEVER

Who Stands
ARMOR READY
to fight
The greatest Deceiver

He will tell you a Story,
Parables and Sermons
of  God’s Glory
In the HOLY SPIRIT
A Christian will drop  
To Their KNEES

Yet at the
Family Circus
They DO
As they PLEASE.

Come one Come all
To the Family Circus

The Serpent in the room,
The Albatross
around your neck

Satan waiting
in his tomb,
Burning
The Prodical  
SON returning

Come one Come all
to the Family Circus,

Here God’s CALL
Free Will
Affects
one and all.

William  Shakespeare said it best
“What a tangled web we weave
when we practice to deceive”

I was up all night last night
Tonight a repeat
With one
Exception
I have the flu
Achy body
I feel like I was hit by a truck
Stomach doing flip
flops
Like after  
A meal on the high sea
In a storm
My head is pounding
I want to close my eyes
Dark quiet yet can’t sleep
Body restless
A dice proposal
When taking medications
That can throw me in
Toxic shock
Water room temp
Saltine crackers

One step forward
With Faith
         One step forward
         With Hope
                   One step forward
                   With Love
                            A willingness
                            To Embrace
                                  Peace and Goodwill
                                   Towards all Mankind

Why
am I awake
what
will it take
To let
my head rest
Pillows, heating pad, oxygen
I try my best
More pills to
numb the pain
Staying awake all night
is driving me insane
Too many thoughts in my head
unable to sleep in my bed
write poems all night
Thank God for this site

I’ll try sleepy time tea
and melatonin
And I will have to *****

Ten more pillows
For the sheep to jump in the willows
Good night
Wishful thinking

Has anyone else noticed
Posting problem
After awhile the page
does not work properly
I have to post in draft then
Return to make changes
The line curser act crazy
Or is it just me
Inquirig minds wamt to know
I know of one fellow poet who left
Because of such problems

You can hide from
the rest of the world
BUT
You can't hide from yourself

Deal with it

I have become
A master at hiding
Smiling just enough

Yet, looking closely
The eyes never lie
The pain; hurt, sadness
All there to see

When the world is
Upside down
I  graciously help others

My undevided attention
Intently listening to
Their problems

So, I don't have to
Share my feelings

Have  you ever noticed
When somebody asks you
"How are you "
they really don't want
To know the TRUTH

Hiding in plain sight

We have become
a society of disconnect
Interactive  on-Line
without physical contact

Journey
of self

we always
move in the
same
direction

as our most
dominant
thought

Think about it

There are times
when I'm a
scatterbrain  

Other times
my thoughts
are crystal-clear  
profound thoughts
come to me
at the oddest times  
Perhaps
this is what happens
when I  
multi-task

Webster’s Word of the Day challenge
Each day a new word is given

BLT has issued this challenge
Use Webster’s Word of the Day
in your poem
After you post your poem
let BLT know

In the notes of your poem indicate
The word of the day Challenge
The word and definition
I try to put the date of the word,
but sometimes I forget

Then notify BLT
He will read the poem to
make sure it meets the HP standards
Then  he will post it to his site
Then BLT notify you that he did so
This way your poem
gets additional exposure

You can see by the haphazard way
I laid out the instructions
These are not strict guidelines
This should be FUN

I find it a challenge at times,
To use the word on the exact day
Yet, curiously many times
I can incorporate a word
into my current poetry
that I would not have used before.

It’s challenging and fun when it’s done
It’s a game that has opened
up a brand new door daily.
Putting my braggadocio aside
Personally There are times when I have felt I have an inadequate vocabulary

This challenge is a self confidence booster
Also a way to improve your language
and add a new word to your lexicon.

A heart felt . Thank You
To BLT For creating this game
It’s truly been a challenge and adventure

We are blessed to live in a place
Which offers freedom to choose our religion
Yet now we have to exercise tolerance to others at our exspence
This new thinking  is infringing upon my right to religion

There is a Catholic mission that has been standing near 100 years
A group takes offense with the cross and steeple ontop the Church
They want it removed a court battle maybe on the horizon  
Why is their belief more important then mine?

There are groups who challenge institutions to insue change
What happened to live and let live ,who are these people ?
What will be next ?the cross around my neck
Carrying a bible in public or worshipping all together

In public schools our children can no longer pray
A Christmas tree is now called a holiday tree
As if the words change the reason for the season
Christmas break is now winter break

They changed the pledge of allegiance
No longer does our nation’s children say in God we trust
The big bang theory takes the place in our history books

Look around at the beauty in our world
How can it all be an accident
56% of the world population do not believe in God
We are on the brink of a precipice

When we start giving up our liberties we stand on a slippery *****
If people don’t believe in God ,the Bible
by what gage are morals values set and followed
Is the moral compass based ones self?

Isn’t that rather like playing God?
The belief God Got it wrong because they are in the wrong body?
Don’t get wrong it’s not for me to judge
but I do have to exsplain these topics to my grandchildren

We are living in ***** and Gomorrah
Mass killing are the norm, while satin laughs in delight
I believe we are living in the end days why most are oblivious
Read Revalation , The last book in the Bible, wake up

Who are you?
what do you believe?
what do you stand for?
we are a society living lost  
oblivious in our own little worlds
Do you see what is happening all around you?
the homeless living on the streets
do you know your neighbors names ?
What is your form of entertainment ?
Television shows;  
Satan worshipin,
demons, horror movies,
bloodly corpses, ******,
****, ****** violence,
sexually  scenes with under age,  
we see every commandment in the Bible broken daily
on prime time for entertainment
Do you remember waiting all week
for the Disney family show  Sunday night ?
The news shows q
terrorist cutting off somebody’s head on the internet
in the name of God,
schools, Music concerts, ands  churches mass killings
Cultures collide,  mass death because they believe it’s the end od days
Mass shootings, hundreds of people for no reason.
The worst wheather in history;  
earthquakes, tsunami‘s  floods
our earth is on fire.
people Suffering; starving, sickness, superbugs,  
epidemics beyond proportion:
Isis Wars using child as A human shields strapping bombs to Babies  and elderly
all in the name of God
There is an attack on ALL Christians and Christianity
We have taken religion out  from our schools,cities and states
no longer allowed to pray.
You used to be able to go to any hotel room and find a Bible in the nightstand drawer no longer . 
 56% of the entire world no longer believe in God
we allow same-*** marriage
you can change your *** to whatever you want
We wonder why our children are so out-of-control
Why they have no respect for their parents or for anything
why they’re lost
why they try to **** themselves and others
Why they Turn to drugs; alcohol
Trying to escape reality

The Bible talks about a day when wrong is right and right is wrong
I would say we are there
Today

If you do NOT believe in the Bible
then how do you base your moral compass ?
if it feels good do it ?
if it’s good for you then it’s good
if it’s bad for you then it’s bad
Isn’t that rather like
playing GOD

If I can imagine it I can make it

Just as poetry flows freely

So does my need to create something

To take random objects
a doll dress made  Made out of
paper mache lace  lots of embellishments
Always the small imbellishments the small
Details that take it over the top

Crocheting a blanket from several different patterns creating an one of a kind original

A  fairy made of wire, a wooden ball embroidery thread and a silk flower

Victorian Dresden Christmas
ornaments from 1890 those are my favorite
In the olden days things were made by hand
They didn't have store bought ornaments they were keepsakes, memories of years gone By

I can see a picture then bring it to life
Or make it from an idea in my head

I have made something for all to see
it was within me and will always be

It's such a rush to have that Finnish project
Knowing I made that

It's strange to know so much creativity lives
Within me yet others can't do the same

They see a thing as it is  I see all the  possibilities
Of what it can become
Perhaps I'm making my own keepsake

Older and older
The clock ticks
Fewer and fewer
The men pick
The games
I use to play
Are now fantacies
I dream of today
Older and wiser
Perhaps
Now I take
Sunday Naps

Thanksgiving
Propels us into night gear
Christmas almost here
Shop tell you drop

Christmas Day
Came and left as swiftly
I was tired from
All the hustle and bustle

Sitting at the dinner table I asked
What did you get Jesus
On his birthday
Blank stares from a
Confused group
A nervous roar of laughter

the children listening
unsure of what I was after
I smiled
Talking over
A Side comment or two
I began to explain; honesty, faith,and love

Those are gifts Jesus would want
Still the group seem lost in what answer
I was looking for
Then I heard it

Someone with a bit too much
Christmas Cheer
Cleared his throat and said
“Well Honestly
I gave him nothing”
Nervious roar of laughter
deafened my ears

My heart was so sad
I smiled and excused myself
From the table
Charity, patience,and forgiveness
Begins at home

All I can think of Is
Jesus
Dying for us
Saying
“Lord for give them they know not what they do”
I have so much to learn