Arthur has come for a visit

and he isn’t very nice!

He attacked my hand with such a force,

I am now applying ice!

My knuckles are swollen and aching.

They cannot make a fist.

Each time I try to form a grip

My fingers choose to resist.

Arthur was born to our family

But nobody likes him much.

Arthur likes to make life miserable.

He has a painful touch.

I wish we could tell him off!!

I wish we could send him away!!

Unfortunately, I know in my heart of hearts,

Arthur is here to stay.

He’s the black sheep of our family.

He is a pain whose ways are crude.

His full name is Arthur”itis”.

And to us he’s a dreadful dude!

Jjb/3/8/2020

Embrace your age, for it’s just a page

in a chapter in your life’s book.

Laugh real hearty at your birthday party.

Be glad for how good you still look.

Shed no tears over adding more years,

no matter how many go by.

If someone’s so bold as to tell you you’re old

Just be grateful that You haven’t died!!!

 

Jjb/11/8/2019

I’m hot! I’m hot!

I’m as hot as I can be!

The temp is near 100,

I think its melting me!

The birds are hiding from the heat

in the shade of our old oak tree.

The leaves give them sweet cool roosts

and for them it is all for free!

Texans find religion,

(in the summers this is true).

They realize how hot HELL might be,

So prayers begin anew!

Wait a minute! There’s a breeze!

I feel it blowIng on my face.

Our prayers have now been answered!

Texas is a lovely, prayer filled place!

Jjb/8/27/2019

I am thinking about my different friends,

the ones who ARE and WERE.

It always boils down to one or two,

who give my heart a stir.

Many women seem to need…

Lots and lots of friends.

I prefer just one or two,

with whom my spirit blends.

It is good to sit and talk about

life’s less than perfect parts.

To share and analyze the pain

that comes from broken hearts.

It is also nice to share our thoughts

of all things, good and true.

What better way for us to see,

the inner me and you?

Groups and parties aren’t my thing,

they make me quite uneasy.

I prefer to be with one or two.

Which, for me, is easy-breezy.

When I am with my true blue friends,

my worries tend to cease.

Your acceptance for who I really am

brings me love and joy and peace.

I love my friends so very much.

They are just a special few.

What has been Gods greatest gift to me,

Is this friendship of me and YOU!

Jjb/8/9/2019

Toss and turn, toss and turn! it’s another sleepless night.

I dozed off in my lounging chair while sitting there upright!

 

I woke up in the morning hours, so I got up and went to bed.

But I could not go back to sleep, so I tossed and turned instead.

 

When will I ever learn? I should not allow myself to sleep,

In my chair, chin on chest, slumbering very deep!

 

So here I am, back in my chair, hoping for a snooze.

Music playing, lights are dim, and I am not amused.

 

I can see what is ahead, later in the day.

After all my work is done, on my bed I’ll lay.

 

I am already looking forward, to that lovely little nap.

But now, I’ll recline in my chair, with an afghan on my lap.

 

My eyelids are getting heavy, my breathing begins to slow.

My chair is like a sedative, so off to dreamland I go!

Jjb/5/14/2019

 

 

In this world of surplus, In this world of “stuff”

When exactly is, enough, ENOUGH???

What was once thought big, is now thought small.

We don’t want “some”, we want it ALL!

We have three cars, when two would do.

What we think we need is very skewed.

Every bedroom has a bathroom because heaven forbid,

Sharing a bathroom with someone may upset the kids.

We want a new car though the old one is fine.

We search for new treasures all the time.

We bury ourselves in material goods.

Most of us have much more than we should.

Our house is much bigger than our parents had.

Our pursuit of happiness has simply gone mad.

Life should not be about how MUCH we own.

Rather, its should be about the LOVE we have sown.

We work, work, work for material things,

When we could be listening to nature sing.

The people we love will see us grow old.

We will lay in our bed as our stories are told.

Do you want them to say we spent our time

Chasing the dollar while in our prime?

Or would you like to hear them say,

“I love this person who taught me to PRAY?”

We need to see that HOW we live

Are LESSONS in life we unknowingly give.

Life is shorter than we could have guessed.

Count the blessings with which you’ve been blessed.

Thank you to Mom who taught me to pray.

Thank you to God who gave me this day.

Little IS big in this world full of stuff.

It takes COURAGE to say when ENOUGH is ENOUGH!

Jjb/5/7/2019

 

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Don’t you worry about me, I am fine.  My life has been good to me.

There are those in my life who love me lots,  whose love I feel and see.

Sometime I write dreary poems Just to vent the feelings out.

Its my own personal kind of therapy, much better than to cry or shout.

Life brings to each of us challenges, which arrive in the form of a friend,

They come to our lives with a lesson to teach, and then the lesson ends.

I do not write only happy stuff, for that would make me sound unreal.

My life has been blessed in so many ways, but heartaches I have been given to feel..

While it would be so nice to think that we are loved by one and all.

The reality is we are loved by many…but some DO NOT LIKE US AT ALL.

This is fine because the same is true for me and those I know.

There are some who I want to keep real close. There are those who I want to go.

 

Jjb/4/15/2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grandma made pancakes this morning.

They were thin and crisp and light.

She came for a visit and leant me a hand

As I prepared and cooked them just right.

My grand girls cannot eat pancakes.

They are gluten and dairy free.

So, I decided to be my own Grandma

And made pancakes especially for me.

Their aroma brought back memories

Of Grandma’s pancakes, lovingly cooked.

She turned her pancakes with a flip of the wrist.

My tastebuds were entirely hooked.

These days people eat differently

Times have changed and so have we.

People are health and weight conscious.

They do not eat so frivolously.

Over the years, my meals became healthier.

But, I still remember those home cooked meals.

So, as my Granddaughters eat gluten free salad,

I eat pancakes for the love that I feel.

Thanks Grandma Esther and Grandma Annie.

You were each such a wonderful cook.

You taught me how Grandmas expressed their love,

Right out of a recipe book!

Jjb/5/5/2019

Tap-tap-tap-tappity-tap-tap….followed by a ZING!

This is how my typewriter and its carriage sings!

I like typing the words that keep filling up my head.

These words don’t have to be verbally said.

My Muse comes and whispers to me each night.

I think and dream then write, write, write.

I am a writer, and this is my passion.

I write and write til my brain starts crashing’

There are many words and not enough time.

Sometimes I write stories, sometimes I write rhymes.

This isn’t about making a name for myself.

I don’t care if my scripts gather dust on the shelf.

I am just grateful for the time and a place to express,

all the things I have never had a chance to address.

My audience is just one and it happens to be me.

Which suits me just fine, if it is meant to be.

I go into my room and then I close the door.

I begin writing and rewriting what I wrote before.

When my Muse shows up and gives me a sign,

She feels like a wonderful friend of mine.

She encourages me to write one more poem or story.

My thoughts can be calm and sometimes they are soaring.

I like to write my stories late into the night.

It is then where my imagination takes flight!

Writing brings me joy and an enhanced way of living.

I am happy to keep my typewriter tapping and zinging!

Jjb/copywrite/1/3/2018