Blind Man on a Bench

a surprise lover
the cool breeze kisses my cheek
my body delights
in sunshine’s warm embrace

wavelets lap softly on the sand
the scent of seashore drifts into my nose
a fly buzzes by

birds surround me
chirping behind
squawking above
honking across the water
laughter approaches

raucous conversation
“good morning!”
“Good morning to you”
the footsteps fade
a blast of male perfume persists

I bite an apple
crisp
juicy
sour
my lips pucker

smile

immersed in a beautiful day
mind swimming in memories

a blind man on a bench

tio stib

You might also enjoy: High on Gratitude, Hope

Listen First to Understand


I want to help them
give advice
make them think I’m smart and nice

but then I hear a wiser man

listen first to understand

I want to brag
shout what I’ve done
make them want to cheer me on

but then that wiser man again

listen first to understand

no, I don’t always heed the rule
neediness makes me play the fool
but in the quiet of evening light
I look back and know what’s right

listen first to understand

and I will be a loving man


tio stib


You might also enjoy: “If” by Rudyard Kipling; Life Journey Poems and Prose






The Cloud

I don’t see it in the clear blue sky
romping gaily on my way
no hints, no thoughts, no memories

just a perfect day

but then a shadow passes by
and suddenly I give a sigh

and darkness sweeps across my soul

and loneliness exacts its toll


tio stib

You might also enjoy: Life Journey Poems & Prose; My Dementia Diary



Mockingbirds

they are human mockingbirds
instead of songs, they mimic words

nothing pretty, nothing nice
nothing new
the same old vice

always males who want attention
spouting nastiness I cannot mention

they yell and scream
they cry and shout
when things go south
they sulk and pout

let’s make a rule that changes things
and tell the pols they all must sing

no talk

like feathered songsters on my walks


tio stib

You might also enjoy: The Hummingbird; The Comfort of Complacency

My Friend Ego

Ego is upset today
I wouldn’t let him out to play

sometimes he thinks he is the king
and disagrees with everything

he worships his own point of view
scoffs at ideas that are new

at his worst
he’s quite the boor
and then I shove him
out the door

now locked away
inside my mind
I hope
he will become
more kind


tio stib

You might also enjoy: High on Gratitude; Control Freaking

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tio stib

You might also enjoy: Control Freaking; life is like a broken egg

A Wilderness Pill

when my back aches
there’s a pill to ease the pain

when I start sneezing
there’s a pill for allergies

but when I’m trapped in urban loneliness
when my soul cries out for wildness
for freedom
screams to be lost in Nature’s oneness
back in the immensity of desert silence
standing in awe on a mountaintop
dancing with waves crashing on a wild beach

then
I need a wilderness pill

a medicine that smells of campfires
that tastes of Springtime meadow flowers
that reverberates with coyotes howling
at the rising moon

but my heart knows
this easy out can’t begin
to feed the hunger

it’s time to get out
get away

time to be on the loose again


tio stib


You might also enjoy: Sorely Needing Wilderness; Which Mountain to Climb