Robes A'Flowing

Has your doctor ever treated you

When wearing robes a’flowing,

Gently laying hands while all around

There’s light that’s brightly glowing?

 

That depiction sounds more biblical

Than hospital-type care.

To post a picture of himself,

Like that, just one would dare.

 

Now I am not a Christian, but

That image does offend.

How can true believers ever

Such idolatry defend?

 

But chalk it up to just another

Way to lose more hope,

Right alongside the insulting,

Made in public, of the Pope.

 

The bar can’t drop much lower

As the world can only mock

Words and actions of one so deranged

We can’t absorb the shock.

Meeting for an Early Lunch

In our younger days we met for dinner;

Now it’s mainly lunch.

We needn’t rush; since we’re retired,

Time slots we don’t crunch.

 

We pack up meals we’ve ordered,

For we’ve barely eaten half

And when waiters ask, “Dessert or wine?”

We shake our heads and laugh.

 

We stop a stranger, asking if

He’ll snap our photo please.

He sees four senior citizens

So he, of course, agrees.

 

But what he cannot understand

(No reason that he should)

Is that, though we look old to him,

There is the likelihood

 

That we’ve lived through so many things

He’s only read about

And though he’ll have his own adventures,

There is little doubt

 

That we add up to so much more

Than what his pix reveal –

Four smiling alte kakers*

Clutching what’s left of our meal.

 

*a Yiddish expression meaning old farts

A Smattering of Seeds

A bagel worth its salt should have

A smattering of seeds,

‘Cause sesame or poppy

Is what every bagel needs.

 

A pumpernickel, though, requires

Caraways mixed in

And those that we call “everything”

Most always score a win.

 

To anyone who orders “plain,”

I have one thing to say:

(And do not get me started

On blueberries in the way)

 

I understand some seed-o-phobics

Think that they deserve

A bagel in its purest state,

But what you might observe

 

Is most New Yorkers find that seeds,

And more than just a smattering,

Are what, with New York water,

Make our bagels really mattering.

The Artemis Splashdown

The auditorium was filled

With every class in school.

On stage, a small TV set sat –

For sure, too miniscule.

 

The year was ’61 or 2,

A spaceship set to go,

With either Alan Shepard

Or John Glenn; I do not know.

 

But we’d been prepped and we were psyched;

We watched in silent awe,

Though only those in front were sure

Of what they really saw.

 

I though of that last night as I

Was fixed on my TV

To watch the capsule slowly drift

And plop into the sea.

 

To many younger folk, this wasn’t

Much of a big deal.

They couldn’t quite experience

What those my age did feel

 

Remembering so long ago

When space was the frontier

We thought we’d conquer, but that was

A different atmosphere.

Reading Reviews

Before an online purchase

Often I read the reviews

To gather some opinions on

An object I might choose 

Or a hotel or a restaurant 

To which I plan to go;

There might be helpful info

I would really like to know.

The problem with reviews is that

They’re all composed by those

Who are strangers with a lifestyle

I might very well oppose. 

Of course, the opposite might be

The truth; I must decide

Whether what they’re recommending

Would be worthwhile as a guide.

I still like reading others’ thoughts

On things they have inspected,

Though likely their advice will get

An almost-sale rejected.

Acknowledgement

We all have some things we do well,

Which bring us pride and pleasure,

That sense of true accomplishment

Which no one else can measure.

 

For even if we only please

Ourselves, that is sufficient

To even out the ways in which

We find that we’re deficient.

 

It’s nice to get acknowledgement

For something we’ve completed,

But even if we don’t, there is

No need to feel defeated.

 

Of course, that’s what we’re meant to say,

Yet I am not deluded,

Since everyone would benefit

From praise, myself included.

Blooming

Today was thirty-five degrees,

But cherry trees were blooming

And daffodils have opened,

Right on time, I am assuming.

 

The sunshine helped offset the temps

So blossoms felt that yearning

To cover all the branches

As the season’s slowly turning.

 

Most folks were bundled up and yet,

Some short sleeves started showing,

On those who did not mind the fact

That biting winds were blowing.

 

Since springtime has arrived, it doesn’t

Matter if it’s chilly,

For Nature’s plan does not let

Sprouting happen willy-nilly.

 

Occasionally, there’s a frost,

But most plants keep surviving

And soon enough, some warmer days

Will keep them gaily thriving.

 

The city looks so pretty now

And it’s just the beginning,

Yet everybody out there

Couldn’t stop themselves from grinning.