a poem by Mary Lou Meyers

Mary Lou is my classmate from Douglass College and is my “virtual” poet-in-residence. This poem is very thought-provoking! I’ve added photos of one of our patio window boxes and the “trees” on the patio to remind you to stay close to Mother Nature as much as possible. Even a small patio garden provides pleasure and calmness.

Mind-Set

I heard it said, but scarcely believe it,

we may have to become accustomed to the New Normal,

not for just awhile but because of steadily warming temperatures,

the fires in the Arctic, more viruses will spread their venom

while we must stay sequestered for Humanity’s sake.

How thwarted we are, our stock and trade

to be embraced and disarmed by the Human Face.

No longer separate seams united in a whole,

we need to separate dreams and hold beyond arm’s length

with no chance to cut to the chase.

The outside world is now out of our sphere

of influence somehow, somewhere.

Will our tongue become depressed and tentative

when we are re-introduced to society,

no longer tried and true reminders of how Life once was.

The template of Life can bend to your will.

Just digress for a moment, stillness is apropos,

time of the Pandemic, home alone.

But you can be anywhere you please,

It takes only a mind set.

Read their smiles out loud

till they give you what you need,

a suborning witness to a kiss

through the air of your despair.

For images are more real in isolation,

touch them, they’ll feel real,

push the lever of the turnstile

which brings you together with a smile.

Contentment lies as close as your undergarment

as it curves and folds with every part of your moving body.

You will be enfolded by a kind of bliss

that is not makeshift like most of your life.

How you drift from one phase to the other,

how you reveal to those you try to impress

with your thought process,

only feel a loss when you repress who you really are.

Happiness is really a frame of mind,

it has its own set of wind chimes

which can overcome the lack-luster

or the pit-falls of Covid 19

as it does in any dreamscape

or the Divine Interlude of a moment in time.

My classmate, Mary Lou, has been terrifically prolific during this difficult time. Here’s one for Sunday, Mother’s Day. Even or especially now is the time to honor loved ones! I have interspersed photos from my neighborhood, where azaleas (and other flowers ) are in bloom. Their short burst of color is a welcome sight when my husband and I take a walk!

Mother

You have a scrap book of memories inside you.

Everything you turn your head to,

to guide you.

When you’re feeling out of sorts,

the action you resort to,

over the rough spots with your children in tow,

wherever you go, somehow you know what to do.

She never ran rough shod over you,

a blessing to have children,

you feel her nudge to safely dodge

the temperamental flare up,

she would stare you down.

Memories float virtually undisturbed

like dust mites,

and settle in the corner of your mind’s eye.

A Mother lifts the spirit of awareness

to a higher realm of consciousness.

In time of trouble, you resort

to her tried and true wisdom, of course,

knowing what to do subliminally.

The pain to see you grow up and fly the nest,

she did the best thing she could,

Love, laughter, and happily ever after

when she became your out-of-town friend.

Mother awakened our senses to birdsong,

to purity of motive no matter loss or gain.

We couldn’t go wrong with a drive to right the wrongs.

The song we must carry life long

when her eyes sought us out,

not just for enterprise,

but the awakening of enlightenment inside.

Even if violets were strewn across her room

to brighten her life, she still had to pick up the wilted blooms;

or if you burned toast making the most of her special day

and stayed in bed, only to clean up afterward.

The tulips displayed on her tray announced

how close you were together once,

like birds of a feather, inseparable but ever-present

she remains in your life.

She indulged in straight talk,

not talking around the bush,

when she met us eye to eye,

she would discover if there was

any lie in it.

Exemplified the best when put to the test,

but asked for so little if you recall,

she forgave you for your slights

or when you failed to call.

This Mother’s Day may be different,

but the sentiments are the same.

No one would blame you

from refraining from hugging and kissing,

for now you must sacrifice to keep her safe

from the corona virus

with your social distancing.

But she is the Voice of Reason,

now when the world seems awry,

trying to figure out the whys and wherefores

of corona virus, and exact a vaccine, a potential cures.

Workers laid off, routines disturbed,

but it’s happened before in her life,

so she emotes a calming voice

raised above the fray:

we will come back full force

without dreams diminished or lost!

Addendum

Here we are, Mother and Daughter housed together,

thinking how we can celebrate Mother’s Day,

(although it’s everyday for me, she does my shopping,

so I don’t need to expose myself to the rampant disease.)

Not the usual favorite restaurant for a sit-down menu.

The ban is not lifted today, simply take-out,

but wonder if it will be safe as we wonder about everything now;

pick our way through the few opened places

not shuttered down till when?

Longwood, where she worked is closed, but parks are opening

with wild flowers, not on display

but here and there along the pathway,

and once in awhile, a bower of blooms for a special day.

The best thing is your Daughter can name them all,

Latin and everyday making it an enchanted trip

of enlightenment for you.

(Notice how the daffodils begin to lose their blooms
just as the azaleas come into bloom? No coincidence;
Mother Nature at work! es)

From Mary Lou: I have written poems to both describe the impact of Covid 19 as well

as try to elevate the mood of those I send my E-Mail Poems to.

Mary Lou is the author of Whisperings Along the Octoraro Who Speaks for Them? Floating Free

and The Case of the Missing Silver Star.

Tag: a poem by Mary Lou Meyers

Mind-Set by Mary Lou Meyers