Merry Snow White Christmas

The moon puts forth
Its silver light
Among the stars
This winter night.
Its plain to see
Without a doubt
This is a year
We’ll sing about.

We are going to have
A bright white Christmas!
We’ll have to get
Our shovels out
To clear away the snow
And find our mittens
For cold hands
And boots to warm each toe.

We are going to have a
Snow white Christmas!
It’s been really
Quite a while
Since Jack Frost
Tweaked each nose,
That we have had
To find our scarves
And haul out our warmest clothes.

Our hearts will sing,
Our voices too
And in our thoughts
We’ll be with you
To share our Snow White Christmas

(c) Lucille Falk Miller
written 12/18/2007

13 and My Christmas Flight

Thirteen is my lucky number
It brings good luck to me
Just 13 days from now
I’ll be flying westerly

At Spokane I’ll meet my daughter
Who’ll drive her Subaru
A hundred miles or more each way
It’s the holiday thing to do

Christmas is the holiday
Where we want togetherness
With evergreen and Christmas cheer
And sparkling happiness…

As predicted, 13 days ago,
I’m here in Idaho
Right here in Paradise Valley
And here is where I’ll be
Beside this wonderful blessed
Live green Christmas tree…

And now I am on day 15
It’s the strangest thing I’ve seen
In the sleigh, with Santa Claus—
It is bound to give one pause!

I am here in Idaho,
With Santa Claus and Ho Ho Ho
It’s a lovely place to be
And 13 brought luck to me.

(c) Lucille Falk Miller
Written December 2009

Thanksgiving Day

November is the month we choose
To show our gratitude
For all the blessings we’ve received
Our friends, family and our food.
And food – we should be grateful for
When one considers on this earth
How many, many people
So seldom since their birth
Have ever had enough to eat
I’ll remember when I pray
To say an extra prayer for them
On our Thanksgiving Day
And probably make a gift of cash
To provide something extra to their hash.

© Lucille Falk Miller

Fear

Sleep will not come
My heart is sad
Why must I think
Of fears I’ve had
Ever since
You shared with me
Things you have found
To do lately.
How they fit in-
The things you dream.
But I lie here
It does not seem
That I’ll fit in
To what may be
Your future life –
Will exclude me?

© Lucille Falk Miller

Christmas Alone

Christmas
What a lovely
Time of year
Sparkling lights
And caroling
Parties, friends
And family here,
Memories-
Of days gone by
Empty chairs
That make me sigh,
Loneliness
For here am I-
All alone

© Lucille Falk Miller
~December 4, 2005

Hiccup

Here am I
Sad and alone
Waiting by
The telephone
Every time
It rings I think
Please be home
My heart does sink
The hours pass
Day turns to night
What shall I do?
My thoughts take flight
Perhaps I should
Have a good stiff drink
Then climb in bed
And sleep, not think
But sad to say
The jig is up
Sleep will not come
When I hiccup

© Lucille Falk Miller
~April 15, 2003 [a 10 min writing exercise using the word ‘hiccup’]

Icy

It’s January 2010
The sun is shinning
That is when
The mercury falls
And so do we
If we don’t check
And we don’t see
All the ice
Lying there in wait
Broken bones
Are the sorry fate

(c) Lucille Falk Miller
~January 6, 2010

Beyond My Dreams

When I consider
How my life
Has traveled through the years
I reach back in memory
Recalling joy and tears
I know I have been blessed

My dreams - wild
Though they might have been
Did not achieve in fantasy
That which in life I’ve seen
And though I have
Seen tears it’s true,
When I recall the joy
The tears seem few

© Lucille Falk Miller
~ March 29, 2004

Rubenesque

I would really like to know
Why in every fashion show
They put the clothes
On starving frames
To show to mostly
Rueben dames.
Ah yes it irks
I guess you know
At almost every fashion show
Models starving – statuesque
Show clothes for me
Who’s Ruebenesque.

© Lucille Falk Miller
Written April 8, 1994

Never Too Small

If you think you are too little
To have a lot of clout
A mosquito in your bedroom
Should banish all your doubt

© Lucille Falk Miller

Just listen

It is so nice to be
Able to fit pleasantly
With those we so often see
Even if we don’t agree
We don’t have to
Tell them so
It’s better that
They do not know
There is little chance
Of changing them
They are rock
From root to stem
So we just listen
If we must
And we know there is
No changing us!

© Lucile Falk Miller
~ January 6, 2010

Retired

Ah what a happy day it will be
The day I hang away my key
The day when I can stay abed
And the clock no longer dread
But possibly there may be fear
How will I fill each day each year
And will my assets meet my needs
My doubt doth grow from such small seeds
It did arrive, its joy its dread
Now I find what’s new instead
Is how I’ll ever find a way
To fit it all into my day

© Lucille Falk Miller
~June 7, 1996

Warning

Ah ‘tis a lovely day
In spring
The snow does melt
And the birds do sing
But what do I see
In the muddy tracks?
A warning to do
My income tax.

But hurrah!

My income tax
Is figured out
And mailed away
With Joy I shout.
Nothing now
Stands in the way
For me to enjoy
The Spring and May

© Lucille Miller
~ started March 1993, completed April 29, 2003

Talent?

The words fit in together
To form a thought in rhyme
I write them down & measure them
And can’t wait for the time
When I can find an audience
Where I may share my verse
Pray tell me is it talent
Or think ye it’s a curse?

© Lucille Falk Miller
~ September 8, 1987

Keys

Where are my keys?
My heart stands still
I have to leave
Or I never will
Catch that plane on time
Then what will I do?
What on earth
Can I say to you
You’ve told me & told me
To have a place
To always put them
I can’t save face.
And then I find them
They’re on my wrist
I’m going to make it
For our lovely tryst

© Lucille Falk Miller
~ February 17, 2004

Line

What’s your line?
I’m asking –
Is it your words
Or your career?
Is it your hitting on me
Or line of work I hear?
They say the shortest distance
Is a line between two points
It also might be chatter
As we visit all the joints
Is it the rope one clings to
As in a mountain climb,
Or is it the walk one takes
In the struggle for sublime?

© Lucille Falk Miller
~December 2, 2003

Christmas Air

It’s in the air
I hear it
The bells the laughter there
The carols and the whispers
Gift papers’ crackling tear
The popping corn, the violins
Piano softly playing
The door bell chimes
The happy rush
Of children back from sleighing
It’s in the air
I smell it
The pine boughs everywhere
The cookies in the oven
The cider steaming there
The roasting nuts and cinnamon
The burning yuletide log
The pungent air, the turkey’s sage
The dampness of the fog
It’s in the air
I see it
The color, sparkling lights
The greenery, flickering fire
The snowflakes dancing white
The tinsel and the dazzle
The holly and the bows
Poinsettias, garlands, berries
And Santa’s cheeks and nose
It’s in the air
I feel it
The tug of memories
Anticipation tingles
Reunions happy squeeze
The warmth, the hugs the kisses
Cousin, nephew, niece
The magic of each moment
The hope, the joy, the peace

© Lucille Falk Miller
~ January 5, 1986

Christmastime

It’s a lovely time
When everyone gets home
And if that cannot come to pass
One tries to reach a phone
Little one’s excitement
Their smiles and joy to share
Sparkling lights and pretty bows
The fun is everywhere
The years go by and memories
May be all that do remain
To be alone at Christmas
Brings a special kind of pain
I remind myself
That I should try
On this lovely holiday
To bring some lonely person
Some joy
On Christmas Day

© Lucille Falk Miller
Written December 1, 2005

Sixty

I must say
Should one arrive
Full of zip
And quite alive
One has achieved
An age of gold
Make no mistake
One is not old
Sexy sixty
Is the time
With proper genes
You’re in your prime
You can pursue
And perhaps catch
Make well laid plans
You hope will hatch
But should you
Overreach a few
Here is a little help for you
Don’t give up
What ever you do
Just wink an eye
and flash a smile
You’ll have it made
By a country mile

© Lucille Falk Miller
~ Written in 2005

The Kiss

You kissed me
I stood, standing there
We knew - yes
We were both aware
Your arms would soon
Be filled again
But mine
would just remember when
And yearn
And long for
your return
A friend who knew
My love for you
Demands
‘How can you bear the pain?’
I say it’s sun
That follows rain
Like flowers which burst into bloom
My spirits lift and fill the room
When you return

© Lucille Falk Miller
~ January 3, 2006

Graduations

It’s the 26th of August
The year two thousand and ten
I’m in this park at Dartmouth
Where I can remember when
My darling precious grandchild
On her Graduation Day
Was handed her diploma
And she was on her way
Some 15 months ago...
For about 9 weeks in my home
Then off to San Francisco
Where she could work for pay
And a trip way off to Europe
As part of her working day
And now we’re with her in Vermont
For her brother’s wedding day.

© Lucille Falk Miller
~ August 26, 2010

Year Growing Old

October colors
How they glow
Prepare a door mat
For the snow
It’s my favorite time of year
The warming sun
I hold do dear
But I admit
A bit of pain
Sort of like the autumn rain
I know the year
Is growing old,
And soon we’ll shiver
With the cold

© Lucille Falk Miller
~November 6, 2000

Hurray

My income tax
Is figured out
And mailed away
With Joy I shout
Nothing now
Stands in the way
For me to enjoy
The Spring and May

© Lucille Miller
~April 29, 2003

Autumn

The flowers of summer
can still be seen
And the grass is still growing
bright and green
There is a chill
in the evening air
Signs of autumn
are everywhere
The trees are wearing
their brightest hues
And Mom’s dragging out
the overshoes
Housecleaning,
football
posters galore
Halloween costumes
are seen in the store
And I have suddenly realized
I must take my car
To be winterized!

© Lucille Falk Miller
~ September 12, 1991

Celebrate

Help me God
That I can be
Able soon
Successfully
Finished with
Junk mail debris
Accumulated

And while you’re at it
Maybe too
You would help me
Struggle through
Sorting out
From old and new
Clothes far far overdue
To be relegated

Then my life
Again can be
My own to cherish
Joyously
And my house
Quite neat can be
Celebrated

©Lucille Falk Miller
Written October 2, 2000

In the Spring

When the winter snows are done
When the browns turn into green
When the sun stays longer too
When the swollen buds are seen –
Then I want to be outside
Walking in the morning sun
Watching birds building their nests
Watching kids having spring fun
Watching jonquils peeping through
Soon pansies will smile at me
Brooks beneath a crest of ice
Start to hurry to the sea
Winter, coats and overshoes
Waiting to be put away
Shop windows are rushing things
Clothing for a sunny May
I want to burst out into spring
Enjoy this feeling to the max
But sadly I must stay inside
And figure out my Income Tax

© Lucille Falk Miller
3/17/90

Ruse

My life is full of many things
Most which I enjoy
And if there are some things I hate
A ruse I do employ,
I simply push them from my mind
And think of something fun
Then do what 'er I have to do
And soon the dread is done.

(c) Lucille Falk Miller
1/30/90

My Aching Back

I love to dance
But alas and alack
Do I have to bow
To my aching back?
Is this a sign
I am growing old?
Heavens NO –
For I am told
Siatica
Strikes
At any age
Admission can come
On another page
And I’ll keep dancing
Though I’m in pain
And – admit I’m aging?
Are you insane?!

© Lucille Falk Miller
Written November 6, 2000

Be Still

Where I go
And what I do
Is up to me
And not to you
Just as long
As you don’t pay
It’s not up
To you to say

© By Lucille Falk Miller
Written in April, 1987

Chic

The very best thing
One can wear
Appropriate just everywhere
That never will go out of style
Will always be
A friendly smile.

© by Lucille Falk Miller
Written on April 27, 1987

Calories?

Tiny lady
Twinkling eyes
Laughter
Then a grin
Printed apron
Tied around
Twice – though you’re not thin
Rounded softly
Like your speech
A little mixed but cute
German words & English words
But still they seem to suit
Busy in your kitchen
Making apple pie
Potato salad
Pfiffernues
Count Calories? –
You won’t try!

© By Lucille Falk Miller
Written April 5, 1986

My Cousin Leighton

Beautiful ladies
Please do not weep
It was best that I go
Though your grief may be deep
Remember me young
And leading the pack
My life has been short
But don’t wish me back
Oh I loved to ride
Through the wind wild and free
And I loved the waves
And the sound of the sea.
Fast shining cars
With everything on‘em
Intimate bars
And how I could con‘em
My cycle in summer
Took me where I would go
My snowmobile roared
Through the deep winter snow.
How could you want me
To stay and grow old?
I’d hate to be feeble
And shiver with cold
I’d hate getting gray
And losing my hair
And have to wear glasses
And need nursing care
I’d hate getting tired
Just when the fun starts
So beautiful ladies,
Though it might break your heart
It’s better I go
While I’m still ahead
When there’s no joy in living
I’m better off dead.

© Lucille Falk Miller
Written on Memorial Day, 198_

The Dream

The shot rang out
And claimed the life
Of one who spoke
Of peace not strife,
Of understanding,
Love, not hate
The Dream he dreamed
Was one so great
That though he died
His dream would not
It grew and blossomed
And a lot
Of folks who thought
The same as he
Picked up his banner
Of the Free
And sang his words
With energy
The chant has swelled
And amplified
And carries on
Although he died

© by Lucille Falk Miller
Written on Jan 7, 1987 for Martin Luther King's Day
and subsequently painted on the wall of a Mpls school where Lucy was a social worker

Pot Luck

Oh how I love and dread a potluck
A dip of this
A dab of that
I become beyond controlling
I just ignore my body fat.
As I fill my plate
No longer caring
I have no will
No shred of shame
I just move on
My nostrils flaring
Cholesterol
What is thy name!

© 7/30/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Love

Love is not like water
Flowing from a faucet
That can be turned on or off at will
In the best of all worlds it seems to me
Love that is given would always be
Returned by the loved one
Most joyously
But sadly it seems
Too often I fear
Love that is given
Oh yes my dear
Is not returned and the giver of love
Feels lonely and spurned
So it’s not a surprise
There are those of us
Who lock up our hearts
And will never trust
Ourselves to be close
So our hearts will not break
If we stay by ourselves
And no chances we take
If we play our cards right
And avoid each pitfall
We can just stay at home
But that’s no fun at all.

© October, 2000 By Lucille Falk Miller

No Fit

The winter is waning
The joy of it –
But sadly to dim
My joy a bit
All my spring things
No longer fit.

© March, 1992 By Lucille Falk Miller

Svelte

Every year
About this time
I say a prayer
And then I climb
Upon my scale
But it’s no use
The numbers show
The sad abuse
My calorie count
Like national debt
Has mounted high
And though regret
Is instant and
Is always felt
It’s not the way
To regain svelte.

© 1/7/87

Memory

Darling
I am missing you
Sometimes I cannot
Believe it’s true
That you’re forever
Gone from me
God took you home
He set you free
From all the pain
You had to bear
But oh my darling
Everywhere
I see you in the morning light
And when I say my
Prayers at night
I see you
Every noon time too
In memory
I am there with you

© 9/11/91 By Lucille Falk Miller

Sixty Five

When I was a child
On Grandma’s knee
She seemed really old to me
Now I know all she could be
Was at the most just 43
By the time I reached 15
And all those years
There in between
Sixty five seemed sure to mean
The final years
The parting scene
And when I reached
Age twenty-five
Sixty seemed barely alive
Now that I will soon arrive
At that age of sixty five
I look around at what I see
And stretch my wings
And fling them free
I have to say quite honestly
Sixty five seems young to me

© 10/28/2000 By Lucille Falk Miller

Happy Birthday Grandson

Grandpa and Grandma
Would like to be
Inside this card
At your party
We’d jump right out
Upon your rug
And give you a kiss
And a great big hug
To you our darling
Little Will
You’re five years old
Oh what a thrill
If we could be
Right here with you
But since we can’t
This will have to do.
Your Mom and you
Can go and buy
Both what you need
And you’d try
We send you this check
Which is our way
To wish you love
On your birthday
From Grandpa Don
And Grandma Lucy

© 3/7/87 By Lucille Falk Miller

Pass a Law

If you don’t like
The things they do
Pass a law
We know it’s true
Another law
Stops very few
But pass a law
That’s all we do

© 3/19/84 By Lucille Falk Miller

Walking with My Grandchild

Purple mountains
Pleat the sky
A town spread out below
Above are clouds
And grey-green woods
Bordering the snow.
Sunset painted river
Meandering yet swift
Birds riding on the evening breeze
Just above the rift
A tiny precious
Trusting hand
Held tightly in my own
Familiar pathway
Guides our feet
Cross needle and pinecone

©4/5/96 by Lucille Falk Miller

Dilemma

I paid little attention
When she got up to read
I heard her say the poem
Would soon – oh yes indeed
Be printed in some paper
I didn’t hear which one
But when she stared reading
I knew I should have done
Some conscientious listening
For I can’t believe it’s true
The poem that I was hearing
Was one that I well knew.
When I heard about the dusting
I hadn’t time to do,
And also of the rusting,
I knew that it was true.
The lady that was standing there
Was in a bold face lie
How had she found my poem?
Explain it, I can try
I knew I’d given copies
To some people that I knew
But no one I could think of
She might have know it’s true
I hurried home that evening
To find that little book
Of poems that I had written
I knew just where to look.
But of all the little notebooks
I couldn’t find the one
That had the copy of that poem
I feared what I had done –
Did I leave it on that table
Where we gather each Sunday?
And as I think about it
That must have been the way
She found my little poem
About cobwebs and dust
I have to get that notebook back
I have to – yes I must!

© 10/1/01 By Lucille Falk Miller
[She didn’t have my notebook, I found it at home –
but how did she get my poem?]

You’ll soon be a cat

I’d take you home
Dear kitty
Were it not for that
You won’t stay a kitten
You’ll soon be a cat!

© 1989 By Lucille Falk Miller

Stolen

The one who has my notebook
Filled with my poetry
Has more than just paper and words,
They have a part of me.

© 10/22/01 By Lucille Falk Miller

Miss you so

I’m still lonely
Miss you so
But somehow since
God helped me know
It was His time
His special plan
For you to go
It seems I can
Accept His will
And find my way
Into His future
A new day.

© 8/20/90 By Lucille Falk Miller
[Husband, Don, passed on 5/20/90, the poem was written two months later]

ReJoice

It’s hard to believe
On Christmas Eve
Around our Christmas tree
There won’t be
Very many –
Just Mom and Don and Me.
How I recall
When I was small
How many there would be.
The years have passed
So very fast
And now there’s just we three
Let me explain
I’ll not complain
there’s still Mom, Don & Me.

© 12/19/89 By Lucille Falk Miller
[Don died May 20, 1990, Mom died Feb 5, 1995]

Whispering

My poetry as art won’t fly
And I’ll tell you the reason why;
It is not the least obscure.
Its point is plain, simple and pure.
One is as apt to miss the joke
As my Mom is to drink or smoke.
My poems reveal the things I’ve felt
When in prayer, perhaps I’ve knelt
Or wiping spills up from the floor,
Or finding toys behind the door,
As I sought a fallen dime
While my thoughts float by in rhyme
My poetry cannot be art,
It’s just a whisper from my heart.

© 11/27/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Christmas

Christmas –
It’s my favorite thing
Evergreen
And carol sing
Flashing, twinkling
Fairy lights
Crispy crunchy
Winter nights
Tiny tots on Santa’s knees
Picture cards
We hope will please
Colored paper
Perky bows
Stockings hung
In pretty rows
Churches
Filled as we would wish
Mothers cook
Our best loved dish
Relatives
Come home to share
Hugs and kisses
Everywhere
Busy happy
Hectic times
That’s my lovely
Christmas time

©11/6/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

A Christmas Gift

Today I spent a lot of time
Seeking someone else’s rhyme
Hoping that a card I’d find
Saying what was on my mind.
Alas alack, ‘twas not to be
So it must depend on me.
But words to say how great you are
Are hard to find, they really are
I really don’t know what I’d do –
How I managed without you.
I grab the phone when things go wrong
You can be sure it won’t be long
Before you make it right again.
You are magic – what a man!
I said an angel brought me you
and turned my sky a lovely blue
Or maybe Santa found a way
To make each day a Christmas Day

© 12/23/04 By Lucille Falk Miller

My Sin

Boldy I seek
The chooser’s eyes
And hope and pray
I’ll win a prize
I listen hard
To hear my name
Knowing well
That it’s a game
Unlikely, yes
The chance is small
That they will call
My name at all
And then some how
Perchance - I win!
I here and now
Confess my sin -
That I am trying
To disguise
My wish I’d won
A different prize

© 10/28/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Kids and Rules

Kids are very quick to see
Our vulnerabilities
When there are a lot of rules
You can be sure they’ll seize
Each opportunity to test
If we mean what we say
And if we fail to follow through
We will regret the way
That we ignore a broken rule
Of this we can be sure
That kids will test
The rest of them
While no solution’s pure
Either have no rules to break
If we choose not to heed them
Or let the consequence be sure
If we decide we need them

© 5/18/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Change

The years go by
And changes come
Quite imperceptibly
Though when we are
So close to change
We often do not see
And when we are
Away awhile
And then return we find
We nearly fail
To recognize
The place we left behind

© 5/15/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Armistice

Wars are not
A lot of fun
They’re always better
When they’re done
When remembering
Can sort it out
To what we’d like
To think about
I guess we’d
Probably agree
That peace is best
For our country.

© 11/8/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

I Can’t Dance

Sad to say there is no way
That I can dance
Upon this day
Even if I the music’s fine
And the floor, is smooth as wine
And dancing partners
By the score
No matter who
Comes in the door
Even if an angel sings
It won’t change how
They’ve clipped my wings

© 4/13/89 and 9/97 by Lucille Falk Miller

Being with my family

Oh how I’d love to be
With my friends and family
On the west coast
By the sea
Aunts and Uncles I recall
They were there when I was small
My mom and Dad, my sister too
My cousins yes I had a few
Times have really changed a lot
Since I was a little tot

© 10/18/10 By Lucille Falk Miller

Mothers and Daughters

Oh what sadness
It can be
When Moms and daughters
Fail to see
How to hold
Each other in
Respect and love
It is no win
When moms try
To regulate
And daughters
Still to emulate
In ways they tried
While in their teens
They still don’t work
For Moms this means
Respecting daughters
As mature
Intelligent, able
And secure
And daughters
In truth cannot disguise
That experience
Is sometimes wise
That just because
Mom thought of it
An idea is
Not worth a twit?
Moms and daughters
Can achieve
Satisfactions
They would never believe
If they can learn
To work as friends
Cooperate
Toward natural ends,
That both of them
Can realize
That both hold dear
And recognize

© 11/3/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Near Enough

Holidays
Are always fun
Together there
With everyone
When we have
Our family near
Near enough
And held so dear
That somehow
One can find some ways
To hug and touch
On holidays

© 11/13/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Alone

Alone in a room
But I’m never alone.
My thoughts
My dreams
And the telephone
Sometimes I wish
That would go away
So it would not
Intrude on my
Reverie.

Sometimes
When I feel alone
Away from home
And from the phone
Away from pen
Or place to write –
Can happen day
Can happen night
There may be
A thousand there
In fact – with people
Everywhere
Away from friends
Away from phone
That’s when I feel
That I’m alone.

© 11/13/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

I’ve slipped into
Overload
I am in
A stressed out mode
All because
My “with the flow”
Exceeds
My “ability to say NO”

© 11/13/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Remember those in need

Oh Lord thou has
Blessed us much indeed
Help us remember
Those in need
Help us in our gratitude
To share with those
Who have no food
Help us not to settle back
Into the pillow
At our back
Help us work in ways we can
To ease the pain
For our fellow man

© 9/24/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Kinsman

Oh dear Kinsman
It is done
We chose not
But we are one
With our blood
We both were born
We cannot change
Be there a thorn
A friend or foe
May come to be
A foe or friend
As times decree,
But blood does
Neither yield nor bend
We are Kinsmen
To the end.

© 8/20/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

I’ll Never Rust

I say
Old I’ll never be
Better, maybe
Don’t you see?
There is
Far too much to do
Fun to have
So much that’s new
I do not
Plan to sit and rust
I may not have
The time to dust
But this know
Here in my heart
I’ll never let
The cobwebs start
To gather
On my joy of living
Pollute my love
Stop my forgiving

© 4/29/96 By Lucille Falk Miller

SIS

How great it is
To have a sister
I am so glad
That we are two
I’m so glad our parents decided
And that second child was you
We had our fights
When we were little
But I always love you so.
My favorite thing
Is a vacation
When you are with me where I go
I wish I had a magic carpet
That would fly across the miles
And pick you up or take me to you
What pure delight!
The dream beguiles.
But since there is no magic carpet
AT & T in a small way
Helps me reach out to you,
Dear sister,
With Love on this
Your natal day

© 8/10/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Fiftieth Anniversary

A half a century ago
At this hour and this moment
You pledged your love
And spoke your vows
And now we are here present
To celebrate those fifty years
You’ve traveled through together
Days of sunshine and perhaps
Even some storm weather
But still together
Side by side
Through times of joy
Sometimes you cried
Sometimes the laughter
Through the tears
Gave you both strength
Through all those years
I say congratulations
I wish you lots of fun
Lots more years of happiness
Days brightened by the sun

© 12/18/04 By Lucille Falk Miller

Not a Cook

I keep buying cookbooks
And clipping recipes
And begging my creative friends
For their how to’s if you please
Which pile up in my bookcase
And there they gather dust
Because it seems I do not cook
Even though I think I must

© 5/5/03 By Lucille Falk Miller

The three of us

The three of us
For years and years
Have laughed together
And shed tears
Have picnicked – Danced
And seen folks wed
Dieted and ate instead
Four generations
We have seen
And all that happened
In between
Take a walk
Or catch a bus
We still have fun

© 8/9/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

The Garden

Some walk in a garden
But what they notice there
Is not the lovely flowers
Growing everywhere
They search among the flowers
And try to find a weed
And if in fact they find one
They truly do succeed
In looking on the dark side
How much I’d rather be
With one who searches in the weeds
To see if there can be
A lovely flower blooming there
For everyone to see.

© 8/8/89 by Lucille Falk Miller

Exciting

Never in my
Wildest dreams
Did I think
My life would be
This exciting.
That I’d see
Foreign lands
So far away –
My life so full
That every day
A thankful humble
Prayer I pray
And wonder what
My Grandma’d say.
How it ever
Came to be
It happened to a
Girl like me.

© 8/8/89 by Lucille Falk Miller

Sad Sale

We’ve had this house
Since we were kids
'Til many years ago
To sell it now
Seems almost sad
Ridiculous, but so
We really want
To sell it
But after all these years
It has become a
Part of us
Our memories,
Hopes and fears
We had it in those early times
When we were just
Us two
And then our children
Came along
They came to love it too.
The years have passed,
They’ve grown tall
And have a mortgage too.
We now find it doesn’t fit
Since we are back to two.

© 8/7/89 Lucille Falk Miller

Income Tax

My income tax
is figured out
and mailed away,
with joy,
I shout!
Nothing now
stand the my way
to enjoy the spring
and May.

(c)5/1/05 by Lucille Falk Miller

This world

What this world is all about
Did you ever have a doubt
Bed at night and rise at dawn
Till the soil – forget that yawn
Feed the body and the soul
With the punches learn to roll
Learn to smile when things go wrong
Hope that God will make you strong
Keep the faith and help the weak
Find the answers that you seek
When your time on earth is done
May St. Peter say “well done.”

© 8/8/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Empty Abundance

My closet is full
As it can be
But almost nothing
There fits me
Lots of skirts
I find size 8
Dresses and blouses
Sad to state
Either too short
Too big or small
I pull things out
I try them all
Carefully
I check what’s there
And find
I’ve not a thing to wear.

© 3/28/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Awakening

Here’s the sun
On the water
The willow trees
Swelling buds
Pairs of ducks
Planning nesting
Tired snow
Feeding floods
Winter Brown
Now a greening
Daffodils peeping through
Winter winds
Now retreating
Dreams of spring
Coming true.

© March, 1989 By Lucille Falk Miller

Robb

A flash of fire
That warmed
Yet burned
So much to offer
So much he spurned
Most of those
Usual platitudes
Even rejecting
Best loved foods.
Fierce crusading
For what he believed
Generous sharing
What he received
Demanding that others
Share this creed.
That those who have
Help those in need.

© 1/24/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

I Love to Save

I know I didn't
Need that hat
I've got four more
Yes I know that
And every one
I've yet to wear
But it's so nice
To know they are there
Besides it was
On sale and oh
I do love
To save you know -

(c) 4/7/89 By Lucille Falk Miller

Oregon

Sheep
Wobbly Spring lambs
Green fields of grass
Brown desert and
Towering pines
Flashing water
From your snowcapped Mountains
Rushing to the sea
Morning fog
Burned off by noonday sun
And crashing surf

© 3/4/88 by Lucille Falk Miller

My Prayer

Heavenly Father
I do pray
Bless and guide
My children’s way
Though from Thee
Perhaps they stray
Watch them Lord
By night and day.
When their path
Heads them away
Bring them back
Oh Lord I pray
Bless and keep them
Safe from harm
Help them lean
On thy strong arm.

© 2/26/89 by Lucille Falk Miller

In Life

There’s nothing perfect
Some things cannot be changed
We just need to recognize
That which we cannot rearrange
Life can be so simple
We can relax –
Enjoy
The loveliness
That’s all around
The beauty and the joy
It’s a matter of the focus
Where we choose to concentrate
If we seek out a
Lovely spot and smile,
Then life is great.

© 1988 By Lucille Falk Miller

Retired

I still search
Each magazine
Directions for
Gourmet Cuisine
I tuck away
Each gem
I clip
Savoring
Each page I flip
Dreaming of
How it will taste
That it will not
Increase my waist
But it will not –
Cause though I look
Somehow it seems
I never cook.

© 10/28/89 © Lucille Falk Miller

Rhyme

In our time
It’s come to be
We’re not to rhyme
Our poetry
But no matter
How I try
Words that rhyme
Somehow slip by

© 3/4/88 By Lucille Falk Miller

Dutch Elm

Tall graceful elm
Spreading your branches
To the sky
This time of year
We cannot see
By casual glance
If you
Are living still
Or if the scourge
That stalks over the land
Has claimed you too

© 3/4/88 Lucille Falk Miller,
in response to Dutch Elm disease in Mpls

A Skull

I see a skull
There in the clutter
and wondering I contemplate
why on earth it came to be there
I wonder who And why this fate
That on a desk
In someone’s study
This precious head
Should come to rest
Instead of staying
With its body
In a grave
There with the rest.

© 7/30/89 by Lucille Falk Miller

Old Barn

Dear old barn,
still standing there
no longer
straight and tall,
I can see remains of
paint, bright red
when I was small.
The hay mow
that we played in
is empty now
and cold,
the pigeons still
are nesting there
as in the days of old.
The hay slings
I would swing from
as I jumped
into the hay
have disappeared
completely
somewhere along the way.
The mangers and
the stanchions
seem lonely all alone,
there’s not a sign of cattle;
I hear the
north wind moan.
I pull my sweater closer
and walk back to my car
and wipe away
a silent tear
for the way
things were and are.

~ written by Lucille Falk Miller,(c)1985

I have a sister

Some people
have silver and lots of gold
more diamonds and rubies
than hands can hold, but
I have a sister!

Some people have yachts,
estates most royal,
securities, bonds
and stocks and oil,but
I have a sister!

I’d not trade her
for riches or jewels,
those who would trade her
would have to be fools.
I have a sister!

written by Lucille Falk Miller,
(c) Aug 10, 1999

To My Mom

All through
the years
you cared for me
and wiped
my nose
and dried
my tears,
you washed
my clothes
and scrubbed
my neck
and lectured me
and gave me heck.
You outlined life
and helped
set goals
and showed
the way
by how you lived.
You held me back
or drove me on
inspired me when
hope was gone;
always if
I needed you,
I found you there,
a critic true.
You made me angry
lots of times
but all the same
your words
of truth
showed true
and burned
the ages through:
a shinning flame
to light the way
and strengthen me.
Oh mother mine
your prayers for me
have brought me through!
The burdens you
have helped me bear
the love you gave
and joys to share
and comfort that
I know you care.
On Mothers Day
it’s not enough
to tell you that
when things are rough
your prayers and words
have kept me tough
to handle praise
and bear rebuff.
It’s good that
there is Mothers Day
or I might yet
neglect to say
that which I think
and feel all year,
how much I really
love you, dear.
Have a happy
Mothers Day!

~written by Lucille Falk Miller for her mother
on Mother’s Day © 1977

Designer Jeans

I am a jean.
All my protein,
my enzymes keen
are bright and lean.
You have not seen
a finer jean!
Each molecule
is really cool,
my nucleotide
from far and wide
in fine array
is there today.
A-C-G-T, C-G-T-A
all 64,
each one a four,
in sets of three,
are here in me
in strands of two:
a helix new.
A pairs with T
and G with C,
it’s clear as mud
you’re such a dud!
Amino acids and proteins:
simplicity.
You really mean
spaghetti in a pot of stew
can clone another me and you!
Bacteria, a little beast
spread out on a chunk of yeast,
a molecule of DNA,
and a brand new jean
is on its way.
Straight forward now
and you have seen
a charming new
designer jean!
~ written by Lucille Falk Miller © 1983

The Garden of Life

I believe
life is a garden
wherein we plant
flowers or weeds
I believe
we are the seed pods
we scatter
as we proceed
I believe
we are planting
life’s garden
with all of our
actions
and deeds
If we wish
a garden
of beauty
of lovely flowers
not weeds
I believe for a
garden of beauty
then we have to
plant the
right seeds
I believe
if we want
love and kindness
our harvest
as farmers all know
I believe
we must spread
love and kindness
we are likely to reap
what we sow.

~ written by Lucille Falk Miller (c) 1996

This old Gal

This old gal
is getting feeble
This old gal
is getting weak
This old gal has
got a lot of steam left and
energy in every creak
Though her joints are getting creaky
and her seams are split and frayed
there’s still a lot of ginger
in every play she’s played

~ Written by Lucille Falk Miller for Christmas (c) 1977

My Mammy

Who’s the one we call on
when all the chips are down?
My mammy!
Who babysits til she has fits
while we’re out on the town
My mammy!
Who wiped my nose
and rubbed my neck
and fed me tea
when I got sick
and thought she’d earned
a rest by heck
My mammy!
But now the grandkids
number seven
she thanks the lord
there’s not eleven
she hasn’t time
she wonders not
what stops her going
plum to pot
her pot has warn to a nub
keeping tabs on sis and bub
time hasn’t left her on the shelf
she hasn’t time left for herself
she doesn’t need to find a club
or spend her hours in a pub
she’d rather stay at home scrub
my Mammy
and when she gets her hair fixed fine
you’d never know she’s 59
My mammy
Happy Birthday and lots of love from Lucy,
your mean little kid!

~written by Lucille Falk Miller (c)

Bits of Tinsel

When I think of Christmas
memories start to flow
of Christmas trees and twinkling lights
and sparkling crunchy snow.
Our father soaking Lutefisk,
mom writing Christmas notes,
and sis and I rehearsing songs
new mittens, scarves and coats.
Our favorite company coming
those presents ‘neath the tree
we kids are so excited
it is almost misery!
Years have passed by swiftly
with changes ‘long the way
but lovely bits and pieces
still fill my Christmas Day.

~written by Lucille Falk Miller (c) 12/25/90

In honor of the 50th anniversary of South High School, Class of 1939 Minneapolis, Minnesota

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of
South High School,
Class of 1939
Minneapolis, Minnesota

It’s been a half a century,
50 years – how can it be?
It seems like scarcely yesterday
we said goodbye and made our way
out into the brave new world
with spirits high,
our flags unfurled.
Before we really had a chance –
at first it hardly caught our glance
but there it was,
a global war!
It changed our lives,
and even more
when we dropped the bomb there in Japan,
we feared the end of modern man;
and life went on, the war was won.
We soon forgot what we had done,
we seldom paused to contemplate
as we kept our date with fate.
We reached out for the GI bill,
we built our cottage on the hill,
or went to school, got a degree
and bought our selves a new TV.
We girls refused to give up slacks
we kept our jobs and left those tracks
that our daughters might seek out
and cling to rights without a doubt
that women had a lot to give
beyond the kitchen,
and to live in the shadows out of sight
was no longer just quite right.
We raised our kids
with help from Spock
and though we often were in hock
we kept our eyes upon the stars
and got ourselves a fleet of cars.
The milk and ice men came no more,
we got carpet for our floor
then there was college for our young
tuition costs and taxes stung.
Protests, Viet Nam and Hair
didn’t get us anywhere
but things never remain the same
and soon hippies, yuppies became.
We’re got our Social Security,
Medicare and our own RV,
camcorders, Xeroxes, tapes and fax
and catastrophic health care tax!
Who could dream of home computers
back then when we had zootsuiters?
We’ve got freeways, asphalt and gravel,
super jets, we’ve got space travel;
we fear our kids would not conceive
but after years we live and breathe.
Our grandkids were worth waiting for
and they’re the cutest, what is more!
Our lives are full, we’re golden age-ers
we’ve got pull tabs and can make wagers;
so we cheer for the orange and black
isn’t it great that we came back?

~ written by Lucille Falk Miller (c)1989

[Lucy was asked by her class to write a poem
for this 50th anniversary of the class of 1939]