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