hello sofa my old friend
I've come to nap on you again
because divisions in the night le me know something is not right
so I tossed until I turned
and so I find that I have learned
when I cannot sleep at night
there is no reason to take flight because
in the morning or the afternoon
I can return
and soon
I will say
hello sofa my old friend
I've come to nap on you again
retirement rocks
trying
trying to change
the paradigm
for the last Sunday in July
being the last day
to deny
the day my soul shrunk
the day
my heart locked itself up in fear and hurt and pride
trying to change
the paradigm
to the first day
the doctors
kept you from dying
for all that is is not
it is
and I am thrilled
to have
what
is
I cry as much for joy
from joy
with joy
as I do
with pain
with self pity
with anger
with longing
with loathing
Ghosts
Trees try to make a stand
trapped by the water from the land
Ice sentries advance
there is no chance
there is no escape
Trees no longer stand
last in the battle
between the water and the land
Mother Nature
Mother Nature's come to play
She uses tricks to have her way
She's trying hard to blow us all away
Best let her claim victory for today,
stay quiet, indoors and out of her way.
Garden
Here we both are
in the fading light,
a mother and daughter,
a gardeners delight.
The flowers unplanted,
the grass not yet grown.
the gardens been turned, seeds waiting to be sewn.
You play with your ball, or dig in the dirt,
and I sit
and I watch
and hope for you good things from this planet earth.
And when you are grown, with a life of your own,
please think of me when ,
in the fading light,
you sit as I now sit
in a garden at night.
Nancy
January 15, 1956 - June 15, 2022
Anyone who knew Nancy or anyone who knew of Nancy knows she lived her life in superlatives.
She saw everyone through the prism of her own daily struggles and her own genius
No matter what you shared with her, from the perils of driving to work in the snow, to solving how to arrange furniture in a small space it was reflected back to you in brilliant colors of how incredible a job you'd done.
Nothing in Nancy's world was mundane. No one in Nancy's world was mundane. All of us were amazing people, brilliant in our own way and she was happy we could share our insights with her. I do not know if she knew it was not our brilliance being shared with her but her brilliance, and her resilience, being reflected back at her.
She loved her brother Philip. She loved her sister Valerie. She often told me how very ,very pleased she was that they cared so much for her and took such good care of her. She worried that they were going to exhaust themselves traveling to advocate for her as much as they did but she was glad that when she was too tired to talk to a doctor or when medical staff disregarded her input into her own care ,she could rely on them.
She was generous, always.
Generous with money when she had it, generous with time, generous with praise and generous with sharing her talents - writing resumes for 67 plus people she encountered during her years in nursing homes.
There are two things she desperately wanted to still do in this life; one was to get back to Brooklyn and see her beloved Bea again and the other was to go back to Saratoga.
I believe she will find a way to do both now that she’s not encumbered with a body that does not work.
She loved horse racing , she loved learning as much as she could about a horse and placing that bet and collecting that win. She always hoped to return to Saratoga and now she can. If you're at the track this summer don't be surprised when in the corner of your eye you catch a glimpse of Nancy , sipping a martini with a twist, . cheering her horse to that finish line
Nancy
January 15, 1956 - June 15, 2022
Covid
