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Great Discoveries of Love

Like Galileo looking at stars and planets

through his telescope,

I see the light in your eyes.

Just as dinosaur bones are found

buried in rock strata,

we discover a love as old as time.

Like Gregor Mendel’s

cross-pollinated peas,

our love is expressed in varied colors.

Just as Leeuwenhoek found the miracle

of microscopic life in pond water,

we find life’s wonders in ordinary things.

As cosmonaut Valentina Tereskova

explored outer space,

we explore the inner spaces of our minds.

Like the “forty-niners”

mining for gold in California,

I find my treasures in your heart.

As Gandhi changed the world

through nonviolent means,

we live in peace.

As Florence Nightingale

made hospitals survivable,

we take care of each other.

Oil from wells in Titusville

brought new energy to the world,

Likewise, you energize me.

Like Jaques Cousteau,

diving deep into the oceans,

we explore the depths of feeling.

As Sir Edmund Hillary’s expedition

climbed to the peak of Everest,

we climb the heights of inspiration.

Even as Pompeii

was buried by Vesuvius,

we will soon be buried.

I hope, when we are discovered

under the ash and hardened lava,

I will still be holding your hand.

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Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia

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I Can Give You Many Things

Flowers made of paper,

penny bubblegum rings,

a Monday morning caper,

the courtesy of kings.

Old newapaper clippings,

walking in the snow,

my last haircut snippings,

a collection of E. A. Poe.

If you want them, take them…

It’s very easy to see

you’re the only item

that’s ever mattered to me!

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Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia

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High School Poem

“I can give You Many Things” is another one of my high school poems remembered out of the blue today. It also has a vintage melody that is only in my head and sounds like it could be straight out of 1900.

“The courtesy of kings,” is an old expression referring to being on time. I assure you, I was always late in high school! I might not have been able to keep that promise. E. A. Poe, of course, is the macabre American Poet, Edgar Allan Poe, a perennial favorite of high school students.

Another necessary disclosure: In 1965, you could buy bubble gum for a penny, but it came with a baseball card, not a ring. To get a prize, possibly a ring, you could buy Crackerjacks, a snack made of popcorn and redskin peanuts and coated with a sugary glaze. What can I say? I liked bubble gum and rings, not baseball cards. Maybe it was poetic license. 🙂

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Sweet Nothings

Sugar sprinkle stars

in dark chocolate skies; we

whisper sweet nothings.

Reprinted from Wonders

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Copyright© 2018 by Cheryl Batavia

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Every Precious Day

Sunny days, dark days…

We’re growing old together

every precious day.

You are intellect,

ethics, affection, passion,

thoughtfulness, and joy!

Magic of the moon,

Venus, Mars, and all the stars…

sunshine of your smile.

Wherever I go,

my thoughts are always with you…

Can’t wait to come home!

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Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia

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Happy Birthday, Robert!

September 20, 2020

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I Heard Your Name

I walked through surf,

heart pounding,

blood rushing,

and I thought of you.

The sun warmed me,

cheered me,

and sparkled on the water,

and I saw your smile.

The sea held me,

rocked me, and

gently stroked my face,

and I felt your touch.

The breeze and

the seabirds and

the little waves spoke to me,

and I heard your name.

Reprinted from Wonders

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Copyright© 2018 by Cheryl Batavia

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Netting in Lemon Bay

For several hours that morning, in blazing sun,

our group waded in the knee-deep muck

of Lemon Bay, netting sea creatures

and collecting them in pails. Then we gathered

on shore with the naturalist to observe and

discuss the animals we had found:

juvenile flounder, shrimp, tiny crabs…

I left a bit early because I had a lunch date

with a man who lived nearby.

We had been communicating on Plenty of Fish

and were meeting for the first time.

Woops! There were no showers at the park!

I cleaned up the best I could with a wet towel.

Still sweaty on top and muddy on the bottom,

I went to meet my date at Chili’s.

We met in the parking lot with a hug

and a kiss on the cheek, not my usual handshake.

We talked for two hours over chicken fajitas.

Time flew by! I felt I had known him forever!

…That’s how I met my soul mate!

Reprinted from Life in Inspiring Places

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Copyright© 2019 by Cheryl Batavia

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Robert and I have been together for six very happy years since that meeting at Chili’s. I was sixty-five, and he was sixty-six when we met. My husband had been dead for over twelve years before I started dating, and I had nearly given up on ever finding a soul mate… someone with whom I have so much in common!

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Rain on the Roof

Dawn, rain on the roof,

magnificent thunder storm.

Cuddling with you.

Reprinted from Wonders

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Copyright© 2018 by Cheryl Batavia

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Rising from the Ashes

Consumed by the heat of your body,

like the firebird,

I rise from the ashes.

Seduced by the powers of your mind,

I recreate myself

and fly away with you.

Reprinted from Wonders

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Copyright© 2018 by Cheryl Batavia

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Wonders

Dew, wet and cool beneath bare feet

Bunny munching technicolor grass.

Black racer crossing–elegance in motion.

Green bee sipping breakfast

from an orange flower.

Mockingbird incessantly repeating

his neighbors’ songs.

Clouds assemble, palms flutter,

sky darkens, thunder, lightning, shower.

From every tree, birds singing in the rain.

Incandescent sunset.

Stars twinkling in the pine trees.

Water dripping from the leaves,

Frogs singing love songs in the ditches

as we walk hand in hand.

Grass never grew so green.

Stars never shone so bright.

Nature’s music–never sweeter!

Wonders of the universe,

shared with the one I love.

Reprinted from Wonders

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Copyright© 2018 by Cheryl Batavia

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“Wonders” is one of my favorite poems from my very first book, Wonders: Poems about Love and Relationships. It is posted on the website under “Excerpts, Wonders.” If you have read it there, I apologize, and I promise I won’t make it a habit to duplicate poems.

There is a story behind this poem. One night I was afraid that I was going to die, and Robert comforted me as I cried. (I almost never cry!) It turned out to be a false alarm. The next morning, I woke up, and everything looked incredibly bright and beautiful. This is a poem about that day.

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Evolved Man

Evolved in thought.

Not easily deluded.

Never self-deluded.

Laser-sharp focus on truth.

Divides the goats of reason

from the sheeep of folly.

Evolved in intellect,

educated, informed.

Repository of knowledge__

both factual and conceptual,

both trivial and profound.

Grounded, self-deprecating, wise.

Evolved in human interactions.

Eludes the treachery of villans,

never villanous.

Extends himself in acts of kindness,

expecting nothing in return.

Open, vulnerable, self-assured.

Evolved in his passions,

disciplined, moderate, civilized,

slow to anger.

Only in his libido,

primitive man survives evolution!

Reprinted from Wonders

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Copyright© 2018 by Cheryl Batavia