Blue Sky, Blue Water

Skyway, St. Petersburg, Florida. Photo from Pexels

Blue Sky, Blue Water

Thoughts turning homeward,

World streaming by,

Blue sky, blue water.

Soaring in the blue,

Like soaring birds,

My thoughts fly to you.

Over the Skyway,

Head in the clouds,

Blue sky, blue water.

Reprinted from Wonders


Copyright© 2018 by Cheryl Batavia

Time Flies!

Stars in the Night Sky through a Telescope

Time Flies!

Helios, in his fiery chariot,

crosses the sky each day.

His sister Selene,

in her chariot of silver,

travels the night sky.

We mark our days.

The moon waxes and wanes.

The seaons change.

Our birthdays mark the years

since the planets aligned…

and we were born.

Robert, my sun rises

and sets in you.

I will love you all my days.

I thank my lucky stars

for the day we met.


Copyright 2019© by Cheryl Batavia

Promises to Drew

Drew Batavia with Joe and Katey, photo by Cheryl Batavia

Promises to Drew

Drew, I held your hand

as you left the world behind,

and I made promises to you.

I never cry…I stopped crying long ago,

but I am crying now as I remember.

Some promises I have kept

better than others.

I like to think you would be happy

with the way your autobiography turned out.

Your brother Mitch finished your book.

Your mother and I supported his efforts

for more than a year.

The Don Quixote in a wheelchair

that Mitch drew for you in high school

is on the cover.

I know you would approve.

I promised to raise our children

as you would have wanted

them to be raised, and I did my best.

Our children are grown up now,

and the struggles of life continue.

We have cherished our memories of you.

Our children remember your wise advice

and try to follow your example…

You left some pretty big shoes for us to fill!

I have made a new promise

for our grown-up children:

I will be their mother till the day I die

and always love them as I always loved you.

I know that you would be happy

that I have found someone to grow old with,

as you wished me to do.

He is someone I know you would like.

Drew, I wish I could have done more

to keep my promises to you.

I hope you would approve

of the things I have done.


Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia


Drew’s autobiography, Wisdom from a Chair: Thirty Years of Quadriplegia, by Andrew Batavia and Mitchell Batavia is available on Amazon.