I will
find a balance,
time for important things:
work, play, health, creativity,
romance.
I will
simplify life,
streamline daily routines,
minimize material things,
relax.
Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia
Looking forward to 2021, I think the situation looks very fluid. We will need goals, but even more, we will need to be flexible. I usually make New Year’s resolutions; this year, I have settled for good intentions! 🙂
1620 was a year of tribulation.
The Mayflower voyage was no vacation!
In America, one hundred Pilgrims arrived.
By spring, only fifty-three remained alive.
Befriended by a Native American tribe,
they grew corn and learned to thrive.
1621 was a year of jubilation,
harvest time at Plymouth Plantation,
when the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag
gave thanks together and got along.
A time for gratitude and celebration,
plans for peace and co-operation.
Peace and cooperation were transient,
but Thanksgiving was a hopeful event.
Brotherhood, the spirit of Thanksgiving,
can transform our way of living!
Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia
Harvest festivals have been observed all over the world since ancient times. Several States claim to be the site of the first Thanksgiving in the US, but Plymouth, Massachusetts, though probably not the first, is the most well-known. Native Americans rescued several struggling American colonies in the early days. The Wampanoag befriended the Pilgrims at Plymouth, teaching them to grown corn and celebrating Thanksgiving with them.
The history of our country, as in many countries, has been blemished by racism, persecution of indigenous peoples, slavery, and religious intolerance. Many people have fought these evils, and many wrongs have been righted. The fight continues. The first Thanksgiving at Plymouth Plantation is a hopeful example of brotherhood and peace.
New leader chosen…
New era of empathy,
integrity, and truth.
New rule of law,
new dawn of democracy…
Call for unity.
Quell the violence.
Preserve the environment.
End the pandemic.
Rejoin the global family
in achieving common goals.
Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia
Joe Biden was declared President-Elect of The United States of America today, 10/7/20. Inauguration Day is 1/20/21.
Masked monsters and ghouls
brought no fear last Halloween…
Now, fear grips us all!
Now it’s the unmasked
we fear at the food market…
Covid’s stalking us!
Oooooooooh! wear your mask in public!
Eeeeeeek! Keep six feet betweeeeen us!
Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia
For a nostalgic Halloween poem read, “Ghosts of Halloweens Past/Ghosts of Halloween Present” if you missed it.
Scary statistic: a recent study found that 20% of grocery store clerks have undiagnosed Covid19 without symptoms and are capable of spreading the disease.
The following poem may be disturbing to some readers. The examples given are fictional.
Some people seem to have everything we want and don’t have. We might not be eager to change places with them if we knew their secret heartaches.
Many people have problems we don’t know about that would explain their negative behavior. Some may need professional help in solving their problems. Others could benefit from just a little kindness and understanding. Judging them isn’t helpful.
Although people must be held accountable for their actions, some circumstances call for a little leniency. Everyone accused of a crime deserves due process.
Give everyone you encounter
the benefit of the doubt.
You don’t know all their circumstances,
and maybe you’ll never find out!
The woman who wears too much makeup
may be trying to hide
bumps and bruises inflicted
by her drunken husband last night.
That student who sleeps in school
may have spent the night
listening to his mother and her boyfriend
have a knock-down, drag-out fight.
That girl who weighs too much
may be comforting herself with food
over nightmares of childhood abuse,
and diets don’t do any good.
The boy who robbed the liquor store
has never harmed a fly.
He may be raising money for treatments
and hoping his mother won’t die.
That guy who brews your coffee
may be sleeping in his car
and feeding an addiction that takes
all he earns at the coffee bar.
The man who hanged himself
maybe hadn’t figured out yet
any way to repay the bookie
an overdue gambling debt.
Give everyone you encounter
the benefit of the doubt.
You don’t know all their circumstances,
and maybe you’ll never find out.
Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia
I heard the stories as a child…
of Dad skipping school and running wild,
breaking the ice to go for a swim.
Skunky smell emanating from him…
sent home or banished to the hall.
Given his grades for playing basketball.
Joined the Navy by lying about his age,
used the GI Bill to go to college.
Dad wasn’t much help with study skills,
but he gave me an incentive of a five-dollar bill
for earning straight “A”s…a perfect report card.
In my sophomore year, I tried really hard!
By dropping my hated typing class,
I thought I could get all “A”s at last!
But the honor roll with a “B” or two
just seemed to be the best I could do.
The quest became a pain in the neck,
and to this day, I still hunt and peck.
The next two years, until graduation,
I focused on directing my own education.
I abandoned chasing grades…No “busy work” for me!
There were books to be read as far as the eye could see!
After that, I took art class seriously
and sketched my teacher in trigonometry.
Like my father before me, banished to the hall,
I read a book and didn’t mind at all.
I was multitasking in trigonometry…
Figuring that out, my teacher tolerated me!
Moved to the back of the room, not banished to the hall…
I sat drawing, learning, and having a ball!
My history teacher was a boring jock!
Outline the chapter?…I think he was in shock
that my outline was heads and subheads. My grades slid,
but I got an education despite the rude things I did.
No “busy work,” copying sentences in grammar!
Zeros hurt my grades, but it didn’t matter…
I scored high on tests, so my grades were okay.
No offense, teachers…Just trying to find my way!
Married at eighteen, then job and family.
Night school part-time at twenty-six…I was ready!
At the beginning of each quarter, I always asked,
“What do I have to do to get an ‘A’ in your class?”
After all the drama, I finally had my four-point-oh…
Dad’s offer had expired…five dollars was a “no show!”
At forty, I graduated and consecutively
started teaching and earning my masters degree.
Like my father before me, I say, “Don’t do as I do!”
Educating yourself is essential, but grades are important too!
Dad went back to school after I was grown.
He earned five doctorates…Who could have known?
Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia
If you are a student, please don’t do as I did! Or as my father did, either! Find the balance between earning good grades and educating yourself about the things you want to know. Take it from someone who learned the hard way…Grades and following your interests are both important!
Remember to be kind to your teachers. Karma may get you if you are rude to them! As a teacher in inner city schools, I got back a little bit of what was coming to me. So, if you are ever tempted to give your teachers a hard time, remember my advice, and don’t go there!
There was an old blogger on WordPress
whose computer time was endless!
When her eyes were exposed to blue light…
she suffered from blurry eyesight.
Computer glasses relieved her distress.
Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia
After experiencing eye discomfort and blurry vision, I went for an eye exam. I will have a slightly updated prescription and the new glasses will have a specialized reflective coating that shields my eyes from excessive blue light.
My eye doctor told me that the blue light emitted by computer screens and other devices with screens can be a cause of eye problems, including macular degeneration, which can eventually cause blindness.
There are several options to protect eyes from blue light. If you spend a lot of time in front of a screen, you may want to check with your optometrist. If you already use eye protection from blue light, feel free to comment about it. I’ll let you know how my experience goes.
Follow-up: After 10 days of wearing my new glasses that filter the blue light emitted by screens, I have not had another major episode of blurry vision. After some twelve-hour days on the computer, I did notice slight blurriness.
My eyes are definitely better with the new glasses than they were before. I am also using eye drops from the optometrist for dry eyes, trying to drink more water to keep from becoming dehydrated, and keeping room air humidified. I know I should cut my screen time further, and maybe more frequent breaks would help.
I have been noticing a return to my normal sleep patterns–seven hours of uninterrupted sleep most nights. Again, I know I should be getting off the computer a while before trying to sleep, because blue light can cause insomnia. I think the glasses are helpful in preventing insomnia caused by blue light.
Good luck to anyone who is having vision problems due to longer computer time. I appreciate all the helpful comments about this subject, and I hope this post has been helpful.
Follow leaders, but don’t follow blindly.
Disagree with opponents, but do so kindly.
Look critically at different points of view.
Cast your ballot as seems right to you.
After the election, work cooperatively
to build your country and community.
Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia
I am reposting this as we are getting close to US election day, and mail-in balloting is about to begin. Cheryl
There is no relief
in the master of grief,
Ambition who has no soul…
He offers only a goal.
He lashes and goads
into stony roads
of passion and desire
where every step is higher.
Upward go I, though I grieve,
to heights I must achieve.
Ambition’s wanton slave,
I climb toward my grave,
and Ambition, I can swear,
has planned me tasks for there!
Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia
A poem written during my high school years. I woke at 4:30 one morning with this poem on my mind, and wrote it down from memory.
Nobody shares
my sorrows…
nobody cares!
Nothing repairs
my broken body…
nobody cares
about my pain.
Society tears
my heart out.
Nobody wears
my shoes.
Everyone stares
when I am angry,
everyone glares
when I demand my rights.
Everyone swears
that I am wrong.
Nobody cares
about the law!
Nothing repairs
my broken heart,
no one shares
my lonely nights.
No one dares
to get close to me,
nobody’s there
to dry my tears!
No one cares
about my good intentions,
no one shares
my utopian dreams,
no one dares
to champion my cause.
All my prayers
go unanswered.
Everyone fares
better without me.
Nobody cares!
Copyright© 2020 by Cheryl Batavia
This poem is an effort to portray the thoughts of a person who suffers from depression. In extreme depression, the person may feel hopeless, that the world is against him, and may be suicidal. Some are suffering from physical pain or are reacting to tragedies in their lives.
I have known two people who commited suicide. One had a wife and young children. One was a middle-aged man who had been an intelligent, popular friend when we were in high school. I have wondered many times what thoughts were in the mind of someone who would take their own life.
Gulf Coast Poet 