Excerpts

Excerpts Copyright© 2022 by Cheryl Batavia. Please do not reproduce without prior written permission.

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.

Green Apples & Buttermilk

first verse of a long, narrative poem

Green apples and buttermilk,
Swimming at night in the Shenandoah:
the hanging bridge, the knotted rope
in a sycamore tree above the river.
Climbing the tower at seven bends
Omelets after plays in Middletown.
Yellow roses on my birthday,
White roses on our wedding day;
That’s how our eighteen years began.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!
Unlike earlier years,
no resolutions needed–
two years in succession.
We were dreaming big dreams,
supporting each other,
pursuing our goals.

Since that time, life has never
been so perfect that I didn’t need
New Year’s Resolutions,
but it continues to be beautiful
because I dreamed
big dreams with you.

No Regrets

I live my life with no regrets.
No tears for remembered joys.
No regrets for risks taken.
No regrets for loving you;
love makes us human!
No regrets for passion,
for pushing the boundaries
of capacity…we know ourselves.
No regrets!

Whispers

I heard you whisper in my ear
words I wanted to hear you say,
words I wanted to say to you.
Dumbfounded, I lay beside you
and I loved you,
but I didn’t say a word.

The words you whispered in my ear
are singing and shouting in my brain.
When I see you again,
I will whisper in your ear.

Mr. Fixit

Kill the ants, fix a leak
underneath the kitchen sink.
Fill the tires, trim a tree,
take out trash, “doctor” me.

Glue the crystal vase that broke,
tell another silly joke.
Cook the salmon, smile and wink,
laugh and whisper, talk and think.

Play Scrabble. Understand.
Buy me roses, hold my hand.
Play some music, take a drive.
Make me glad that I’m alive.

Hold me close when I cry.
Always love me till I die.
While fixing everything in the place,
You put a smile across my face.

Remember always that I, too,
like to do nice things for you.