© LJR 2024
TIS THE SEASON
To everyone I greet today
If I wish you “Merry Christmas”
Please take no offense
I am not disrespecting you
Or any beliefs you hold
This phrasing is just my way
To express a personal view
It’s not a political statement
It’s not meant to fuel debates
But it could be a reminder
To a world so very diverse
That a season rooted in love and joy
Is truly a most fitting time
For all voices to be heard
*****
© LJR 2024
WAITING
The sun baths the hills in gentle golden light
As wedges of waterfowl take to the skies
Their noisy departure yet another sign
Peace restored, the marshland settles in to wait
Knowing colder, shorter days are closing in
Cattails sway, dispersing their fluffy voyagers
Bullfrogs tuck into the soft mud and muck
Lake trout circle, seeking warmer depths
While the last of the song birds trill their fare-thee-wells
Grasses fade into shades of brown and rust
Camouflage for the pheasants in their midst
Their fallen seeds gathered by scurrying mice
In the brush, a small deer herd waits for dusk
And their nightly trek to the water’s edge
This marshland will be their winter home
Soon the light fades, painting the autumn sky
A breeze ripples the silver surface of the lake
A great horned owl calls to its nearby mate
Contented, the marshland settles in to wait
All will be made ready
Let the winter come!
*****
© LJR 2024
BEWARE MY FRIEND
If you set out on a moonlit night
Intent on crossing the haunted woods
You best beware, yes, beware, my friend
The forest ghosts are out in force
Floating down the paths
Gliding twixt the trees
Springing out from behind the bushes
With spine-shivering shrieks
Echoed by gruesome groans
You’ll be surrounded in a flash
And then, my friend, comes the fright
The night will fill with screams
For it seems these ghosts have never seen
A sight as bloodcurdling as your visage!
*****
