The Old Grandfather Clock

I dedicate this poem to Charlene and Harold and their wonderful family.  I thank Charlene for sharing with me the story of Harold’s Grandfather’s barn.

Against the wall there it stands
Near the window
with un-working hands
Dark walnut wood
crafted by her husband’s cousin
from the farm barn that stood
on Grandfather’s land
for more than a century
in the northern part of Missouri
She and her husband travelled
by truck to carry away
this practical piece of marvel
Home to New Mexico to stay
To sit for years of enjoyment
And to prompt the story for today
She sat sharing eloquently
Sitting quietly thinking
about how decades now have past
since the clock has spent
time day and night just so
in weathered sun-bleached splendor
as Grandfather’s beloved barn
that everyone had come to know

© 2015 Merriam Kathaleen

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Kitty Cats Christmas (A Poem For Amber And Jet)

This Christmas the two household cats decided to celebrate in their own special way.  Amber and Jet are two-year old black cats of the rare Bombay Breed.  This poem is dedicated to their very “unique” personalities. 

The Christmas tree was brought in sparkly in all of its winter pine needle finery

Ready to be decorated with heirloom ornaments, to celebrate the season with favored adornments

White crystal bells along with wooden treasures and red and silver balls were hung with pleasure

The family was pleased with this site, especially, when the tree was strung with all of the lights

Sister, brother, mother, father and grandmother too, admired their beautiful Yuletide view

As they knew that Christmas was started now, they stood back to look at each lovely bough

They talked of the past, shared stories together; Hugged, sang and laughed with each other

While merriment and joy filled the room, almost forgotten, idly batting at some very loose cotton

Two family members sat in the corner away from the rest; Plotted and planned their big midnight zest

Amber and Jet curled up, black tails wrapped around paws; Stared in rapture at what they saw

They waited patiently til all were asleep to begin their much anticipated holiday treat

Soon darkness surrounded the beautiful tree; Amber and Jet set out on their spree

They nibbled the needles, deftly batted colored balls, red and silver rolled all over the halls

Oh what a fun time they had, chasing ornaments to and fro; Never admitting this was naughty or bad

In the morning their adventure was found; The house awoke to the tree brought down

Amber and Jet sat patiently on the floor by its side, dreaming of pine needles broken and dried

Two sets of golden-colored eyes filled with wonder, recalling their marvelous night of plunder

©2015 Merriam Kathaleen

What Do We Do When The Universe Brings Us A Gift?

Yesterday my friend Rosy and I went to the Mesilla Valley Mall.  Now as far as malls go this place can’t compare to the MALL in San Jose, California where I moved from or the MALLS in Jersey City, New Jersey where Rosy is from.  By the way Rosy lived across the bridge (yes, that bridge) from New York City, the city of stores, MALLS and SHOPPING!.  I am so sorry to say that the Messilla Valley Mall can’t hold a candle to San Jose’s two-story MALL with its 100s of stores and certainly shows no comparison at all to the shopping one has available in Jersey City and New York City.  The Mesilla Valley Mall is a shadow of the San Jose MALL and just a speck compared to what is found in New York City.

On my first visit to our Mesilla Valley Mall I kept looking for the second story.  No second story was to be found.  After meeting Rosy and her boyfriend Glenn I found out that they also looked for a second story and found none.  I guess you can take the person out of California or New Jersey but you can’t take the California or New Jersey MALLS out of the person.

Rosy and I both know that local Cruceans just think their mall is terrific.  Rosy and I think it leaves a lot to be desired, but, we still go there and check out the stores.  Though neither of us can really call it a mall we are grateful it is here, especially on these very hot summer days when the mall provides us a cooling place to hang out.  Besides, since there IS no downtown in Las Cruces to speak of (I will be saying more about NO downtown in a future post) Rosy and I have no choice but to go to the Mesilla Valley Mall when we get an urge to go shopping and to spend time where the temperature is cooler.

There we were taking our typical stroll through the mall when Rosy decided she wanted to stop in a hair salon to see about getting a conditioning treatment for her curly hair.  As we walked toward the salon we were stopped by a kiosk person who was giving out hair straightening treatments for free as long as you were willing to hear a speal about their $300.00 hair straightener.  Actually, the young woman definitely caught our attention and Rosy said yes.  For 20 minutes she was treated to not only a hair straightening treatment, the iron the young woman used conditioned Rosy’s hair as well.  As I stood watching Rosy enjoying the treatment I was marveling at what happened. Rosy and I were walking toward a salon where she would probably end up spending a lot of her hard-earned money on a conditioning treatment when this young woman appeared out of nowhere to offer Rosy not only a hair straightening treatment but a conditioning treatment along with a relaxing time, all for free.  The Universe had definitely given Rosy a wonderful gift.  I could see how Rosy showed her gratitude by accepting this gift.  I had the opportunity to see all of this happen right in front of me and Rosy and I had the blessing of sharing this beautiful experience with each other.  We continued walking through the mall and shared quite a conversation about this blessing.  I shared with Rosy my perspective and she shared with me her perspective as we talked about the way the Universe opens up to our needs when we are open to receive what the Universe gifts us.

I thank the Universe for the gift I have received of Rosy and Glenn’s friendship.