Jim Yerman Poems

I once thought that being an adult meant being a child was no longer allowed…that trying to re-capture our childhood would be like trying to hold on to a cloud.

Now I know each day we rise…as we welcome in a new day…the child in us has been changed…but they are never far away.
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When we add a memory to our life…of a special moment…a special day…how can we ensure that memory will live on…that it will not fade away?

I imagine it's the nature of memories that some will bubble to the surface…never to dim or fade…triggered by a photo…an aroma……a word…that awakens the moment that memory was made.
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On my walk this morning a tiny cloud caught my eye
And I found myself stopping to watch it on its trip across the sky.

It seemed a little shaky at first…not much movement there at all…
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We have this cute little bird house we keep on our patio
We didn't know who would use it, perhaps a chickadee or a crow

It's too small for a pelican or an eagle to make a den
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As I watch many world religions fight, acting inhumane and cruel
It makes me ask the question, what’s happened to the Golden Rule?

Countries at war with one another, soldiers dying, a world of dread
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Do you believe trees have feelings? I do. It's part of my malady.
Basically, I give human characteristics to everything I see.

I was born with this affliction and I own it with dignity and grace
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When I was young I thought it would be great if I could be a hero...
The one who slays the dragon, or defeats the invincible foe.

The guy who saves the baby from the burning building before she’s engulfed in flames
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The other day Deborah and I were discussing the wonders in America we can see.
We realized how lucky we were to live in a land where we were free.

A land where freedom allows us to come and go as we please
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When we dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima back in 1945
80,000 people died instantly the rest thought they were lucky to be alive.

But, after the bomb, radiation rained like it had never rained before.
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It's funny how we all learn the same alphabet
with the 26 letters it contains
letters we can combine into words of love and happiness
or words of hatefulness and pain.
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