Jim Yerman Poems

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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One of the wonders of the memories which flow beneath the surface of our minds…nonstop…is that we never know what random act will bring them to the top.

It happens all of a sudden…out of the blue…and it's not easy to explain…like this morning halfway through my walk when it began to rain.
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We went on a hike to the top of a mountain…on a morning still sprinkled with dew…
anticipating all the way up..and once at the top..we were in for some wonderful views.

We knew we would see forever…in the sky…high above the pines
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I wonder what makes a person smile...an older couple walking hand in hand?
Clouds with shapes, a baby laughing, a castle in the sand?

Friendship, rainbows, family...waving to a train
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When I look into the mirror lately...I'm not sure who'll I'll see.
Today I saw my father...smiling out at me.

True, I didn't have my glasses on...and I know the light was dim
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I wonder about wisdom, for I see wisdom in disguise
When people think they know it all, and thusly think they're wise.

Brains and wisdom are not necessarily linked, for only the wise discern
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If each drop of water adds beauty to the river as it flows
And each tiny petal adds its beauty to the rose...

Then it stands to reason each person...from the moment of their birth
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I was a child of the 60's— I marched for peace and love…if I recall
which is why I have a Pablo Stanley poster with his interpretation of my favorite song, Imagine, hanging on my wall…

John Lennon released Imagine on September 9th,1971…and every January I like to revisit it…as a new year has begun.
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I was on my first walk of the new year…feeling happy…healthy and rested…
I had no idea in front of The Church of the Good Shepherd…my faith in myself and my fellow man would be tested.

As I arrived in front of the church…across the street a young man…to me unknown…was yelling over and over again…."Hey Siri! " into his phone.
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Goodnight Love are the first words he remembers..the first words he holds dear…Goodnight Love always made him smile when his mom whispered them in his ear.

And when he got too old for her to tuck him in…instead…Goodnight Love she'd always say as he headed off to bed.
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