Category Archives: Contemplation

Poems arrrived at by the thought process that makes one think a little – hopefully

Heinous Disease 2015-05

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This poem is about Alzheimer’s disease or (AD), and was composed in remembrance of my business partner’s wife, Mary, and in memory of my father who came down with this disease. I have found that this disease has more than one victim, the one with the disease and the caregivers that deal with it also. It is indeed a heinous disease, like many others.

Heinous Disease   2015-05 

A heinous disease that slowly arrives,

One you can’t see, but know is there

That brings tears to your eyes.

How cruel, how cruel, when the mind

Starts to go, when others can see

You are not quite in the know.

When you stare into space with a

Far off look, a remembering of the past.

The shock of horror on your face,

Not knowing who, what or the current place.

The unnatural acts done with no malice,

Not knowing why, just done; how cruel.

Those taking care of you, trying to understand,

Loving, but thinking – why, why, OH why?!

The mind, such a fragile thing – subject to hurt, to

This disease, to the whims of nature so.

DDB

 

Senses 2015-04

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I like this one!  It ties in the  senses we have, with life, in a simple way. It uses the senses to help realize there is so much around us to experience and understand. It’s not too heavy to read and it gets across what I was feeling at the time about living and what I believe in. Not much more to say about it.

Senses     – 2015-04

Take a sip from the spoon of life,

and taste the nectar of living.

Drink from the cup of wisdom,

experience the feeling of knowledge.

Breath the air of freedom

smell the freshness of independence.

Touch another with tenderness,

and  feel the spirit of love.

Look at the world around you

and  see the complexity of creation.

Eat from the table of the Lord,

and know the opportunity of eternity.

Den Betts

Eye – Mind 2014-50

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“Well, pretty hard to see what another person is thinking, but would it not be great if we could do as this poem suggests? The key to the writing of this poem is the fact that it is the SELF, that you can see into, if you look hard enough and are honest in what you describe seeing. I remember looking into a mirror one day, while shaving, and asked myself, just what I was capable of doing, business wise. It was a revelation that I admitted my faults of what I was NOT able to do and this, in turn, helped me to see my strengths.

There is a paragraph in a book entitled, “The Fires of Spring” by James Michener, that I keep on my computer stand. It describes the “journey that men (or women) make to find themselves.” The premise of the passage is basically that of dealing with life in a certain way and if done correctly, you will “find a mansion which yhou can inhabit with dignity, all the days of your life.” Interesting, but you have to ”look into the mirror and be  honest with yourself, first.”

Eye –  Mind        2014-50

Look into the eyes of man

and see the workings of the mind

Delve into the persons thoughts

and tap the rational of their thinking.

Experience the love, bravado, hate and fear,

and know of the emotions of  inner feeling.

Look into a mirror at self

and see the reality of same- of living.

Den Betts

Ancestral Descendent 2014-49

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I wrote this poem during the process of writing a family tree genealogy book that I published. I used it to illustrate the fact that we all come from a distant line of people. This relates to early man who believed in “Mother Earth” and from them, we had people who came to the “colonies” to settle and finally to us today. I have a poem entitled “Earth Brothers” that goes more into detail on  how I feel about our being “cousins” on earth, that I will share with you sometime next year.

Ancestral  Descendent -2014-49

Down through antiquity

The line drawn nigh

Son of the mother earth,

Father in the sky

The bones of long ago,

Rest in final peace

With garlands of flowers, a tool

To travel to the beyond place

Continued seed traveled far

Down the winding trail

Meeting, joining, sailing

In a life so very frail

Todays descendent standing, amidst

The throng of life’s reach,

Brother and sister to all

Unknown, but part of each……

Den Betts

Easy Way 2014-46

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Easy Way         2014-46

It’s easier to wallow in self-pity,

Than to change the nature of things.

It’s easier to give up,

Than to persevere.

It’s easier to do nothing,

Than to plan and then do.

It’s easier to look at darkness,

Than to look at the bright side.

It’s not easy for many things,

But, WHO WANTS EASY??

DDB

To Try 2012-45

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To Try       2012-45

A venture not tried is but an adventure not made,

Not to make an attempt insures not defeat, but

Instead, assures no victory in life’s way of things.

 

To always take a middle ground, will prevent the

Sighting of a sunrise or crimson sunset of life,

And only days of dull existence will prevail.

 

No one should fault a person for trying for chances

Taken, for gambles made, risks beyond a safe way,

And no one should complain when the victory is won.

DDB

Journey 2014-32

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Journey – “This is somewhat of a “vivid” poem to be looked at and “seen” in your mind. What do I mean? Well, you have to also consider just as it states, where are they going? Have  you ever looked up at a vapor trail from an airplane in the sky and wondered where it came from and the plane’s destination? Have you wondered where you are going to for eternity if you have beliefs? Simple questions relating to a simple poem.

Journey  2014-32

The highflying plane leaving pathways in the sky,

Suggesting where it’s been and where its going.

A ship of state plowing a florescent wake,

Moving its cargo in the night.

 

The dusty trail across the desert sand,

Lost in the dunes over the land.

A lonely traveler with a satchel at his side,

Walking up the road looking for a ride.

 

The frail old man, breathing his last sighs,

Wondering where he’s going when he dies.

Where have they been?

Where are they going?

DDB

Tree of Life 2014-31

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Tree of Life  2014-31

One of my first poems, so long ago. After I made a dccision on a life change with a new job, this is about when I wrote this poem. I was wondering what I was going to do with my life, overall. A goal, a plan for life, a determination to do something other than just go from day to day in an existence of living. Putting a simile to life in the form of a tree is probably not new, but with its roots entrenched in the ground, its branches going in all directions, the leaves reaching toward the sun, all play into a way of life perhaps.

 

I climbed the tree of life one day,

To see what I could see.

The view was wild and wonderful,

Depending on the branch I’d be.

 

I glanced toward the future,

Looked behind at my past.

I found that if I was going anywhere,

It had better be pretty fast.

 

I carved my initials in that tree,

And stated right then and there.

I’m going to do something with my life,

Regardless of the wear and tear.

 

And when that tree is old and grown,

I’ll climb it once again.

And hopefully, at that time in life,

I’ll consider it a friend.

DDB

Poets Self Thoughts 2014-10

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Poets Self Thoughts                2014-10

He thinks he is a poet to some degree,

Others will argue with him and not agree.

He believes he has a little common sense,

Others think his works aren’t worth two cents.

He likes to say his poems are really terrific,

Others would comment that they sound very odorific.

He will agree that he is not a great renowned bard,

Others will concur with him and state that’s not hard.

He considers himself fair and not a one sided man,

Others would state that is not fact, but really a sham.

He talks through poems and expresses feelings in rhyme,

Others don’t care and really can’t take the time.

He thinks he is a poet and cares less if you agree,

Others will still argue and might be right –   to a degree.

DDB