Category Archives: Poems

Strawberry Lane 2015-108

Posted in Nature, Poems by

We lived near a county park called Strawberry Lane Metro Parks, in the Cleveland area, where we visited so many times. It, then, was a carefree time, with thoughts of nature, the good life without many cares, and just an enjoyment of life then. No TV with horror stories told, as today, and a different kind of life at that time. Summer time and the living was easy, summer time and the living was swell………..

Strawberry Lane 2015-108

A honking Canadian goose glided toward the pond,

Feet extended for a landing on a fall afternoon.

One among many mixes with assorted fowl,

Honking and quacking in a cacophony of sound.

 

Parasails of leaves flutter to the cool still water,

Landing, then floating in dizzy circles.

A mat of soggy ones clumped and ringing the shore,

Before slowly sinking to the pond bottom forevermore.

 

On the far bank, a small child stood in the mud,

Flinging pebbles, making ripples, laughing with glee,

Her father stood nearby, watching over with a smile.

Remembering a similar experience in life.

 

Down further, a man with a remote guided speedboat,

Fiddled with controls, steering it this way and that.

As a son squatted down, waiting his turn to play,

Wondering just whose gift it was last Christmas day.

 

Lovers hand in hand, walking the nearby trail,

Deep in thought of romance and exuberance of living.

Both wishing for a chosen future day to arrive,

To begin a lifetime of togetherness and caring.

 

Activity of all kinds, a blending a joining,

Man and nature sharing both time and space,

A peaceful setting, so natural and right,

Nature being used as it should be.

 

Den Betts

Car Ride 2015-107

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

To daydream and wonder what others are doing and thinking is a rare luxury of doing nothing, except thinking. I can remember my wife’s driving the car at the time and I was in the passenger seat looking out – thinking.

I was not in control of the driving as she was at the time, and I had to relinquish the driving to her, due to my accident. I hated not being able to drive and being dependent on others. This poem came to mind as I sat there, helping her put on the brake, accelerate and make the turns, in my mind.

 

Car Ride   2015-107

Staring out the car window,

I day dream as the world goes by.

Looking at the trees, the people,

And many other things.

Everyone doing their own thing,

In their own way.

Thinking private thoughts,

In their minds, just as I

High-tension wire towers,

And sentinels of light poles,

Watching over as testimony to our

Style of high-speed life.

The wispy clouds in the misty sky

Between the stands of pine,

All there, all watching,

Staring at me, just as I

Den Betts

Alive 2015-106

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

To be alive is to be experiencing life itself. To take in the joys of creation and know that what your senses are having is to know that you are again, alive. A round robin of thoughts of knowing what life is all about. Sometimes all it takes is to STOP and smell the roses of life and know that there are more important things to do than to do what we are doing then and not doing what we could be doing instead.

Alive   2015-106

To look above and see the blue sky and

watch drifting clouds meander by

Observe three birds on green grass; no four,

hopping, pecking at the ground, for whatever more

A squirrel chattering at nothing around, making

noise to be heard, just to be seen peering down

Looking through the camera of my mind at all

a three dimensional picture in my skull, a miracle!

To listen to a radio and hear of the world out there,

and see on TV the happenings as they occur anywhere

To be aware of life, to feel and touch, and smell

and taste the sweetness of lips on mine, of thine….

To be alive, and let the senses work their magic

Letting my mind know that the body exists

To appreciate the splendor of the moment

I realize that what is – really is

And not a figment of imagination

But instead, a reality of life itself.

Den Betts

Leaf 2015-105

Posted in Nature, Poems by

The BettsDen.com

 

I had to search for a “summer” poem that I have written. Well, more like a “spring” one at this junction of time in July. Anyhow, I wrote this poem about a leaf, and what part it played in the life of a tree, or a least its role in the process of life for the tree. A small part of a large part, but an extremely important part of a living tree.

 

NOTE: I will stop sending blog posts to/via Facebook after this poem about a Leaf. If anyone wants to follow my blogs, please do so by going to TheBettsDen.com. I do not know how long this will occur, but it is occurring now.  

                             Leaf 2015-105

The lightest and smallest part,

Of the mighty oak,

A factory turning light to life,

Helping to create growth.

So small a part yet so big a part,

For the existence of a living tree.

All working together to produce,

In concert with an overall plan.

Nutrients for the bulk, the trunk,

The roots, stretching to grasp fluid.

Till a time of rest, then discarded,

To decompose in a furtherance of life.

Den Betts

Final Frontier 2015-104

Posted in Contemplation by

We all have or are living a journey of life. Where that journey, or when, it ends is actually unknown, usually. But, there will be an end sometime. And where we will be is really unknown to us in certainty. Those of unbelief have an easy answer, but those of faith of any nature, have an idea of the where, or a hope of where.

                   Final Frontier   2015-104       

A journey made by all at one point in our lives

for some to soon and for others much to late

 

A certainty that comes to all eventually most sure

by the process known as common fate

 

The equalizer for mankind, from kings to lowly serf

but bringing us all together in a unique way

 

No one really knows how the mingling actually occurs

of the faiths, race, and different beliefs today

 

 

A place without the prejudice, and clannish thoughts

of coexistence with a spiritual aura replacing fear

 

An eternal rest from a sometimes tortuous trip on earth

becoming as one in word and deed with those most dear

 

An adventure of sorts, made with trepidation by all, many

with fear, some with a smile based on faith from birth

 

The ultimate unknown; realized, acknowledged and conquered

no longer a trip to be made, but instead one done

Not over – only begun…………

Den Betts

 

The Unknowns in Life 2015-101

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

How many times have I cursed having to do something for the first time and suffered the effects of fright about doing it. I remember public speaking in high school and having diarrhea, the night before, almost throwing up, and other physical effects of having to stand up and speak in English class. I found out in the Marines that, if you know your subject matter, it is not so hard. I had to give lectures to over 200 men and only had one problem, I gave a joke at the beginning once, and had to tell them, after having told the punch line, that it was over. Never did tell jokes again. Learn from doing!!!!!

The Unknowns in Life   2015-101

How scary, and frightening it can be

This feeling of terror for the unknown.

We feel so brave when we do things twice

But, turn to jelly, when the first is to occur.

 

Our minds create untold disasters, when we are to begin

The lurking shadows magnify as we continue forth.

What is it with the way we think and act and do,

That makes the unknown so terrible to a few?

 

The irony is, that it’s all in our mind,

Which can create the most bizarre scenes.

Never, usually, does reality unfold as thought,

But, try to tell that to the person thinking.

 

How does the mind, do what it does to us,

Constructing the images, and thoughts that it does

What does it take to break the thought strings

That form cobwebs of unexplained origins

 

Is the unknown just a mysterious part of thinking,

Or something else, that defies description

 

 

Den Betts

On the Road 2015-98

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

How many of us worry too much about things at times. To go someplace and be concerned about what we will see when we get there. We sometimes put too much emphasis on the outcome, and forget about the actual preparation and enjoyment of the trip. Yes, we can live with hope that we have a great time when we get there, but getting there is sometimes more than half the fun of the trip. I say this, but I can also add, not always……

On the Road      2015-98

A beginning- begun – to travel up and down the road

Around the turns and up the hills, out of gas at times

A trip involving detours and changes of direction

The stop and go, the hit of the brakes and stomping on gas

 

People ands places passed by –  a part of the fast lane

Never really talked to or taken time to see

A tour intermixed with interesting highlights shown

Beauty, passion, many untold and some renowned

The side jaunts to see a special space

 

Forever in mind once seen, not forgotten

All the times spent, all the trials and tribulations

Of the ride, the actual travel so much remembered

Again, its time to realize, “It’s not the destination, but

Instead, the journey that makes life so great”.

Den Betts

Mystery Unknown and Known 2015-97

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

This is somewhat of a challenge for you, the reader! It made sense to me when I wrote it and somewhat does today. I will NOT try to explain it, but let you, the reader contemplate just what it means. 

Mystery Unknown and Known     2015-97

The challenge is not in knowing the common element of being

Whereas, the understanding of the mysteries of life is a greater quest to know

To delve into the unknown questions, given to us, and realize the answers is an ultimate trip of life

Not being afraid to question those unanswered thoughts and subjecting them to a detailed thinking process is a goal worth obtaining.

 

Not being afraid of the ultimate and final solution is an undertaking of complete confidence

By touching on the unknown abyss of thinking, and arriving at the final solution.

This gives the seeker an untold advantage in life’s guidance of living the whole as one, when the

Complete satisfaction is arrived at with a complete filling of accomplishment.

 

The melodic sounds resonate, filling the open void with exquisite timbre. A safe feeling acquired from the sound, pulsates with a living and quivering throb of being.

Looking down, the uniqueness observed what was, is and will be.

Seeking action, it morphed into a substance enveloping all.

 

Those below, tingled with the essence of creation and

Acknowledged understanding because of a single thought of knowing

The mystery was no longer unknown.

BUT, instead, a shared and loved emotion resounds and

Finalization is apparent and welcome

As the true being became as one, with all.

Den Betts

Search of Self 2015-92

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

Wait a moment, and read, then think about what is written. Does this make sense to you? Can you relate to these words being written? When I wrote this, it was a period of time where I was reflecting on my life in many ways. And now, I can see myself contemplating my existence in a different way, based on knowledge today.

It IS really OK, if you do not understand these words of mine, for at the time, they were written about the self of then, and not of now. The neat thing is that I know what they mean and how the words relate to my existence.

Search of Self  2015-92

A quest; a way of identifying the

whole of man in an individual way.

The time when one reaches into the

mind, to the very essence of soul

to arrive at the meaning of life’s

past accomplishments and future

endeavors.

 

A time of joy, or perhaps of sorrow,

in reflections of history and

the realization of goals made

and also of unfulfilled dreams.

 

A period of contemplation of an

adjustment to the future, of a

redirection of pathways to be

traveled – based on knowledge today.

Den Betts

Past and Now 2015-90

Posted in Contemplation, Poems by

From” TheBettsDen.com       Too many people, including myself, dwell on the past and don’t realize that the present is the forerunner to tomorrow. This is a new chance, an awakening, a vibrant opportunity to make a change in one’s self. I leave you with this poem to give you the time to outline what you may do, to create a new you——–

Past and Now 2015-90

The past is over; done and gone

Not forgotten, but instead a memory

of action, events and thoughts of

history that once lived in the present

 

Fond times of the past are like

spring flowers blooming in colors

and smells that delight in

so many ways

 

The bad and ugly moments of the past

are albatrosses around the neck of reason

holding down, keeping back and

retarding growth of the mind.

 

The past is made up of both good and

bad experiences, but the present

is what should matter now for it affects

not only today but also tomorrow at times

 

What you want out of life should be decided

on actions of the moment and not

be determined by what

occurred yesterday.

Bury the past

Cultivate the now

Enjoy the future.

Den Betts