Category Archives: Poems

Respect 2015-34

Posted in Contemplation by

Respect    2015-34

Respect goes along with and is part of the word Integrity, I think!!!!. I offer the two posts together, whereas I could have made them as one combined, in the first place. You could also include the word trust in the mix and that would be appropriate.  The first part of having respect for others is to first have respect for yourself and that is sometimes a hard thing to accomplish. (I learned that from reading Confucius).

                                      Respect    2015-34

Something that cannot be purchased or received for free — and involves effort

A commodity that is earned and once received – to be cherished

Respect can be given to others as well as received by those around you,

But in both cases, being worthy is always a thing to be considered

Showing respect for another can be as simple as a gesture or a spoken word,

Consider the person, the place and time for these are important

Can respect be a form of behavior that is learned from childhood?

Through life’s lessons we all learn and by learning we practice it as well,

It is to show honor or esteem for someone or something we see or know

Impossible to do if there is no uprightness, by any, through their actions

Worth more than wealth, more than possessions, more than almost anything,

With respect come value, honor, and integrity – things that cannot be bought

Respect is something that is perhaps sought after, but not gained – if not deserved

But once obtained,  to be prized as a richness unlike any other……..

Den Betts

 

 

Integrity 2015-33

Posted in Contemplation by

Integrity   2015-33

I offer this as a companion post with the one on “Respect”. They go together in life’s pursuit of esteem, honor and acceptance by others.  I was told that I should respect someone (of a group) because “I should”. No, I do not do so, for just as in the word respect, I consider respecting others because of their integrity and that respect is based on earning it. So, Integrity is important for the process.

Integrity   2015-33

Taken for granted at times, when it should not be done so,

But common to occur, because it is sometimes – taken for granted

So very hard to be acknowledged by those that have it

When known to have it, some pride becomes evident

Characterized by doing the right thing when no one is looking

Shaped and molded by life lessons of doing

Not tolerating simple lies or half-truths in dealing with others

Realizing that having it is not the absence of failure

Willing to be held accountable and not give blame to others

Owning the situation and all the outcomes that occur

Again, doing the right thing, when the right thing, is the right thing to do

Being transparent in actions at all times, not some of the time

Understanding that having integrity is a full time way of doing

Knowing that a lapse can perhaps create a loss of confidence

Understanding that integrity is judged by behavior and actions

By setting the bar high, others can obtain it as a lesson to learn

Den Betts

HATE 2015-32

Posted in Contemplation by

This is such a negative word or at least of describing a way of life. Reading the paper or watching the TV makes me think of headlines of actions taken by individuals that had pure hate toward their fellow man and did something. Something that made them stand out and be reported on by the media. I do not know if I have ever hated something or someone that bad, but maybe it was close. I hope not!   

                             HATE  2015-32

A festering boil in

The mind itself,

Destroying all rational

Understanding in life

Black thoughts becoming

The only way of existence

Energy concentrated

In deleterious charges

A manifestation

Of pure evil

Red rage of burning

Rancor in control

No compromise, no second

Opinions or differences desired

All consuming, less

Outlets of good

Compassion forgotten,

Not known, not given

An insidious control

Of body and soul

Den Betts

In the Name of God 2015-29

Posted in Religious type, Statement by

I post this with the knowledge of the atrocities an killings done in the Middle East and what was also done on 911. When, just when, will we wake up and see  that the actions done are beyond primitive in nature. When will those that fight and kill stop doing so especially in the name of God. Maybe never! This would be a companion poem to the Radical Islamist Thoughts blog.

In the Name of God    2015-29

Conflict reigns with fevered pitch,

As opposing sides find their fiery niche.

Jews and Arabs continue to die- – –

Religious differences – A reason why?

 

Protestants and Catholic fought in Belfast,

Makes one wonder, how long peace will last.

How many times will this fighting go on,

From night until night and the next dawn.

 

A heathen Indian who prayed to the sun,

Decimated by the white man with his Christian gun.

A nigger slave (words used then) who tried to be brave,

Shot by an owner and sent to the grave.

 

History abounds with stories of grief,

Of sons and daughters dying for a belief,

Does the Deity prayed to in all this strife,

Really want these deaths by the gun and knife?

 

Does He condone this wanton killing,

By all the people that do so – so willing..

Or is it true that its NOT – in the name of God,

And should be stopped, FOR GOD’s SAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Den Betts

Bosh the Bobbin 2015-31

Posted in Humor by

Let me be honest with you.  I do NOT know when I wrote this poem or why at the time. I do NOT know what it means now! I MAY have known right after writing it, but that was probably long ago. So, I challenge any that dare to consider what I might have been getting at then, what in the world was I thinking, and does it make sense to you? If you do know, perhaps there is a problem with you too – LOL!

Bosh the bobbin? What in the world does that mean? What possessed me to write such a thing? Was I high or was I low, so low perhaps I know not know? Tis for you to think of what I meant, because I cannot, for I am spent! My cousin commented and said I was sometimes weird, and so I am proving what he actually sent.       1-26-2015

Bosh the Bobbin   2015-31

Bosh the bobbin

High in the air

Hair of the pelt

To nowhere, nowhere

Nigh on Noon,

The cry of the loon

Be gone by night

To exit the light

Say farewell to an

Expressionist dream

Carry forward the

Exorbitant team

So whether the Bobbin

The loon or the dream

In the end it’s all

That it will mean

Den Betts   = Weird??

The FIFTH Horseman 2015-27

Posted in Head Trama by

The FIFTH Horseman   2015-27

2015-27

“A horrible thought!!! Those that read the Bible and know about the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse realize the intent of the writing about them. I believe it was during a mental lapse of mind that I came up with a Fifth one. This was about “me” at the time, when I was recovering from a head injury and feeling sorry about myself. During this down time of that era, I again, wrote this poem whereas I was reacting then due to conditions beyond my control or understanding. I no longer feel this way about life, but the opposite and think life is good and there is always – – – – .”

      The FIFTH Horseman   2015-27

WAR rode by – triumphant in the darkened sky,

Leaving PESTILENCE to do his ugly deeds.

FAMINE soon arrived with glee, to starve mankind,

Followed by DEATH to finish any having untold needs.

By far the worse, was the very, very last,

The Fifth Horseman, who came trotting slowly past.

A jeering face, a laugh in the wicked wind,

For any left behind in the maelstrom and the din,

Screaming a final promise did he then make,

As a gray forbidding cloud, followed in his wake,

“For those that survive and think they can really cope;

I believe NOT”, said the horseman called NO HOPE.

Den Betts

Despair 2015-26

Posted in Head Trama by

Despair    2015-26

“Whoa, what a subject! This poem came from the bottom of the barrel, the bottom of the pit of depression, when things seemed so horrible in my life over twenty years ago. This was probably written when I was in a state of clinical depression and where I finally found professional help to combat my feelings of despair at the time. I was more confused than ever due to a head injury and not really knowing what happened and why exactly, things were the way they were then.

 

I would ask my wife, “Why?” for everything I did not understand. She, being a working RN at the time, would calmly tell me, “It is because of your injury”. Then, five minutes later another “Why” on my part, again. The very fact she was a professional was very helpful and her ability to know the reasons for my depression helped so very much.  Jim, my therapist, finally got me to realize that it was “IT”, the head injury, and not ME the person that was the problem. He might have saved my life.

 

I include this poem, “Despair” and another one later, “Fifth Horseman”, which ties in with the Despair one,  to give the reader insight as to how those with mental situations of all types, sometimes, might feel inside when they are experiencing the things of life that happen to them. I will try not to include these types of poems in the future though, as they are somewhat depressing and bring back memories of a past life. At times, though, it is important to recall those things that affected your life.

 

Despair    2015-26

Despair, the blackness, the bottomless pit,

Oh God, when will I get out of it?

I hate this life of confusing thoughts,

This different me, inside this human box.

My mind that controls most everything,

Isn’t right, and makes me a different being.

The layered convolutes of my infernal brain,

Is like a parasite, racked with wavy pain.

Why can’t I get normal or better, more soon?

If this keeps up, it is leading to doom.

The ups and the downs I have each day,

Make me hate this life in every way.

Please God, make me better, and give me some hope,

I don’t like this life; it’s too hard to cope.

Den Betts

Sun 2015-22

Posted in Nature by

We take the sun for granted at times! It comes up in the East and sets in the West; quite normal. It gives off light and heat, which it is supposed to do on a regular basis. We can, at times, see ourselves on the ground, as a shadow of ourselves. Our Earth revolves around it yearly giving us the seasons of life. Take the sun away and we become – – – – . 

                                      Sun      2015-22

The Sun, the giver of life

Sending out its rays to Earth

This orb, that crawls across the   sky,

Throws off it light, with all its might

Shafts filter through the spreading tree boughs

Making diamonds that sparkle in the lakes and ponds

Heat   waves shimmer off  black asphalt roads

Causing distant far mirages to appear

Many colors stab through   the clouds

Bathing us in a rainbow of hope

The Sun, so high up above

Long may it shine…..

Den Betts

Always-Never 2015-21

Posted in Statement by

                                              Always-Never   2015-21

“When faced with a dilemma of stating something and meaning it and using the words Always or Never it is somewhat dangerous at times.  We tend to say things with emphasis and those two words can get us in trouble.  Someone will remember when I did something that I said “I never did that” and just the opposite with always.   I now try to keep my declarations neutral and never say those words and always do so. Yeh right!”

Two words said sometimes that are not so true,

When you use “always or never” as an absolute.

Always is “all the time” without a perchance,

It is used when you want to convey a stance.

Never use never when you mean once in awhile,

Cause never means never and is hard to reconcile.

We tend to exaggerate and not really mean,

Those things we say when we are full of steam.

It is meant to hurt ands hurt it does, friend,

To those we say it, in ways that offend.

So never say always, unless you mean it,

And always say never if to your benefit.

Den Betts

Candle 2015-19

Posted in Religious type by

Candle         2015-19

 

A blind man sat on a barren hillside, at noon;

Holding a small lit candle near his lap.

Nobody journeyed to see him or inquire,

The daylight absorbing the candles rays.

He sat and waited, and sat some more,

It seemed forever – each passing hour.

Discouraged and sad he prayed to God,

To help him, and to help them find the way.

A miracle occurred that was more than just rare,

An eclipse; his candle becoming a bright beacon.

People looked up and saw the light up above,

Went and gathered around its glow.

The man told them of the meaning of faith,

And how believing can make a happening occur.

Such as turning the light of one small candle,

Into a guiding light for those in darkness.

One small candle, one ordinary man,

Making a change for many or for few.

Den Betts