Tag: family

Out of Necessity

I love the way my cat will leap,
from an apparent place of deep rest,
and run out in front of me
so they can be the first to go where I am going.

Ears perked, head on a swivel,
My tiny panther protector sweeps the room,
and the next, and stops wherever I do,
to lay down and hold down the fort.
[..]

I love the way my cat will leap, 
from an apparent place of deep rest,
and run out in front of me
so they can be the first to go where I am going.

Ears perked, head on a swivel, 
My tiny panther protector sweeps the room,
and the next, and stops wherever I do,
to lay down and hold down the fort. 

This will always make me smile,
…and I’ll hold on to that for as long as I can… 

08/30/2021
M. L. Michael

About…

Your Lighter

It’s hard enough to start a lighter in a storm,
sparks don’t care for the rain,
and flames hide from the wind.

And it’s too much to ask for a fire,
when the sparks won’t show,

and the flames won’t stay. [..]

Your Lighter

It’s hard enough to start a lighter in a storm,
sparks don’t care for the rain,
and flames hide from the wind.

And it’s too much to ask for a fire,
when the sparks won’t show, 
and the flames won’t stay. 

Give it a moment,
heavy clouds will pass,
and a fire will grow.

M. L. Michael
08/23/2021

About…

That Elephant

Some things are too painful, too personal to deal with,
and so we box them up, throw ‘em in the back corner,
hoping that we never have to deal with it,
or even ever talk about it.
…
It’s that elephant, that box in the back corner. […]

Some things are too painful, too personal to deal with,
and so we box them up, throw ‘em in the back corner,
hoping that we never have to deal with them,
or even ever talk about 'em.
…
It’s that elephant, that box in the back corner. 

…

A word to the readers:
It’s okay if you see the elephant,
You know the drill; it’s not really there.
So avert your eyes, and talk about the weather, whatever. 

…

Some tasks require a lot of work to be completed,
and so we must get the ball first rolling and rolling.
Don’t worry, the momentum of going will carry us through. 
Fore it all begins with that initial push.
…
And there goes that elephant, that box from the back corner.

M. L. Michael
07/31/2021

About…

(Warning, hari-kari gut spilling ahead)

For a while I’ve been walking around with an elephant.
It’s been following me since at least 2013.
…that’s when my teeth first started to fall apart. Altho I had no idea at the time, a combination of my history and the suboxone that I was given to come off the pain medicine, my teeth started eroding and then literally just breaking apart when I would eat anything.
I have always had weird, childhood issues, with dentistry and my teeth. So when this happened, the last thing in my mind was to go to a $%&*ing dentist. And so I did the next best thing. Denial. I boxed my issues up and shoved them in the corner. I did this as they got worse and worse. A couple/few years back I found a sedation dentist in Goliad. I went and saw him. He is an amazing dentist, he dealt with my concerns expertly, but he said he had to replace all my teeth. …that terrified me and I never went back..
Fast forward to now. I finally have the tools to deal with this. I have been dealing with this in therapy and the medicine helps too. My loved ones are helping me and pushing me along. I also found an *amazing* dentist. Dr. Zboril here in Victoria. He can repair most of my teeth and only needs to replace some. His bedside manner was the best out of any dentist I had ever been too to. Thanks to all of these things I am now taking the steps to repair my teeth.
*phew*
Thanks for reading,
and as always,
Take Care Out There.

“See You In The Morning”

“Night, night. Love you. See you in the morning.”
Those are the words I tell her nearly every night.
After tucking her in, listening to her protests of sleep,
her stories and her distractions, her cries against
the dying of her night.

“Night night. Love you too. See you in the morning.”
She tells me, and I close her door,
shutting those words in her room,
until they are released the next day,
when she opens up her door and says
“good morning.” 

“Night, night. Love you. See you in the morning.”
Those are the words I tell her nearly every night. 
After tucking her in, listening to her protests of sleep,
her stories and her distractions, her cries against
the dying of the light. 

“Night night. Love you too. See you in the morning.”
She tells me, and I close her door, 
shutting those words in her room,
until they are released the next day,
when she opens up her door and says
"good morning". 

07/29/2021
M. L. Michael

About…

This is not the poem I set out to write.. but I tucked my daughter in and was taken a different direction.When we said that to each other it just hit different this time. I was already in poetry mode. Will we see each other in the morning? I hope so.
Good night everyone.See you in the morning.

(Happy) Mother’s Day

The day you brought that precious little bundle home was your day…
Your first mother’s day.
The first day that you glowed with such renewable warmth and purpose,
The first day that you radiated strength and endurance in superhuman ways.
That day was your first mother’s day – and so then was every day thereafter.
Because every day since there are new reasons to love you, mothers.
Because of your sacrifices.
Your compassion.
Your relentless spirit.
This is your day,
And every day hereafter.

(Happy) Mother’s Day

The day you brought that precious little bundle home was your day… 
Your first mother’s day. 
The first day that you glowed with such renewable warmth and purpose,
The first day that you radiated strength and endurance in superhuman ways.
That day was your first mother’s day – and so then was every day thereafter.
Because every day since there are new reasons to love you, mothers. 
Because of your sacrifices. 
Your compassion.
Your relentless spirit. 
This is your day, 
And every day hereafter.

M. L. Michael
05/09/2021

About…

Refrigerator Magnets Can Hold A Family Together

The doors on these refrigerators
have become my family’s:
“Doors of Pride”

:::

These refrigerator doors…

They’ve always had pictures of beloved relatives,
(sometimes they are group photos, sometimes they are not.)[…]

Refrigerator Magnets Can Hold A Family Together
(Doors of Pride)


The doors on these refrigerators 
have become my family’s: 
“Doors of Pride”

:::

These refrigerator doors…

They’ve always had pictures of beloved relatives,
(sometimes they are group photos, sometimes they are not.)

They’ve always had a varying amount of notes and comic-strip cut-outs- 
always posted by one of our hands…ranging from the rapid!-reminders!,
the stern-scoldings, and the silly jokes, and the inspirational quotes.

They’ve always had a monthly, printed-out, calendar, 
to mark all of our, impending, important dates…

:::

And when we (my older sister and I) grew up, our parents 
displayed our  ‘Art’ 
[these childhood drawings of dreams, 
which we presented to them like presents]
which they displayed [like trophies]
on those towering, magnetized, walls.

And when I went to school, and I received my report cards,
– with mostly Bees and Ahhs, plus Pluses or Minuses, 
….I had those put up, too…right next to my trophied drawings…

…Then after highschool… there wasn’t much added…
…I began going through a rough time, 
…And I was unable to do anything I felt was worth even a magnet’s damn…

….Eventho, still, I saw pictures of me, put up on the fridge..
…they were older pictures…but I didn’t fret *too hard* over the distinction…
 (because, during that time, I didn’t want my picture taken, either.
…honestly: I wanted no documentation of that self, preserved on film.)

Then, I …tentatively… started my own business, 
and I was proud to see: my business card upon the fridge!

Then I had my first poetry book self-published,
and I was even more proud to see that byline 
was cut out from our newspaper, and stuck to the fridge.
…I am somewhat embarrassed that they still have it up there…
…but not so embarrassed that I’d insist they take it down…

---

My sister has had her own similar, yet unique, – fridge- experience.

Her drawings, changed to report cards, and then to business cards,
that evolved into more sophisticated cards that reflected her expertise…
Her most recent one is the most spectacular, by far, 
for it is entirely magnetized!!!
and we use to help hold up our business cards)

[…And now there is about to be an explosion of pictures,
of my sister’s first – of my beautiful, fresh-faced, niece.
…so many in fact, we might have to make some new magnets.…]

:::

I can look at my family fridge,
and I can give you my best guess 
on how Mom and Dad are doing…
and I can tell you, 
how we, as a knit family, 
are currently woven together…

M. L. Michael
4/28/10

About…

Rockwellian motives

I knew a painting…
So much prettier when it was true,
A Rockwell family gathered ‘round American values
Caught gape mouthed with their eyes lit by laughter.

I see a painting…
So much uglier when stained by thinner: […]

Rockwellian Motives

I knew a painting…
So much prettier when it was true,
A Rockwell family gathered ‘round American values
Caught gape mouthed with their eyes lit by laughter.

I see a painting…
So much uglier when stained by thinner:
The degradable words that dilute the color,
And blur all the beautiful distinctions into a messy montage.

I knew a painting…
Once eye level, salutatory and proud,
Projecting an idealism for togetherness,
As the centerpiece in a room once centered on peace.

I see a painting…
Now an eyesore tugging strings of nostalgia 
Collapsed on the floor like the broken boozer 
That everyone ignores but no one trips over.

M. L. Michael 
07-23-05

About…

Golden in as golden out

Golden in as golden out,
Such poetry in the difference of a century.
From the seedling of a budding relationship
Forms elegance in the sequence of growth.

Stretching roots like dozens of comforting embraces,
Stretching branches like dozens of guiding hands.[…]

Golden in as Golden out.
(For the 50th anniversary of my Grandparents)

Golden in as golden out, 
Such poetry in the difference of a century.
From the seedling of a budding relationship
Forms elegance in the sequence of growth.

Stretching roots like dozens of comforting embraces,
Stretching branches like dozens of guiding hands.
To serve as a model of accomplishment,
Their shade is not their own,
And the fruit of their labors
May only match the sweetness of their compassion.

Golden in as golden out,
Their result proves the sum greater than its parts,
Nigh a lifetime’s worth of cherished memories
For the singular act of sticking with ‘I do.’ 

M. L. Michael
11-19-04

About…