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Performance Poets Association® |
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Valentine’s Day
A William Shakespeare quote in Romeo and Juliet (Act II, Sc2.1) states: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by another name would smell so sweet!” But for a girl in love it meant every Saturday is “Valentine’s Day!” With barely enough money to spare, a young man madly in love gave $2 every Saturday from his pay, To the subway station flower vendor as he handed him 6 beautiful red roses. For the young man it was a lifetime promise, “I will live you forever.” Time passes, married, off to World War II for four years, Now it’s a dozen roses arriving every anniversary, birthday, holiday and of course Valentine’s Day. To tell the love of his life that the years apart and half-way around the world did not lessen his need to remember and to say — “I miss you and will love you forever!” For fifty years this tradition continues, ever lightening the heart of the now slightly grey-haired grandmother. The love of her life stand in the doorway, a smile on his face, a look that is worth a thousand words, “You are the light of my life, I will love you always!” For these two every day of their lives is Valentines Day!
Sylvia E. Weinstein Four-time poetry award winner, two honorary awards, retired administrative assistant |
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A DREAM
Is this a dream? Am I dreaming? There is a loving breath on my neck, a cheek touched by a fleeting kiss, Are these the lips I have missed? A faint pressing of a hand on my shoulder, Am I dreaming? I begin to shudder, The dawn is breaking and the room is filled with wonder, A soft word’s whisper in my ear — My darling, I have not left you, I am always here! I reach for your hand, I feel your wedding band, I remember you told me it never left your hand, Through all the years of war; to those lands near and far. Suddenly I wake, it is daylight, MY eyes search for you, I know this cannot be right, For you are gone, you have left me alone in this life, But you were here, you spoke to me, this is my dream!
Sylvia E. Weinstein |
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WHAT TOOK YO SO LONG?
IN LOVING MEMORY OF MY HERO — MY HUSBAND
What took you so long? What took you so long? These words resound in my brain to the whirring of a plane, A plane taking me to Washington, D.C. for the dedication of the long overdue World War II Memorial. As I stare at the clouds enveloping the wings outside my window, I sense his hands on my shoulders, fingers gently comforting me, A voice gentle, softly echoing in my ears — “I love you, I’m so proud of you!” A voice lovingly leading me on the journey I am about to take, A journey fulfilling a long promised and awaited commitment. For it is my husband, the young boy who sixty years ago went away to distant lands to fight a war, For a man who came home to a different world than the one he left behind. A debt to his country, paid for in blood and sweat, many lives lost and lost innocence. His time has passes, but I am here to give testament to those years of lost youth. They hid deep in their souls the never to be told stories, But sixty years later their generation is fading away. Now it is time to share their hidden memories, of those deep rooted tales of The horror of their war. Grown men standing tall, standing shoulder to shoulder with their comrades. Shedding tears so long denied, as they view the miracle of granite and stone, This monument immortalizing valiant deeds of brave men and women, Now known to this world as the “Greatest Generation!” They share a common bond, a common thread of comraderie, of those comrades Lost in the battles of the war to end all wars. AS they weep silently, a question must be asked, Sixty years have passed — WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG, WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?
Sylvia E. Weinstein |
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