Blue Bench

A worn blue bench outside a gas station...
Is it a bench or a pew?

How Long

All that has come before

Has prepared for this moment

How long, someone asks,

Does it take to write a poem

Poems and other creations

Are not written in

Minutes hours days

They are written in the

Cumulative moment which holds

All the time, the experience, that

Has preceded the now

It takes the compilation of years

The evolution of the mind

The deepening of the spirit

The expansion of the heart

The blood ink that gathers

In the well, in the pen,

At this particular point

To write this poem

It takes this and more

Don't forget the mystery

The gift of the poem

That shows up unintended

Uninvited but oh so welcome

Making us look to be

Far more than we are

Truth is

We don't write poems

They choose us as scribes

We hope to be worthy

Of their trust.

Christie Smith Stephens

April 11, 2011

Bonnie

I will probably never

See her again

It was one of those

Paths crossing times

When strangers share

A table and a few words

For a moment in a place

In which neither lives

I don't know her last name

Her first name was Bonnie

And it was perfect for her

Fit her like a soft leather glove

In the play of words

I heard a few notes from

The song of her soul

Caregiver committed to

Her mother-in-law

Ruth to her Naomi

Just taking a breather

So she could return refreshed

Loving tributes to a woman

She said is "wonderful"

And for whom she

Is privileged to care

A weekend by the lake

Little village of shops

Cafes art artists

Respite before return to routine

The world needs more Bonnies

Although there are many

And we need more Naomis

Women who see each other

Through the hard times

Bonnie lives the meaning

Of her name

Pretty excellent

Good bonus

With holy hands pure heart

She performs the ordinances

Of faith every day

Ordinary acts of the Divine

Angel in flesh

Handmaid of God

Bonnie in Chicago is

Thanks be for her!

Christie for Bonnie

July, 2011

I'm back, although I've not been gone, just on hiatus. Spending time with my granddaughter, watching her grow and change in amazement. As I was once a mom, suppose I hadn't the time to observe my children as they evolved into little people each and every day. To see her learn something new is so much fun, you can almost see the light go on with each discovery. We know so much more about childhood development than we used to, a blessing and sometimes not, as we try to to be perfect parents and grandparents.

Summer travel adventures to follow soon.........................

Happy Birthday Edie!

Free things that are available in Lexington for your birthday.

1. Abuelo's ~ Free Dessert
2. Borders ~ Free Coffee or Tea
3. Chucky Cheese ~ 20 free tokens
4. Culvers ~ Free Ice Cream Sundae
5. Dairy Queen ~ Free Bogo Coupon
6. Gold Star Chili ~ Free Meal
7. Hooters ~ 10 wings
8. Jersey Mikes ~ Free Sub Sandwich and 22 oz. Fountain Drink
9. Sonic ~ Free regular cream slush, free medium tator tots, or free medium drink
10. Free Spanish Lesson from me!  ( I forgot you speak Spanish, I don't...)
11. Free ride on my Harley ~  (I forgot, you have the Harley, not me )
12. Coffee @ Starbucks  ~ My treat...for real...

Happy Birthday Edie. God Bless You!

How does your garden grow?

Eggplant flower

Eggplant growing

Sunday's  Dinner Eggplant Parmesan

bow

it's hard to tell

constance said

whether the bow

helps or not

christie

july 13, 2011

first written in the 1990s

Please pack your knives and go

 As a member of a Cooking Light group, I meet with other friends to taste recipes we prepare from the magazine.  While I am not a gourmet cook, my skills have improved since joining the group five years ago. I look back with some embarrassment over some of my recipes.  Thankfully, no one said, Jacqueline, “Please pack your knives and go. “ We learn, we grow, we share, we encourage.  Thank goodness, it is not a competition.  Learning is a life long process.  It is nice to have some encouragement along the way.

One show is all about the competition: The Top Chef.   This program combines entertainment with creativity on a Bravo show.  So it was with small bit of envy when I say Dama posing with Carla from last season’s Top Chef. (I saw the picture on her Facebook wall.)   Why?  Dama is one of the most selective eaters I know. She has a long list of things that she will not eat.   I need to embrace her selectivity. 

I'm Late

I'm late

I'm late

Behind

I must catch up

Promised a poem a week

And I am at least one

Maybe two

In arrears

Arrears

A word I learned

Years ago

When first I was

A wet behind the ears

Caseworker in

Public assistance

Lehigh County

A long way from home

Arrears

Behind in payment

Rent

Utilities

Clients in jeopardy

Of losing apartments

Services essential

Arrears

Part of my ongoing education

Just a tiny portion of

What I learned

In the office

Under the supervision of

Veteran supervisor

Miss Steckel

Who knew the manual by heart

Quoted it to me

Day in and day out

Just part of what I learned

On the streets of Allentown

Before Billy Joel

Wrote his song

Arrears and paramour

Another word I learned

Not a word we used

In the South

When I was growing up

We had other words

But I learned it as part

Of the humor of dictation

Dictating information received

During home visits

Back in the offices

At 11 N. Seventh Street

A caseworker dictated

The word paramour

In regard to a client

As part of the required

6 months redetermination

Of eligibility

Dictated paramour

Into one of those machines

I hated

Caseworker said

Client had a paramour

A lover who may have been

Contributing to the

Household income

Which of course could be

Cause for concern

A reason for discontinuance

Of assistance or at least a

Reduction in the monthly check

From the great state of

Pennsylvania

Paramour

Spoken into the microphone

But when typed into the record

By a member of the steno pool

Listening through earphones became

Power mower

Paramour

Power mower

Evoking laughter from

Overworked

Overwhelmed

Nearly burned out

Caseworkers and secretaries

Weary from trying to follow

The regulations the rules

Laid down in the manual

Laughter

A sort of gallows humor

Or prison wit

From the captives of a

Dehumanizing system

That perpetuates

The very ills

It seeks to relieve

Paramour

Not enough love here

Power mower

Not enough power here

Always in arrears

Overdue in debt

Just good folks

Clients and caseworkers

Doing the best we could

Under the circumstances

Trying to survive

Trying to make a living

In the late 1960s

Before Billy wrote that song

There we were

"Filling out forms

Waiting in Allentown

For a world we never found"

I'm late

I'm late

Christie Smith Stephens

July 7, 2011

With gratitude for the clients

and caseworkers and supervisors

who taught me about life and systems.

God bless them!

Sisters

She stood in her grief

Spoke of her sister

Too soon it would seem

Too soon gone to heaven

She spoke as only

A sister can

As only one who knows

The scriptures can

She spoke as only

One who has wrestled with

Angels and devils can

As only one who has walked

Her precious sister

To the edge of eternity

Spent the long dying days

Massaging her feet can

Her words formed

As a sculptor shapes

The clay to art

Exquisitely crafted

From life to testimony

She stood in the pulpit

Told us of her sister's

Beautiful feet

The feet of one who

Brings Good News

Washing them in

Our presence

On the day she said

Farewell here

To her little sister

She brought the Good News

Ringing true like

The sound of finest crystal

Gently touched by

The purest gold

Beautiful feet

Run in the family

The Word of God

For the People of God

Thanks Be to God

Amen

For Cheryl and DonDeena

June, 2011

Christie