Morning Rituals

          I listen to your footsteps in the early morning

turning on the kitchen faucet

and starting the coffee

I listen as you unlock the door

and walk to the end of the driveway

to pick up the morning newspaper

I listen to the clock radio

as another Top 40 record plays

and as the DJ tells another silly joke

I pull the blanket over me

through the weather report

and the latest news headlines

You open the bedroom door, softly

to see if I am awake

I rub the sleep from my eyes

and reach for my robe

which had fallen to the floor

and wrap it close around me

You pour my morning coffee

as I hunt for my reading glasses

You chatter; I am quiet

the early bird and the night owl

 We are familiar with each other's habits
especially in the early morning hours

(c) 2005 Anita M. Ashworth

(I wrote this several years ago)

Ode to a Cookie

Here's a little ditty I wrote last year in honor of, guess what? Thin Mints.

O Thin Mint, Thin Mint,

Why can't I eat just two?

If only my hips would lie, 

I'd eat the whole box, 

And write an ode to you. 

Photo from Wikipedia

If Children Ruled the World

My daughter, Carrie, as a little girl

If children ruled the world
Grown-ups would have to be quiet
And let children have their say
Grown-ups wouldn't be allowed to interrupt
Or pout when they didn't get their way..

If children ruled the world
There would be no black or white, brown or yellow
There would be no prejudice, no hatred
Just love for one another
And looking out for the other fellow...

If children ruled the world
Everyone would have a chance
To get off the bench and run in the race
With the rest of us cheering, "Hooray!"
As you cross the finish line and come in first place...

If children ruled the world
There would be a giant playground
Where children could play all day
And the world would be our canvas
As we painted and colored the drabness away....

If children ruled the world
Every child would have a home filled with love
A glass of warm milk and a comfy bed in which to sleep
Sweet dreams and goodnight prayers
'Til morning light their little souls shall keep

If children ruled the world...

(c) Anita M. Ashworth 2010

If

If I stay

Will you stay with me

Will you hold my hand

And never let me go

Will you follow right beside me

And watch my steps

Catch me if I fall

And never let me out of your sight

If I stay

If I go

Will your thoughts go with me

Will you think of me each day

Will you miss me

Will you remember when

You held my hand

And followed right beside me

Never letting me out of your sight,

If I go

(c) Anita M. Ashworth 2011

A Mother and Her Son

Here is one of my favorite childhood poems, from a Scholastic book of poetry, now old and yellowed, and here is the pencil drawing I made of Abe Lincoln. I couldn't believe that I saved both all of these years. I still love Poetry, and the beauty of language, and wonder whether children still read and memorize poems in school, such as "Nancy Hanks."

"Nancy Hanks"     by RoseMary Benet

If Nancy Hanks
came back as a ghost,
Seeking news of
what she loved most,
She'd ask first,
"Where's my son?
What's happened to Abe?
What's he done?

"Poor little Abe
Left alone
Except for Tom,
Who's a rolling stone;
He was only nine
The year I died.
I remember still
How hard he cried.

"Scraping along
In a little shack,
With hardly a shirt
To cover his back,
And a prairie wind
To blow him down,
Or pinching times
If he went to town.

"You wouldn't know
About my son?
Did he grow tall?
Did he have fun?
Did he learn to read?
Did he get to town?
Do you know his name?
Did he get on?"

The Beginning of Days

How many days has it been?

How many months?

How many years?

And yet it seems like only yesterday

that you were here

But time has sped by, raced ahead

to fill the empty spaces you left behind

The days have passed into months

The months have passed into years

Like small streams that run into rivers

and empty into the ocean

of our collective sorrows

And days accumulate into Time

And Time is a balm 

like bread to the hungry

and water to the thirsty

Time nourishes our broken heart

By counting the days behind us

When finally, there are so many

We no longer feel the fresh pain

of the beginning of days

(c) Anita M. Ashworth 2011

Procrastination

            Why should I do it now?

Why can't it wait?

I'm in no hurry

I won't be late

I put it off yesterday

Now today is here

Tomorrow sounds better

What is there to fear?

But what if tomorrow

 never comes?

What if I had the chance

and didn't take it?

What if I dressed for the dance

but didn't make it?

What if I looked at my watch,

but time slipped away?

What if I waited...and waited

for yet another day?

 What if that day

 never comes

to right a wrong,

 to hug someone,

to read a book,

to sing a song

to go some place,

and watch the setting sun

So today is all we have

There is no guarantee

Every second is a gift from God,

a gift for you and me

(c) 2010 Anita M. Ashworth

"I Had a Choice Today"

I had a choice today

to feel sorry for myself

or wake up with a smile

I had a choice today

to speak with anger

or stop a careless word

I had a choice today

to break a promise I had made

or keep my word and follow through

I had a choice today

to lie, cheat, or to deceive

or be honest and tell the truth

I had a choice today

to hold myself in high esteem

or humble myself before the Lord

I had a choice today

to turn my back on someone who needed me

or bend over and help them back up

I had a choice today

to speak words of hatred

or speak encouraging words

I had a choice today

to nurse a grudge and carry a chip on my shoulder

or forgive as the Lord as forgiven me

I had a choice today

to wish that I was someone else

or accept the person God wants me to be

I had a choice today

to cry bitter tears for things I cannot change

or hope for a brighter future

I had a choice today

to reject my faith and turn my back on God

or accept him fully in my heart

I had a choice today

Did I make the wrong choice?
 Or did I choose the right way?

I had a choice today

because it's never too late

to get down on your knees and pray

Blessings,

c Anita M. Ashworth 2010

"A Southern Childhood" - a Poem

I have been inspired to write a poem beginning with "I am" by published author and blogger Sheryl Ann Crawford, here, who has written many children's books. She recently highlighted a beautiful poem written by Janet, from West Virginia. I wrote this one with thoughts of my Tennessee cousins in mind.

“I Am”

I am from poor dirt farmers

Working in the fields

With backs hunched over

Wiping the sweat from their brow

And I am from the blue collar workers

Who worked a 40-hour week

Never asking for a hand-out

Just wanting to make a living

I am a singer of Gospel songs

Saved in a little country church

With folks waving their funeral parlor fans

In a chorus of “Amens”

I am from playing outside after dusk

Swatting mosquitoes on a hot, summer's eve

Walking to the corner grocery store

For a cold bottle of Coca Cola

I am from rusty pick-up trucks

Fishing ponds and coon dogs,

Cotton fields and tire swings

Listening to the whistle of a train

I am from a Southern childhood

From biscuits made from scratch

Sweet tea, and wraparound porches

And Jesus as my Savior

(c) Anita M. Ashworth 2010

"Talking to a Grave"

I go to a place

Where I stand alone

Where once was a patch of dirt

Now your name is etched in stone
I say hello

I love you
I miss you
And wish you were here
My conversation sounds hollow
As I get down on my knees
There is only silence
But for the whisper of a breeze
I blow you a kiss

Before I say good-bye

And I want you to know

Once more

I love you

I miss you

And wish you were here


(c) Anita M. Ashworth 2009