Last week I gave you a sample of my less-than-optimal poetry.  I hope it gave you a chuckle or two.  The feedback I’ve gotten from a few of you would indicate that it did.  I’m glad.  It made me laugh at myself, which I need to do from time to time.  But, lest you think that every poem I’ve ever written is of the same caliber, I have decided to share a few others that I’ve written over the years that I trust you will find to be  my  “better stuff.”   A few of the inspirational ones have been published in periodicals  -- a far cry from the sorry one I shared with you last week.  I hope you enjoy them.

   “The Ice Storm of ‘82”
Everything suspended, in casings crystal clear.  Every step a treachery, tread  cautiously in fear.
Clothespins held immobile, frozen on the line. Brittle limbs on barren trees
 with icy coatings shine.
Water in the backyard creek ran freely yesterday. Now it lies there
 motionless, as hard as sun-baked clay.
Awesome God of power,  sovereign God of might, transforming my  surroundings in one short winter night.
Did I need reminding that you still reign supreme? 
 Or just that there’s much beauty in a frozen winter scene?
   “Below the Surface”
I wonder if I really am the me I seem to be.
 If my motives are as noble as I would like to believe.
Does my outward countenance reflect a beauty deep inside?
 Below the surface, where it counts, what do I have to hide?
   “Consider Your Audience”
Who’s reading the letter of your life, on and between the lines?
Who’s watching the drama you act out on the stage of your days and nights?
Who’s learning the lessons that you teach in life’s classroom on the street?
Who’s heeding the sermon that you preach and the songs your spirit sings?
Everyday you touch a life some way, either for good or for ill.
And none of them can be replayed, only one chance with each one to fill.
What mark will you leave there upon each one who reads or hears or sees?
What lasting impression will remain long after you leave?
   “Second Chance”
If I had one chance to turn back the clock and do several things over again,
I might mess them up even worse than before, but I might make them all
 right as rain.
But since that’s a chance that I never can take, I should not really give it a
 thought.
Just realize that all that has been done is done, and be glad for the things
 I’ve been taught.
 Those are just a few samples from my really thick file of poems.  I hope they made you smile (in a different way than last week).
 Thanks for giving me a moment of your time.