It’s famous for
a lot of things
the high rise
towers, the
churchbell rings
but truth be told
this summer day
there’s one big
thing they
NEVER say:
Jaywalkers rule
the BIGGEST
APPLE, bold
and quick
always snapping
up the slightest
chance to run
across against
the red and
steal a minute
in their stead,
while tourists
wait so patiently
it’s very simple
to perceive the
real Manhattanites:
they quickly
skip out
with flying feet
and suddenly take
flight from curb
to street,
they push between
the cars, and look
askance at the
rest of us
as though we
were from Mars,
so just remember
in your book
the guidelines
of New York:
watch for the
fleet-footed
geniuses who
simply pop a
cork while
waiting for
the light to
change, they’re
determined
to exchange a
minute for a
glance,
it’s called
the hustle
of getting there
without much
song and dance,
trust me when
I tell you this,
it won’t take long
for you to kiss those
mannerly goodbyes
and hop the train
to Jaywaker’s lane
and finally comply,
now you’ve become
one of them,
over and over
and over again 🙂
 

©J.W.WINSLOW 8/1/09

How do I say
the kind of joy that only
summer brings:
I cannot help
the wily pang
that sets my
heart to strings
the gentle touch
that wakens me
earlier than
before
the rising sun
the early run
of geese
who swoop
and soar,
there’s something
wild
about a child
born into
this prime,
they seem
to dream
and play
and scheme
much more
than Christmas
time,
yet with
all the grief
and harm
the world has
given us
that solstice
arrives
and we all
thrive
in wanton
summer lust,
sailing
seeing
just believing
roses come to
bloom
and every place
you look around
the light has
filled the room,
I await this day
every year
secretly wondering
if I’ll hear
the fabulous
soaring
call,
and taste the
breeze
from the
whitecap
seas, and smile
to catch it all,
it’s really just a
little
gift, a few sweet
months
a vibrant lift,
before we come
to Fall!
 

©J.W.WINSLOW 7/1/09

She enters the room
prancing
like a race horse
shining bright
holding tight
to that smile
she takes a
program and
wanders ahead
into the fray
just another day
at the sea of life
making her bones
with the folks
it’s important
for them to
see you
says the noted
Public Relations
sensation,
let them sniff
the jasmine and
spicy grapefruit
smell clean hair
with blossoms
amidst the green,
act a little bit
like a queen,
only just for
a minute,
don’t go past
your limit,
it’s simply a
tease
a way to
please the
masses and
their pocketbooks
the second looks
from towering
madness are
forgotten….

 

©J.W.WINSLOW 6/1/09

They arrive
quietly in
the midst
of dawn
with an early
breakfast
in mind,
large lumbering
horns and
more dainty
does, prancing
in damp grass,
unaware of
the resilient
eyes of their
many admirers
in a quest for
the greenest
shoots, the
early vestiges
of a Summer
feast appears
above the ground
while things
begin as usual…
Until the sight
of tiny wobbly
legs and skinny
rumps betray
the secrets of
early Spring:
the babies
have formed
and been born
by motherly
ritual, and
now they are
ready to run,
to play and find
their place
in the sun,
so wild and
free are they
today, nipping
at the old deer
who must be
grandpa and
tripping up
a couple of
dainty ladies
unaccustomed
to frivolity,
(who have
forgotten the
days when
they tortured
their tribe)
but now is
the day for
the new
to arrive,
bringing a
sense of joy
in their play,
the innocent
way they chase
bounding across
the meadows
before the
golfers race,
it’s Disneyland
for deer
around here!

 

©J.W.WINSLOW 5/1/09

It always
happens
when I
need it most,
a flash
of light
understanding
undemanding
focus
directed out
of myself
and into
another
(a greater
cause with
no applause),
simple service
quietly given
character
driven love,
as I watched
him speak
barely above
a whisper
I strained to
hear the
inner wishes
of a heart
torn apart,
the youngest
ones grow up
and when
we see their
destiny
sparkling
behind
tender eyes,
we know the
time to grow
their lives
is now,
the greatest
gift of all:
urging them
to stand up tall
believe in
the credos of
strength
and freedom
that is all
you’ll ever
need to dance
the dance
of life,
it’s all within
your reach,
to be and smile
and learn…
and teach!

 

©J.W.WINSLOW 4/1/09

Out of the blue
there was
bright
morning sun
surprising
after the
cruel run of
pounding
slamming
weather
which barely
left my heart
together,
pummeling
souls in
her wake,
it’s always
a BIG
mistake to
underestimate
MONA,
(MOTHER
NATURE
FOR SHORT)
but my report
lies in what
happened
next,
when white
apple blossoms
opened on complex
barren branches
and suddenly
I looked up
to see
TWO OWLS
perched
in the
opposite tree,
I had to
run and
verify
I really
couldn’t
believe
my eyes,
but there
they were
as promised
by the
soothsayers
and the
dramas,
my medicine
from the
Indian Tree
two big
old Owls
to watch
over me…
it’s kind
of an
epiphany!

 

 

 

 

©J.W.WINSLOW 3/1/09

Masters of
the dawn
have come
home
sweeping
America
into a frenzy
unseen in
our lifetimes
and perhaps
ever,
was it like
this when
the patriots
conquered
those snippy
Brits
or freed
the slaves
after years
of gruesome
labor,
yet today
is really
the time
when all
those sins
are forgiven
for if we
are living
a dream
let it be now,
while we
are humbled
by our pitiful
mistakes
and soaring
to realize
that new
beginnings
are showing
themselves,
despite
it all
we will
not fall
we have
chosen this
hill upon
which to
stand
and we
will win:
NOW/BEGIN…

 

 

 

 

©J.W.WINSLOW 2/1/09