People Traits

All Poems, Change, Family, People Traits, Spouses, Stories, Wisdom

Breaking Rules

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It seems all the rage now to break rules.

Mock speed limits.

Tread on property not your own.

Walk dogs where prohibited.

Modeled by legislators who trespass yet more.

Flout election laws.

Defy official subpoenas.

Take bribes.

Making light of prohibitions, regulations.

Often sliding by without consequences.

Have you ever been tempted to disregard a sign?

For convenience?

Momentary ease?

Out of frustration?

Pulling into a parking space to go shopping?

One, designated for a tenant in an adjacent building?

Like Bob did the other day.

Because the lot looked full.

Telling me he’d park for just a moment.

In the spot marked for apartment 202.

He’d put on his blinkers.

Run in, then run out.

I glared at him.

Superego screaming, no.

Challenged him: What if #202 returns home?

Needs to park, race inside?

What if it were your space?

It only took a moment.

For my scruples to rouse his.

He got back into the car, moved it.

I was glad my restless conscience

could deter his moral lapse.

For obeying signage on the streets,

keeps society from collapse.

Lynn Benjamin

June 8, 2024

All Poems, Health/Illness, Hope, People Traits, Politics

Appreciation

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It was an extraordinary day.

Instead of pollen, breezes carried appreciation.

Landing where I’d not seen it before.

Starting with an emergency appointment in a dental chair.

Discovering an infection under a recent crown.

Having the fortune to see an endodontist the same afternoon.

For a root canal.

Painful, but necessary.

Arriving home to witness a trio of handymen.

Doing jobs around our house.

Repairing, painting, creating.

The artisans three.

Brothers who work together.

Know their craft well.

The finale.

Our justice system.

Convicting Donald J. Trump

On thirty-four felony counts.

The jury paying attention.

Evaluating.

Deliberating.

Honoring accountability.

A trait distinguishing people from animals in the wild.

Lifting them to the ethical realm.

Beyond guilt, shame.

To responsibility for actions taken.

Too bad for some, accountability happens in a court of law.

Rather than in their own repertoire of responses.

To behaviors, actions taken.

But, today’s verdict, victory for democracy.

For humanity.

For me, a day of appreciation.

Hope and gratitude.

Boosting high my spirits.

Elevating mood.

 

Lynn Benjamin

May 31, 2024

Ivan B.Nagy, M.D., one of the leaders of the family therapy movement, wrote extensively about accountability existing in an ethical realm above psychology.

All Poems, Family, Gardens, People Traits, Plants, Spouses, Stories

Once a Farmer, Always a Farmer

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Once a farmer, always a farmer, said a friend.

Scanning all the pots.

Some on the deck.

Others below to the rear of the house.

Dill, basil, peas, eggplants, cucumbers.

Out front, a lemon tree.

In floral glory.

Flourishing inside a barrel on wheels.

Reigning over a flower garden.

A crush of bee balm, salvia, Echinacea, ajuga.

Gerber daisies, Peruvian lilies, potted on a ledge.

Clematis scaling two walls.

Lavender, thyme, oregano.

Bursting purple, white, pink.

Who’s this farmer? you wonder.

Bringing tiny spaces to life?

Like he used to do in more extensive terrain.

With raised beds.

Fruit trees, berry bushes, vegetables.

Enough to can, freeze, entertain.

Now limited, defined.

So, when he came home with six pepper plants, I asked,

Where will they fit?

His answer, alongside the eggplants. In the same pots.

The rationale, to hide them from deer.

Who eat pepper leaves, dislike eggplants.

Well, Farmer Bob, does it again,

makes teeny pockets thrive.

Tills hard, cold, dry earth,

cajoles it come alive.

 

Lynn Benjamin

May 14, 2024

   

 

All Poems, Invitations, People Traits, Wisdom

Meditation on Expectations

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Expectations are often the crux of conflicts.

Between parents and children.

Teachers and students.

Committed couples.

All of us harbor them.

How could we have order without them?

How would society function?

We teach children to follow rules.

To become good citizens.

Teachers expect performance.

Partners expect the other to do a fair share.

And yet, how often do people complain that expectations stifle?

Thwart communication?

Sincere back and forth?

Is it possible to enter a space without expectation?

Desirable?

I don’t know.

For, I think, everyone has expectations.

Perhaps we can lower them.

Like diminishing intensity on a dimmer switch.

To soften the light.

Avoid disappointment.

But, all parties possess them.

Those wanting them lowered.

Those lowering.

So, maybe it’s more a matter of awareness.

Noticing when expectations exceed reason.

In truth, I rely on expectations.

I like to know what’s expected of me.

What I can expect of others.

Of myself.

Could I accept an invitation to abandon expectations?

I don’t think I could or would.

That invitation, I’d decline.

Just tell me yours; I’ll tell you mine.

Then we can be genuine.

 

Lynn Benjamin

April 15, 2024

Adult Children, All Poems, Emotions, Family, Grandchildren, Growth, Holidays, Jewish Holidays, People Traits, Wisdom, Worry

Worries Can Be Traps

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Worries can be traps.

Keeping us captive.

But, they can also transform.

Becoming wings to set us free.

Like happened to my daughter.

Ensnared by doubts.

Misgivings she couldn’t do a task.

Learn prayers for services she would lead.

While her mentor vacationed.

But, come the Sabbath, she soared.

Reaching notes higher than the ark.

Like a butterfly released from a chrysalis.

Heralding the Day of Rest.

The new Hebrew month, Adar.

Even bidding her son join her to conclude.

Duetting Ein Keloheinu.

From restraints to liberty.

Decision made in the mind.

Escaping unfair fetters.

Choosing not to be confined.

 

Lynn Benjamin

February 14, 2024

 

All Poems, Family, For Children, Grandchildren, People Traits, Spain, Trips and Places, Valencia

I Learn by Watching

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I learn by watching, announced Katusha.

Her large brown, nine-year-old eyes scanning.

Rooms, plazas, parks, shops.

Indeed, she does.

Observing polite gestures in restaurants.

Greetings to people on the street.

Purchases of entrance tickets.

How to work elevators.

Or spot bats, the city’s symbol, on sewer covers, statues.

And she learns by asking questions.

Why do people ruin walls by writing on them?

Why do so many people smoke?

Why do people beg for money?

There is so much to learn.

But, Katusha exhibits a flair

for observations, questioning,

discovering, becoming aware.

 

Lynn Benjamin

February 3, 2024

All Poems, Family, Grandchildren, People Traits, Spain, Trips and Places, Valencia

My Body Adjusts

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My body adjusts to new environments, said Katusha.

Dancing down the street.

Not the least bit tired.

After arriving on two flights to Valencia.

With her father from JFK.

Ready to taste new flavors.

Churros and chocolate.

Visit new places.

El Mercado central.

The Serrano Gate.

Turia Gardens.

Eat paella for comida.

Sit the requisite two hours of sobremesa.

Then climb up and down three flights of stairs.

Through Hortensia Herrero’s Contemporary Art Center.

Interacting with the pieces.

Mat Collishaw’s Fallas.

Sean Scully’s Chapel.

Olafur Eliasson’s Tunnel of Glass.

Cristina Iglesias’s cave-like passageway.

Manolo Valdés’s sculptures.

Skip out the door to la Plaza de la Reina.

To join the throngs at a café.

Delight that it was still afternoon at 8pm.

My body adjusts to new environments.

And, indeed, Katusha was right.

Though the Spanish afternoon, long,

she was loath to say goodnight.

 

Lynn Benjamin

February 1, 2024

All Poems, Animals/Insects, For Children, People Traits, Seasons

Darling Starlings

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It’s easy to fall prey to winter doldrums.

Biting cold, shorter daylight.

Heavy coats, hats, scarves.

Drooping flowers, naked trees.

But, the sight of starlings animates me.

Recharges me, eyes to feet.

No matter the temperature.

Grayness of skies.

They settle into my neighborhood.

Into my head.

By the hundreds.

Roosting in maples, oaks, lindens.

Flying in perfect formation.

Doing aerial feats, displays.

Chattering a mile a minute.

Hail the power of community!

An ensemble makes a whole.

Each part fits to do its best.

Together achieve a goal.

 

Lynn Benjamin

January 3, 2024

 

All Poems, Animals/Insects, Holidays, Jewish Holidays, People Traits, Pets

Gray Day

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The day was gray.

Punctuated with images.

Rain starting at ten.

Exactly as predicted.

An old woman in the gym.

Pedaling as though she were a cycling marathoner.

I, talking by phone to each of four children.

Unusual same day event.

Whipping up a dozen latkes, lickety-split.

Homage to the persisting oil at the Temple.

But, most impressive, the great horned owl.

Captured by my brother-in-law.

Licensed falconer.

Trainer of native birds.

Now tutoring a yellow-eyed owl.

How do you befriend a wild predator?

Engender faith and trust?

Greg must have uncommon knack.

Feeding well, treating just.

 

Lynn Benjamin

December 16, 2023

 

Aging, All Poems, Humor, People Traits, Wisdom

One New Thing Each Day

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Aim to learn one new thing each day, said the young trainer.

Sounding like a wise man.

After giving a successful lesson in stretching.

When you stop learning, you die, he added.

Well, I challenged. What one thing did you learn today?

His answer, the rules of pickle-ball.

I nodded, acknowledging his new awareness.

Still thinking about his pronouncement.

Hoping each day I’d learn more than one thing.

A new word in English or any other language.

A new exercise for the legs or arms.

A new perspective on history.

A new analysis of a book or film.

Why must I learn more than one thing each day?

Well, I have fewer years than the youthful trainer.

Also, I’ve always been an overachiever.

Pushing to master one more thing.

Extend the day longer than it is.

Rise before the sun.

Rolling out a pocket poem, a walk, a podcast.

While I honor the trainer’s dictum,

when I’m down to one thing each day,

it will be how to bid last farewell

before I fizzle, fade away.

 

 

Lynn Benjamin

December 12, 2023