Poetry by JoAnn

All poetry on this page is the original work of JoAnn, and copyrighted by her.
(Page Last Updated February 1st, 1998).

MY SPECIAL PLACE

I WAS DEPRESSED AND SO BLUE AND JUST DIDN'T FEEL WELL
WHEN A FRIEND FINALLY CONVINCED ME TO TRY AOL
I GAVE IT A TRY, IT WAS WORSE THAN I FEARED
IN THE PLACES I ENTERED THE PEOPLE WERE WEIRD

I SOON FOUND A ROOM WITH HOST HARRIET DIAL
I WATCHED AND I LISTENED AND I STAYED FOR AWHILE
WITH THE CHANGING OF GUARDS CAME HOST FEBRUARY DOVE
I STAYED EVEN LONGER IN THIS ROOM FILLED WITH LOVE

THERE WAS LAUGHTER AND TEARS AND CARING AND CHAT
SOON THEY WERE JOKING WITH A RODENT CALLED RAT
WE WERE THEN JOINED BY FAITH, BY BEV AND MS CARYN
NOW THESE WERE REAL PEOPLE WITH LOVE THEY WERE SHARIN'

I MET UP WITH FOXY AND MARILYN AND DELL
WITH EDDIE AND JEANNIE, THIS ROOM SEEMED TO JELL
I THEN MET FRED BEARS, YOU GALS KNOW WHO I MEAN
HE SENDS US ALL RINGS AND OUR FINGERS TURN GREEN

I WISH I COULD LIST EACH NAME IN THIS PLACE
WHO WELCOMED AND HELPED BUT I DON'T HAVE THE SPACE
THEY SHARED IN MY PAIN AND MY BURDEN GOT LIGHT
I WAS LAUGHING AND TALKING UNTIL LATE IN THE NIGHT

THIS ROOM IS THE GREATEST, I WILL SAY THAT MUCH
EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM HAVE ALL ADDED THEIR TOUCH
I WON'T NAME THIS ROOM, I SAY WITH A GRIN
CAUSE MORE PEOPLE WOULD COME, THEN I COULDN'T GET IN

WIDOWS & WIDOWERS ROOM

I CAME INTO THIS ROOM FEELING SAD AND SO BLUE
AND MET LOTS OF OTHERS FEELING THAT WAY TOO
I STAYED AND LISTED AND I WATCHED AWHILE
I SAW SOME PLAYING, I SAW SOME SMILE

OH, HOW, I WONDERED, DID THEY GET THERE
TO THAT HAPPIER PLACE, SUPPOSE THEY'LL SHARE?
I WAS STANDING AROUND, KINDA QUIET & SHY
WHEN ONE OF THOSE STRANGERS, ON ME DID SPY

"COME, MY FRIEND, PLEASE, TAKE MY HAND
AND I'LL HELP YOU GET TO WHERE I STAND"
I TOOK THE HAND AND BEFORE I KNEW
I WAS LAUGHING AND SMILING AND JOKING TOO

MY HEART IS NOW HUMMING, AND SOON IT WILL SING
I'M READY FOR TOMORROW AND WHAT IT MIGHT BRING
SHOULD I THEN GO MERRILY ON MY WAY?
NO, I MUST HELP OTHERS TO LEARN TO PLAY

(Written 12-11-97)

In Loving Memory
of
TANYA MAY DE NAURO

FIFTY-FIVE DAYS WAS SUCH A SHORT TIME
FOR THE LIFE OF A CHILD THAT WAS YOURS AND MINE
THEN GOD REACHED DOWN AND TOOK HER AWAY
IN A TIME LIKE THIS, OH, HOW DO WE PRAY

HER LITTLE HANDS REACHED, HER EYES WERE SO BLUE
THE LOVE IN OUR HEARTS FOR HER WAS SO NEW
WE DON'T UNDERSTAND IT, WHY DID SHE GO
WE CRY OUT IN ANGUISH, GOD, MAKE IT NOT SO

GOD, PLEASE HELP US EACH TIME THAT WE CRY
WHEN IN OUR HEARTS WE'LL NEVER KNOW WHY
OUR TANYA WAS TAKEN TO BE THERE WITH YOU
IT MIGHT BE SOME COMFORT IF WE ONLY KNEW

OH, TANYA, OUR PRECIOUS, OUR BEAUTIFUL BABE
WE LOVE YOU, WE MISS YOU, GOD TOOK BACK WHAT HE GAVE
WE'LL ALWAYS REMEMBER, WE'LL NEVER FORGET
FOR DEEP IN OUR HEARTS YOU LIVE WITH US YET.

Until we meet again, your Grandma.

MERRY CHRISTMAS MY DARLING

CHRISTMAS IS COMING, AND I MISS YOU SO
I ASK THE SAME QUESTION, OH, WHY DID YOU GO
THEN I GET DISTRACTED BY THE GRANDKIDS AND ALL
AND BEFORE I EVEN KNOW IT, I'M HAVING A BALL

WE'RE TRIMMING THE TREE AND WE'RE PLANNING EACH GIFT
AND THE SINGING OF CAROLS, OH, OUR SPIRITS DO LIFT
THEN IT COMES TO MY MIND, OH, WHAT DID I DO
I'VE BEEN LAUGHING AND JOKING WITH NO THOUGHT OF YOU

GUILT WANTS TO TAKE OVER, BUT IS SOON PUSHED AWAY
FOR I HEAR YOU SAYING, PLEASE, BABE, GO NOW AND PLAY
THEN TEARS FILL MY EYES AND MY HEART FILLS WITH DREAD
AM I LEAVING YOU BEHIND, OR ARE YOU PUSHING ME AHEAD

(Written 12-9-97 - it would have been his 62nd birthday on 12-17

FREEDOM

YOU STAND AND PROTEST
AS THOUGH IT'S ALL NEW
OUR FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM
BUT WE KNOW THAT'S NOT TRUE

OUR FOREFATHERS REBELLED
AND TO THIS LAND THEY CAME
THEIR FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM
GAVE AMERICA ITS NAME

OPPRESSORS TAKE HOSTAGES
AND YOU SAY THAT'S ALL RIGHT
THEY'LL JUST HAVE TO KEEP THEM
BECAUSE IT'S NOT RIGHT TO FIGHT

YOU CLAIM TO BELIEVE THIS
AND MAYBE YOU DO
IT'S A SHAME THAT WE CAN'T
JUST EXCHANGE THEM FOR YOU

YOU SAY YOU WANT PEACE
AND SO DO WE ALL
BUT FOR PEACE TO EXIST
OPPRESSION MUST FALL

FOR YOU WHO PROTEST IT
AND SAY IT'S NOT RIGHT
TO GIVE YOU THAT FREEDOM
SOMEONE HAD TO FIGHT

THEY LEAVE FROM THEIR HOMETOWNS
KISS THEIR FAMILIES GOOD-BYE
THEY WATCH FROM THE BUSSES
AS THEIR CHILDREN CRY

THEY TRAVEL TO FOREIGN LANDS
WHERE THEY'RE NEEDED TO BE
TO FIGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM
TO PROTECT YOU AND ME

THEY GIVE UP THEIR FREEDOM
THEY GIVE UP THEIR LIFE
TO GIVE YOU THE FREEDOM
TO SLEEP SAFE EACH NIGHT

IF WE LISTENED TO YOU
WHEN AGGRESSION DID BOIL
THE NEXT SHOT WE'D HEAR
WOULD BE ON OUR SOIL

SO STAND UP AMERICA
AND SAY IT OUT LOUD
OUR FLAG IS FOR FREEDOM
AND OF OUR FORCES WE'RE PROUD

(Written 1-18-91)

GOODNIGHT MAMA, I LOVE YOU

MY EARLIEST MEMORIES WHEN I WAS A KID
THE FUN THAT I HAD, THE THINGS THAT I DID
WHEN EVENING CAME AND ALL WAS SET RIGHT
YOU'D TUCK ME IN BED AND KISS ME GOODNIGHT
GOODNIGHT MAMA, I LOVE YOU

THE YEARS FLEW ON BY AND I FINISHED SCHOOL
I MARRIED, HAD CHILDREN AND LIFE WAS SO COOL
WE'D TALK ON THE PHONE MOST EVERY NIGHT
YOU'D TELL ME YOU LOVE ME AND THINGS WERE ALL RIGHT
GOODNIGHT MAMA, I LOVE YOU

WE'D FUSS AND WE'D ARGUE BUT OUR TROUBLES WE'D MEND
CAUSE YOU WEREN'T JUST MY MAMA, YOU WERE ALSO MY FRIEND
THE FUN THAT WE HAD, OH THE THINGS THAT WE SHARED
AND AS EACH DAY WAS ENDED, I KNEW HOW YOU CARED
GOODNIGHT MAMA, I LOVE YOU

YOUR LAST YEARS WEREN'T EASY, WE FACED MANY A TRIAL
BUT NO DAY WAS ENDED WITHOUT YOUR SWEET SMILE
YOUR PAIN NOW IS OVER, YOUR EULOGY SAID
I STAND HERE BESIDE YOU AND KISS YOUR FOREHEAD
GOODNIGHT MAMA, I LOVE YOU

(Written shortly after her death on 11-19-90)

MARVIN

I'VE WRITTEN POEMS FOR DAD AND MOM
AND FOR MY BROTHERS TOO
I'VE WRITTEN THEM FOR OTHER FOLKS
BUT NEVER ONE FOR YOU

I TAKE FOR GRANTED MANY TIMES
THE THINGS YOU SAY AND DO
BUT LIFE WOULD BE SO EMPTY
IF IT WERE NOT FOR YOU

ALTHOUGH I MAY NOT SHOW IT
WHEN IT'S THE PROPER THING TO DO
THAT SINCE WE MARRIED YEARS AGO
I'M MORE IN LOVE WITH YOU

SO DARLING PLEASE FORGIVE ME
FOR ALL I PUT YOU THROUGH
AND REMEMBER AT THE ROUGHEST TIMES
THAT I REALLY DO LOVE YOU

YOU ARE SO MANY THINGS TO ME
AND I THANK THE LORD ABOVE
FOR HAVING SENT YOU JUST FOR ME
MY HUSBAND, FRIEND, MY LOVE

Little did I know at that time how empty life would really be without him
But I still thank God he was here.

(Written 9-17-85)

MARVIN'S HUNTING

THE SUN'S COMING UP
AND I'M IN THE WOODS
I AM HOPEFUL TODAY
THAT THE HUNTING IS GOOD

AS I LOOK AROUND
IN THIS GOD-MADE PLACE
OF THE DEER AND THE TURKEY
THERE ISN'T A TRACE

I SIT IN THE TREE-STAND
AND MY MIND GOES ASTRAY
I KNOW THIS IS GOD'S HOUSE
THEN I START TO PRAY

I THINK HIM FOR GIVING
THE THINGS THAT I LOVE
MY KIDS AND MY WIFE
AND THE SKY UP ABOVE

MY LIFE HAS BEEN FULL
BUT I'M NOT READY TO GO
PLEASE LET ME LIVE LONG ENOUGH
TO SEE MY GRANDCHILDREN GROW

My hubby asked me once if I could write him a poem about his hunting - he was surprised when I remembered and put in some of the things he mentioned in passing about how he felt out hunting. He had 5 by-pass heart surgery in 1988 and was thankful for each extra day. His grandkids meant so much to him. He died 10-15-94 of cancer.

(Written 5-6-91)

October 15, 1994
(For Marvin)

OCTOBER 15 AT 8 A.M. BURNS IN MY THOUGHTS SO DEEP
THE GREATEST MAN, MY LOVE MY LIFE,
CLOSED HIS EYES AND WENT TO SLEEP
HE LEFT THIS EARTH, HIS PAIN ALL GONE,
TO BE WITH GOD YOU SEE
HE'LL FIND HIS SPACE, SEE FAMILY & FRIENDS
AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR ME

another little thought at the time -

THE PAIN FELT BY HIS LEAVING IS WAY
OVERBALANCED BY THE FACT HE WAS HERE
HE LEFT MUCH MORE THAN COULD EVER BE TAKEN
HE LEFT HIS LOVE AND TOOK OUR FEAR

LIFE

In the beginning there is a reason for living. There is the hope and the dreams of the young, a faith in the life ahead. Which dies first, the youth or the dreams? Who is to know. Soon you are drifting on the sea of life with no reason for living but a fear of dying. You go along with the tide not really caring where it takes you just as long as you are going somewhere. Time moves so slowly but loneliness closes in on you with amazing speed. You try to lose yourself among other people but they are hiding just like you. How do you hide from life? There is no place you can go when you can no longer face yourself. It isn't life that you hate but what you have made of your life. The lack of courage to work to make your dreams come true, just sitting back and waiting for happiness to come to you. The inability to face up to failure and try again. Is it really that much easier to quit and blame others for your own mistakes. The familiar saying of "Why should I try anymore, everything I do never works out." Do you really put forth that much effort in each endeavor or do you simply stand idly by shouting, "Here I am happiness, come and get me"? How can others love and respect you when your own self-respect is gone? Self-pity is always such a great comfort. It will take you very far. The only problem is that the only direction it goes is down. Soon you are at the bottom. There was a time when your goal was higher than the heavens. Funny how you can lose your sense of direction. You are finally alone in your self-made hell and cry out to the darkness about how cruel life has been to you. Do you ever stop to think about how cruel you have been to life. It was handed to you with no demands. You were given every opportunity to make it the most wonderful thing in the world. Did you make use of all the advantages given you or did you take advantage of them? Life does not owe you a living. Just being born does not give you the right to happiness. It is a goal you must work towards. No one is lonelier than when in a crowd of lonely people. Do you want happiness enough to work for it? No matter how low you have gone you can always go lower, but you can never get so far down that you can't rise again. There is Someone who is always there to help all of us if we are willing to help our self. How badly do you want happiness and contentment? If you have no answer to that question, just sit back, relax and have another drink....THAT'S LIFE.

(Written in 1968)

KEEP YOUR HEART OPEN

HE TAUGHT ME THE BEAUTY OF LOVE
AND HOW TRUE LOVE SHOULD FEEL
HE TAUGHT ME THE JOY OF LOVE
AND TO RECOGNIZE A LOVE THAT'S REAL

THEN HE HAD TO LEAVE MY SIDE
TO JOURNEY ON MY OWN
I FELT THAT IN HIS MEMORY
THAT I SHOULD ALWAYS LIVE ALONE

NOW LOOKING BACK WITH OPEN EYES
HE GAVE ALL HE HAD TO GIVE
HE TOOK HIS TIME TO TEACH ME LOVE
SO THAT I COULD LEARN TO LIVE

SO NOW I'M MOVING FORWARD
ON THE JOURNEY HE HELPED ME START
SOME DAY I MAY EVEN LOVE AGAIN
IF I LIVE WITH AN OPEN HEART

(Written 1-28-98)

MOM

THE HURT'S SO DEEP, THE PAIN SO STRONG
WE WONDER HOW WE'LL GET ALONG
WITHOUT YOUR SMILE, YOUR TENDER TOUCH
AND ALL THE THINGS WE'LL MISS SO MUCH

THEY SAY THAT GOD DOES NOT HEAP ON
MORE THAN WE CAN CARRY ON
BUT THIS IS MORE THAN WE CAN TAKE
GOD, PLEASE HELP, IT'S YOUR MISTAKE

IT WASN'T TIME, WE WEREN'T PREPARED
TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO THINGS WE SHARED
BUT IT'S NOT GOOD-BYE, WE'LL NEVER PART
YOUR MEMORY LIVES WITHIN OUR HEART

I KNOW THAT TIME WILL EASE THE PAIN
AND WE WILL LEARN TO LIVE AGAIN
THE HAPPY TIMES THAT WE ALL KNEW
WILL HELP US NOW AND GET US THROUGH

YOU'VE GONE TO HEAVEN WHERE YOU BELONG
GOD WILL HELP US AND MAKE US STRONG
AND AS YOU WATCH US FROM UP ABOVE
WE'LL ALWAYS FEEL YOUR PRECIOUS LOVE

(Mom died 11-19-90 - still miss that lady)

Thank you to the people who have stopped by to visit.
If you would like to let me know what you think of my poetry,
click on my name below to send me an email.

JoAnn714