Thoughts Along the Way By Harry E. Berndt Thoughts along the way that seem to say that strife is with us all the way and not the way it ought to be for if it was we would be free Can I be free and you a slave – a slave you say – yes I work for pay and I am free at least that is what they say RAIN by Harry Berndt I am sitting here on my porch while it is raining - a soft steady rain coming down. I love a steady rain – soft without a sound. My heart cries out for those who suffer without rain. I ask why I have rain - and not others - who without a doubt have equal claim. There is no reason why I have rain and they have none. The blessings of this world are for all and not just for some – If there is a god? The Deer By Harry E. Berndt From the porch it did appear to be a dog it was not clear through the fog and below the pond too far for me to see it was not a dog but a deer. how lucky for me to see this deer a world of beauty opened to me away from fear and the home of the free away from guns away from death which always seems to be the very breath of the home of the free Unhyphenated Me By Harry Berndt I am unhyphenated ; not counted, and of no account. no parades for me, no toasts of beer or wine; no festivals, no old langsyne. people take no notice that I am here. My being here is unexplained if I am pained I never make a fuss -- I am a one not an us you see I am unhyphenated and free, yes free --- but Yet I am here On summer days I roam the streets and seek those feasts of pies and cakes and different meats. I fear I am the only one who knows that I am here. The Egret By Harry E. Berndt An Egret came my way Today He just stopped by to fish I couldn’t help but wish That he would stay awhile But that’s not his style Another brother Egret came And stayed to fish and eat And he lived in the tree Above the pond for over a week Room and board for free Brooding By Harry E. Berndt I have been sitting on my front porch most of this morning and early afternoon, and I marvel at the beauty that surrounds me; the tall Oak trees, smaller Dogwoods and Redbuds, and the medium height Tulip and River Birch. The weather today is the closest to perfection that it ever gets, and sitting on my porch on such a day is just that – perfect! Sitting here on my porch, watching the birds and the squirrels scrambling around for food and whatever, being very well at 88 years of age, I couldn’t but wonder why I am so blessed. It certainly is not due to anything that I have done or not done, although I have participated in my society, as have most people. It obviously has nothing to do with worthiness, since I am not more worthy than other humans. If I am not more worthy than those others who suffer from war, poverty, lack of food and potable water, and closer to home the unemployed, and those suffering from the injustices endemic in our society, what about you? Are you more worthy? I suspect Not! THE NEST By Harry E. Berndt There’s a mother in the tree Outside my door She sits and looks at me And nothing more It must seem odd to see Outside my door A mother who looks at me And nothing more

War against Hamas

Based on Israel’s right of self-defense, the American people seem to overwhelmingly support Israel in the war against Hamas. In its efforts of self-defense Israel killed almost 2000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and wounded over 9000. In addition, destruction of infra-structure and manufacturing will insure pain and suffering of the people of Gaza for years to come. Israel suffered a loss of 64 soldiers, mostly from street fighting in Gaza, and 3 civilians from rockets. The defense was mostly from rocket attacks, which required civilians to seek shelter many times daily, causing the Israeli people great discomfort.

 Our government provides Israel with billions of dollars in direct support, and an unknown amount through tax deductions to American organizations providing financial assistance to Israel. The President just signed an emergency appropriation of 225 million dollars for maintenance of the Israeli Iron Dome antimissile system. One might wonder when Israel will begin to support itself and its wars. It might also cross our minds that we might be complicit in a war not of our making, but one that is morally questionable.

THE NEST

                        By Harry E. Berndt

 

There’s a mother in the tree

Outside my door

She sits and looks at me

And nothing more

           

It must seem odd to see

Outside my door

A mother who looks at me

And nothing more

Unhyphenated Me

By Harry Berndt

 

I am unhyphenated ; not counted, and of no account.

 no parades for me, no toasts of beer

or wine; no festivals, no old langsyne.

people take no notice that

I am here.

 

My being here is unexplained

 if I am pained.

 I never make a fuss. I am a one

 and not an us. you see.

I am unhyphenated and free, yes free --- but

Yet I am here

 

On summer days I roam the streets

and seek those feasts

 of pies and cakes

and different meats.

 I fear

I am the only one who knows that

 I am here.

 

 

September 8, 2013

RAIN

by Harry Berndt

 

I am sitting here on my porch

while it is raining - a soft steady

rain coming down.

I love a steady rain – soft

without a sound.

 

My heart cries out for those who suffer

without rain.

I ask why I have rain - and not

others - who without a doubt

have equal claim.

 

There is no reason why I have rain

and they have none.

The blessings of this world are for all

and not just for some –

If there is a god?

 

 

 

 

 

The Egret

By Harry E. Berndt

 

An Egret came my way

Today

He just stopped by to fish

I couldn’t help but wish

That he would stay awhile

But that’s not his style

 

Another brother Egret came

And stayed to fish and eat

And he lived in the tree

Above the pond for over a week

Room and board for free

The Quality of life

February 25, 2005

the quallity of life

                                                        By Harry E. Berndt

When economists write concerning the health of the economy, they often look at factors such as gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment, the trade deficit, interest rates, and stock market performance to gage the health of the economy. Many people translate those indices as an indication of the quality of life enjoyed in a country. Economists seldom mention factors such as availability of health care, public transportation, child care, education costs, vacation time, average hours of work experienced by workers, or the availability of housing as the determiner of the health of the economy. Their concern is with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. They do not address the quality of life produced by the economic factors addressed. It is taken for granted that if there is a high GDP, low unemployment, low interest rates, and a strong stock market, then the health of the economy is good. But is it? If all of those indicators are in the positive column, does that necessarily mean that the quality of life provided is also in the positive column?   

I Died

I DIED

By Harry E. Berndt

I dreamed that I died and woke up in a place with no name, or at least no name I knew. I dreamed that I said to myself: “Well, here I am. But where”? In my dream I died, but I am not really sure of where I finally landed. The body was to be cremated and the ashes buried in the backyard with the pets, but here I am in a place not named. It doesn’t seem like much – wherever it is. It isn’t one of those places we learned about in catechism Class. I could never figure out what people were talking about when they spoke of Heaven and Hell and Purgatory, or even Limbo where babies not baptized ended up. This can’t be Heaven, because Heaven is supposed to be a great place to go. No one ever said why it was so great or even what made it great, except that you got to see God, and St. Peter let you in if you were worthy. Most people seemed to figure that they were going to end up in Heaven because they were good, which means that they didn’t kill anyone who didn’t need to be killed, didn’t smoke or drink too much, didn’t steal, fornicated only when their passions got the best of them, for which they were sorry, and they voted straight Republican. The Bible has the poor in spirit going to Heaven, and Heaven is where God and His Angels are located, so it must be a place. The Bible refers to Heaven as a Kingdom, i.e., the Kingdom of Heaven. It seems that it is supposed to be a happy place where the good people go when they die. I don’t think this is it.  

Hell, on the other hand, is another matter, I thought. You would know if you were in Hell, unless you were in Purgatory, which is like Hell except that you are supposed to be able to get out, whereas hell is for keeps. Lots of people say that Hell is right here in the earth, but in the lower regions of the earth, an area of fire and brimstone. Those assigned there suffer until judgment day when everyone gets a chance to learn about them and then, I guess, they get sent back to Hell. Dante identified nine circles of Hell and placed all of his political enemies in Hell according to their particular crimes, sins, or reasons for him to hate them. In his Inferno, Hell contained many conditions of pain, none of which was very pleasant, and there were circles of both fire and ice, with the ninth and last circle being frozen. I don’t think this is Hell.

Dante waited for Virgil to lead him to the river Acheron and to the steersman Charon, who would ferry them across Acheron and into hell, but I can’t think of anyone who would do that for me. I don’t know how that happened for Dante, since he and Virgil lived at different times. Wouldn’t it be great if, say Walt Whitman, would come by and take me by the hand and say that he would lead me through Hell and Purgatory and take me to Paradise where I would meet up with my fantasy woman who would lead me through all the levels of Paradise where we would meet the Angels and Saints and where the mysteries of life and death and Justice and Love would all be explained. I doubted that that would happen.

I dreamed that I doze off in this unlikely room of no description and woke to find Walt Whitman. This is the very thing I wondered about!  But he doesn’t take my hand to lead me through Heaven and Hell. He explains that a friend who loved me very much worried that I was in danger of ending up in the worst place possible and she asked Walt to straighten me out. “Obviously you were denied the benefits of Faith”, he said, “or you would not be in the fix you are in.” “But if that is true, how is it my fault”, I asked? “Like everything else that goes wrong in life”, he said, “it’s your mother’s fault, and I can’t help you.”

I awakened in a cold sweat and was very fearful until I realized that it was nothing but a dream. But was it only a dream and nothing more? Freud explained that dreams have meaning. As I thought about that I became very calm, almost happy. The dream gave me the secret of a happy life: IT’S NOT MY FAULT!

                                                                                                Webster Groves, Missouri

                                                                                                January 21, 2011

                                                                                                785 words