Poetry of Life Poet Kathy Winters

Poetry of Life Poet

Bee-Lieve / The Happy Heart / Jitterbug Dance

BEE-LIEVE

One evening, in a tree nearby,
A meeting was held by the creatures that fly.
The meeting, called so suddenly
Was to study the bumblebee.
“What’s the buzz?” asked the bumblebee.
“What could you possibly want of me?”
A robin chirped “The reason you’re here,
Is because you’re a mystery to us, my dear,”
A dove cooed sweetly, “We don’t mean to pry,
But we’d like to know why you’re able fly.
For you’re not built to fly at all.
Your body’s too large, your wings too small.”
Said Bumblebee, “I can clear that up…”
But a wasp cut in, “Don’t interrupt!
For we must now examine you
To learn how you do the things you do.”
“If you must,” said the bumblebee,
“Then, of course, I will agree.
But there is something you should know…”
“Later!” cawed a crusty crow.
“First we have to check some things.
Please lie down and spread your wings.”
The examination went on and on.
They studied her from dusk to dawn.
It was a long exhausting night,
Lit only by the fireflies’ light.
They peeked. They peered. They poked and prodded.
They measured. They weighed. They whispered and nodded.
And they all agreed, by the end of the night,
“That bee shouldn’t fly. It just isn’t right!
Our reasons are clear, our conclusions are sound.
There is no way that bee can get off the ground.”
As dozens of fireflies lit up the sky,
An owl decreed, “You just cannot fly.”
“Of course I can,” said the bumblebee.
“You know I can. You’ve all seen me.”
“But how? We just don’t understand!”
“It’s easy. I just believe I can!
And if you believed in yourselves too,
There’d be nothing that you couldn’t do.”
Then they all heard a buzzing sound,
As the bumblebee floated off the ground.
And everyone watched in silent awe.
For they couldn’t believe what they just saw!
And away she flew on wings too small,
That shouldn’t be able to fly at all!

THE HAPPY HEART

The frisky, friendly, little otter
Frolicked gaily in the water.
Come what may, rain or shine,
He was always happy – feeling fine.
He could be treated mean or rude.
He could be tired or needing food.
And still, this otter, they all say,
Would laugh and play the day away.
He dove, he flipped, he tossed, and spun.
“This is great!” he’d laugh. “It’s so much fun!”
A grumpy old crab who watched him play,
Day after day after day…(after day!)
Finally asked with a frustrated whine,
“What makes you so happy all the time?
Have you no worries, cares or fear
Like the rest of us who live out here?
I work so hard to stay alive.
It’s such a struggle to survive.
How can you be happy? Don’t you care
That trouble and danger are everywhere?
There’s just no reason for such joy!
What makes you so darn happy, boy?”
The otter hardly paused in play
As he answered the old crab that day.
“How am I happy? I’ll tell you how.
I live in the moment - here and now!
And though, to you, this may seem strange,
I don’t worry about what I cannot change.
Happiness is not a goal or a state
That we reach when everything turns great.
It doesn’t come from over there.
You can’t go get it anywhere.
You cannot buy it in a store,
And I will tell you something more.
It doesn’t come from the future or past
And nothing outside you can make it last.
The way to be happy, my friend, you see,
Is that you have to choose to be.
Because happiness lives inside your heart,
So that is where it has to start.
For nowhere else will you find it, and then,
You will only find it there when…
You stop being frightened and angry, my friend.
When you find it there, you’ll see it’s true,
That nothing and no one can take it from you.
If you look in your heart (and I hope that you do!),
Then you’ll see an old crab can find happiness too.
Now I bid you farewell. Have a wonderful day!”
With a flip and a splash he sped away,
Leaving that crab quite stunned and surprised.
The crab scowled…and he pondered…and then realized…
That he too could be happy. With a deep, piercing stare,
He looked in his heart… and found happiness there!

JITTERBUG DANCE

On a sunny day in the south of France
Two jitterbugs began a dance.
Though they danced for fun at the very start,
Soon they had a change of heart.
They went by the names of Earl and Pearl.
Pearl tried to do everything better than Earl.
And Earl felt the very same way about Pearl.
So, right in the middle of a lovely swirl,
Pearl said, “I can dance longer than you can, Earl.”
Earl, a young bug full of spunk and pride,
Did a spin and a dip, and then replied,
“There is nothing that you can do better than me!
I will dance longer! Just wait and see!”
The dance went on all day and all night.
They didn’t stop (though other bugs might).
A crowd soon gathered to watch that pair,
As their dance went from land to tree to air,
And back again. And I have heard,
That neither said a single word.
But through it all, though there was no speech,
You could see stubborn pride in the eyes of each.
And as sweat droplets formed above Pearl’s lip,
From Earl’s brow they also dripped.
The dance went on day after day.
They were both exhausted, but there was no way
That either would stop. No, neither would quit,
Or even slow down the tiniest bit!
Still dancing… just barely… after more than a week,
A voice in the crowd began to speak.
“What are you trying to prove?” asked a snail.
“That you cannot lose? That you will not fail?
I wish that you would please explain
Just what it is you have to gain
From all this silly competition –
Power, wealth, recognition?
If through your dance you should win these things,
You may regret the losses they bring.
For what good are power, fame, and wealth
When you give up a friend or lose your health?
Before it’s too late,” he said with a sigh,
“I hope you’ll decide the price is too high.
Then you can cease this need to win.
And that is when you can begin
To remember (in case you forgot perchance),
The reason you began this dance.”
But nobody heard the snail that day,
So slowly he just slid away
As Earl bent a wing in a clumsy swirl
And Pearl barely finished a half-hearted whirl.
And the dance continued another day,
Though it had slowed to a gentle sway.
Earl was exhausted, worn out and beat.
Pearl had blisters all over her feet.
But the look in their eyes could still attest,
That each was determined to be the best,
And win the glory for him(or her)self,
No matter the cost to their friendship or health.
Then one day, they could dance no more.
And they both collapsed upon the floor.
And as they fell, their eyes chanced to meet,
And in each they could see their own defeat.
And the price of their dance was as crystal clear
As the tiny, bright tear
That formed in the eyes of friends once so dear.
Despite all their effort, despite all the days,
Despite all their struggle, and determined ways,
Despite blistered feet and bent up wings,
Despite sheer exhaustion (among other things),
Despite all the pride that shined from their eyes
Neither bug won! Neither bug got the prize.
And they learned that the cost of their pride was too high.
Cause they’d squandered their health and bid friendship good bye.
So each bug decided right there and then,
When they’d mended their bodies and friendship again,
Together they’d dance one more day in the sun.
But this time they’d remember the dance was for fun.

by Kathy Winters

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