Tough Guy.

by Louis B. Shalako

c2010

All Rights Reserved


A really tough guy
Shouldn’t have to prove it all the time
A really good pilot
Wouldn’t have to exhibit all the time
If you have a good idea
Be careful who you tell
Try to live each and every day
As if it were your last
For surely one day you will be right—
Wake up and smell the coffee
Take a moment
Stop and smell the roses
Stand up straight
Look people in the eye when you talk to them
Shrug your shoulders, and say:
“This is who I am,
And I like myself just fine.”

Three Waterfalls. Ausable Valley.

From the Files.

Kioshkokwi Lake, 'lake of many gulls.'

Ode To My Daughter.

by Shirley 'Dee' Neal
c2010
All Rights Reserved

You are a dream that I hold dear
So exquisitely full of joy
Your energy making others envious
And leaving us all behind
My daughter, I am so proud when others
Compare us favourably now

When you smile, you light up the world
A spirit so sublime, it shines
You care so much for others
Sometimes there’s not enough of you
To share all that you are, all that you can be
You want a perfect world for those you love

The reality of the world is not
Only what you want it to be
Shabby roads, garbage piled high by the side
When no one bothers to clean it up
But you put it in the recycle bin
Composting rules the household

You are the light of my life
So elegant, no naïve
Like a colt gamboling
Across the undulating meadow
To catch up short, and stare
When the fence arises from nowhere

How will your days fulfill
From now until there is time no more?
What challenges may you conquer
With your insurmountable spirit so young?
I know not the end, but one thing for sure
The magnificence that is yours, is truly my joy.

Editor's Note:

The painting shown above is by Carol Shaw, who lives in Momence, Illinois. She is married and has three children. Carol is interested in criminal psychology and her musical taste includes 'anything but rap.'

Bad Guitar Practice