Newsletter for the World of Word by Elias Tobias

 Poem of the Month

This is the poem of the month for May. It’s not just about fire, either. 

Two Candles

Two cold candles,
   one slightly larger than the other,
are placed together,
   by side, through the hands of fate.

The flames from the different candles
    ignite and grow taller,
brighter, and sometimes they become
    one unified flame.

As time continues, the melted
    wax created from the heat merges
 the two candles and the flames
    stay as one.

A breeze blows, threatening the fire’s
     effects. The candles get shorter
 as days pass by, but even when
     the candles are exhausted, many
more sets of candles are
    ignited from their everlasting fire. 

The Smiling Tree 

They said it was true
But I didn’t believe
Until I saw it myself-
The famous Smiling Tree.

Its buds were in bloom,
And the petals smiled at me.
The bright colors were
Certainly a sight to see.

Happy seeds fell on the
 People on their way down.
If they touched the earth,
They turned into a frown.

Seeds took root into the
Visitor’s reborn souls.
People smiled at everyone,
Even those they didn’t know.

The trip to the strange plant
Set my fears and troubles free.
With many seeds set in action,
Smiles spread exponentially.

 Dream Eaters

Silently,  invisible to the naked eyes, they attack, slow at first, like a creeping cold that is just a nuisance,
   then a cough,and a sneeze, or two, or three or four or….the dream eaters have worked their way
   into a person’s life, cloning themselves at incredible rates that rival any viruses that can take over the body.
Just as a cold congests the chest, the dreameaters create problems that are defined in medical terms, and drugs are used at first.
Then attitudes begin to change, and the person is not the same as they used to be.
   The dream eaters are doing their job,depriving the person with the will to see beyond the very next day.
    Friends and family and prized personal possessions are subject to neglect or sale.
    Plants and trees might as well be black or brown instead of green.
     Barking coughs come from deep with the damaged soul.
Eyes fill with water, but do not dare cry.
The dream eaters disperse as the personspeaks, breathes or sneezes, and another person thinks they have a cold.

The Glass Sword

Fight with the glass sword of truth,
  and it will not shatter against
  the steel sword of falsehoods
  forged from deceit and lies.
 
The edge of the crystal sword is so sharp
  it can pierce any surface and cut
  through it like melted butter.

The glass sword will be effective in
  battle only against its enemies,
  and used otherwise it will crumble
  into a million pieces.

I Found Gold in Texas 

When I was just a mere lad
I left the comfort of Cincinnati
for the gold mines of California.
They said it was the place to be.

Somewhere along the twisted trail
a left turn took me to Texas.
The mines in the streams and hills
were exchanged by sand and cactus.

While others searched for golden nuggets,
many suffered  looking in vain, but
here I discovered  Texas is the treasure
where a man can make his name.

I found gold in Texas,
a country with such diversity.
I fell in love with a woman here
who said she would marry me.

I found gold in Texas,
with eight kids in my family,
and each has grown up and
learned to love, God especially.

While others searched for golden nuggets,
many suffered  looking in vain, but
here I discovered  Texas is the treasure
where a man can make his name.

I found gold in Texas,
And ranching and farming made me a man.
I built my own houses and a barn
On my own grub-staked land.

I found gold in Texas,
and someone found some oil
that  was discovered beneath
the God-given crop-making soil.

While others searched for golden nuggets,
many suffered  looking in vain, but
here I discovered  Texas is the treasure
where a man can make his name.

I found gold in Texas.
Treasures were all around me.
I just had to open my eyes
to all the possibilities.

While others searched for golden nuggets,
many suffered  looking in vain, but
here I discovered  Texas is the treasure
where a man can make his name.

I found gold in Texas.

Newsletter for the World of Word by Elias Tobias

  Patty Hall   

Another month has gone by and this new revised version of the World of World is two months old, officially.  In the development of the blog several months before the launch, I continued the program established with the older Web site of the Poem of the Month. This month’s Poem of the Month is “One Woman is Enough for Me”.  The poem was written for Patty, my wife in December, 21, 1995 and revised five days later. We were married July 17, 1993.  Putting up with me is not easy. I can be my own worst enemy.  We still have dinner dates, since both of us are very busy in our jobs. 

This is from the Laredo Morning Times: Patricia J. Hall, project director for Arbor E&T in Laredo, has been named the Women in Business Champion of the Year by the San Antonio District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“This is the time to recognize the most outstanding men and women for their achievements and business success and those who support and champion small business,” stated District Director Pamela Sapia.

A native of Richmond, Ind., Hall has been in Texas since 1993. She has been involved in workforce development for more than 10 years. She began her career as a case manager with what then the Department of Human Services with the Texas Workforce Commission in Brownsville. In January of 2004, Hall was assigned to help get a new director for the Laredo Texas Workforce Center for her employer and was offered the position.

Arbor E&T, the national company Hall works for, has contracts with the South Texas Workforce Development Board to run the workforce center as well as to run childcare services in a three-county area: Jim Hogg, Webb and Zapata. Hall is in charge of both contracts.

Winners will be celebrated at a special luncheon in May in San Antonio.

  Poem of the Month

One woman is enough for me
 

One woman is enough for me.
One woman is enough for me.
Being with another is an impossibility.
My surrender sets me free
One woman is enough for me.

One woman is enough for me.
She’s the pop in my corn,
the honk from my horn
the gee in my whiz, and
the only woman I’ll kiss.

One woman is enough for me.
One woman is enough for me.
Being with another is an impossibility.
My surrender sets me free
One woman is enough for me.

One woman is enough for me.
She’s the tutti in my fruiti,
and the smile in my heart
that will never part.
One woman is enough for me.

One woman is enough for me.
One woman is enough for me.
Being with another is an impossibility.
My surrender sets me free
One woman is enough for me.