October Morning

beverlyanna

By Beverly Ann Barthel

With familiar thump and urgent meow
Another  day approaches
Cozy  quilt pulled tighter
Veiling  eyes from what lies ahead
Back into my warm, safe and dark cocoon I go

Cradled in warmth …
But only for a moment more…
Meow , I hear again…
The battle of wills proceeds…
The meow is louder  now
I lose  or win
Depends on your perspective
Down goes the quilt
Exposed and cold
Robe in hand
I hasten to look out my Autumn window…
Worshipping trees bow in the wind  to their Maker
Scampering squirrels and  dancing Autumn leaves twirl in delight
And old Mr.Smith, from across the street,
Wearing his  ancient , grey sweater gets his newspaper
Just  as he has done since  the Great Depression back in  1932
The wind blows an old  baseball cap down the street
And the mystical  out door cat appears on my sill
Suddenly my heart feels warm again.
My…

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Beyond the SIlence

beverlyanna

Beyond the Silence

By Beverlyanna Barthel

In the very early hours

Before the break of day

When all is still and silent
Just before the sun pushes  moon away
I see you standing tall  and straight
Dazzling in the light

Beyond the silence …

I hear your voice in whispers
Deep within my heart
Your message is so clear

A dream, a thought,  a memory

Reality or fantasy
I never seem to know

But in the very early hours
Before the break of day
Beyond the silence is…
A place I long to go.  ❤

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It’s Time

beverlyanna

It’s Time
By Beverlyanna
Another glorious Autumn  has bid farewell
Each golden leaf has danced its final dance in the wind
They have  twirled joyfully in the sunshine
And sparkled  and glistened with the cool and  chilly rain
Now content, they have found their  final resting place .
Some lie sleeping peacefully  under a blanket of snow
Others piled up in stashes along the city streets
The trees look  sad  and lonely now
Their branches  empty

They seem to miss their friends … the leaves.
Halloween costumes are tucked away in the shadows of closets and drawers
Content to wait till next year.

Thanksgiving wreaths and turkeys make room for Christmas wreaths and holly
Perfect pumpkins  adorning porches
Have a more important role to play

Food for hungry  crtters now

It’s time.
When Autumn bids farewell
The world once  warm and gold will now turn  cold and white
Time keeps moving on

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Autumn in a Jar

beverlyanna

By Beverly Anna

I wish I could keep Autumn in a jar
I’d store leaves, and pumpkins, , apples and grapes, along with golden memories  in there.
The fragrace alone would clear away the blues
It’s magic spell would transform any day at my will
I’d take it out on sad days
Open the jar slowly and…Watch golden  memories  of days gone by  slip out one  by one and dance in the air disguised as leaves
I’d collect them again, caress each one and gently put  them  back in the  jar for another day
I’d take my Autumn jar out on sweltering hot and humid  days
Open the lid  and feel the cool air  touch my face and evaporate the sweat from my brow
It would blow away all the  heavy cobwebs weighing down  my soul
Oh, to have an Autumn jar…
Maybe more than one
A collection perhaps…
I’d…

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Dream Parodox

beverlyanna

By Beverly Anna

I had a strange dream last night
I was perched in the balcony of an old fashioned movie theater

I felt strange, like I didn’t belong amid those faceless people

Parodoxically, I could see myself on that filmy screen wearning my long, white, winter nightgown

Like an old time movie …everything was black and white with shades of grey
It seems , I was the main character..
Actually, the only character on screen, but one of many faceless people in the audience
I was starring in my own late night movie
Me watching me.
In the scene , I heard a strange whisper calling to me
I floated down the hall
As if by magic, I was standing before a large window

I could see far and wide
Everything out there was covered with a clean, white blanket of snow
An old shovel was perched against a…

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The Story of Niagara’s early Italian-American culinary traditions

The Journal of the Dead Beats Society

Mama D’Avolio from Macri’s Italian Grille

If you are interested in a history of Niagara’s early Italian culinary traditions, then this is the book for you! Written and compiled by The Italian Research Group at the Lewiston Public Library this is the story of your favorite restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, pizzerias and so much more.

Buon Appetito is now available at the following website:

https://www.createspace.com/4863658

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Regular Days

beverlyanna

By Beverlyanna

Regular days are like the air we breathe
or the Sun that rises every single morning
We just don’t seem to notice… that is, till they’re gone…
We hustle and bustle with our plans for the day
Taking for granted… that air and that sun… that mundane routine
Until that one day when time seems to stop
And everything changes
Suddenly the struggle for that regular day becomes a daily battle
Air is heavy and the sunlight hides behind heavy, dark cloud

Regular days are precious
They fashion one’s life with
A golden thread of gentle moments and normal routines woven together
They create the tapestry of life
Once broken, the thread takes time to mend
It is a difficult task to reconnect the severed threads together again.

I long for those regular days now vanished… forever
Those early morning yawns with my husband , sharing breakfast, making…

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