Time

Down the road , around the bend

Lived a man who was my friend...

He had no wife or other kin,

how lonely this man must have been!

A squeaky porch swing where he sat

swayed back and forth as he stroked

his cat.

Each day I’d pass and wave and

smile, but had no time to stay a while.

Important duties beckoned me,

I had things to do and people to see. 

“I’ll visit soon,” I called to my friend

 As on I hurried ‘round the bend.

"I’ll surely do it,”  I averred,

I’ll stop and visit – keep my word!

We’ll  talk and laugh and have a drink

It’s nice to have a friend, I think.

But Time waits for no one – it hurries past

and promises made seldom last.

The news came early via phone

My friend had died – all alone.

my heart beat faster when I heard

“If only I had kept my word.”

And now, I visit where he sat, swing

back and forth and stroke his cat.

   ©2016 Peggy Toney Horton~

www.amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton

Walking Away

I watch him walk away, my
heart breaking at the thought of
losing him. Setting pride aside, I...
beg him to stay, thrusting my arms
around him - feeling unbearable
pain when he coldly removes them.
“It’s better this way,” he says..
“Please! You’re tearing my heart out,”
I plead tearfully – as the door closes
behind him.

Will it Always Be This Way?

                                             

       Of these cold and rainy May days, I’ve grown weary; though
      I shout the words out loud, seems no one hears me?

I’m sure God made the sun – to make our days a lot more fun,
yet they're so dreary!

Expecting sunshine, I arise – none finds its way into my eyes,
I’m disappointed.

To entertain myself, I try - tiresome season, go on by,
I shall ignore you.

I scale a mountain high and wide and look upon the other side –
it is no greener.

Am l to always feel this bad - or will a new day make me glad;
will there be sunbeams?

Will it always be this dour? Or can it change within the hour –
from sad to joyful?

And then, upon a gentle wind the answers come ‘a floating in
ah, sweet surprises!

A sudden floral smell delights, and things begin to feel alright
the birds are singing..

Their days are short and mine are long - how lovely they fill theirs with song while I’m complaining.

©2016 Peggy Toney Horton~

You Thought Wrong

It was always a love-hate relationship. Burning hot or icy cold. Nothing in between. You came. You saw. You conquered. (You thought!). But she was always wise to your shenanigans; you didn’t fool her.

Oh, she loved you all right. From the moment she first saw you. When you smiled that movie star smile and winked at her – she was yours. But when she discovered how you played the game, she changed her game-plan, too.

There was no honesty in the relationship. You were too afraid of being hurt.

Hold back, you told yourself. Don’t give everything you have. Let her act first. If anyone is hurt, it should be her – not you! After all, with your charm and good looks, you won’t have any trouble getting another girl to fall for you just the way she did. It’ll be easy.

But what you didn’t count on was her heart hardening toward you and yours softening toward her. You didn’t expect the tables to turn. It seems the longer you withheld your true feelings, the less she needed them--and finally, she didn’t even want them! Or you.

You always thought you were the heartbreaker. How shocking it was to find that your heart is breakable, too.

Hurts, doesn’t it?

The Box!

It’s here!

Yep, the box that arrives every year about this time was delivered to my door this morning – a day early!

And now I have a decision to make: I can either go ahead and open it or bite my lip and wait until tomorrow, which is what daughter, Toney, always tells me I should do.

She used to send the box at least a week early. It tormented me having that mysterious package in my house for days without knowing what was in it. I tried putting it in a room where I didn’t see it without purposely going into that room, but I knew it was there (it seemed to be calling my name), so that’s exactly what I did – visited that room on purpose! I’d hold the package and shake it and try to figure out what was in it and then, when I couldn’t stand it any longer, I’d rip it open.

I didn’t tell her and hoped she wouldn’t ask, but she always did and I couldn’t lie to her. So... she started outsmarting me by sending them closer to my birthday!

Party pooper!

The package I got this morning has me stumped. I carried it around, shook it, smelled it and listened to it, but don’t have a clue what’s in it. It’s heavy. I’m certain she wouldn’t have bought me an iron or a pair of dumbbells. I already have both. Hmmmmm.... what could it be?

One thing for sure – these boxes from her are always interesting. She has a real imagination when it comes to gift-buying. Wish I had it. I tend to buy one thing, usually something the receiver tells me he or she would like to have. No surprises from me. But Toney buys something you’ve mentioned plus a lot of little surprises. Makes it so much fun to open her gifts – and that’s why it’s so hard to wait!!!
Will I or won’t I?  

Let you know tomorrow. 

www.amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton 

Spring Already?

It was a lovely morning!

When I stepped out the front door of my house for the first time in about three weeks, I couldn’t believe it. Without turning my head too far, I could see two dogwood trees in full bloom, one white and one pink, a large ornamental pear tree covered with white blossoms, a portly forsythia bush loaded with golden blooms, two purple tulips – all I have left from years of neglect, and a large rhododendron bush – heavy with buds. The sunny day was warm and breezy, the sky blue.

“It’s spring!” I told Mr. H.

“It sure is,” he said. “Has been for a while. You almost missed it.”

We drove to my doctor’s office, about a mile away, so I could “give blood” and were back in less than an hour.

Out of the car I bounced, feeling good... enjoying the day... and headed into the house. Inside, as I put my purse down on the floor, I saw something move. Looking closer, I saw a stinkbug that had apparently hitched a ride on my purse. Mr. H. grabbed the intruder and threw him back outside and I said, “Now you see why I like cold weather better.”

Those of you who know me, even slightly, know that I prefer winter over summer. The stinkbug reminded me of some of the reasons: bugs, lizards, snakes, flies, gnats; hot, sticky weather; thunderstorms that uproot trees and cause damage to property; allergies and sunburn and freckles, leathery skin and much more!

Give me the freshness of fall and winter any day. 

I don’t care who disagrees with me or yells at me when I say I love snow. I don’t care how many Christmas cards I get from friends who live in Florida with pictures of palm trees blowing in the breeze or how many jokes they post on Facebook about how they prefer looking at pictures of our 18” snowfall while sitting by their swimming pool sipping piña coladas. I’d rather curl up in front of a roaring fire, sip hot chocolate and watch a good movie.

Unfortunately for me, hot weather started unusually early this year. It’s already been in the 80’s several times. I’m not ready, but guess I have no choice but to take it as it comes. However, I’ll be spending most of my time inside an air conditioned house until, oh... about mid-August when the hint of fall starts to permeate the air and one can go outside without feeling breathless or sticky.

The good news is – time flies and it’ll be here before we know it.

www.amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton

The Best Days of All

 

“I’ve got the ‘don’t-cares’ today.”

As a child, I was never quite sure what my mother meant when she said that, but later in life, I figured it out. Actually, it didn’t take much figuring. I experienced the “don’t-cares” myself.

Although it seems counterintuitive, the “don’t-cares” is not a particularly happy state of mind. Even as a child, I knew that one must feel a sense of accomplishment to be in high spirits. But I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth – understand it or not – I liked it.

When my mother announced she had the “don’t cares,” I’d giggle and say to myself, Oh, goodie! No work today!

She’d lounge around reading, drinking coffee and doing as she pleased until time to cook dinner. She loved cooking and always cooked, no matter what. Unfortunately, she didn’t pass that love on to me. Everyone knows I’d rather be featured on My Strange Addiction than cook a meal.

When she had one of those days, I’d lie across my bed and talk to my friend, Carol, on the phone. If the weather was nice, we’d meet halfway and take one of the long walks we so enjoyed.

Those were the best days of all.

Nowadays, when I wake up with the “don’t cares,” I smile and remember my mother – the best of her: her smile, her contagious laughter, the way she sang as she did her housework and her sometimes humorous efforts to teach me right from wrong.

And I recall the fun things Carol and I did growing up on the same street in a small town: the walks, the giggles, breaking the rules by riding our bicycles farther than we were allowed, the carnival, double-feature movies on Saturday afternoons. And so much more!

Beautiful memories are the glue that holds life together – even if they are sometimes inspired by the “don’t cares.”  

www.amazon.com/author/peggytoneyhorton