Before we send human beings
to fly around the moon,
travel into deep space,
test the ship’s navigation systems
with 4 live humans on board,
“pave the way for lunar habitation
and people exploring the resources of Mars”,
how about we put money into
saving THIS stunningly beautiful planet
with the thin layer of ozone that supports
ALL LIFE?
how about we stop dumping plastic into the oceans,
stop destroying the life-sustaining rainforest,
put an end to poaching and senseless killing of ourselves?
That seems more important to me.
cfblack, 4-1-26
will return to this later & rewrite & finish
March 22, 2026Each will follow their own heart,
will walk their own path,
will live through the hurt, pain, and anguish
this life sends their way,
will climb mountains to the top,
take a look around,
see the beauty that surrounds them,
find their way back down.
There is nothing we can do
but give them all our love,
help them through their choices,
ask blessings from above.
From the two of us,
came twelve new souls,
We came from our ancestors,
their stories are our own,
Each grandchild is unique and walks the path they choose,
but we are all connected
First light
March 13, 2026I love seeing the first light of dawn,
streetlights still on,
the light on horizon rosy and pink,
before people rise, and even think
to let their dogs out to bark at me,
The chorus of birds so loud, you are sure
it will wake people out of their beds,
I turn on my app, and in 2 minutes flat
record a dozen songs,
a barred owl hoot, blue jay screach,
Carolina wren, chickadee,
white-throated sparrow, American crow,
Mockingbird, Northern cardinal,
all here with me, before it’s light,
before the sun is bright,
All these friends sing their songs to me,
All these keep me company.
cfblack, 3-13-26
The U.S. Steel Tower
March 11, 2026I watched a drone video of Pittsburgh
sent by my daughter-in-law,
It shows a city set in the mountains,
No matter where you go in Pittsburgh,
you’re going to walk either UP, OR, DOWN,
There is no in between.
And then I saw it, the “U.S. Steel Tower”,
“841 feet tall”,
“Pittsburgh’s tallest skyscaper,”
— and I thought, “That’s how far you fell.”
I am one who wants to KNOW,
I want to KNOW what happened,
If I ever have cancer, I want to KNOW,
If I am dying, don’t hide it from me,
I think from the time my father died,
if I think it through, and know the worst,
then anything else is up from there.
I have tried to FIND a building
as high as you were,
when you pulled your reserve,
how long did you have in freefall?
did you even have time to know?
These are the things I think about,
but, the most important message IS,
I know you fell into the arms of God,
I know you never suffered,
I know your spirit is close,
and this is where my thoughts should be.
Your message to me, after your passing,
was always, “Mom, be happy for me!
Be happy, I am HAPPY, I am where I should be!
Make others happy — Be happy for me.”
cfblack, 3-11-26
as time goes on
March 8, 2026As time goes on, it gets harder, not easier.
Easier than that first day, when
shockwaves went through the family,
Harder for minutes, hours, days,
weeks, now months without you
at family gatherings, holidays,
conversations on Star Trek shows,
movies you’d love, but will never see,
birthdays, anniversaries,
without your cards, your thoughtful gifts,
you always sent, on time.
I forget birthdays all the time,
have no idea what to send,
My gifts come late — but not ones from you,
I don’t know how you did it.
You told me once, you had a dream,
You saw Him as the brightest Light,
“My dear one, this is not for you,”
he said to you, of marriage.
You told me once, “I don’t think
I’ll ever be — a Grandma.”
I said, “Of course you will!
It could happen now,
or next year — anytime!”
You looked at me, knowingly,
turned away, walked silently,
We walked some more, you told me
how you memorized prayers.
“Think of a place that you know,
take a walk around it,
drop lines of a prayer here, there,
in your memory.”
In the hospital in 2020,
you floated in and out of pain,
in and out of reality,
in and out of worlds.
You asked us all to help you say
your obligatory prayer,
you spoke of seeing light fragments,
hearts and stars of paradise
all lit up with ribbon and light,
— in God’s eternity.
It seems you lived your life here
in the fullest possible way,
you learned acceptance, patience, love,
you lived your life to the best,
We miss you more as time goes on,
please forgive my tears,
pray for us as we pray for you
and continue through these years.
cfblack, 3-8-26
For my daughter
February 27, 2026It is when I listen
to soulful music,
or open my heart in prayer,
I feel you,
I see you,
and know you are there,
your penetrating gaze,
your honesty,
your deeply blue eyes,
your thoughtful gifts,
your refusal to criticize any soul,
when they had 9 bad qualities,
you’d find the one good,
your love of your boys,
watchful care of your dogs,
your love of Tolkien
and the color blue,
your fierce independence,
your ability
to turn difficulty into opportunity,
your great big loud and joyful laugh,
your love of movies, and of the SKY,
My heart breaks again and again,
and I so miss you, till this life ends,
There’s a veil between us,
and though it is thin,
it keeps us apart
until we join again,
so I thank God for you,
on this rainy day,
and ask you not to go far away,
I go forward in your honor,
do things in your name,
I miss you, my loved one,
till I see you again.
Love,
your mom
cfblack, 2-28-26
(our last time with her, her 48th birthday, 2 weeks before she passed)
Aging
February 21, 2026We all grow older, every day,
our bodies tell us in every way,
We are spirits, having a human time,
which one day comes to an end.
We are old enough to know many souls
who have stepped beyond the veil,
Father, Mother, Brother, Daughter,
Grandparents, many friends,
We all traverse this journey,
we all walk this winding path,
we all come to terms with aging,
and it goes by very fast!
Best we can do is prolong our stay,
Eat healthy, take walks, keep sickness away,
Take vitamins, pills, see doctors, rest,
but also care for that spirit, because,
in the end, IT IS what’s left.
Love your neighbor, visit friends,
Take time to pause, meditate,
Get rid of stuff that you don’t need,
Plant flowers, take time to breathe,
Talk with those who left you here,
You will see them again, they are very near,
They pray for us as we pray for them,
Those worlds are “closer than our life vein”,
Work for peace, paint, dance!
Spread LOVE EVERYWHERE, as best you can.
cfblack, 2-21-26
Life does not promise you peace
January 24, 2026This picture. Inspired this poem.
Life does not promise to bring you peace,
it is not what you expect, or prepare for,
You do not control your Destiny,
You only control your own reaction
to all that is hurled at you.
Even the planets were created
by bits and pieces of rock, in space,
bombarding into each other,
until the masses they created
pulled together by gravity,
pulled them toward the center
and created a sphere,
When life throws rocks at you,
you can react
with anger, fear, sadness,
or Love,
a love so powerful that nothing tears it down,
and you remain centered,
calm
secure
at peace.
“Where there is hatred, sow love,
where there is injury, pardon,
where despair, sow hope,
where there is sadness, joy,”1
“When they poison your lives,
sweeten their souls,
Become ye a center of attraction,
Think ye at all times of rendering some service
to every member of the human race,
Be ye sincerely
KIND.” 2
1 prayer of St. Francis of Assissi
2 quote from the Baha’i writings
Morning comes
January 6, 2026Morning comes,
with its glint of light,
with its “begin again”, ever hopeful,
sense the powers within you,
behind you,
what brought you here,
what takes you forward,
Night is darkest before the dawn,
a buzzing tension in the air,
then light appears,
in all its glory.
Be a candle, be a light,
in total darkness, be a tiny flame.
It means everything.
cfblack, 1-6-26
Doctor Grandma 