The Fountain October 28, 2010
Posted by tobthebat in Poetry.Tags: fountain, Lemon Creek, Manhattan, Neptune, New York City, Snug Harbor, staten island, the met, times square, world trade center
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The summer of 2001 was a season filled with wonder and discovery for me. My visits to New York City to see Trish often carried us into Manhattan where she would show me all the sights she knew so well. The Met, Central Park, Times Square, Broadway, Les Miserables and of course, The World Trade Center. I have always given thanks that I was able to behold the WTC in all its magnificent glory before it befell its horrible fate. Their height was majestic, and their simple, clean lines made them elegant icons of the Manhattan skyline. They were the prominent sight from the ferry, and they served as a compass because they could be seen from virtually anywhere on the island.
While Manhattan is a treasure trove of sights and experiences, laden with museums and parks so varied that it can be hard to conceive that you’re still in the same city, it was always the places on Staten Island that Trish visited with such relish and charm. Obviously the street where she grew up held many memories, but places like Lemon Creek always brought that air of simple happiness.
The one place that stood out from all the others on Staten Island was Snug Harbor. Here was a place rich with history where every wall and corner had a story to tell. While the buildings and Great Hall were works of art in their own right, the surrounding gardens and stands of flowers transported you to a place of serenity amid a bustling island of 400,000 people. In honor of the sailors who used to reside there, a fountain adorns the front lawn, and at its center, a statue of the mighty sea-god Neptune stands watch over this haven for those who lived their lives for the ocean.
This fountain always touched me for some reason I cannot explain, and at the end of our long days of hiking about town, we would lie down together and I would ramble on in awe of all I had tried to soak in that day. These thoughts would swirl together with words of whimsical romance as we faded off to sleep.
These times we spent together were the source of inspiration for many poems I composed for her over the next two years. The fountain at Snug Harbor still holds its touch of magic, and our wedding reception was held in the hall nearby, but this poem I wrote the day after we saw the fountain that first time.
“Fountain of Love”
The fountain in the park
Is a beautiful thing to see
Forever renewing yet still the same
Like the love between you and me
Water shooting ever skyward
Sparkling in the bright sunlight
Raining into the pool below
Reflecting the moon and stars at night
Seasons come and seasons go
Even through the winter chill
When the fountain becomes a sculpture of ice
Waiting patiently while still
The waters’ never ending cycle
Defines the love I feel inside
A tiny cupful says “I love you”
But the whole fountain cannot hide
Let all the world see this love of mine
As we drink our daily part
A lifetime of cups cannot run dry
This fountain of our hearts
The shimmering water and the artistic stone
Show what two things together can be
Completing each other like a thing of wonder
Such is this love with you and me.
© Timmy Green – 7/12/2001
Colors of my Heart October 26, 2010
Posted by tobthebat in Poetry.Tags: art, artist, brush strokes, canvas, colors, heart, mural, photography, quilting
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The world looks different through the eyes of an artist. Then again, we all are artists in our own ways, as we each possess a talent in how we express ourselves. The process usually begins at a young age, no matter if its crayons and paper, or those who make all the world a stage. Those who may be less extroverted may turn to the written word and eventually put pen to paper, while others find a niche amidst almost countless different kinds of mediums.
The world around us is a showcase of awesome beauty, and our minds hold onto the images that stir our souls. Artists have labored for centuries to reproduce the wonders they have beheld, and their attempts to capture the Hand of God at work have inspired countless others to try as well.
We all have the ability to visualize things in our minds, and how each of us attempts to communicate what we see is as individual as our own fingerprints. I began taking art classes in 8th grade and continued all through high school, so I got exposure to many different forms of art. While I was an avid user of pencils and markers in my younger years, lately I have been more involved in the expression of words to create mental images. The automotive art encompasses a wide array of talents, all of which are sources of joy to me, but alas, I am the master of none of those skills.
In contrast, my wife holds a degree in art, with her main focus on photography. Her knowledge of the Masters stretches far beyond my own, but her talent for capturing an image through her camera never ceases to amaze me. Her mind is constantly juggling the effect of colors and shapes, and she finds expression for this through her quilting. The stitching together of carefully selected textures and hues is tedious and time-consuming, but the labor of love carries that passion of her “inner artist” along with every length of thread.
Trish has constantly found ways to help me see the world from her perspective, and she has encouraged me to express myself in many forms so that she might better understand me. It has been a journey of discovery for us both, and one that has greatly enriched our lives.
Inspired by the “rteest” that loves me so well, I composed this poem.
“Colors of My Heart”
Life can be like paintings
Some bright and some dark
Some bursting with vibrant pigments
Some so empty and painfully stark
The canvas begins clean and blank
As we learn through our early years
Our brushes find the swirl of colorful smiles
And the blotches from the stain of tears
Our feelings paint the things all around us
Like the cheerful flowers in bloom
The spring rains and the winter snows
Even the long nights full of gloom
Some of us labor long and hard
As we strive to teach children of our own
Sometimes neglecting the canvas of ourselves
Until we’re sure they’ve matured and grown
But nothing is more somber
Than the artist who paints all alone
For their palette of emotion slowly turns gray
No other eyes to see, or smile to show
Then like a radiant angel
Into the studio of my life you came
With caressing brush strokes you worked such magic
My canvas of happiness has never looked the same
Through tears of joy I asked how you found me
Gently you replied that you knew me from the start
And painting the mural of love was simple
Because you used the colors of my heart
© Timmy Green – 5/4/2001
Amazed October 26, 2010
Posted by tobthebat in Poetry.Tags: emotion, heart, joy, love, moon, poetry, sunlight, Valentines day
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Each year I try to compose a poem for Valentine’s Day, because when you feel the emotion between you it can carry on for the whole year. That sentiment is expressed for many holidays, and while each of them carries a significance of their own, Valentine’s Day is a personal expression of love. This is the cornerstone of our lives, the rock we always fall back on, and when it is absent there is darkness, but a whisper, a touch, or a token of emotion can be more powerful than we can imagine, and brighter than sunlight.
This poem I composed for Trish on Valentine’s Day 2007, and I hope to compose many more in our years to come.
“Amazed”
Sometimes I stand amazed
When I think of our time together
So many things that could have failed
So many tests we had to weather
What’s even more amazing
Is that I barely remember the things
That could’ve broken or torn us apart
Because you gave my heart its wings
There are pitfalls and roadblocks behind us
And more ahead to be sure
So long as my heart beats with yours
I know we can always endure
This day we celebrate our love once more
Yet I could do that all the while
There is no sunrise or glowing moon
That means as much as your smile
There is no distance to keep us apart
No walls of fire or ice
When I count the blessings of joy in my life
I always count you twice.
© Timmy Green – 2/14/2007
“Bottled Sunshine” October 15, 2010
Posted by tobthebat in Poetry.Tags: anniversary, honey moon, love, marriage, poetry, vacation
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Some say after the first year of marriage that “the honeymoon is over,” but I find it encouraging that Trish and I have kept our fire burning much farther than that time frame. Maybe our yearly vacations that serve as our anniversary gifts to each other, and we often refer to them as “honeymoons” have helped, but its also a good sign when you continue to be inspired to write wonderful things about your better half.
I wrote this poem for our six year anniversary, and even though the spring of 2011 will mark 9 years together, I continue to find the emotion to write about our life together.
“Bottled Sunshine”
For six wonderful years
I have tried to find a way
To describe all the things I feel
When I’m with you each day
The world all around me
So often speaks to me of you
From sunrise on the river’s bank
To birds soaring in the sky so blue
I feel the inspiration
For the arts you love so well
But your bright smile and tender touch
Are more beautiful than I can tell
You have shed such vibrant light
Both in my heart and in my mind
That it fills my soul to overflowing
As if you were pouring bottled sunshine
You have spilled this light in darkened places
That I had kept away deep inside
So generously you’ve flooded old wounds
Until the pain no longer resides
Just as the sun gives life to things that grow
The light you give shines on me
When we met I was a broken shrub
But now I feel like a mighty tree
My world revolves around her
In everything I see and hear
Beside her may I forever be
This woman I love so dear.
© Timmy Green – 4/27/2008
“Heart on Wheels” October 10, 2010
Posted by tobthebat in Car Guy Thoughts, Poetry.Tags: Arch of Triumph, Bat-Taxi, distance, Dodge, Intrepid, love, staten island
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This is a poem that represents a defining moment. Once it was clear to me that traveling to New York on a regular basis was part of my future, I purchased a car that was up to the task. My 1995 Dodge Intrepid and I became fast friends, and he was a tireless chariot that carried me there each month. You can read more in depth info about the numerous trips and the history of the Bat-Taxi in another blog post on this site entitled “Eulogy for a Friend.”
I would finish the 12-8 shift on Friday morning, which began my one weekend off a month. I would grab a nap until that afternoon, have dinner with my son, get myself packed, and generally be on the road by 10 or 11pm. The overnight drive had the advantage of light traffic, and I could usually make it to Staten Island by 6am.
The poem mentions the “Arch of Triumph” and the “bridge marking lights” which were indicators that I had once again reached my destination. Anyone who has traveled north on the Jersey Turnpike at night has probably seen the lights that outline the Goethals Bridge as you reach exit 13. Seeing those lights in the distance was akin to a finish line at the end of the home stretch, and after leaving the speed of the turnpike, the actual crossing of the bridge with its lacework of steel girders was a welcoming sight.
As our relationship grew, Trish would ask me about what it meant to be a car guy. I suppose it was an effort to get to know me better, and since she was already enjoying the poetry, she encouraged me to write about it. This poem represents my first effort to capture in words the mythical relationship of man and his machine. It also showcases how strong emotional forces motivate us to use those machines for a higher purpose.
The distance between us at that time could have been a deal-breaker for many other people, but a love-struck car guy races ahead where others might hesitate. Miles are just another number, and exactly how many I rolled up in the two years before we got married I truly dont know, but whatever that number might be, it was well worth the reward.
This poem also graced our wedding program as a fitting tribute to the odds we overcame, and the means that brought us together so many times.
“Heart on Wheels”
In the dark of night
The headlights brightly shine
The wheels steady rolling
Following this heart of mine
The roads are no stranger
You see we’ve done this before
But we’re never ready to stop
Til we’re parked at her door
It’s a run we look forward to
The “taxi” and I
But it’s never as much fun
When we have to say goodbye
So when we get to go back
We eagerly await
To make familiar scenery fly by
Along the asphalt so straight
‘Til we reach the long turnpike
Like a greyhound we take flight
And run without tiring
Aiming for the bridge marking lights
It feels like the Arch of Triumph
As we cross over to your Island home
I want to wave the checkered flag
To let everybody know
That once again we’ve run the course
To see my love in this chariot of steel
I’ll not let this distance keep us apart
As long as my heart has wheels.
© Timmy Green – 10/12/2000
All of My Heart October 9, 2010
Posted by tobthebat in Poetry.Tags: dreams, heart, joys, travel
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This is one of my very first poems to Trish, a bit of free verse, and written after we had seen each other for the second time. I drove to Staten Island to pick her up and bring her back to Virginia for my family’s Fourth of July cookout. This was the first of my many treks to New York over the next two years.
When I think of you
It means so much
So many things
How much would I give?
To make you happy
To see you smile
To hear you laugh
All of my heart
How long would I labor
For joys such as these
How far would I travel?
To be by your side
How long would I wait
To feel your touch again
What would it take?
All of my heart
What greater gift can I give?
Or hope to receive
Then I know dreams come true
One cannot give
What already belongs
For my heart is yours
And that makes you
All of my heart
© Timmy Green 7/6/2000
Click of the Mouse October 1, 2010
Posted by tobthebat in Poetry.Tags: delete, email, mouse
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More poetry from our long distance romance. We met online, which was a new thing back then and I wrote this to her about the experience.
“Click of the Mouse”
A click of the mouse
A face on the screen
Reaching out to people
That I’ve never seen
I scroll through their words
That many throw up like a shroud
You can hear the loss and bitterness
Between accomplishments so proud
So many amazing feats
They seem to do each day
Can they really do all these things?
Or is it fighting pain and dismay?
Honesty is the best policy
I believe the old saying goes
So I held my breath and wrote the truth
Then waited to see what would show
Some that responded seemed nice enough
Some were very sweet
Others were boastful, almost tainted with anger
For those I’d simply click “delete”
Then came a fateful e-mail
From a tender soul far away
On her keyboard by the window she typed
The words her heart had to say
Warmed by her openness and humor
I could not help but respond
The baby steps of our new lives began
That we had waited for so long
Finally on the phone we connected
To give voice to the words we had shared
Each call made our hearts beat stronger
Like none we could ever compare
At last we met face to face
Fear and doubt flew away like birds
Such joy we found in each others arms
Could scarcely be described with words
A click of the mouse
A beat of the heart
An answer to a prayer
What a great place to start
And so my life found happiness
The kind I only dreamed of
This hopeful heart of yours
Has given mine true love
© Timmy Green 9/1/2001
The Quilt of Life September 30, 2010
Posted by tobthebat in Poetry.Tags: quilt
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In honor of my wife’s love of the art of quilting, I wrote this poem for her in 2001.
“The Quilt of life”
Pieces of fabric placed together
Sewn with threads of love
Many colors, many patterns
Stitched from below and above
Both of us cut the shapes
To find the good in what we have
Then carefully fit them beside each other
As we trim away what’s bad
With precious time we sew the edges
Til an image meets our sight
And we find the proper corners
For our darkness and our light
So the fabrics of our days
Grow from tiny blocks to a spread
Until our quilt of love
Covers the entire bed
The years will go by
As new blocks will reflect
Constant caring and kindness
Never a stitch of neglect
So the quilt blossoms
Til the day our children see
An heirloom of beauty
That shows how true love should be
All the fabrics and colors
Tell of our joys and our strife
But every seam bears the thread of our hearts
That binds the quilt of life
© Timmy Green – 9 / 1/ 2001
“Love’s Bridge” September 27, 2010
Posted by tobthebat in Poetry.1 comment so far
I decided I would start sharing some of the poetry I have written to my wife over the past ten years. I had never written poetry before I met her, so she gets all the credit for the inspiration. She often refers to these poems as “her words,” and that would be an accurate description.
Our two years of long distance relationship between Virginia and Staten Island was filled with emails, letters and phone calls, as well as many miles in monthly visits.
As I recall, this was one of the first poems I wrote for her, and it was part of our wedding day program.
“Love’s Bridge”
My angel on the Earth
On her island far away
Yet her love still reaches me
Her whispers to me say,
“My Love, My World”
Within my heart they echo
As I send them back to her
Each time more passionate as they go
The words work wonders
As if they labor with might
To carry cables of dreams and girders of spirit
Time and again, day and night
Until they raise a bridge
Stronger than any span
A bridge of love between us
For this woman and this man
Loneliness and sorrow shall find no passage there
Cast pain to the sea as feet take wings
To be together without a care
The warm embrace, the tender kiss
The joy of you that lights my way
The love that built a bridge between our hearts
A bridge that’s built to stay
© Timmy Green – 7/2/2000
