JWG's Grand Hodgepodge — Saying "No!" & A Icon (2 poems)

47. Saying “No!”

Saying “No!”
Is the hardest thing I have ever done.
Yes, I was foolish.

“Would you do this, please?”
Someone would ask me and I would say, “Yes!”
Without thinking “what” or “why”.

Where was Jiminy Cricket?
Needless to say, I got into trouble.
My candle was burning down too fast.

Before I was burnt out, I was scared.
The realization that Life could end,
And I was facing Death, saved me from myself.

I am not even tempted,
These days, to poison my mind and body
With chemicals I used to prefer.

With Friends by my side,
The bottom of my barrel was not deep;
It was dark, dank, and smelly.

Life is Good
When one melds two little words (yes and no)
Into a “Maybe.”

48. An Icon

An Icon,
Elizabeth Taylor has breathed her last.
Her image remains.

Her whispering voice
Was heard by all who listened to reason
And by those who tried not to.

Her no-nonsense attitude
Bequeathed to us all a feeling of strength.
Few People will be as remembered.

Working as an actress in movies.
Marrying more than a handful of men.
Humanity was her ultimate lifeline.

Many were jealous of her.
It was easy to feel her radiance
Whenever I was in her presence.

To those who critique
Another’s willingness for compassion:
Prove yourself to be better.

Life is stilled.
An aura continues to grow and stretch
Into the Heavens.