My poetry covers many different years and subjects. It
goes from capturing the comical moments in life (ie Over The Table...) to a
deeper look at life's difficulties and the human heart.
Included in this page are a couple of examples from the late 1990's, a very prolific time period for me.
Years 2007-Present
| Dude (2009) | |
| Tomatoes (2008) | |
| Over the Table (2007) | The 12 Days of Christmas - For Cats! (2007) |
| The 12 Days of Christmas - For Dogs! (2007) |
Years 2000-2006
Years 1990-2000
|
|
|
|
Here and there |
It's getting quite dark out And I'm tired too Won't you give me a break And behave now, won't you? |
| With a laugh and a nicker He trots all the faster Going to find places Of much greener pastures |
Under moonlit skies He swishes his tail Never minding the calls Being sung to no avail |
| Oh little Haflinger Please come along now Don't be running all over Into the next town |
His long flaxen mane And beautiful coat I don't care, I don't care He must be part goat |
|
Come along with a carrot |
Just now getting closer Almost touching his halter He turns around quickly And dashes off gladly |
| He may turn around He may even look But he can read you (all) Like a wide open book |
Around and around The farm lands I go Following this dear, sweet pony With nothing to show |
| An ill-behaved pony He plays hard to get Maybe even snatching some grass As he runs on past |
Then an angel appears With some real tasty mints Unwrapping them slowly The Dude does consent |
| Oh pony, oh pony I want to go home I want to go where it is Nice and warm |
As I lead him on home To his stall filled with hay I’m happy to say ‘Tis the end of this day! |
|
2/22/09 |
|
|
We have tomatoes
Just come now quickly
You needn't worry
We have a bumper
Grown with love
8/26/08 |
|
Over
the Table And Through The Tree
Over the table and through the tree
Over the table and through the tree
Down came the tree and the lights and balls
Down came the tree and the lights and balls
12/23/07 |
|
The
Twelve Days Of Christmas - For
Cats! On the first day of Christmas my human gave to me A mouse sitting in a big tree On the second day of Christmas my human gave to me Two scratching posts and a mouse sitting in a big tree On the third day of Christmas my human gave to me Three catnip plants, two scratching posts and a mouse sitting in a big tree On the fourth day of Christmas my human gave to me Four crinkly balls, three catnip plants, two scratching posts and a mouse sitting in a big tree On the fifth day of Christmas my human gave to me Five paper bags Four crinkly balls, three catnip plants, two scratching posts and a mouse sitting in a big tree On the sixth day of Christmas my human gave to me Six birds a chirping, five paper bags, four crinkly balls, three catnip plants, two scratching posts and a mouse sitting in a big tree On the seventh day of Christmas my human gave to me Seven fish a swimming, six birds a chirping, five paper bags, four crinkly balls, three catnip plants, two scratching posts and a mouse sitting in a big tree On the eighth day of Christmas my human gave to me Eight cardboard boxes, seven fish a swimming, six birds a chirping, five paper bags, four crinkly balls, three catnip plants, two scratching posts and a mouse sitting in a big tree On the ninth day of Christmas my human gave to me Nine crickets hopping, eight cardboard boxes, seven fish a swimming, six birds a chirping, five paper bags, four crinkly balls, three catnip plants, two scratching posts and a mouse sitting in a big tree On the tenth day of Christmas my human gave to me Ten voles a-running, nine crickets hopping, eight cardboard boxes, seven fish a swimming, six birds a chirping, five paper bags, four crinkly balls, three catnip plants, two scratching posts and a mouse sitting in a big tree On the eleventh day of Christmas my human gave to me Eleven cans of cat food, ten voles a-running, nine crickets hopping, eight cardboard boxes, seven fish a swimming, six birds a chirping, five paper bags, four crinkly balls, three catnip plants, two scratching posts and a mouse sitting in a big tree On the twelfth day of Christmas my human gave to me Twelve peacock feathers, eleven cans of cat food, ten voles a-running, nine crickets hopping, eight cardboard boxes, seven fish a swimming, six birds a chirping, five paper bags, four crinkly balls, three catnip plants, two scratching posts And a mouse sitting in a big tree ©12/2007 by Kathryn Turyna |
|
The
Twelve Days Of Christmas - For
Dogs! On the first day of Christmas my human gave to me A big round squeaky ball On the second day of Christmas my human gave to me Two pounds of beef and a big round squeaky ball On the third day of Christmas my human gave to me Three tug’em ropes, two pounds of beef, and a big round squeaky ball On the fourth day of Christmas my human gave to me Four dirty socks, three tug’em ropes, two pounds of beef, and a big round squeaky ball On the fifth day of Christmas my human gave to me Five old shoes Four dirty socks, three tug’em ropes, two pounds of beef, and a big round squeaky ball On the sixth day of Christmas my human gave to me Six large bones, five old shoes, four dirty socks, three tug’em ropes, two pounds of beef, and a big round squeaky ball On the seventh day of Christmas my human gave to me Seven cans of dogfood, six large bones, five old shoes, four dirty socks, three tug’em ropes, two pounds of beef, and a big round squeaky ball On the eighth day of Christmas my human gave to me Eight tasty chews, seven cans of dogfood, six large bones, five old shoes, four dirty socks, three tug’em ropes, two pounds of beef, and a big round squeaky ball On the ninth day of Christmas my human gave to me Nine sheep a-running, eight tasty chews, seven cans of dogfood, six large bones, five old shoes, four dirty socks, three tug’em ropes, two pounds of beef, and a big round squeaky ball On the tenth day of Christmas my human gave to me Ten squirrels a-climbing, nine sheep a-running, eight tasty chews, seven cans of dogfood, six large bones, five old shoes, four dirty socks, three tug’em ropes, two pounds of beef, and a big round squeaky ball On the eleventh day of Christmas my human gave to me Eleven birds a-hopping, ten squirrels a-climbing, nine sheep a-running, eight tasty chews, seven cans of dogfood, six large bones, five old shoes, four dirty socks, three tug’em ropes, two pounds of beef, and a big round squeaky ball On the twelfth day of Christmas my human gave to me Twelve deer a-leaping, eleven birds a-hopping, ten squirrels a-climbing, nine sheep a-running, eight tasty chews, seven cans of dogfood, six large bones, five old shoes, four dirty socks, three tug’em ropes, two pounds of beef, and a big round squeaky ball ©12/2007
by Kathryn Turyna
|
Cat leaps with boundless energy
Up towards the fragrant sky
The poem 'Cat' is a celebration of the emergence of Spring.
©2006 Kathryn Turyna
I surrender
I surrender all of my pain
I fall down on my knees before the Lord and
Admit that I can’t do this anymore
My will to fight is gone
This crushing burden is too much
The pushing is done
The fighting is done
I let myself rest after seven long years
To lay at the feet of Jesus
And I pray
That He will help me to stand
once again
But, if that is not His will
Then let me lay here a while and rest
With tears flowing freely
And my soul
Resting in the knowledge that
My God
The Lord Almighty
Will never abandon me
3-3-06
©2006 Kathryn Turyna
And the years melt away
like so many winter storms come spring
My heart beats faster as the warrior’s horse flies
Under the luminescence of the moon
High in the nighttime sky
Amidst the endless grains of sand
Racing off to battle such conflicts which are nameless
And without end
So men have struggled in the same way
Since God’s life giving breath touched upon the Earth
and made man flesh and bones
Oh the cries held aloft
In the history of our becoming
The laughter, the birth, the death
In the silence
The memories become real and tangible
Sweet as the most succulent fruit
Beautiful as the most precious love
Bitter as the tartest wine
We too are not so different
from those who came before us
Whose dry feet tread upon this holy ground
Who lifted up their hands and bowed down their heads
Praying, crying, dancing, singing, living,
and dying
Through the movement of the stars
The rising and setting of the sun
The changing of the seasons
It all is one.
I say I can hear you my sister
I say I can hear you my brother
Go back
Go back to the womb
Remember where it is
That you awakened from
God’s breath upon the earth
And the dust in your hand
Remember, oh dear sister, brother
Remember when
12.5.05
©2005 Kathryn Turyna
"There is beauty and there is death
in every grain of sand. "
The following poem is an excerpt from the French years. It was written about a statue that I saw in Paris.
Who are those eyes staring out at me
Like a blackness waiting for the light
Without soul
Or with too much
Shut away
Kept from the pain
Contemplating where to go
Emptiness
Desolate nature
So many questions
Which will never be asked
Which will never be heard
How long can one sit and wonder
about the fate
of such a soul
Silent
Together
I pause to spend a moment with the gaze whose lips
Held open
Waiting
To give protest
Are stopped
Suddenly
Abandoned by its creator
with the tormented words
Forever frozen in
time
Upon the face
And in the eyes
Of a lost soul
11-17-97
©1999 Kathryn Turyna
Mon bonheur
Mon âme
Mon sourire
Pendant le matin
L’après-mid
Le soir
Mon amour
Tu restes dans mon cœur
Toutes les journée
Tous les soir
Je t’aime
10-8-97
©1999 Kathryn Turyna
Translation: You are my happiness, my soul, my smile; during the morning,the afternnon and the evening; My love, you remain in my heart all of the days and all of the nights; I love you.
The cool jazz melody floats through the air
Mingling with the twisting,
turning
Patterns of smoke
Curling upward
With no particular place to go
In the warm, candlelit room
The old brown and grey stone wall
Is home to brown photographs
Touched with blue and red
A woman in an ankle length
dress
Hands on her hips
Tilting her head as she turns to gaze out at everything
and nothing
Perhaps just a memory
A ghost of days gone by
“Got nothin’ to do
Since I lost you
I just got to be alone”
So sings the jazz musician
Over the brilliant horns
in 12 bar
blues
11-21-96
©1997 Kathryn Turyna
This poem was first
published in 1997
Prayer For Forgiveness of Self-Centeredness
This seems to be
The worst of the worst
But it's not really
so
I am lucky
For all that I have
And I should be thankful
Every day
I am not starving
I am not dying
I'm not out
On the street
I am not desolate
Not down and out
I have a house
And something to eat
I thank you God
For all that I have
And pray for those
Not as lucky as me
10-20-97
Kathryn Turyna