BARBARA EHRENTREU

BARBARA EHRENTREU

RESPECT IS A GIVEN

Who am i

what is inside of me — that intangible part

is what you see

and because I occupy this space

I have the right to be here and be me

I don’t need to do anything but be

The simple act of this is enough

for you to respect and honor my presence

as I am unique and spread the aura of myself

As you should be honored for who you are

the special glow of your sweet life

should be all one needs to revere you

The flowers of your accomplishments

are not needed for this accolade

Respect is a given

and it brings its own baggage

You feel its power as it showers you

with a feeling of peace

Who you are is being accepted and revered

You are the shining light of the moment

You don’t need any tangible evidence —

only the knowledge you are safe,

secure in the moment

Life doesn’t always bring this experience

raining down on you with the despair

of disrespect and the betrayal as you

struggle with the desperate feelings

encountered when respect is gone

Shame and contempt are its disreputable bedfellows

as disrespect slinks around and slimes you

into a feeling of powerlessness

As bright and sweet as the fragrance of respect,

disrespect carries a vile and odorous existence

which seeps into your very core and lingers

creating a sad countenance for all who are

in its throes

You will know respect for its kindness and care of you

It will lift you up and sweep away the remnants of disrespect

But sadly, some distrust may live in pockets

until respect brushes them away with its concern

and once again you can stand in the delightful presence

of your own happy existence

Copyright 2018 by Barbara Ehrentreu

AUTUMN ’S CANVAS REVISITED

Autumn came to stay

Weeks before it made

a short visit — leaving it’s suitcase

full of crimson and gold to paint

the leaves behind in summer’s coat tails

It left when the winds

grew warmer and days were

sunny and summerlike

Yesterday it returned

carrying its timeworn luggage

and settled in the foliage

depositing hues mixed together

by nimble hands as the leaves

began their inevitable journey

towards their demise

as autumn dressed them in burgundy, orange

and muddy yellows

awaiting the moment

when the scenery became a kaleidoscope

of autumn’s majesty — lemon yellows and bright crimson

blending in a wall of light

Seeing this beginning reminds me

it won’t be long before “all the leaves

are brown and the sky is gray” as The Mommas

and Pappas sang so many years ago

when I was a young untested woman

eager for adventure — yearning to escape

from the cold and snow west to a warmer climate

as I heard the words “California dreaming”

never realizing I would return soon

to familiar scenes — for the autumn canvas

was deep in my eastern soul

Copyright 2018 by Barbara Ehrentreu

RECOVERED LOVE POEM

Typed on old fashioned typing paper

hidden for years underneath old poems

folded in a manila envelope behind them

and unnoticed — there it was

a message from you — from beyond the grave

forgotten and almost tossed away as useless trash

were words written by a much younger man

whose heart lay on the paper — vulnerable and true

words typed at a time when love was fresh paint

for us as we tried to navigate this new experience

My heart — at last patched enough to endure the pain —

leaped as I read those love words from you to me

and I saw how we had been in sync with our affection

and as I wept for the loss of you in all iterations

I especially mourned this bright eyed and fresh faced

youth who had swept into my life and found a spot

where he could find peace and happiness

with me — he wrote of my presence “…One pillar stands unbending.

That pillar is you….”

while at the time I had no idea

this was his thought —for he was my strength and always would be

Words penned over 50 years ago -brought to me as a godly message

on the new year — tears streamed for never being able

to hug you for this gift.

Copyright 2018 by Barbara Ehrentreu

OPEN THE GATES

Sometimes life is not fair

unfair to the unformed naive one

who came into the world

with so much love her parents

thought it would be enough

Fair of face and attitude and full of grace

they marveled at the joy they felt

as she grew to a certain age perfect in

every way except one — the most important

in the muscle used to power all of us

And yet they kept faith and begged to the heavens

she would be mended and be back in the path soon

They waited and prayed and entreated and found a

way to help this tender little girl to be whole again

Putting their faith in the skill of the doctors who

transferred life into her with the new heart

For a year she was a normal child and her family

believed she had overcome and would be there

forever in the comfort of her family’s arms

until as her family’s hopes soared for her future

her future disappeared and so did she from this

mortal world

Now the gates of heaven are welcoming this new angel

and I only hope she will be able to run and play

on the marshmallow clouds with abandon

her spirit soaring as it never could on earth.

Copyright 2018 by Barbara Ehrentreu

BARBARA EHRENTREU

BARBARA EHRENTREU grew up in Brooklyn and moved to Queens. Currently she is retired from teaching and living in Stamford, CT with her family. She has lived and taught in Long Island, Buffalo, NY and Westchester, NY as well as a year in Los Angeles, CA. She has a Masters Degree in Reading and Writing K-12. If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor won second prize in Preditors & Editors as Best Young Adult Book for 2011. It was inspired by Paula Danziger for her children's writing workshop at Manhattanville College. Her second book, After, which is also available now in print, considers what can happen to a teen when her father becomes ill with a heart attack. It is based on her own experiences when her husband had a heart attack and the aftermath of what she and her family experienced. She is preparing the sequel to If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor, Who Is Jennifer Taylor coming soon. Barbara also writes poetry. She has a book called You’ll Probably Forget Me: Living With and Without Hal, which is a memorial to her deceased husband. Several of her poems are published in the anthologies, Queen, Poet’s Attic, Anthology II, World Poetry Open Mic, Prompted: An International Collection of Poetry, Beyond the Dark Room, Storm Cycle and Backlit Barbell. Her screenplay, “The Kiss” has won awards in several film festivals. On Facebook she has become a moderator for the group, Motivational Strips and posts every other week in The Garden of Poetry and Prose. Barbara has a blog, Barbara's Meanderings, and she hosts a radio show on Blog Talk Radio, Red River Radio Tales from the Pages, once a month every fourth Thursday.