Samuel Howansky Russo

Our little man, our little angel,

To have and to hold,

And to lose in our time!

But, we have you always,

In our hearts, in our minds

And in the depths of our lives.

Your image we saw first-

Like the smudgy man in the moon-

And into our lives

And into our hands

Came your little being.

So tiny-

Yet, great with our love,

Large with our hope,

And always green

In our memory!

Dedicated to Sean and Deanna Russo on the day of their son’s funeral.

 

 

Song of Joy

Sing out in pitches

That ride a crescendo

And peep over the walls

Of the craters on the moon;

Sing out in tones

That perforate stone walls;

Sing out in voices

That pierce complacence;

Sing out in lyrics

That shatter statics;

Sing out in notes

That overtake ecstasy

And pass over 

To sublime delights.

Sing out, sing out –

With upraised arms

And with upturned faces

Let fly the spirits

In paeans of joy.

 

 

 

Translation of some lyric (author unknown)

Refrain

The play acted out

And the audience has left!

Carrying this lamp of tears,

My mate, whom are you seeking?

1.  The singer played his flute

      Only to give heartfelt grief.

       The play has played out

        And the bird has left the cage.

Refrain

2.     The dream tale I had been watching

         Has sunk deeply in tears.

          Where are you going, my little bird

           Leaving your cage, where are you going?

Refrain

        The tale I had been following in my dreams

         Has drowned in tears

 

 

I Love You

Is it so hard to say,

”I love you”,

When a word, a sigh,

A glance and a quirky smile

Dance into memories

Igniting a warmth

And the heart takes a leap

To eventually subside.

Heart is so recalcitrant

That it cannot look

At love in the eye

And proclaim,

”I love you”.

Only when intense moments

Have passed,

Never to return

When time’s compass revolved

Leaving one with eternal loss,

And clutching at heart

To soften the ache.

 

 

 

 

Foggy Morning

Steering the car into the highway,

Into the milky white thickness,

Into the veiled scenery

And the muffled sounds,

I turned wheels with caution

And the ghostly trees sped 

Into a fog-smudged landscape

Which quickened slowly

From langurous slumber

When the molten orb,

In burnished splendour,

Dusted the misted air gold.

I shivered in the morning air

At the magic in the air.

Then the sun rose above

And shone upon my world

To lift the pall of fog

And Chase the magic off.