THOMAS JOSEPH - POEMS

Thomas Joseph is a retired physician living in upstate New York who is new to writing for the non medical audience. He has published multiple medical peer reviewed articles over the course of his practicing career. In retirement he has remained engaged in medicine by teaching in a nursing program, He also teaches English to immigrants through the Literacy New York Program and enjoys traveling writing short story fiction and poetry, painting with watercolor and as of late helping to care for his year old twin grandsons, Curtis and Wesley. 

​On Escorting Miss Pippa

​A Lone Begonia

                                       Each spring my wife and I patronize
                                       A nursery where we agonize
                                       As to the flowers to select
                                       To provide our garden a pleasing effect
 
                                       I always do request
                                       For a begonia to be a guest
                                       If only for this year
                                       To provide me some cheer
 
                                       The begonia appeals to my aesthetic
                                       Toward it I am never apathetic
                                       My search for the perfect one frenetic
                                       For which I remain unapologetic
 
                                        Its petals delicate and flaccid
                                        Afford me a sense of the placid
                                        The hue I most cherish is peach
                                        Like the sands of a coral beach
 
                                        My wife this year acquiesced
                                        To this my ardent request
                                        Despite it conflicting with the theme
                                        Of this season's intricate planting scheme
 
                                        So if you're passing by
                                        See if you can spy
                                        That lone begonia in the flower bed
                                        Knowing then you have not been misled
 

​On the Tenacity of the Humble Dandelion

​                                         I think of all the things that show a zest
                                         For life the dandelion is by far the best
 
                                         Sprouting from every pavement crevice
                                         Attests to its ubiquitous presence
 
                                         Despite my liberal application of herbicides
                                         Its lawn population but intensifies
 
                                         Like severing the mythical Hydra's head
                                         Where I uproot one two arise instead
 
                                          The delicate winged seeds of its white fluff ball
                                          Settle and grow with no urging at all
 
                                          They inhabit the most unlikely places
                                          And soon there's another crop of bright yellow faces
 
                                          Perhaps I should take the environmentalists' suggestion
                                          And hand over my yard to nature's possession
                                         
              

An Unexpected Grace
or
​On Seeing Two Birds In One Day

​                                       On a day clear, sparkling and bright
                                       Not a cloud in the blue hiding the light
                                       As a solitary traveler on Krumkill Road
                                       I was granted a marvelous sight to behold
 
                                       My eye drawn to a circling bird
                                       A hawk I surmised but my vision was blurred
                                       To fathom the sight I quick stopped the car
                                       While yet transfixed, a raptor swooped down from afar
 
                                        By his white crown and coal black wing
                                        Surly, I beheld the avian king
                                        He alighted on a near fence rail
                                        Awarding me the moment to exhale
 
                                        I wondered at his austere poise
                                        About him not a flutter or noise
                                        His head jerked left to right then froze
                                        Allowing me to admire his pose
 
                                        Then both his beady eyes did stare
                                        Over the stream for a fish to snare
                                        Will never know how went the search
                                        At that instant he flew from his perch
 
                                         Who can ignore such a wondrous sight
                                         When an eagle takes off in flight
                                         He climbed with unlabored ease
                                         Enjoying the kiss of a passing breeze
 
                                         While yet savoring this moment of grace
                                         A blast from a horn made my heart race
                                         The spell broken I looked in dismay
                                         As a passer flipped me “the bird”, my second of the day