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10/12/2026

Fall Ahead:
Last October I reflected on the magical transition
from Summer to Fall: Climate, traditions, rhythms.
I brush off faded, dry leaves for another look.
Herald of Autumn

Not the scattering of pumpkins
The appearance of crimson- brown buds
Not the resurrection of scarecrows
Rippling orange-yellow-red
leaf banners
Not the reappearance
of yellow buses
Noisy schoolyards
Quiet backyards
Not back to school
Off to college
Back to routines.

Not the replacement of filters
Check on the furnace
Change the oil of the car
Fall back the clock
Steal an hour of light
Find the slow cooker
Rediscover the oven
Not the baking of cookies
Smell of the roast
Gathering wood
Knitting the wool.

The harvest is the herald
of Autumn
Repayment for faith
Reward for the labor
Clattering tractors
Chorus, “Heave-ho”
The race against frost
We know we will win
Together we laugh
Together we sing.

Autumn,
The culmination of spring
Autumn,
Fulfilled promise of summer
Autumn,
Sweet body-soul sustainer
For bitter trials
Soon to come.
jlB-
Copyright: John Lawrence Barbetta
Edited post-12 October 2026
Leaf blossoming days in Pepin, Wisconsin
Let us drink in, and drink to Autumn’s beauty.
"To Autumn when we harvest the fruits of our labor,
the dreams we worked so hard to realize."
May it comfort us in the challenging days to come.
just " Looking for a Sweater" me

10/07/2026

Old and recurring phenomena.
You?
Task Master Me

I am hiding from Me
I resist opening my eyes
Though my mind has begun to stir
I wish to linger longer in the gloaming
Postpone my inevitable collision
with the bright light of reality.

I am hiding from Me
The Me that demands
tasks be accomplished
courtesies observed,
civility adhered to
progress made towards
self-inflicted goals.

I struggle to avoid Me
who wants to shake I
from luxurious passivity,
Hurl I into predestined action.

Cold ocean wave, Me
lifting free-floating I
from the soft, calm water bed
to achieve what Me
has determined is required of Us.
I am steadfastly, senselessly,
desperately hiding from Me.

jlB- Copyright: John Lawrence Barbetta
Edited post-6 October 2026
What does Me want from I, anyway?
May your Task Master take a day off.
Ready or not, here I come!
Tomorrow I celebrate Her!!
just "I hiding from" Me

09/28/2026

Mentor moment: Albert Einstein famously wrote,
"The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Curiosity has its own reason for existing".
Bolt! “Every answer leads to another question.”
Cling
(redefined)

Are we born to bond;
to come together
for survival of
body, mind, spirit?

As we grow,
Do we acknowledge need
for society, support, sustenance
others with whom to be
from whom to learn?

As we journey
Do we search for
the lover who makes
us feel complete
dispels self-doubt
vanquishes solitude?

As we near destiny
Do we not seek
from faithful companions
approval, respect, validation?

As we reach crowning moment
Sans sight,
Sans hearing,
Sans touch
Do we not see smiling faces
Do we not hear sweet laughter
Do we not feel endless love?

Do we not cling
with unrelenting strength
to timeless sensibilities
to the life experience
we celebrate together?

jlB-
Copyright: John Lawrence Barbetta
New context post-27 September 2026
Pepin, Wisconsin

Do we willfully or instinctively Cling to the past?
Why is there this uncontrollable need to "look back"?
Is the past truly past, if it occupies the present?
Ask Orpheus?
just "John B(wildered)" me

09/25/2026

Write now! Edit later...much later
Dedicated to Vintage partners who have made
each other more beautiful.
AGE Before Beauty?
Is not
The tender-sweet glow
of the innocent babe
The first kiss of beauty?
Is not
The spontaneous laughter
of the delighted child
The first sound of beauty?
Is not
The tear shed
by the self-doubting adolescent
the first awareness
of the fragility of beauty?
Is not
The reckless commitment
of love-stricken youth
a shared epiphany of beauty?
Is not
The time-tested bond
of the innocent-delighted,
tear-stained, love-stricken,
silver-haired, health-challenged,
Life-partners
The realization of Beauty?

(jlB)-
Copyright: John Lawrence Barbetta
Unedited post-25 September 2026
Pepin, Wisconsin
Through the looking glass:
"When we were younger, we were more pretty.
Now that we are older, we are more beautiful." (jlB)
just "Reserva W**e" me/us

09/23/2026

This is one of Sheila's favorites. It also graces the
Dan Guida Pollinator Park in Red Wing, MN.
It is that moment in time.
September Butterfly
( Inner vision)

I saw it through the window
Flutter, dip and rise
Riding the playful wind
The course unknown
Surprise!

Red and yellow lit
by late summer sun
Too distant to know for sure
Dying spirit or uplifting life
Nature's curse or beauty's cure?

Mesmerized I watched it drift
Until it came to earth
Then the silent freeze-framed moment
The pause before death or birth
The wind and I, we held our breath
Would it regain the sky?

The wind exhaled and brought it near
I touched through glass
My September Butterfly.

jlB-
Copyright: John Lawrence Barbetta
Encore post-23 September 2026
Pepin, Wisconsin

The September of our years can be a reprise
of inspiring memories and an intense awareness
of the everyday gifts of Nature.
Let us take little for granted.
Let us celebrate the time we are given.
just "Nothing less than love of Life" me/US

09/18/2026

This evening, I'm looking at a muted photo, vintage
September 21, 1961. A vaguely familiar couple is descending
the altar steps post-marriage vows. She is looking down to ensure a graceful exit. He is focused on the ring as if it were a foreign object.
Some years later, the same memory proved to be the Muse that stirred a playful, wistful lyric.

Yesterday we whispered together. Tonight, why not sing?
The melody is yours to create.
"One and two...- a bit more up-tempo, and three..."
One Chance- Two Dance

I never could dance
or play the piano
I tried to sing bass
It came out soprano.

I never could paint
Or write that great play
I tried a few times
The Muse slipped away.

I thought I could act
and make the big money
Emoted Shakespeare
My Hamlet was funny.

The wonders I feel
I may one day express
and fire a spirit
to be more than less.

Then, we will dance
and play the piano
I'll sing the bass
You'll sing soprano.

jlB-
Copyright: John Lawrence Barbetta
"A Little Under The Weather"
( Limited edition 1999)
Encore performance-17 September 2026
"Sunny and Share" made our music for almost 64 years.
Love from Awkward Fred to Graceful Ginger
I'm sorry if I stepped on your pretty painted toes.
just " We WILL dance again" me

09/17/2026

Mentor Muse: A need to "sculpt" again.
Michelangelo's sculpture, David, was a visceral inspiration
for "Stone Life".
The cry I hear: "Let Us Be All We Can Be!"
StoneLife

Free Me!
I am in here.
Can’t you see?
I am in here.
Can’t you hear?
I’m here.
It’s me
Touch me.

Can’t you feel?
Free Me!
I am real.
The craggy lines
that’is my wrinkled face
You can make it smooth.

Sharp chisel imagination
for splitting stone
Rhythmic, controlled strokes
Wipe my dust from your eyes.
Can you begin to see me?
I am in here.

Turn, turn
The tool of compassion
Each blow quick, whisper-even
Blow away the dust of doubt.
Trust yourself.
Can you hear me breathe?
I am here.

It’s me.
Crease gently
my hardened skin.
Reinforcing, shaping impact
There are the lines
There’s the texture.
Form refined
I am emerging.
Touch me.

Can you feel me?
Redefining rasps and rifflers
Inspired, sweeping motion
Emery words infuse the light
Features, folds, hair
Identity revealed.

I am David and the stone
that slew Goliath.
If there is enough of me,
Find his head
Place it at my feet.
If not, no matter
Victory is no less sweet.

I need no Donatello
You sculpt me with your eyes
Young “Michelangelo”,
Can you see my beauty now?
You have won the prize;
Not glitter gold
Nor, quicksilver fame
I am here.
We are free.
We have won Life’s game.

jlB-
Copyright: John Lawrence Barbetta
Edited post-16 September 2026
Pepin, Wisconsin
"I saw an Angel in the marble. I carved until I set it Free."
(Michelangelo)
May we have the vision and the dedication to set Our Angels free.
. just "May We ALL Be Free!" me

09/13/2026

Write then/now/working on tomorrow
Affirmation:
Feel the renewing wind. The unfiltered sun.
Hear the water kiss the land. Sea gulls flutter.
Eagles soar. Squirrels, black, brown, red, white scurry.
I open my heart that I may Imagine.
Life pauses...
Message in a Bottle

A Blue Crystal Day
Canvas winged swans
Glide on north-west winds
0'er silver waters.
Soft green pillow bluffs
Comfort restless mind
Home to shelter peace
Terrain without borders.

All are welcome
Wander river
Traverse stone
No marching orders.

Lucid thoughts inspire
River, connect heart to mind
Bluffs, bar confusion
Pure love to sons and daughters.

jlB- Copyright: John Lawrence Barbetta
Edited post-13 September 2026
This is an expression of my need to thank someone, something
for the honor of experiencing this moment in time.
just "Musing" me

09/09/2026

Back to the School of Life.
Dedicated to all the young adventurers entering or re-entering the essential human evolutionary process: Recognizing, cultivating, and finding the courage to share the "gifts" they have been given,
A heartfelt blessing to those who have and will continue to sustain you on your life's journey.
Time Flits

Time does not fly.
Sometimes it skips along
carefree, a wordless song.
Then, you fall, bruise your heart.
A kiss of hope.
A new scar-tissue start.

In dreams you fly
In life you try
to leave petty thoughts behind
elevate above the dead, the dying
Reach a place only you can find.

No map to guide you
Close your eyes.
Stand barefoot in imagined sand
Time flits.
You are flying.

jlB-
Copyright: John Lawrence Barbetta
Time Flits is a repost selection from the Vital Signs
poetry/visual art collection.
Repost-9 September 2026
" May we always have the courage to explore
May we always have a safe haven awaiting our return," (jlB)

09/03/2026

Happy Birthday to Me
In My Life
I’ve known pain
I’ve known joy
I have grown from a child to a boy
I sang on Queen’s corners
I mourned with the mourners
I danced on the bridges of France
In My Life
Home was Castle with moat
Been Knight hero
Day goat
There were tears
There was laughter
Child -rainbows came after
Sipped ch*****ne
and spring water sublime
In My Time
I have dreamed by the River
Tried to be less taker, more giver
Thank heaven for friends, family,
My forever sweet wife
Thank God for my Life
That’s My Life
(So far…)
jlB-
Copyright: John Lawrence Barbetta
Shared post-3 September 2026
Pepin, Wisconsin, and all the places we called Home
just "Thankful for ALL the days" me

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Minneapolis, MN

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