The truth of the matter is . . .: May 2026

Monday, May 25, 2026

Welcome To My Blog

To help you select the stories and poetry you might want to read, below is the list of all posts made to my blog since its inception. Posts are listed in chronological order from the first post made on April 18, 2019, until the most recent post (The most recent post appears first on the blog). Please browse the list of posts to find the titles that most intrigue you. Then do one of the following:

1. Place the title of the post in the space beneath the header, “Search This Blog.” With regard to poetry, a post may contain more than one poem. You may have to insert the first two poems listed to find what you want. Then click on search. The posting should appear at the top of the screen for you to read. Or . . .

2. Using the date a particular posting was made, go to the “Blog Archive” to the right of the posts and click on the particular month in which the poem or short story was posted and scroll down until you find what you would like to read. Please note that if you scroll through all the posts on the screen and don’t find what you are looking for, below the last post on the screen, on the right, are the words, “Older Posts.” Click on this and you will find the additional posts made during the particular month you have selected. Scroll through these until you find the story or poem you wish to read.

Enjoy the journey, as you read the creations of my heart and my mind.

Thank you.

Alan

Alan Lowe
Poet and Writer

slolowe@icloud.com

https://slolowe44.blogspot.com/

Protecting what is meaningful in life comes with a price. But fighting for it is a necessity.

Those of you who do this are heroes, and we need to . . .

Thank You For All You’ve Done

Thank you for waiting.
Life does not always unfold as you’d like it to.

The day has been hard and it has barely begun.

I awoke to turmoil welling up within me, my PTSD over the top.

It scared the living daylights out of me.

Thank you for understanding.

I had to gather my thoughts.
Now it is my privilege to stand before you,
Military personnel, decorated in medals.

I am proud to address you.

Thank you for your contributions.
We live in a world of dreams and possibilities.

But we aren’t always in control of what confronts us.

At times, we have to fight for what is rightfully ours.

And it is your efforts that have made this happen.

Thank you for your service.

Your commitment is a treasure to be respected.

You will remain in our minds and hearts for eternity.

As heaven embraces you, know that what you have done

Allows us to continue the fight.

Monday, May 18, 2026

The “pet” in our life can be hard to deal with, for they have a mind of their own.

You love them with all your heart, but they may not . . .

Listen To You

Come, we need to go into the kitchen to make dinner.

No, not later, now.

Sit, over there, as you usually do.

Stay, I’ll be there as soon as dinner is prepared.

Quiet, I told you dinner isn’t ready yet.

Wait, don’t try to get it until I tell you to.

Pay attention, we’ll eat soon.

Down, don’t get up.

Leave it, until I say “take it.”

Okay, your gourmet meal is complete.

Take it, and enjoy the wonderful taste.

Beg? You don’t have to—it’s yours.

Go, if you have to, but come back and finish dinner.

Good boy, time to relax in the living room.

Speak, tell me what you’d like to do now.

Catch, yes. I’ll toss the TV remote.

Drop it, it’s not yours to keep.

Off, the bed until it’s made.

Go to bed, its 10 pm.

Roll over, and make room for me.

Play? Not now honey.

I have to be up early in the morning.

Husbands can be such a pain.

Monday, May 11, 2026

Life has its twists and turns. Sometimes you shouldn’t be going anywhere.

But you believe you have to go. And then . . .

You Wonder Why

Did you wonder what it meant

when I begged you to take the wheel of the car

while, in the same breath, I said I would drive?

That I pushed you away,

as I collapsed into the driver’s seat,

must have left you quite confused.

You started to head toward the house,

as I begged you to get into the car,

and feared that you wouldn’t.

Then you turned and looked at me,

in a way that made me shake

and my world seemed to be coming apart.

With tears in your eyes,

you told me I shouldn’t be driving

and wondered why I’d changed my mind.

I said, if you loved me,

you should get in,

for we were running late.

Running late for what? you asked,

and told me we have no place to go,

and it’s almost dark.

But the kids are waiting for us,

so we need to leave now

to beat the evening traffic, I declared.

You said we didn’t have kids.

How you came to that conclusion

I didn’t understand.

And, who are you, anyway?

You shouldn’t look at me like that.

And who am I? You don’t know?

Oh, both kids are here.

Isn’t that nice.

Hello.

Dressed in light blue scrubs

two women smiled.

Come out of the car, please.

We’re taking you back

to the memory care unit—

your forever home.

And fortunately,

you didn’t have

the car keys.