©2025 Susan Noyes Anderson

art by Melina Valdez, my granddaughter

I’m a monkey in the jungle,
but I’ve got other dreams.
Existing in this heat is less
exotic than it seems.

Our tourists call it paradise,
and some days, I agree.
The views are great, but we lose points
for high humidity.

I’m melting underneath my fur
with no relief in sight.
(No wonder I imagine snow-capped
mountains every night!)

The man in my moon looks more like
two pine trees and a tent.
A nightly snooze in crisp, cold air
would be magnificent!

I have a bright green beanie to
protect me from frostbite.
But this old monkey’s stuck in Bali –
heat-struck! That ain’t right!!

{I’m such a sorry sight.}

image by Zdenek Machacek on Unsplash

YOSEMITE, ANYONE?

Poor, Sweaty Freddy. Looks like he’s having a pretty debilitating summer!

If you enjoyed reading this poem, you might also like reading Kitchen Confessional and Timicky Brown.

©1991 Susan Noyes Anderson

I wrote a good story but something went wrong.
I had all the characters where they belong.
The setting was great, and the word use was strong.
The length was just right … not too short, not too long.

©2025 Susan Noyes Anderson

image by Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash

To have good friends beside us is a gift beyond compare –
kind, loving friends who comfort, bless, and lift us up in prayer.
Life lets our feet walk rocky paths and climb steep, rugged trails.
United, we are strong enough to prove that God prevails.

©2025 Susan Noyes Anderson

image by Andreas Haubold on Unsplash

I’m getting sicker in a way my heart does not embrace.
Mortality looms larger now; my mind can’t quite erase
this feeling of impending change that hovers over me.
I need more time before I slip into eternity.

©2025 Susan Noyes Anderson

image by Adam Berkecz on Unsplash

I’m out here on the boardwalk,
watching life fly by.
It rides on bikes or skateboards –
cruises on a runner’s high.

©2011 Susan Noyes Anderson

image by a chosen soul on Unsplash

I’d like to be a tall heart tree,
with branches made to bear –
strong and firm and heavy-laden,
blessed with fruit to spare.

©1976 Susan Noyes Anderson

image by Pablo Merchan Montes on Unsplash

We all have felt within us
the warmth a mother brings.
You’ve listened with such insight to
our secret thoughts and dreams.

©1995 Susan Noyes Anderson

image by Christer Gundersen

Life is a mountain all must climb.
The trails are rough and steep.
Sometimes the obstacles are great,
and hope is hard to keep.