Spread out before us,
sharing the prairie with grasshoppers, sunshine,
steady wind and cloud
sculptures in the sky.
Spread out before us
was our childhood ~
parents, aunts, uncles,
cousins and neighbours, storekeepers, school teachers
Nostalgia ~ a sweet soft ache.
“Family matters because I love my roots and traditions, and
I carry them with me. I respect my ancestors, and I know who I am.”
~ Belén Gallardo, memoirist, biographer
Squirrels peek around trees
or stare from a branch
Dogs adore everyone
Big brown eyes melt us all
Cats - well, they sleep.
Or insist with their eyes
This tree looks at the world
peaceful and watching.
“There is, I conceive, scarcely any tree that may not be advantageously
used in the various combinations of form and colour.”
~ Gilpin
It’s in our roots
A tree barren of a life
that waved in the wind,
branches stiff and cold;
saddened when a full life ends
but the joy I feel with
new exuberant growth
brings me comfort.
“One must have roots to bloom, sprout, grow and branch out.”
~ Jeffrey G. Duarte, author
Where do I go when
the argument becomes
reddened with anger?
Can I find the place
where roiling, boiling
waters have calmed?
Following the seasons, with
storms and destruction,
stepping into shelter is wise.
Shelter within my soul until
my mind can be at peace, my
words become measured and kind.
“Anger is an acid than can do more harm to the vessel in
which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”
~ Mark Twain
Autumn clouds
slow drift and pose
first as a duck
then a swan
floats into the blue.
“Clouds float in the same pattern only once.
~ Wayne Shorter
It begins in the morning
with the same words
the same order
A quiet list down a page
Ordinary thread for
each ordinary task
Beaded with secrets in
each moment of the day
A sketch to colour
with bend and stretch,
warm butter soaked toast,
laughing and living in
this world of my own design
This quiet list a map that shows
the direction of my choice
that may take me far from home
or a return to my world within
the comfort of home.
“Within this monotonous rhythm, there’s a gentle beat,
a melody that makes my soul smile.”
~ Vinitha Dileep, Routine
Inspired by the poem:
‘Routine’ by Vinitha Dileep
Wedged in here
Stacked up there
Nostalgia in solid form
Until my soul is paper thin
No room to breathe only
writing scant notes
with little design
until
I need to breathe
easily
to create
in colours and shapes
of childhood
making space for
my soul to shine
my dreams to blossom
“The space itself, your home, naturally has a message and intention.”
~ Thich Nhat Hanh, Making Space:
Creating a Home Meditation Practice
