Who Knows?

I searched and I searched outside in the blue

for people, places and things I knew to be true,

ever truer than my heart, my feet and my head 

’til, spinning in circles, and dizzy with dread 

I stumbled. I fell on the sofa to cry. 

Sitting up with frown, I then wondered why. 

Why couldn’t I just be a bright shining star 

when I’d tried so hard to be just what they are?

What? 

What they are? 

Who are they to determine what things I should do? 

Who am I to decide they know what to do? 

So I stood and I swayed as the dizziness passed 

then, standing still slowly, I felt different at last. 

Not the ‘different’ that feels like a stranger or other, 

but a different explorer for a search like no other. 

No searching outside in people, places and things, 

but a searching inside to find treasures that sing

of knowledge and wisdom and questions galore.

So off to the library, bookstores and more,

I found people, places and things to restore

the balance that patiently waited for me

to discover more truth in this vast human sea.

“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

Author's note: Edited April 08, 2024

Strawberries, Blackberries and Cheese

Bits and pieces

Here and there

Putter a bit and

Read a bit more.

Set a direction

Map out a course

A mile just a piece 

of the journey we’re on

So stop to eat

or revel in sights  ~

bits and pieces of value

for any old trip!

“Writing is like sewing together what I call 

these ‘buttons, these bits and pieces.”

~ Sandra Cisneros

Chitter Chatter

Theories abound about 

The reasons for,

The details about,

Whys, wherefores and what ifs

The questions posed

Researchers peer into corners and crevices

to find answers to questions 

that may be age old or

possibly never thought of

except by those researchers

Theories abound when

all that data comes out 

in the newspaper

from a well coifed talking head,

on wildly prolific social media,

or casual social chitter and chatter.

Questions abound leaving us 

wondering how to respond ~

What’s it to me?

How should I include it in my life?

Will it even affect me?

Theories continue bounding

through space and time even when

we go home for supper,

read the newspaper,

listen to newscasts or

check our social media sites.

Theories abound when 

there are humans with opinions

believing what we believe without

knowing that we need to know more

about the facts for our own lives.

Theories, a-bounding like 

fields of rabbits unchecked,

allowed to roam freely,

only provides more rabbits

until we care for one at home.

“ ….the specious meditations, speculations, and theories of mankind 

are but a kind of insanity, only there is no one to stand by and observe it.”

~ Francis Bacon,  Novum Organum

Blossom Time

Naive beliefs woven through us from the mirage of childhood, shift and change with time and life.

Despite any fears or insecurities,

   when our feet stand firm,

   our hearts feel calm, 

   our minds expand

we can shed these naive beliefs that protected and kept us warm.

There is a danger: 

A creeping cynicism may

shrink wrap a good heart and a curious mind.

“It is well for the heart to be naive and for the mind not to be.”

~ Anatole France

Pie

Energy focused on 

Sensational sensations

Magnificent medals

Amazing adventures

       ~ feels like a delicious pie     

     in the sky

Energy focused on 

Commitment to learning more

Confident knowledge of self

Curiosity for more exploration

      ~ feels like a butterfly in the palm of my hand.

“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.”

~ Lloyd Alexander, American author (1924 - 2007)

Wind Break

Mercurial moods challenge commitment as the wind 

challenges branches and trees

to remain upright and strong.

“The wind shows us how close to the edge we are.” 

~ Joan Didion

Movie Review - 'Yesterday' directed by Danny Boyle, written by Richard Curtis

Tenacity clings to the things we love the most passionately. In an intriguing manner, Yesterday directed by Danny Boyle portrays what can happen when the music of our adolescent years is forgotten ~ in this case, the music of The Beatles. Jack Malik, played by Hemish Patel is a failing musician who struggles to write his own songs. He works part time in a box store. He really wants to be a musician so left his career as a teacher to focus on his music. His manager, roadie, driver and long time friend, Ellie Appleton, played by Lily James has encouraged him to follow that dream. She helps Jack as much as she can while working full time as a teacher and trying to get him gigs that will push him to the top. One night, when Jack is riding his bicycle home, all the lights of cars, streets, and buildings across the globe went out for 16 seconds. Jack is hit by a bus. When he wakes up, in hospital, he recalls a song phrase ~ ‘will you still need me, will you still feed me when I’m sixty four'. Ellie’s only question was 'why sixty four'? After getting out of hospital and with his friends he plays and sings Yesterday. None of them have ever heard of it or have heard of The Beatles. Jack continues to be confronted by these monstrous music knowledge gaps! Even his own record collection and Google fails to locate any reference to The Beatles. In a tenacious effort to keep this legacy alive and to share it with his friends, he begins ‘writing’ all of the songs that he has committed to memory. He stumbles over most of them but especially ‘Eleanor Rigby’. Ed Sheeran, played by himself, hears him and, because of his great talent, asks him to open his next tour. Ed Sheeran’s music manager, Debra Hammer, played by Kate McKinnon, recognizes the potential profit of Jack's talent - if he follows her directions. Jack’s dreams take off. 

I’ll have to leave you there to see this beautiful, funny and charming movie for yourselves. There is a poignant and happy ending with Jack singing and playing Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. A must see movie for those of us around when the Beatles came on the scene ~ and definitely for everyone of any age to experience this wonderful music. To follow Jack’s story is to follow the Beatles in a fresh new way.

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. 

A dream you dream together is reality.”

~ John Lennon

Directed by Danny Boyle

Written by Richard Curtis

Cast (Partial)

Himesh Patel - Jack Malik

Karma Sood - young Jack Malik

Lily James - Ellie Appleton

Jaimie Kollmer - young Ellie (as Jamie Louise Kollmer)

Alexander Arnold - Gavin

Meera Syal - Sheila Malik (Jack’s mother)

Sanjeev Bhaskar - Jed Malik (Jack’s father)

Harry Michell - Nick - Jack and Ellie’s friend (one of)

Joel Fry - Rocky (roadie)

Ed Sheeran - Ed Sheeran

Kate McKinnon - Debra Hammer (U.S. manager)

Justin Edwards - Leo (Russian Stranger)

Sarah Lancashire - Liz (Liverpool Stranger)

Robert Carlyle - John Lennon (uncredited)