In the Early Evening

 

A crescent moon

A single star 

a darkening sky 

no cloud shadows 

fore or aft 

in the quiet 

of early evening.

“In the morning there is meaning, in the evening there is feeling.”

~ Gertrude Stein, writer

(1874 - 1946)

To Rest and Breathe

 

Teeny tiny steps,

when exhaustion flags the day

gets a few jobs done, 

but first to rest and breathe.

“When in doubt just take the next small step.”

~ Paul Coelho, lyricist

To Breathe and Bloom

Give it some space

The impulse

The longing

The wish or the dream

Give it some space

To breathe

To become real

To feel it bloom

Give it some space

The impulse

The longing

The wish or the dream.

“Create the space and a bigger life happens.”

~ Alysia Reiner, actress

Salad

Sweet cherry tomatoes
crinkly romaine lettuce
orange crisp carrot

Topped with black olives
and a side of boiled eggs

Our world is a salad
we try to erase ~ but
don’t take my salad away.

Such an odd counterpoint
from kitchen to society.

“The nature of the contrapuntal experience is that every note

has to have a past and a future on the horizontal plane.”

~ Glenn Gould, concert pianist

When I Sit Down to Write

When I sit down to write 

it is seldom in the same place. 

Each time of day has 

it’s own nook. 

As long as there is 

pen and paper, 

or, as in this missive, 

my laptop, my fingers poised, 

I am ready to write. 

When I sit down to write, 

my thoughts are jumbled 

or there may be a spot 

on the wall that reminds me 

of some bit of philosophy, 

or maybe a blank white page 

~ silent and patient.

So I doodle, 

or read 

a bit of poetry, 

a novel 

or whatever is near at hand

Along the way, 

some fanciful thought 

floats across the page

when I sit down to write.

“Your intuition knows what to write so get out of the way.”

~ Ray Bradbury

One Blade of Grass

From morning til night, 

without thought, 

I accept the small things.

Should I disagree with how 

long it takes the kettle to boil, 

I grumble and walk away ~ 

find something else to do while 

I wait for seconds to pass.

With grander issues like

homelessness, the price of gas

or the state of the world 

I may turn my back or 

be tormented by anger 

and frustration. I may walk away, 

or I may find the one thing 

within circles where I am

to make this life better 

while the kettle boils.

“If you restore balance in your own self, you will be 

contributing immensely to the healing of the world.”

~ Deepak Chopra

A Slow Drift

I wonder about some strange things.

This morning it was: 

what do we do when

walking from task to task? 

After all, we’re a lot of doers ~

so what do we do in that space? 

Is it the only down time 

we get in this life?  

We could be reading a book, 

or scrolling on our phones ~

moving from here to there, or 

scanning around to see what’s next.

At the end of the day

all I’ve come up with is:

A slow drift of ideas,

and what to do on a Saturday.

“Rather than being your thoughts and emotions, 

be the awareness behind them.”

~ Eckhardt Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose