Underneath

Underneath it all, 

those roads we’ve traveled, 

are imprints. 

Hollowed echoes 

of each footstep 

leaving memories of 

our journey through life.

“Take nothing but memories, leave nothing but footprints!”

~ Chief Seattle

Searching for Words

Thoughts march behind my eyes like little wooden soldiers waiting to be given their marching orders. When the Muse does not speak up, 

they keep marching into the gray oblivion of my tired brain disappearing one by one until all that can be heard is the echo of little wooden feet.

“I like good strong words that mean something.”

~ Louisa May Alcott (from Little Women)

Silent Echoes

Silence is golden

down at the pond

    by the lake ~

space for nightbirds

to echo goodnight.

“Does not everything depend on our interpretation of the silence around us?”

~ Lawrence Durrell, Justine

Old Echoes

I’ve always been hesitant 

about taking control 

when wrested from me by 

voices from the past

backed into the spinning corners of time 

~ time to complete something, 

~ time to turn the lights out, 

~ time to go to school, homework not done, 

~ time to stop colouring and set the table. 

Taking control of old echoes 

calms me. 

~~~~~

The Serenity Prayer says: ‘change the things you can’ 

~ doesn’t work for an ego maniac or 

someone just terrified that the results will be bad.

‘accept the things I cannot change’ 

needs a good deal of soul searching

with a liberal dose of humility - 

or should it read a soupçon of humility 

or a dusting of humility? 

then there is 

‘the wisdom to know the difference’ 

I am not one of the old souls 

with the wisdom of a thousand years, 

only the ability to acquire, to learn. 

deep breath ~ take control ~ 

hands on the wheel before the car 

~ that would be me ~

veers off the road. 

“My life didn’t please me, so I created my life.”

~ Coco Chanel

Sacred Echoes

Lights on Albert Street Bridge
Wascana Lake, Regina

 

Intuition in a tense situation,

blocked by ragged excitement,

wisps away in the noise.

unless

sacred corners 

of heart and of soul

whisper and echo with intuition.

“Faith requires following the power of a whisper.”

~ Shannon L. Alder

Echoes ~ 5

Crocus blossoms as tiny

sunshines in perfect harmony.

Smiling echoes of spring.

“Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men.”

~ Chinese Proverb

Echoes ~ 4

The end of my Progress

theme for this month and

I simply move on, with little 

fuss or bother, to October.

A frightening thought is ~

a screeching end to Progress 

as we know it, dictated by 

the raging winds of climate change.

“You cannot get through a single day without having 

an impact on the world around you. What you do makes 

a difference, and you have to decide 

what kind of difference you want to make.”

~ Jane Goodall

“Humanity is now standing at a crossroads. We must now decide 

which path we want to take. How do we want the future 

living conditions for all living species to be like?”

~ Greta Thunberg

Echoes ~ 3

Time slips past

Years stacked one on the other

Being aware of each moment

Impossible

Yearning to remember 

A little hand on my cheek

  Clean baby smells

    Belly laughs and giggles

Time stands still in each memory

“In our lives are special moments that live as their own, 

the rest is movement with the passage of time.”

~ Donna Lynn Hope

Echoes ~ 2

In just one second
after a delicious meal has been eaten
the fate of the world has been solved
the election discussed and changes proposed
echoes of laughter fade in the night
trailing through streets, still rainy wet,
decorated with orange, windswept leaves
goodnights have been said
heavy eyelids beg to be put to rest for the night.
echoes fade with sleep and silence.

“It seems that laughter needs an echo.”

~  Henri Bergson

Echoes ~ 1

The arms of my ancestors
reach down 
wrap around
hold me securely
in the softness of their embrace
always with me through each step in my life

The arms of my ancestors
only let go 
if I push them away
with fear or anger or disbelief
always staying close 
should I reach out for their touch

The arms of my ancestors
understand what could not be understood
if I hold them closely
shawls, fine or coarse, drape on my shoulders
echoes of voices from the distance
reminders of lineage, lessons and family love.

“Words never fade away but echo on for eternity. Let your echo ring.”

~ Richelle E. Goodrich