Only a Rocking Chair

Only a rocking chair 

wood and varnish 

teeth marks on a rocker

from a puppy

to sit in it 

close my eyes 

rock gently 

memories slide 

to the old black rocking chair 

    with the wide seat 

  in our living room 

to the big solid oak 

 rocking chair with 

embroidered head rest and seat to 

 the small neat dark wood rocking chair 

of my grandparents home ~ 

gentle memories in 

only a rocking chair

wood and varnish 

teeth marks from a puppy.

“There is a peacefulness, an air of reflection, about a 

rocking chair that attaches to no other moving object.”

~ Wallis Simpson, socialite

(1896 ~ 1986)

Just Around the Corner

Just around the corner 

there is always something 

that wasn’t there yesterday. 

Maybe just a black shiny pebble 

tossed from a child’s hand, 

  maybe a new fence erected 

    maybe tiny weeds growing,

flowering amid drying grasses. 

Noticing these tiny changes 

in a world gone mad 

shows me that 

   the black shiny pebble, 

      the new fence, 

        the tiny flowering weeds 

know nothing of the state of our planet. 

They have no ears to hear the chaos, 

   nor eyes to watch out for a new face in the news. 

But they are always just around the corner.

“There is one thing which gives radiance to everything. 

It is the idea of something around the corner,”

Gilbert K. Chesterton, writer

(1874 ~ 1936)

Too Early

My eyelids droop ~

little strength to stay 

open even though 

I am not ready to

turn lights out. I’m 

not even close to 

laying my head on the 

soft pillow that 

whispers my name.

“Blessed are the sleepy ones: for they shall soon drop off.”

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Awake!!

2:45 a.m.

Soft twitters hint

“It’s too early.”

2:50 a.m.

Jet sleeps in a curl,

purring softly.

2:55 a.m.

Shuttered eyes

merely a foil.

3:00 a.m.

Lamp switched on.

Feet hit the floor.

~~~

6:45 p.m.

Eyelids droop, head nods.

It’s been a long day.

“No small art is it to sleep: it is necessary for 

that purpose to keep awake all day.,”

Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Against all Calm

My back is sore

My eyes are crossed

Tax time's a bore ~

Getting it done? Such a chore!

Aroma of chicken holds sway!

The taxes? I’ll just put them away! (for tonight)

“Today it takes more brains and effort to make out 

the income-tax form than it does to make the income.”

~ Alfred E. Neuman

On a Morning Walk - Squirrel Chatter

“I’m keeping my eye on those two. Scrambling up into this tree, I should be safe. I can move faster than any of the humans can, unless they’re the really short noisy ones. Even those ones can’t catch me. They’re better off chasing geese and ducks. Those two down there holding those shiny things up and laughing? I’m sure keeping my eyes on them! ”

 

“Well, it may be humorous to you, 

but it’s a very serious matter to the squirrels.”

~ Lisa Kleypas, American author

Only Ice Cream

It was only an ice cream cone 

on a breezy warm fall day ~

Soft chocolate with coffee crystals

swirled high in a crisp vanilla cone.

A small green jelly bean 

atop it’s delicious mound.

I do wish I could show you a picture but somehow 

it disappeared before my very eyes.

“Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos.”

~ Don Kardong

Sky Drift and Magic

There are too many negatives to find a positive in Murphy's Laws unless I pull my head out of any confusing clouds, 

turning my eyes to the sky where horsetail clouds drift. 

~horsetails my father told me~

so much more enchanting than Cirrus Uncinus to find the magic and wonder of childhood 

in this morning’s skies  ~ 

a vast and beautiful positive 

sweeping the too many negatives away in the wind.

“Revelations are found 

in the clouds.”

~ Serge Kahili King

A Cat Tale - At Supper Time

When I have meowed my most charming meow……

When I have curled and

curved my softness around her legs....

When I’ve yowled 

my most demanding yowl…….

When I've looked up at her with my beautiful green eyes.....

There is only one other thing to do.

Sit on the damn computer!

“Cats can work out mathematically the exact place 

to sit that will cause most inconvenience.”

~ Pam Brown (Goodreads contributor)

Quietude ~ RELIEF ~ Theme for August 2021

Re-doing everything………..

Eyes opened to ……..

Living again in…….

Imagining what it is still……

Empathy gone missing….

Floating on the……

“For fast acting relief, try slowing down.”

~ Lily Tomlin

0843 A.M.

Not in my morning mind

to step out in the cool air

lift my face to the sun

and walk.

My legs asked to go forward

apace across grass and concrete, 

across a tireless street

to the lake.

My ears searched for bird sounds

was that a distant meadowlark?

wheeling gulls crying?

in the sky.

My eyes roamed all around to see

kayakers slicing through still waters

while placid ducks, posturing geese 

shared the lake.

My skin air-brushed with

breezy light strokes of

wind passing through

the trees.

My morning mind, left

at home, welcomed me

to breakfast and the soft touch

of my kitty’s paw.

“But the beauty is in the walking - - we are betrayed by destinations.”

~ Gwyn Thomas

Under Grey Skies

Studio 13 Hair Salon, Cathedral Area, Regina

 

Under grey skies or blue

mural art galleries

decorate windswept streets 

~ dusty or tree lined ~

welcome respite to eyes and heart.

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

~ Pablo Picasso

Canine Communication

Brown eyes fixed me

with an insistent stare

with a little dance 

toward the door.

Brown eyes fix me

with a sweet look

my dinner was

delicious

Brown eyes

watch me closely

when I put on my coat

and tied my shoes.

“An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.”

~ Martin Buber