Dreams I Hold Dear

Cared about, I still felt lost, then

I looked to my feet. I knew that 

only I could direct them

 where and when I would go

in this day and time of mine.

My wandering mind took me to 

places filled with shining promise 

  along with stories I told myself 

until I shaded in colours of reality, 

mixed with dreams I hold dear.

“We are such stuff as dreams are made on, 

and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”

~ William Shakespeare,  The Tempest

To Be Whole

I learned 

my wholeness from my feet. 

Planted firmly 

on the cool grass of spring, 

my bare feet sent me a message. 

“I am your balance, 

    your place on this earth.” 

Is this a February wish

for green lawns and dandelions? 

No matter. 

I have longed for true balance 

found only when 

I nestle my toes into warm sand 

~ there I go again with 

     that wishful thinking ~ 

or (sigh) in winter, 

    flat on cold laminate. 

Wherever my feet are placed, 

my wholeness rises up from that place

as a vine of roses climbs a trellis to the sun

When that filling up flows through me, 

my being is healed in the moment, 

my cricket-y knee may be a little slow 

to catch up with the wholeness of my being 

but gentles with the wholeness of the earth.

“Wholeness does not mean perfection: it means 

embracing brokenness as an integral part of life.”

~ Parker J. Palmer, author

Ode to a Late Evening Nap

I would have loved 

to stay sleeping 

but the hour was 8 p.m.

so when a tinkle and trill 

summoned me, 

I pushed aside 

the grey warm cosy

that tickled my chin. 

My feet found the floor 

and my nap was ended.

“Naps are a way of traveling painlessly through time into the future.”

~ Thomas Carlyle, philosopher

(1795~ 1881)

A Silly Verse

And elephant rides are also good things to do.

Marmalade march is 

a very odd pair 

marmalade is spread 

on toast you see

while a march is 

marched on two good feet. 

Momentum needs

those two good feet 

with a marmalade prize 

for a delicious treat.

“A wise bear always keeps a marmalade sandwich 

in his hat in case of emergency.”

~ Paddington Bear

Barefoot Memories

And so I went out of the house 

and stepped on the old boardwalk 

warmed by the summer sun. 

I set my young bare feet on 

the spiky drying summer grass 

and walked on. Years later I 

would know that my old bare feet 

would welcome the warmth but

be shy of the spiky grass. Yet the

memory nestles deeply in my soul.

“You learn a lot when you’re barefoot. 

The first thing is every step you take is different.”

~ Michael Franti, poet

Bend and Stretch

A vision of what is to come, 

~ seldom available. 

Speculations, ideas, doom, 

but no crystal ball. 

Spinning round and round 

in circles seeking why’s and 

wherefores of tomorrow and 

the next day and 

the next month and 

the next year……..

til I recall a simple maxim: 

‘Stay where your feet are’. 

Between mind and feet, 

it’s a long, long way but is 

one trip to put off til 

‘just the fact’s ma’am’ are clear.

Seems a bit short sighted, 

what about 

glorious plans and 

far reaching goals?

~ the vision of our desires!

So it’s steady on with 

plans that bend and 

timelines that stretch.

“Vision is the true creative rhythm.”

~ Robert Delaunay, French artist

Winter Spirit

Walkers, canes, feet, and cars

Steady on ~ Carve ruts 

and icy runnels of snow 

“….winter forms our character and brings out our best.”

~ Tom Allen

Author's note: inspired by the numbers of people heading to malls and restaurant whether on foot or in vehicles despite the ice and snow.

On an Afternoon Walk - Where Your Feet Are

If I hadn’t looked down

all the way to the ground

I would never have seen 

a peaked wooden roof 

with a little brown door.

Fairies live high in the trees,

and on a grassy green floor!

“I’ve always believed in experiencing everything in life. 

When you walk out with blinders on, you cut 

yourself off from the angels and the fairies.”

~ Alyssa Milano

Trail Finder

Standing still slowly finding my writer’s feet lost in the shifting sands of my life ~ not belonging in the move from there to here

patiently waiting for 

   the day, 

      the time, 

         the moment

when writing becomes my life’s focus once more ~ picking up threads from the fraying fabric 

of a writing life that strayed from the trail. 

“You’re off to great places, today is your day. 

Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.” 

~ Dr. Seuss

In the Midst ~ 2

Oases in the midst of

joys and sorrows exist 

where our feet are planted

Oases ~ to rest, regroup

and breathe deeply to find

peace in each moment. 

“In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.”

~ Deepak Chopra