Good and Ordinary

My soul is quiet tonight 

after a good and ordinary day. 

The sun shone. 

The wind blew. 

The bus was on time 

both there and back. 

On my mission, I was gifted 

by the kindness of humanity 

at crosswalks and in stores. 

I saw the clouds shape and 

move in the further up wind. 

I ate my meals and fed my cat. 

All of these things made 

today special on this 

good and ordinary day. 

My soul is quiet tonight.

“…it is the sweet, simple things of life, which are the real ones after all.”

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House on the Prairie

(1857 ~ 1957)

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

A Next Good Moment

Caring for the hope 

I have in my heart 

helps me to find 

slivers of joy in each day. 

For joy is often in-glorious, 

but is aroma of good food, 

   the kindness of friends, 

      the feeling of soft grass on bare toes, 

         a babies gurgling laugh, 

           the rhythm of well loved music. 

When I add up all these sparks of joy, 

hope is restored to know

there is always a next good moment.  

“I inhale hope with every breath I take.”

~ Sharon Kay Penman, novelist

(1945 ~ 2021)

No Particular Reason

For no particular reason

strawberry yogurt ice cream 

piqued my curiosity.

Scraping the bottom of a tiny 

tub of caramel ice cream, 

strawberries and yogurt 

floated through my mind. 

(both in the fridge)

On tomorrow's 'to do' list! 

After all, it is important to feed, 

not just my body, 

but my curious mind.

“The knowledge of all things is possible.”

~ Leonardo da Vinci

(1452~ 1519)

Mom's Kitchen

Lemon meringue pie

Chokecherry jelly

Saskatoon pie

Shelling green fresh peas 

Aroma of baking bread

Making cookies at Christmas

Homemade salad dressing

Memories of mom on her birthday

“I love you every day. And now I will miss you every day.”

~ Mitch Albom, For One More Day

Lost til Tomorrow

frayed sentences drift

a word ~ maybe two

for something I’ll write later 

vanished in pumpkin soup 

bubbling on the stove, 

in the flour and nuts for 

bread dough rising; 

in the brutal wind, 

on my way to take out the trash

scribbled down on a note 

lost on the kitchen table.

I’ll clear off the table tomorrow………

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. 

Learn from it…tomorrow is a new day.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Just One More Bite

Tasty treats tempt us 

to snack; 

to nibble a nut; 

to sneak an extra treat,

to take just one more bite, 

to bake a cake…or cookies, 

to lick icing from our fingers, 

to eat ice cream right out of the container

(Of course, will power always prevails!)

“I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it.”

~ Mae West, actress

(1898 - 1980)

Supper Line

The clouds rippled ~

flung over the church 

like a gigantic table cloth. Pigeons, lined up on the church roof, 

awaited their evening meal, 

sitting politely unless 

another tried to push in, 

letting newcomers know 

they would not let 

just anyone in for supper.

“Charity is not like feeding pigeons in the square. 

It is a process that requires professional management.”

~ Roman Abramovich, businessman

The Ask

“What is my poem tonight, Mister?” 

A nickname I’ve taken to calling him.

I speak to my big black kitty 

as though he would have a 

wise and profound answer for me. 

Instead, he merely replies 

a fullsome meow. Translated it means:

 

“Time for you to feed me.” I remind him 

that he still has 10 minutes to wait and

wrapping himself around my legs in affection 

(the bribe) will not bend this strict custodian and friend.

“Cats seem to go on the principle that 

it never does any harm to ask for what you want.”

~ Joseph Wood Krutch, writer, critic and naturalist

(1893 - 1970)