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)

24 Hours

You don’t need to run away

You don’t need to cry

Clouds will do that for you

 Their tears trickle down in 

a fine mist or

       full fat drops

Wind blows them away

  Pushes them onto the next 

prairie or woodland

       mountains or out to sea

the sun is allowed to shine

in skies clear and blue

or velvet black with

        star shine and crescent moon

You don’t need to run away.

You don’t need to cry.

“My courage does not depend on the weather.”

~ Mary Anne Radmacher, author

Stumbles

Coming to terms with what? 

The weather? 

My lot in life?

My past that always seemed 

to have a trip wire making

me stumble, stop and think, 

choose the how not the why

Of course today, 

that ever present present, 

still has its trip wires. 

Knowing that, I can take my time, 

Avoid the stumble; still stop, think 

and make better choices 

not perfect just better.

“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, 

and next year’s words await another voice.”

~ T.S.Eliot

Weathered

This a tough one 

this winter of ice and snow 

and rain and ice and snow 

temperatures dip and dive 

to really, really cold and 

climb slowly to just cold. 

I have no complaints though 

because I know 

it is only temporary. 

As temporary as clouds scudding across the sky; 

as the grass grows and then fades away til next spring; 

as the wind that is blustery and bossy one day 

and next is a mere pussy cat purring 

through the hair on my head. 

So this tough one of winter will pass, 

the excitement of spring and summer 

spread dandelion umbrellas and the fluff of poplars, 

while we say that 

the rain in spring time is too much or not enough; 

the sun in summer is too hot or too bright. 

the leaves in autumn are falling too soon

So, I say, weather is just a tough one ~ but then so am I. 

“At the end of the day, we can endure much more that we think we can.”

~ Frida Kahlo, artist

Behind the Door

A blustery cold day with snow 

not sure it was to be rain or snow

Streets wet and glistening, 

hovering grey clouds, 

soggy piles of multicoloured leaves 

lay exhausted against curbs and fences

In such a walk one never knows 

what’s just around the corner.

Robins, wrens and sunshine behind 

a faerie door! Little people live 

and play inside this gnarled old tree 

with green lawns, bees and wildflowers.

my journey to the library

became a happier mission,

my steps easier, my heart lighter, 

just because of that faerie door.

“Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.”

~ Hans Christian Anderson

Almost

Despite temperatures being well below freezing ~ far enough that the actual number is irrelevant ~ it’s just 

freezing. That hasn’t stopped the shoppers, the children going home from school, and those of us just blocks from 

our destination. The topic of weather ~ too cold or too hot ~ can get monotonous and quite frankly boring. Almost 

like politics: predictable, can be frightening, 

and at the same time changeable just when 

everything seems settled and comfortable. 

Despite all the discussion today, the worry 

is that in a couple of days, banks of snow 

will possibly be melting, flooding the streets 

with winter muck. Kind of like politics.

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Just Teasing!

More flowers than snow!

Barely visible, there was 

no cause to worry, this 

first snow of the season. 

Flakes hovered before 

melting against the still 

warm pavement. Warm,

at least compared to the 

icy miniscule snowflakes. 

Water droplets, suspended 

from railings and eaves, 

remnants of early morning 

rain set a confusing picture. 

Are these snowflakes 

a tease to remind us that 

winter is, to use a cliché, 

just around the corner? 

As if we had forgotten! 

To those of us who prefer 

warmth, toques and gloves

were hurriedly jammed on 

heads and hands, coats 

bundled around shivering 

torsos. Tho' snow still lingered, 

my snow boots took a test run

certain to be winter ready ~ and 

weather truly was just a big tease.

“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.”

~ Mark Twain

Weather Watch

Out of a sudden wind to recover

The sun 

has yet to reach its 

zenith, shaded by a tree, my 

coffee’s barely lukewarm and 

will not grow cold today. 

Already flies are directionless, 

lazy. Barely a breeze ruffles the 

leaves without a refreshing caress. 

My potato plant wilts in the 

morning heat, full sun still to drain

water from its leaves. Muffled thunder 

merely suggests respite from rain; 

a passing puff of white scatters 

a dozen raindrops here and there

In the chill

of a coffee shop, chatter avoids 

talk of the weather, the heat, when 

it will change, when walking quickly

is safe, but grandchildren, movies, history 

food, anything but the heat that stifles 

conversations and one step at a time.

“Weather forecast for tonight: dark.”

~ George Carlin

The Importance of Daring

Tucked beneath an old tree, protected by a fence, beautiful green caught my eye - the blessing of the rains. The old tree's leafy top was waving frantically like the old Whomping Willow of Harry Potter fame. Its compatriots lining the streets were as frantic. Timing my short walk home between potential buckets of ice water dumped on the city, I was lucky. Only a fine mist flung from dripping leaves made me pull my hood up; the chill wind forced me to zip my jacket to my chin. I had not been so silly as to bring an umbrella that would have been a mere a toy for the wind. But I was willing to brave the weather for a pedicure, a cup of coffee, and a read of my next book ~ outings not to be blown away or dampened by such ill- mannered weather.

“The most important thing is to enjoy your life - 

to be happy - it’s all that matters.”

~ Audrey Hepburn

Adrift

To watch these white clouds 

adrift against this azure sky

that yesterday was gray 

and cold seems impossible 

and yet on this first 

summer’s day do float aloft.

  

“A change in the weather is sufficient to recreate the world and ourselves.”

~ Marcel Proust

(from BrainyQuote)