Tag: life

Come On In!

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Walk up the driveway
under the carport
and knock on the door

No one uses the front door
Not anyone familiar
with the family, anyway

There is no entry way
But a warm, welcoming den
where you’re invited to sit
and have a cup of coffee

A small table with two chairs
sits near the kitchen
A guide to the narrow hall
filled with memories of
a life well-lived 

Oh, I almost forgot
Back by the table and chairs
You passed the entrance
to the living room 

Used mostly for overflow
and the occasional nap
Its picture windows let
in warm sunlight

A front porch and a back porch
provide quiet spots for
phone calls or just a moment 
to relax and enjoy the surrounding nature

Stop by sometime! 
You’re always welcome!

Prompt 4-Write a poem that moves through the rooms of a home you’ve lived in; it could be a childhood home, your current home, or even a vacation home. 

Daily Canvas

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Pink flowers smile as
I leave for work
Birds sing their morning songs

Trees offer a Good Morning
Stately or giggly, depending
on age, mood, and the weather

And then there are
those magnificent clouds

Sometimes they are accents
across the day’s canvas
Other times, they cover
the entire landscape

And me? The traveler
Sometimes weary
Always determined
to notice and wonder

A precise wonder,
thankful to be even the
smallest figure in the
painting that is today

The Poetry Marathon Prompt 2

Write a poem that includes the phrase “precise wonder.”

Simply Sunday

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The Poetry Marathon
Prompt 1

Hand in Hand

Shadows danced along
the ground as we
walked hand in hand

A canopy of curved
branches and fluttering
leaves woven overhead

Our steps attempting to
catch tiny moments
of light dancing
with the shadows

A give and take
not to be ignored
Like the give and take
between the two of us

Sisters, friends, not always
in agreement – Yet, willing
to walk hand in hand
under the canopy

Whether light
or shadow
leads our steps

Uncommon Aria

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I recognize her song,
though it often changes,
dependent on her journey.

Does she choose her own?
Or does it choose her?

Traversing through
a grove of Aspens, she
sings a melody
gentle and sweet.

Each glistening leaf
adding a note of color.

Coursing over rough rocks
on the shoreline, she
sings a melody bold
and courageous.

Each pulse of the current
increasing her resolve.

Each melody, each path is a journey
of awe and wonder paired with challenges.

Listen. What song does she sing for you today?

Simply Sunday

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Bird’s-Eye View

I see you perched
at the highest point
on the top of our roof

What do you see from up there?

I feel jealous of your current
position-The broader, all-
encompassing perspective

Does it lighten your load to see
further into the landscape?

Does it reaffirm that there is
light shining in the darkness?

I choose to believe your answer is Yes!

Pastoral Pink Petunias

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“Where flowers bloom so does hope.”
~ Lady Bird Johnson ~


Heads bowed, a quiet
Thank you! for protection
during the stormy night

Now, rain barely falls.
And they nod, barely aware.

Faces turned toward
the afternoon sun-
Their preference-maybe later

Solemn quiet allows space
for a prayerful song

Growing deep from within
where roots, long forgotten,
began to wake due to the

Slow seeping of evening
rain reaching the underground

A renewed purpose-Holding
strong, so the faces above
remember their origins

Reassurance that they will
again turn their faces to the sun

Knowing from their current
posture, future sunlit faces
will accompany grateful hearts

Simply Sunday

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Questions 

More and more questions
Many answered before
the realization that 
They even lived

What should I wear today?
What do I want for lunch? 
What time should we leave?

Questions that serve 
to move my feet 
through the physical

And then there are 
those questions that 
cause me to pause

Why do I smile when the trees speak to each other?
Why does the smell of sawdust remind me of Dad?
How is it a terrible storm leaves behind such peace?

Questions that simultaneously
freeze and thaw my heart
As I consider the answers

Answers that will undoubtedly 
change with age and experience
As long as I continue to ask

One of Many

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A person can only fall
through so many cracks
And she has fallen through
many in her short life

Her sassy, sweet disposition
somehow remains
I’m not sure mine
would have survived

A history of being abused,
neglected, treated as less than
Years of reports leading nowhere
until circumstances could
no longer be avoided

Layers and layers of trauma
paired with intellectual disabilities

Finally, in a loving home with
People who are willing to love her
through the challenges

Always a battle for services-
physical and mental health,
unable to advocate for herself-
Reliance with no awareness

But that’s ok- she is who she is
A person- deserving
of love, respect, life
Her story is one of many

Do you know her?
Do you know him?
Will you keep your heart open
In case they pass your way?

One day, I hope to share more of her story. A frustrating phone call today brought a flood of emotions. She is okay. The system is not.

Simply Sunday

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Thanks again to my friend, Paul Porter, for the amazing pic! https://www.facebook.com/paul.porter.3133719

Advice From a Common Box Turtle

Speed is not a reliable indicator
of a journey’s success
My wanderings take time
Or rather, allow time

Time to stop and
stretch my neck
Feel the sun on my face
Be still, and recharge

Rest my home, that
I may traverse this field
of green, at exactly
the speed required

To meet a new friend-
One who looks like me
Unique, colorful patterns
on their legs and shell

Or one quite different-
Tall and admiring, who
offers me sweet strawberries
As I continue on my journey

Reunion

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Their hair, now white
But their faces hold
familiarity, reassurance

Logic causes confusion
And my brain and heart
disagree over time’s passing

As they stand nearby
Smiling and talking
I feel a flicker of childhood

My reflection disagrees
But for a brief moment
I am once again carefree

What do they see when they look at me?

We listen more intently
Our hugs linger a bit longer
And I understand it took a village

Another goodbye followed by
A renewed sense of gratitude
for this familiar reassurance