PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

For me…when times are rough…I think back to Fairy Tales….

How evil wins its share of battles…but in the end…how good prevails.

Whenever I fight evil…sometimes I lose…sometimes I win…

and oftentimes I’m in need of mending….

but I truly believe for every Once Upon a Time 

there should be a happy ending.

I also know life in not always a Fairy Tale…

filled with joy and love…and laughter…

I know there is pain and suffering and heartache in our world

and that everyone does not life Happily Ever After.

But…having been influenced by Fairy Tales all my life… 

my mission is a simple one:

To enter into the fairy tale of everyone I meet…

so when their story’s done…

I may not have been able to come to their rescue 

riding a white horse…like a knight…

but their lives will end a little happier…

because of the pages I helped write.

 The wedding was completed…

in the cabin only Damien, Trista, Deborah and I remained.

when we heard the unmistakable sound of a bird

crashing into our window pane.

We ran out on the deck and were happily amazed…

to find a little warbler standing there…

She seemed unhurt, unscathed…

but she was definitely dazed. 

We knew it was best to let her be…

so we told her she was welcomed to stay…

to take all the time she needed…

to get herself ready to fly away.

We were hoping all she needed was a little time to get herself together

to take a little rest

and, sure enough, the third time we checked on her

she had flown back to her nest.

Once we knew that warbler was safe…that she had only been stunned….

my mind immediately found their way…to the words of Emily Dickinson:

If I can stop one heart from breaking

I shall not live in vain.

If I can ease one life the aching

Or cool one pain

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again

I shall not live in vain.

Of course she was talking about a male robin not a female warbler

but it really doesn’t matter the gender or the name….

or, for that matter, if she was talking about animals or humans…

Emily’s message is the same.

May we be blessed to understand

on every continent, 

in every country, 

city 

and town…

We are put upon this Earth to lift each other up

not

to put each other down.

Before a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, fire or flood…

we seem to have evolved into the kind of society…

that sees as an enemy anyone with whom we disagree.

Politics, religion, the right to choose, gender identity,….

we position ourselves on opposite sides…and see the other side as our enemy.

Before Mother Nature unleashes her wrath and fury our way 

we have a tendency to let our fear, our prejudices and our hate…

lead our hearts astray.

However, when Mother Nature is angry, saddened or aggrieved…

her hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes fires and floods

don’t care what side we’re on…what we do or don’t believe.

And after she devastates us with her earthquakes, fire or weather

we tend to forget how we are enemies as we all come together.

We put away our differences, our disagreements, our hatred and our madness…

with one shared goal…to come to the aid of anyone in need…

and help to ease their sadness.

Yes, after Mother Nature wreaks havoc on our land our seas and shores

our compassion and our love for one another 

reminds us what our hearts were created for,

I only wish it wouldn’t take Mother Nature 

shattering peoples lives and hopes and dreams

to remind us we should not be enemies…

that we’re all on the same team.

May we be blessed to treat everyone we meet 

in exactly the same way

As if we’re offering them a sweet breeze and a patch of shade

on the hottest summer day.

 Last night I heard Jane Goodall tell the story of her life of 90 years.

She spoke a lot about her mother…and of her own wishes, dreams and fears.

She spoke about her chimpanzees and their world which she loves living in.

How her mother taught her to judge people by what they do…and not by the color of their skin.

She spoke of how humans think we are separate from the animals…

of how when it comes to this planet…we think we are the heart of it….

but how….when it comes to the animal kingdom…we are only a small part of it.

And she wondered when it comes to our planet…

instead of admiring, loving, appreciating and enjoying it…

how the most intellectual creatures on the Earth…are the ones who are destroying it.

But at the same time she was telling us of her ups and downs…

holding her life under a microscope….

the words she used…even after 90 years…wove a tapestry of hope.

Yes, the more she talked…the more her tapestry of words unfurled…

for the people and other animals on this planet…she has a hope for a better world.

As she outlined reasons for her hope…one rested on all the young people

ready to pick up the mantle…to help fulfill her dream and alleviate her fears…

Which, I imagine, meant all of us…because everyone in the audience…

was younger than her 90 years.

We left her talk inspired…because as her tapestry of hope unfurled…

We know together we can…together we will…and together…we must change the world.

As I listened to this courageous and amazing woman…so wise compassionate and kind…

other women whom I admire popped into my mind.

For I believe if we want to live together in a more compassionate and peaceful way…

perhaps it’s time we listen to what the women have to say!

If we hope to live together in a world where no creature loses…and ever creature gains….

It’s time we listen to the likes of Maya, Emily and Carol…

(and you’ve already heard from Jane.)

When we look at what matters in our life

when we’re trying to come up with an amount…

May we be blessed to understand

what things are important enough to count.

May we all be blessed to be like a lighthouse

able to proved a light…a spark

there to help those in need

find their way out of the dark.

May we be blessed to understand how we are all artists 

as well as canvases…incomplete

How we paint a little of ourselves on everyone we meet

And how everyone we meet…

paints a little of themselves on us as well.

sometime the strokes are bold and colorful…

sometimes they’re so subtle it’s difficult to tell.

And how it doesn’t matter if they are family , friends

or people we meet in passing and have long ago forgot their names 

once we’ve painted on each other…

we will never be the same