PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

May our leaders and politicians be blessed to understand

something I learned long ago from the heart of my Granddad….

“It takes as much time to see the good side of life,” he said,

“as it does to see the bad”.

How lucky we are every morning when we wake up to hear this voice inside our head say: 

Let’s do everything we can to make today a great day.

It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering…monumental or grand in any way

It doesn’t have to be anything great…for it to be a great day.

Yesterday we woke up early, fed Doctor, 

(our neighbor’s cat who always waits by our front door),

ate breakfast, then headed out to our favorite beach for a walk along the shore.

Back from the beach we asked our neighbor and her daughter

(the ones who own Doctor the cat now sleeping on our bed)

If they wanted to walk with us to the house of our neighbor (whose in the hospital)

because her cat, her fish and her chickens needed to be fed.

We watched a little TV and completed a crossword puzzle together

(I sit next to Deborah and she has the puzzle on her lap).

When we finished (since so much fun is tiring) we decided to take a nap.

After the nap we headed to the grocery store

(for groceries that while shopping the day before we forgot to obtain)

then took are new origami paper and folded some frogs and hearts and cranes. 

We grilled vegetables for dinner and, 

(after Deborah added a little spice, then took them off the skewers) 

we ate them over rice.

Next we headed off to Ava’s soccer game…

(It’s the last of her soccer games at which we’ll ever cheer)

because she graduates high school in two weeks

and new adventure await next year.

The game didn’t end until after 9:00 (late for a soccer game to wrap)

but we didn’t mind because (you may remember)…we had already taken a nap.

Nothing extraordinary happened yesterday…(nothing historic at any rate)

but when you add a bunch of good things together…somehow….a day can end up great…

And our wish when we went to sleep that night…

(which we seem to wish for more and more)

is we will wake up the next morning…

to a day as great as the day before.

May we be blessed to understand:

we are all on a journey that is only partially our own…

with individual experiences and memories to collect…

and there is so much we can learn from one another

when our journeys intersect.

Sometimes we are concentrating so hard on our own story…and things we’re going through

we have a tendency to forget other people are in the midst of their story too.

An elderly woman walked into the bookstore…

She was bent over and steadied herself with a cane.

and though it took her a little longer to walk around the store…I didn’t hear her complain.

When I said hello…she smiled at me…stood up a little taller, gave me this whimsical look….

then, breathing in as deeply as she could said, “I just love the smell of books.”

With a smile that engulfed every wrinkle on her face  she looked directly into my eyes…

and said, “I’ll never forget my second grade teacher who told me

If you love books…it’s a love that will never die.”

For a moment all the vestiges of age on her face…and in her demeanor seemed to fade 

because in that moment she was not only in the bookstore 

she was back in second grade.

She said the first book she ever read on her own

was about a ballerina her 2nd grade teacher gave her by chance

and how that one book in the second grade led to a lifelong love of dance.

“I may not look it now,” She said, with a smile and a shrug

“but there was a time…not too long ago…I could really cut a rug.”

It was here her story took a turn…as if she was saying stay with me if you can….

she went right from second grade to dancing with her man.

She said that’s how she met her husband…how on the dance floor they would glide,

how they danced together every day…until the day he died.

Again her story moved to when they lived in Tampa…

that’s where they watched their children grow…

when her daughter tapped her on the shoulder and said,

“Mom, our table’s ready…it’s time for us to go.”

She smiled and I swear it was that second grader who gave me a whimsical look…

as she turned, took a deep breath and said, “Yes, I just love the smell of books.”

We all have a story waiting to be told…waiting for us to set it free…

and I’m glad this woman… 

on this day 

In the bookstore

decided to share a chapter or two…with me.

We attended a peaceful protest yesterday…but that word protest…I must reject it…

because, in our minds, we are not protesting our American Democracy…

we are trying to protect it.

Standing on the corner, holding our posters we wanted our message spread.

Some people beeped their horns and waved as they drove by…or when the light was red. 

While other people driving by or stopped at the light vehemently protested….

They called us names, gave us the finger and yelled,

“You should have your fat #@&$#’s arrested.”

One group saw democracy in action…in the other anger was ignited…

proving, if the election didn’t already, that our states are anything but united.

That same evening we attended a concert…billed as a mystery concert

meaning the performer was a surprise……

It turned out to be a band from Australia and Jamaica …their name is Natalie Rize. 

Their music was filled with messages of unity and hope and liberation….

They sang about how, on the school of Earth, 

we need to learn we are one love, one family…one human nation.

They talked of accepting everyone for who they are and before the concert ended

they sang how tomorrow will be a better day if we all used the word LOVE…

as a verb…the way it was intended.

I was moved by their music and thought back to standing on that street corner…

as we were about to leave…

and I thought it’s an easier message to sing about…than it will be to achieve

But if something you cherish is not working…you don’t immediately throw it out the door

you work to find a way to fix it…so it works better than before.

And the only way to fix it…to protect our democracy…

to ensure the rights of every human are not diminished or completely cease…

as Natalie Rize might sing it…is piece…by piece…by peace.

So the next time you see us standing on a street corner holding a poster…

think of our mission…and please…don’t immediately reject it…

remember we’re not protesting our American Democracy…

we are trying to protect it.

I am grateful every day…to see my friends and family

as I look around…

for it is within my friends and family

where all my riches can be found.

May we be blessed to understand

from one big moment to the next 

most of our life is living the moments in between..

and perhaps the best way to a happy life

is to find the beauty in the routine.

May we be blessed to understand

from one big moment to the next 

most of our life is living the moments in between..

and perhaps the best way to a happy life

is to find the beauty in the routine.

Life is a series of circles…each second circles into each minute, 

each minute into each hour, each hour into each day…

Each circle has it’s own attraction…It’s own unique rhythm and beat.

and we do our best to find as much beauty as we can

In every circle we complete.

Yesterday’s circle began as most days do…nothing too extreme…

when my eyes opened…deciding it was time to step out of my dream.

On my morning walk…around one corner my favorite rabbit was waiting there

as I greeted the stars, the planets and the moon the aroma of jasmine filled the air.

Deborah and I loaded up our Subaru with the needed odds and ends

then headed to the causeway to go kayaking with friends.

We watched the sunrise over the water, 

saw pelicans fly and dolphins swim…just a little out of reach…

then kayaked over to an island where we walked along the beach.

We heard from our daughter Ali…something we think is pretty cool.

Next year she stars a new job…at an elementary school.

We had lunch with our daughter-in-law Amy…

She was dropping Juniper, their dog, for us to dog sit overnight….

She paid us off with cheese pizza…we loved every bite.

We took a nap, went to the grocery store…and for dinner…leftover pizza was a must….

we ate all the cheesy parts while Juniper ate the crust.

We watched an old movie on TV

then did something that for a while we’ve delayed…

we drove by a friends yard in the evening…to see the improvements she has made.

With yesterday’s circle complete…even thought it was nothing too extreme…

there was a smile on my face when my eyes decided it was time to step into a dream.

This morning another unique circle began…on my walk I heard a mockingbird's song…

and I could tell by how fast she hopped away my rabbit friend was not happy

that I brought Juniper along.