PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

May we be blessed to acknowledge all the wonders in our life

that have, for us, thus far accrued…

and to begin each day with a word of thanks…

and thoughts of gratitude.

Today I’m thankful for all simple wisdom in life that I have gained:

Like knowing when it’s time to stand under the umbrella…

and when to dance out in the rain.

Today’s blessing is for everyone…

in every country, city and state:

May we be blessed not to grow old too soon…

and discover our wisdom too late.

When I walk among the trees with their branches stretching high into the air

I think of all the wonders they have seen…all the wisdom stored in there.

In all the years they’ve spent listening as loyal sentries…silent monks

I think of all the knowledge…all the wisdom stored within their trunks.

And I wonder since trees cannot speak…how is their wisdom meant to reach us?

How are we to learn all the things the silent trees are meant to teach us?

Then I think…perhaps with silent wisdom is how our creators have designed them…

and if there are lessons in the trees…it is up to us to find them.

Lessons like strength and patience…and reaching for the stars

How to stand noble…tall and confident…proud of who we are.

How trees are kind and accepting to all the trees…how they help one another thrive…

how trees are all connected and need each other to survive.

How to weather any storm…how’s there is nothing they can’t face…

How they accept the wrinkles on their bark…and age with dignity and grace.

As they provide us with the air and beauty and shade perhaps the best lesson we should learn…is how to give to others…while asking nothing in return.

And I wonder since the trees and I are still growing…

every time to the forest I return….

how much more they have to teach me…

and how much more I have to learn

“Who are you?” A young girl asked me in the bookstore after giving me a quizzical look.

I smiled and told her, “I am the man who’ll help you find a book”.

“And who are you?” I asked…she looked at me and smiled innocently…then pointing out the obvious she answered, “I am me!”.

As she walked away I had to wonder how many different ways I could reply to her simple, honest and straightforward query…to her question…”Who am I?”.

I am a child whenever I eat ice cream or dance out in the rain…

I am a friend when I share another friend’s happiness…or help to ease their pain.

I am a poet (or at least I try to be) with words like these I write…

I am a husband when I hold hands with Deborah…or give her a kiss goodnight.

I am a dad to our three children…even when they’re far away.

I am a brother, a cousin, an uncle…depending on the day.

I am a PopPop who has been a horse, a magician…with his own magic show…

I am a person who’s been blessed to watch his children and grandchildren grow.

Sometimes I’ve been all these people in a single afternoon!

It’s as if they’re always with me…like the stars that surround the moon.

For who I am is not an easy concept to truly comprehend…and after giving it some thought the best answer is most likely…”It depends”. 

It depends on what circumstances I am in…on what I’m asked to do…

It depends on where I am…and who I’m talking to

And when you stop to think about it…It’s fun to look at life this way…

never knowing, when the day begins, how many ‘mes' I’ll be today.

And as for that young girl who waved to me as she left the store sucking on her thumb…I had to smile as I waved back thinking of all the ‘mes’ she will become.

Life…our very existence is ephemeral…from the moment of our birth none of us know how long or short will be our time upon this Earth.

Every person alive today is but one solitary leaf…whose stay upon the tree of life is relatively brief.

We never know if we’ll survive a harsh winter or a simple summer squall…we have no idea throughout the years in what season we will fall.

Knowing this, however, should make our mission in life quite clear…

to try and bring as much joy and happiness into our world while we all are here.

To discover what we have to offer…

and once discovered…to go out in the world and give it…

not to waste a moment of our ephemeral life…

but to get out there and live it.

He smiled as they placed his new granddaughter in his arms and gently cradled her near…and as they rocked together in the chair…he whispered softly in her ear…

I know I am much older…having been born a long, long time ago but I’m going to tell you some things I’ve learned…I hope you’ll remember them as you grow.

Life is to be lived…always do what, in your heart, you know is right.

Don’t worry about coloring within the lines…go outside…fly a kite.

Believe in yourself when others don’t…ride in a boat upon the sea…

Stop often to count the stars at night…and whenever you can…climb a tree.

Swing on a swing, slide down a slide…run…for no reason at all.

Embrace the cold in winter, the warmth of summer, the birth of Spring…and the changing leaves in Fall.

Eat a lot of ice cream… don’t forget to hug…and kiss…and share….

Never knowingly hurt another creature….remember…sometimes…it’s okay to swear.

Travel to new and exotic places…learn to ride a bicycle with no hands.

Never be in hurry to grow up…smile as often as you can.

Remember true beauty comes from within you…never be afraid to take a chance…

sing whenever you feel like it… feel free to cry and laugh and dance. 

It’s easy to love life when everything is bright…but try to love it when all seems black

because you’ll find the more you love with all your heart…the more the world will love you back.

You’ll find love is what binds us all together…in everything we say and do…

And those times when you think things are falling apart remember…love will be your glue.

Do the best you can in all you do…If you make a mistake…don’t fret.

Watch the sunrise in the morning…and in the evening watch it set.

Be happy with who you are…be creative…never silence your imagination…

Remember you are one-of-a-kind…unique…

there’s no one else like you in all of creation…

These thoughts will get you started…but I’m sure once you are grown…

the person you become…will have opinions of your own.

And perhaps one day they’ll place your granddaughter in your arms

and as you gently cradle her near…

you’ll have things you‘ve have learned throughout your life

you’d like to whisper in their ear

The old man loves spending time with children…loves how it softens his heart…

loves, given his knowledge of life, all the wisdom upon the chid he can impart.

But this child was too young to speak, however, the old man, being wise, 

knew they could communicate through their smiles…and their eyes.

Which means most of the wisdom he had to impart…would have wail until the child grows…and he spent most of their time together telling the child things he already knows.

When the child pointed to a ceiling fan (he loves fans) high above their heads…the old man turned it on and “Fan” was all he said.

When the child picked up a stick (he loves sticks) and waved it high above his head.  they both smiled and when their eyes met, “Stick” the old man said.

When the child pointed to a cat (he loves cats in any size shape…thin or fat) the old man calling on the wisdom he has gathered said, simply, “That’s a cat”.

When they picked a tomato together that was growing on the land…the old man said, “Tomato” as the child squeezed it in his hand.

As he watched the child walking barefoot in the leaves…changing directions on a whim…he began to wonder…if he was teaching the child or was the child teaching him.

Because the more they played their communication game the more the old man remembered…and began to once again understand…the simple pleasures to be found in a fan, a stick, a cat…and squeezing a tomato in his hand.

Long after the child left…the old man walked barefoot in the leaves…

his eyes lit up and he smiled….

thankful for the chance to remember what it was like to be a child.

“When I grow up I want to be rich!” The young boy announced.

His father didn’t bat an eye.

“And what makes you think you're not already rich?” Came his quick and simple reply.

The son gave his father a look…somewhere between exasperated and bored.

“Because,” he said, “there’s so many things I want I know we can’t afford.”

The father listened…for he always listened…then knowingly nodded his head…and after a moment to think it through…”Here’s what I want you to do.” he said,

“I want you to get a sheet of paper and on it list everything which…when you are older, just like me, you think will make you rich.”

“List anything you can think of that will bring you celebrity, fortune or fame…and while you’re making your list…I will do the same.”

The son returned in no time…on his list was money, a big house, a new car and a boat…“This will make me rich.” He said. “Now show me what you wrote.”

“My list is very old.” His father smiled. “It’s a list that, hopefully, never ends.”

“The first item on my list is time spent with family and friends.”

“In fact you’ll find family and friends on my list quite often…they are very important to me…for I never would be rich without my friends and family.”

”You’ll find humor, gratitude and happiness on my list…to me…more important than prosperity or wealth…wisdom is also listed… as well as generosity…and good health.”

“Holding hands…hugs and kisses…help to make me richer every day

as well as eyes that see into others hearts and ears that listen to what others say.”

Sharing the sun as it rises in the morning…or in the evening as it sets…

I’ve listed the aroma of Nana’s cookies…as well as eating them…with no regrets.

My father handed me this list years ago…I’ve added a few of my own as you can see…

and now I give my list to you…with the same message my father gave to me:

He said, “If there is one piece of knowledge upon you I wish to impart…

It’s that you can’t estimate the true value of anything that is measured by the heart.

If you use your heart to add items to this list…quickly you will see…

how rich you’ve always been…and how rich you’ll always be.

They call us homo sapiens which is Latin for wise man

but I don’t think we’re as wise as those who labeled us had planned..

If you look at the world we ‘wise’ men have created…

which is leading to our demise….

not only have we not acted human…

but we’ve been anything but wise.

So perhaps the time of the wise man is over.

Perhaps there are better times ahead

if we retire the term homo sapiens

and use Sapiens Mulier instead…

I think we’ve given the wise man his chance…

It’s time to bid his reign adieu…

It’s now time for the wise woman 

to show what she can do.

Homo sapiens…we did our best

But we set the bar too low…

Sapiens Mulier…it’s your turn

to see how high that bar can go.