beyond letters

silly is funny
oops makes a sound
purple feels creamy
thud hits the ground

words have a shape
way beyond letters
to live in that place
is to make life better

listening (4)

the chatter comes through the speaker
but there is static too
it is hard to hear
i start talking
back to the
radio
but
it won’t
stop talking
i raise my voice but
it just keeps going did the
volume just go up? more static,
more jumble. can i change the station?

listening (3)

a soft cozy place
warm, with low light between us
everything feels like honey

something starts to happen
in the air between us
new ideas forming
passing between us

a light sort of magic
elixir to the heart
a sacredness
between us

listening (2)

sounds come through
i see motion
but i am lost behind my own eyes

i am sorry. please forgive me.
here this wondrous gift unwraps itself for me
and i am absent

selfishly enraptured
an empty shell
hollow and hard

listening (1)

let us imagine a world…

if he comes to the party
and is odd or maybe churlish

i will say, sit down friend
and talk and i will listen
not with judgment but with
true curiosity and kindness

that which i would want
if things were different

the light

the world is changing
all futures seem possible
the light feels present

the dark

the world is changing
everything seems to fall
the dark feels present

hope

how do you describe something

that happens on the inside

maybe talk of wind or wing

or of a brand new bride

maybe of a heart string

or something on which to glide

it is quite hard to describe a thing

that never is outside

but maybe you can merely sing

and have it be implied

an unwelcome family

there is a family i know
they tend to visit often
i try to welcome them when they come
but if i’m honest, my heart has not softened

to this bunch of rascals
they come knocking on my door
each is quite persistent
their manners i abhor

first there is the father
his name is Fear
he is married to his wife Worry
and she is really not a dear

their children are Anxiety and Stress
each is hard to take
once you’ve been around them
their impact is hard to shake

once they brought a cousin
his name was Shame
he was really a rotten one
it makes me sad that he has fame

there is also a distant in-law
her name is Blame
she twists you up inside yourself
she plays some wicked games

this family, like I say,
i hate to have them over
but somehow when they show up
they do sort of take over

i try to be hospitable
to listen when they talk
but the reality is all i want to do, when they come
is leave and talk a walk

i hope this family doesn’t come
to knock at your front door
if they do, you have to bear it
i can’t really say much more

i am wondering

i have started writing words, they are pouring out
but will there come a time when there is a drought
a time the words stop, when there are no more
even now I wonder are they maybe a bore
nothing very lovely, nothing to win a prize
but right now I can’t stop
is that a surprise

it is a bit to me, to find something like this
even though I don’t know why to not do feels remiss
for the first time, maybe ever, i’m doing with no goal
i am wondering about this as I secretly ask my soul
is there something more, something to get better
but i think the answer now is just keep typing letters
so i will keep doing that, see what happens next
i am very grateful to you
the reader of this text

what if your life was a symphony

what if you thought of the whole of your life
as one big piece of music
all of the moments and days and the people
even you own private musings

was this morning filled with
quarter notes or half?
will you have a rest today
where on your life’s staff

is your current circumstance
what sounds are at play
and do you want to have those notes
simply fade away

time for a new movement
a whole new set of notes
maybe played in a different key
a brand new feeling to evoke

it is a neat idea
to think of life as sound
imagining in this unique way
maybe new insights to be found

making change

how can i make what i feel
turn it into something real
something that makes a change
something that makes me rearrange
my thoughts or ideas or inside parts
that makes a difference inside my heart
how to know which change to make
how to know which road to take
the thing i’m learning by writing here
is that change has a path quite clear
but we miss it because we fear
that we have to get it right
and so we get uptight
we do nothing and just keep thinking
all the while we are slowly sinking
so if you want to make a change
you have to be willing to seem quite strange
just do the thing you want to do
and then next time you do it, you will find
that change has happened, outside your mind

sunday

we now arrive at the last day
the final of the week
sunday has many facets
exploration of those we seek

first, a day of rest
a time to sit and ponder
this is the traditional role
a rule: your rest don’t squander

also, a day of worship
for those that practice their faith
this is a time to join the others
praise and celebrate with grace

you have sunday crosswords
or maybe sunday brunch
the thing about this day
its uses, it has a bunch

but as the day goes on
it seems things do converge
because then comes sunday evening
and here we play a dirge

back to school, back to work
homework to get done
the dread and doom start building
rarely so much fun

of course these are just patterns
and they can be changed
but the truth is sunday evening
has a reputation that is stained

and that concludes the week
as you tuck into your bed
ready to start again afresh
a new path to be tread

saturday

here it is, saturday
the weekend, it is here
a day that brings variety
and sometimes friendly cheer

if you have errands, this will be the day
that you travel this way and that
a day when you try to catch up on things
or maybe with a friend you chit-chat

this day feels like the most different of all
and by that i mean to say
we all have unique ways we spend our time
on this first of the weekend days

most other days, they have some standards
the week for work or for school
but this day feels more open than most
it feels more like the random does rule

for me i like it as a day of rest
to have no major plans
to go by what my mood dictates
to let my mind expand

i hope your weekend has started well
and that you enjoy this day
that whatever you have on your agenda
it is somehow mixed in with some play

friday

here we are
the end the week
the weekend all that is left

friday feels
like a breath of fresh air
even if you are a little bereft

something about this day
feels to me like escape mixed in with promise

these days all feel somehow done before
they are stained with old patterns if i’m honest

friday was the last day of school, you got to have two free days
and friday was the last day of work, you had two days not to slave

there is no doubt, friday is special
its place at the end of the week
i suppose if we had different patterns
this day could feel like a peak

but the truth is it feels like a finish somehow
at least it does to me
although i know that it could be different
yes, that i do really see

thursday

oh my gosh, i almost forgot
today is a thursday…

but what to say
this days feels like
it just fades away

in between the fame
of middle and end
this is a day
of no praises to send

i suppose if much younger
this day might mean
the weekend begins
but I am no teen

and so somehow
to my little mind
this day just passes
no treasures to find

about poor thursday
(and tuesday also it seems)
to have nothing nice to say
it almost seems mean

but they are plain
and just sit like big lumps
on either side
of the famous hump

wednesday

and here it come
the most famous day of the week
there is so much about it
of those things I speak

first, it has a nickname
hump day is the thing
get over this day and you’re there
or maybe you like to swing

then, it has impossible spelling
the n after the d
why it is pronounced that way
i can’t really see

the final thing i notice
it has the most letters
this day tries really hard
to make none other better

yes this is wednesday
the day smack in between
one thing you may not know
this day’s color is green

tuesday

well, here comes tuesday
it always feels
like monday’s lost cousin
not too much appeal

a person may have
a feeling of hate
for other days, but tuesday
doesn’t have that weight

it just sits between
two days that are famous
you can ignore tuesday
you really can’t blame us

just another day
as the week goes along
not too much notice
nothing too strong

there is one thing maybe
that tuesday can claim
and that thing is tacos
Taco Tuesday, a good name

so go eat some tacos
if that is your thing
there are no other praises
of this day i can sing

monday

let’s explore this new beginning
i hold that monday starts the week
you may say sunday but
not for me, not this geek

monday’s the starting point
a nice clean slate
a time to set plans
to do something great

it has none of the baggage
of deeds just half done
it has all of the promise
of battles to be won

yes, monday feels shiny
and new and exciting
adventures and exploits
and no more fighting

with yourself to do things
things you don’t like
mondays are days
when it all seems just right

so enjoy this new vision
this endless landscape
of all that is possible
what will take shape

magnification

Have you ever felt small
like no one can see you at all?

Have you ever felt big
like you are some sort of pig?

Have you ever felt like hiding
because you were getting some chiding?

Have you ever felt important
because you did something to warrant it?

Have you ever wondered
what is your real size?
Would you be
quite surprised
to find that we all
use different eyes?